Jameela Jamil Gets Real About Embarrassing Moments, Calls Herself a ‘Failure Pervert’

After several years in the entertainment industry, Jameela Jamil has learned a thing or two about handling embarrassing moments.

“I’m a failure pervert,” she joked on the Thursday, June 26, episode of Today With Jenna & Friends. “It’s someone who runs towards and is drawn towards the potential for failure and embarrassment ’cause that’s where the good stuff is. That’s where the good stories are. It’s where the character development is, and you find out what you’re good at and also what you’re bad at, which is helpful to know. And so, my whole podcast explores that.”

The Good Place alum launched her new podcast, “Wrong Turns With Jameela Jamil,” last month. Shame served as Jamil’s inspiration for the show, on which she and her celebrity guests share their most embarrassing stories.

“I just think shame is a democratizing concept. It’s the great unifier,” Jamil explained to Jenna Bush Hager and Maria Shriver. “I think part of the reason shame can be so powerful is that we keep the kings that embarrass us to ourselves ’cause we’re scared we’ll be rejected if we tell anyone. So, I was like, ‘I just want to create content that blows it wide open, and we all just share our most embarrassing moments, and we laugh about it.'”

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She went on to state that her podcast is about “anit-inspiration,” adding, “I just feel like, ‘Why does everything have to be inspiring now? Why are we supposed to find everything to be a great pearl of wisdom or a great silver lining stuck up your bum?’ I just want to be left alone. I just want to be embarrassed. I want to laugh about it with my friends.”

Though Jamil described shame as a “never-ending” thing, she has moved past letting it control her. “I think there comes a point where you’ve embarrassed yourself publicly so many times that you develop shame antibodies,” she quipped. “And you realize that on the other side of shame is more life. It doesn’t kill you. It doesn’t always make you stronger, I will tell you that. That was a lie. But I think it’s something that has only made me more relatable.”

NBC

On Today, Jamil also opened up about overcoming expectations when it comes to her career. She currently lends her voice to the new Disney/Pixar animated film Elio, something she said her younger self would have never thought would happen.

“I think one thing that’s really important is to remind people that women, in particular, are told, ‘Your sell-by date is gonna happen when you’re very, very young, and you’re going to expire by 30,'” she stated. “And I was 24, never imagining that 15 years later was when I was gonna get my chance. I’ve been told from the beginning of my career when I was 22 that my ’15 minutes is gonna be up soon.’ And I’m here 17 years later, so I think it might be a lie and that actually, we have as long as we want and we are the ones who determine how long we’re gonna be here.”

Her comments got applause from Bush Hager, Shriver, and the Jenna & Friends crew behind the camera. “You are the chooser,” Bush Hager added.

Today With Jenna & Friends, Weekdays, 10 a.m. ET, NBC

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