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Designing Women S6 E3 Extra Sugar: Sweet Tea & TV Book Club Edition - Delta Style

sweetteatvpod

Updated: Dec 4, 2024

Agghhh! It’s time! We’ve got Salina over here reading books. Nikki over here mashin’ tomatoes. (It’ll all make sense soon, swear.) It’s time for the first-ever Sweet Tea & TV Book Club! And what better place to start than Delta Burke’s memoir, Delta Style.


We’re excited to share our overall reactions to the book, chat about the biggest surprises to us, explore key themes, like Delta’s illustrious - albeit brief - pageant career, and uncomfortable experiences in Hollywood. 


And then come back next week where we’ll chat about Bernice’s season 6 journey. We may be firing on all cylinders or, maybe our arterial flow problems will kick in and the segment will be as random as Bernice herself. Either way, it’s sure to be a good time! 


Come on y’all, let’s get into it! 




 

Transcript

Hey, Salina. Hey, Nikki, and hey, y'all. Welcome back to Sweet Tea and tv. So, we promised earlier this week that we're shaking it up with something special for this extra sugar.


Something, special. Oh, is that what you were looking for?


Another song? Just another song with you? Always with the songs.


Sorry.


For those of you who have been with us for a while, you know, we use extra sugar to veer off course a little bit into Designing Women adjacent topics. Well, this week, Salina, I am so excited to be the one that gets to call to order our first ever Sweet Tea and TV book club.


I didn't want to take it from you. I didn't want to take it from you.


Thank you.


Thank you.


What better way to kick off our book club than with the memoir from one of our long lost Designing Women, Delta Burke? So let's talk all things Delta style. Eve wasn't a size six, and neither am I, which is Delta Burke's 1998 memoir. in it, she opens up about her personal struggles, her successes, and everything in between, and does it with her signature wit and charm. so before we dive in, you're laughing, Salina, because you can see that I have already taken to heart some of Delta's lessons from the book.


That's right. And one of those lessons was sliding down your face.


This actually wasn't included, but, okay, so what we're talking about is that I have some eye patches on my eyes that are just sliding slowly down my face. The other thing that your eagle eye might have missed is that I also have tomato pulp on my face face.


It's a little hard to tell with this beautiful lighting that we both have right now.


We agreed that we would both try out one of the style or beauty tips from the book. So what I chose was a tomato face mask. because I have large pores and an oily face. What's wrong with you? Apparently that the tomato mask, helps with that. Now, her book actually said, I'm trying to find it real quick while I say. It actually said, just mash up a tomato and put it on your face. I was a little bit worried about the acid because I have a very sensitive skin. So I mixed mine, actually with some honey and, made a mask out of it that way. So, but it is supposed to help with. Yeah. Used to combat large pores or oily or problem skin. So that's what I got here. It says to leave it on, apply it, and then rinse it with tepid water. So we're going to See what happens when I leave it on for 45 minutes, right?


I'm like, okay, first of all, 45 minutes is already kind of laughable, but.


Okay, well, I wanted to try the milk of magnesia pack, which is where you pack on, a tablespoon of milk of magnesia. And it's supposed to clear up oily skin breakouts. But I googled that one before I did it, because some of these, like, DIY homey sort of things, they don't always work out the way they're promised. So I wanted to double check because I do have problem skin and I can't afford to mess it up anymore. And that one is like, apparently really bad for your skin.


Oh, really, really bad.


Like, clogs up your pores.


Well, 1998.


So yeah, I don't need help with that. But apparently people are still doing it today. But, I opted to take a full on spa moment because I don't usually get the opportunity to do that. So I also put on some eyepatches, but. Salina, what is with this Saran Wrap thing happening around your headphones?


Yeah, so I decided to do the mayo suggestion for hair, which was to, rub mayo in. And then what you're supposed to do. I didn't do the. I didn't do any of it. Right. Let me put it that way. So it was supposed to be in all day.


Take them as light suggestions.


Why? Okay.



I put mayonnaise in my hair because I have oily hair


It's supposed to be on all day. She's like, you know, put. You put the mayonnaise in, you Saran Wrap your hair. And like, you know, you go about your dusting, you go about your day. And I was like, okay, well, my day includes potentially being on camera for work.


Right?


So, like, while I don't care about looking good, there is maybe a bridge too far with having mayonnaise in my hair. Plastic wrap on, just in case somebody was like, come on camera. so. So they didn't. But what if it did? But what if. But what if, you know, and then I'm just sitting. Yeah. Like someone wearing a tin full hat. Yeah. They're like, oh, God. But maybe I would have gotten some time off. So I'm m regretting my decision now. Anyways, so after work, went in the bathroom, put mayonnaise in my hair. It was very weird experience. I've always wanted to do this one. I have a lot of hair. I also haven't watched it and like, hold on. Oh, a week. Oh, that's not bad. No, no longer. Sorry. I was gonna Say.


I thought you were gonna say 14 days, 11 days. Yikes.


Something like that. Okay, but here's the thing. I was gonna wash it on Monday.


And then I didn't.


And that would have only been a week. But then I was like, but I'm putting mayonnaise in my hair on four.


But next week, I'm supposed to put mayonnaise on it.


I mean, I don't want it to spoil.


This is the slippery slope of how I also get into, like, seven days without washing my hair because I'm like, well, I have to go to work on Monday. Why would I wash it on Wednesday?


Exactly. This is what I'm saying. Except mine's way grosser than yours. I also was at the beach, so. And, like, I got hit with a couple of waves from behind, as one does. Sure. And, so, like, there's also some salt in there. So I've got, like, a. I'm halfway to, like, a submarine.


So do you. Yeah, that's true. Do you feel like the mayonnaise is penetrating? Yep.


Oh, there's a tagline.


Oh, it's really hitting.


Is it, like, I don't.


Okay. My hair is very oily, and, I mean, that's obviously what they're going for. Right. And I will just say that, like, I regularly put castor oil and coconut oil in my hair, and I think the only difference is that smells less weird.


Yeah.


But it has sopped it all in, and I probably could.


It doesn't look wet at all.


Yeah. My hair really absorbs liquid really fast, so. Yeah. You didn't even know I had done anything. But the plastic wrap around my headphones is because I put the mayonnaise on my hair. And then I went, oh, what? How am I supposed to do this thing with the headphones? I also called him my cans in the video I made for social media, and I was like. Because I couldn't think of the word headphones. And I'm standing there in the bathroom, and I'm like, I can't get mayonnaise on my cans.


Or can you?


Well, I guess it depends on how fun of a night it is. Anyways.



Did you read how to get that out of your hair with just shampoo


All right, I digress. There's lots more beauty tips in the book. Did, you read how to get that out of your hair? Just shampoo?


I think so.


Okay.


Probably.


My mom used to put mayonnaise on her hair, and I think we just shampooed it out, but a couple times through.


Yeah, that'll be fun tonight.


God bless and Godspeed tonight. Really? You're just gonna have to watch. It's gonna rain tomorrow, so it's just gonna get wet.


There's a hurricane. Or maybe I could go out in the hurricane.


This is. This is a good plan. It's saving water. I'm, like, being environmentally friendly.


If I decide to do that, I'll try and capture some video, like, please gathering up in the rain.


You know, Please do.



Salina discusses Delta Burke's new book, Delta Style


All right, so onto the book. Are you ready to talk about the book, Salina?


I am. do we want to just first, like, what our general reactions are? Is that somewhat place to start?


We do, but I have a little more intro to do.


Oh, well, forgive me.


So, we're going to theme out to your point. We're going to theme out our thoughts on the book into a few buckets. We're going to talk about our general reactions. We're, going to talk about our biggest surprises from the book, and then we're going to dive into a few themes that emerged to us as we were reading it. but before we get into Delta style, just in case this is anyone's first time ever tuning into sweet tea and tv, or if they're asking yourself, like, who the heck is Delta Burke? Ask. No judgment. All are welcome. In my podcast, Just don't listen to Salina's side. She says, get out of here. I did want to share that we've covered Delta and her life in a couple other places on the show. So if folks are either brand new or maybe they're a Delta Burke fan and they just miss the old episodes, or if they just want to dive deeper, go check how she's holding the book up. Go check out two previous episodes. Season 5, episode 11, behind the scenes drama for your mama, where we dished on all the behind the scenes tension that was happening on Designing Women, including Delta's experiences on the show. And then our extra sugar from season two, episode six. We talked about Delta's marriage to the one and only Gerald McRaney, the good old classic power couple. I don't know. It's, a very sweet story, so go listen to that. But today is going to be all about Delta's own words. in Delta styles. She gives us a peek into her world straight from the source. We're going to be talking about the highs, the lows, the lessons learned, and how Delta embraced her authentic self in the spotlight. We've talked a lot about society's perception of her weight challenges and career challenges. we're going to piece together some of the challenges she. Or we've pieced together some of the challenges she must have faced in the Hollywood machine. But this time, we're hearing it straight from her, and we're hearing how she navigated it all and remained fiercely herself.



There could be triggers throughout this discussion, so take care of yourself


so the other kind of unusual thing as we're setting up this book about this book is something we just talked about. The first half is really the memoir. The second half is style tips and beauty tips, which is a little bit disorienting, I feel like, when you read the book. So I want to say that before we start. so.


Sounds like a general reaction to me.


I'm getting straight into it. The last thing I wanted to say, and then I swear I'll turn it over to you. Salina is there could be triggers throughout this discussion. So in particular, I'm thinking about discussion about her weight issues. or, there are also some direct and then not so direct references to sexual assault. So take care of yourself and consider skipping those sections or this episode altogether if that is stressful or triggering in any sort of way. So are you ready?


I am.



I have four general reactions to Delta's new memoir


and, what I was going to say is general reactions and kick it over to you.


So I have four general reactions. The first one is that I'm not kidding when I say I devoured this book. I think when we did our extra sugar for the first episode this season, and I said, I read it in, like, two days. I'm not kidding. It's just such a quick and easy read, the first half. which is, like I said, more of her personal memoir. It just felt like you're sitting down for tea with her or something. Like, her voice was really clear. You could almost hear her telling these stories in her sort of familiar, sassy sort of way. Which is kind of funny because later, she did the Glamorous Trash podcast, which you shared with me earlier this year. She actually said, it doesn't even sound like her when she reads it now. She said the person that she's reading sounds really sad and brassy in a way that she's not. but to me, it felt very familiar because we have watched her be Suzanne for so long. So it's just a super easy read. And that's really my first general reaction.


Yeah. I wonder if some of that hadn't rubbed off yet. Like some of the Suzanne was still just kind of floating out there. You know, you often hear actors talk about how it might be hard to drop a Persona after you've played someone for so long.


Yeah.


Catch your eye There.


my patches are drooping. And she might have even talked about that a little bit on the Glamorous Trash podcast. Just sort of how hard it was to deprogram herself.


I need to go back and listen to that again, because it's been.


It's a really good episode.


Totally. very enjoyable. yeah, I agree. Easy, breezy read. I really appreciated that. I usually in recent years, I've. My reads are much tougher. so it was just nice for it to be like. And that's crazy because we also just said, hey, there's going to be some sexual assault references in there.


Right.


That tells you how heavy my reads are.


it's true. The serial killer book, you know, So.


I. I just felt like there was a really nice rhythm to it. you know, you were saying, it sounds like you're sitting on a tea with her. I thought this was, like, very stream of consciousness. but it was almost like we were taking a stroll or a tour through Delta's thoughts. I really like that as well. and I like the pull quotes that were sprinkled throughout. this is general reactions, but they're all likes. I guess. I. Generally speaking, I liked it. I think they were smartly selected. And many times they gave us, like, this deeper insight into what she was discussing at that point in the book. Or I liked this insight of how other people felt about her. especially lbt. We get some of that, as well. Actually, there's this one, if you don't mind. I'm going to read it real quick and then kick. I'm just going to read one chapter.


Readings with Salina.


Just one chapter. Okay, guys, nestle in. You don't even have to buy the book.



Delta was never sure of her beauty. Compliments meant a lot to her


All right, so in the beginning, Delta didn't really know what she was doing, but she was so instinctively good, it almost didn't matter. All the instruments were in place. And her beauty. I remember being in the control room with the then president of Columbia Pictures, watching scenes from Filthy Rich. Delta came in. Came on in. Okay. Delta came on in an evening gown. And that executive said, that is the most beautiful human being I have ever seen. But even at her most beautiful, it seemed that women liked her even better than men did, which is unusual for gorgeous women. She is so sweet and has such a good heart that women want to be her buddy. They feel they can open up to her. And she was never sure of her beauty. Compliments meant a lot to her because she was never quite confident enough. You'd say she looked nice. And she'd be truly flattered, really, she'd say, and you'd think, did you take a look in the mirror this morning? That's all.



I really enjoyed the pictures. It was a really nice, um, assortment of pictures


On that note, one thing I wanted to say that I took away from the book, the pictures she shared, so many personal pictures from her early childhood life, from her pageant days. And we know she's beautiful. We know that. But, like, golly, she's gorgeous in some of these pictures. And she's also, like, adorable as a child. And I loved the, getting to see sort of behind the curtain of her childhood and of her family and of the people around her. Different than Hollywood.


Yes. I really enjoyed the pictures. I kind of went back and looked at those more after I had finished reading, because in the middle of my read, it felt a little bit like a distraction.


Yeah.


Because, you know, we're on a clock. Everything's fun when you're on a clock. M. But, yeah, I thought it was just. It was such. It was a really nice, assortment of pictures and these different phases of life, again, like, I guess, and a compliment to the quotes that she used. It, you know, it just sort of captured these different eras of her life. I will say there were some places, and we'll get more into it later, where I think maybe she could have teased out even more, especially some around some of the trauma that she experienced. Not that I want to be taken through that step by step or make her go through that again, but, like, you know, she was clearly doing a lot of work, and I wonder if talking a little bit more about how she rose above some of the things that she had experienced might have been helpful for readers who had gone through the same thing. Because I feel like sometimes people are like, oh, especially if it's somebody they admire, and obviously they do, or they wouldn't have bought her book. Like, oh, well, if she can do it, maybe I can do it too.


You know, I have some thoughts around that, and I think we'll get to that when we get into probably biggest surprises, but maybe there's a little bit of it sprinkled into book themes. Okay, so we'll talk about that.



There were some major revelations in the book that I wasn't expecting


The last general reaction I'll share, because I think we've kind of touched on a bunch of them, was just like, there were some major revelations in the book that I wasn't expecting, and I don't want to talk about that too much since we'll get there. But, she was pretty candid about the struggles that she's Faced particularly with body image and career pressures. And I think, ah, we've heard a lot about conflicts on the Designing Women set. We haven't really heard it so much from her necessarily, and certainly not when she was in the heat of it because like we had that one 2020 interview or whatever. but that was like right in the middle of the storm. So this is after the storm has settled and how it really resonated with her. So, I thought it was really interesting to hear how that affected her professionally and personally.


Yes. and I also am sitting here thinking when we get into some of those bigger surprises, I also wonder if it's not generational. Like we're always talking about traumas. You know, trauma bonds, trauma dumps, trauma, this trauma that you guys want to do some trauma. It's worked its way into movies. I mean, it's just like it's such a thing now. And I think, you know, she's of a generation where they're like, I thought this was Tuesday. What? You know what I'm saying? So I wonder if some of that's in the mix as well.


Well, I wondered if some of it was Southern too. gently talking around, you know, we have euphemisms and we have certain ways of saying things so that you don't really have to say it.



I had to read the section about childhood sexual assault twice to really process it


So I felt like, and I'm gonna skip real quick, this was one of my biggest surprises. I actually had to read the section about her childhood sexual assault twice to really process what she was saying. Like, the first time I read it, I was like, what is she talking? And then I was like, wait, she's choosing words really carefully and really briefly addressing this point in time that when she was 4, a neighbor's teenage brother assaulted her. The words that she chose, and I wish I had it marked. The words that she chose in the way she talked about it felt very intentional. It m felt like there was an intentional choice made there. To your point earlier about maybe teasing some of that out, there was an intentional choice made there that she wasn't gonna go that far into it and she was choosing her wor carefully so she could share this thing without oversharing this thing. Because maybe it's not polite to share that. Or maybe it was just still a little bit uncomfortable and raw for her. It felt like it was a new revelation, a relatively new revelation for her about how much this had affected her life.


But that surprised me. Like I said, I had to read it a couple of times and I was like, wait, A minute. What?


That's a perfect transition.



Her relationship with her family surprised me in this book


What else surprised you?


I had two other really, big surprises. her relationship with her family surprised me. So, she outlines this very positive, happy relationship with her family. And I think I had an assumption that she didn't have a supportive family. So she dedicates the book to her Nana. And then early in the book, she writes and then talks a lot about how her nana lived with her in LA for a while and they. They would go thrifting together and all these beautiful things. early in the book, she really writes glowingly about her mom and her stepdad. She talks about how her mom sort of, made everything, this special adventure and made it this really magical moment which instilled in her early a love of drama and of, specialness in life. So it felt. It really resonated with me that she just had such a supportive family. And I think because of her, self esteem issues and her weight issues, I assumed there was more trauma with family there. I will say it's interesting that she says on Glamorous Trash that Mack was the first person to truly love her. She says even her mother and grandmother judged her. And reading this book that never comes through. this book was written in 1998. This interview was in 2024. So I wonder if she's processed through some of those things now. Her fam. Some of these family members have passed. Is she finally comfortable saying these things? And she wanted to really sugarcoat it for the book? I don't know.


Oh, man. Yeah, I mean, it could be both. It could be either.


Yeah.


Yeah. I mean, it's probably layered, done 20 plus 25 more years of work on yourself. You, probably. I know. Like, I feel like once a week I have a revelation. I'm like, oh, my God, what was I doing? You know? Or like, oh, my gosh, I read this completely wrong or whatever. So, That's very astute of you, Nikki.


It just surprised me more than anything because I just think I had an assumption about her life. And I read it and I was like, oh, my God, that's so lovely. The pictures are beautiful. It sounds like a really magical childhood.


Yeah.


The assault notwithstanding.


Yeah.


What surprised you?


I don't think I realize how quirky she is. And, like, in an adorable way, you know, she loves capes, costumes, and she was throwing birthday parties for dogs before. That was like a thing, you know? and, you know, her treasure accumulation or hoarding, whatever you like.


So, I knew about that from it Got some media attention a few years ago. How many storage units she owned.


I did hear that in the podcast, the Glamour Trash podcast. But I figured that was so recent.


Yeah, no it wasn't.


I still counted it as new in the podcast.


That wasn't new to me. I had heard that about her. And so when you read this book, it's so funny. I would say maybe, I'm gonna guess here, like 2012, 2014 is when I feel like I had heard that maybe even as later than that. I don't remember. This is again 1998. She wrote a lot about collecting things and about.


Is she collecting building stash. She collecting. I have. Here's the thing. She kind of reminds me of my mom like m. There are some things that they say that I'm like, this has just really got some Sabrina energy here. so including if my mom had ever had like that level of money, she would have that many storage rooms as well. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So, okay. I also didn't realize. I just found her so endearing and not that, I mean I, I think that she's seemed like a, It's not like I've sat down and watched a bunch of interviews with her. So I just didn't really know. I just thought there was such a, like a, an innocence there and a true uniqueness to the way that she sees the world. I guess I wasn't expecting all of that. So that was like a surprise for me.


Yeah.


What else did you do?


She talks about that a lot through the book. How naive that she is to the world. And even all those years later at that point in life that she was. That she wrote this, there was still like a wide eyed approach to life.



The sheer number of roles she had before Designing Women surprised me


the last thing that surprised me was the sheer number of roles she had before Designing Women. So we've talked about Filthy Rich. I actually for the first time ever, kind of googled Filthy Rich and tried to watch it. That is a quirky show that looks like a real journey. But there was just this chunk in the middle of the book where she talked for literally pages about all the roles that she had between the 70s and 80s. So very briefly she talked about the Seekers, the Chisholms, Remington Steele, the Love Boat, multiple times. Mike Hammer, the Fall Guy, Fantasy Island, Nero Wolf, A Bunny's Tale and Temporary Insanity. And that's an abbreviated list. These were all some obviously more significant roles than others. But again, the pictures, she's got pictures from the scenes, from the sets of all of these different projects that she did. And I don't think I had an appreciation for how much she had done.


Right. For how much she had hustled.


Exactly.


Yeah. Well, okay. I think this one is my biggest surprise from the book. She has this whole nice tack onto the guest starring. She has a whole story about being on a show pre Designing Women, where a big aging star referred to her as this week's meet, and basically told her that she was going to have to sleep with him. She made something up and didn't. But it was very creepy, and I was very fascinated to know who it was. So I pored through her entire filmography, like, line by line, and then I matched it up with who she included pictures with in the book and who she didn't, which I found very interesting.


Okay.


And how those may or may not align. I have two guesses.


Okay.


I, must emphasize that these are guesses.


Sure.


And that I am not in any way trying to slander anyone. But with the crosswalking, I was wondering if it was William Shatner as T.J. hooker or Tony Danza on who's the Boss?


Oh, interesting. So I landed on. I did a similar exercise, though it sounds like not as in depth as you did, and I landed on William Shatner.


Yeah, I. Like, he would have been the biggest star at that time.


Tony Danza wouldn't have been an aging Hollywood star.


No, that's true. He was like. He was in his prime.


He was the young dude.


Yeah, yeah.


Fascinating. M. Yeah. Anyways, I'm with you. On. On the Shatner.


Oh, boy. so. All right, well, I'm just gonna leave that there. Sorry about that.



Delta loved how much she loved New Orleans


and then my last surprise is I just loved how much she loved New Orleans. I wasn't expecting that. And I was just. I want to go shopping with her because I also like to meander. And my favorite hangouts are also galleries, bookstores, and antique shops. So, Delta.


Well, you left out restaurants.


Oh, and restaurants. Yes, I do love a restaurant. I'm hungry right now.


So hungry.


So hungry. You smelling bread over there. Poor gal. Let's keep this going. do you want to jump into these book themes so you can get to that bread?


Yeah.


Yeah.



Salina talks about childhood and family in her new book


So I will again, like, you and I kind of identified some themes and shared them along the way. I thought that maybe this was actually your theme. and you've already talked a little bit about this, but childhood and family. Is there anything else here that you wanted to share?


Yeah. So, again, this was a pretty prominent section of the book, and it surprised me. She talks about her mom, how her mom made, like, every little moment magical. She talks about how her mother and grandmother tag teamed her pageant prep. Like, they were a little bit of. A little bit of a support system for her and like a, I don't know what you'd call it. Like, her grandma even kind of did some, like, recon work to see who was going to be in the pageant with her. It's all very, wholesome and cute. Her grandmother was her Hollywood chaperone. I loved those little anecdotes of, like, she would go to a Hollywood set and would be doing all these very Hollywood things. And then, you know, you assume she's a young, early 20s, mid-20s, beautiful woman in LA. You assume she's doing all of these really crazy things. She's really just thrifting with her grandma or baking, which was really cute. But I especially loved the anecdote about her mother's excuse notes for her from school. So she said mother would send notes so outlandish, the teachers would put them up on the bulletin board. Notes that I had been held hostage or that a devastating disease had befallen the family and quote, delta must stay home to nurse the family back to health. so she says her mom had a flare for the dramatic. And to me, it just sounds like Delta came by that honestly.


I think that's absolutely correct. Meanwhile, I forged my mother's signature, so.


Perfect. Excellent.


I had that bad boy down real cold.


I did my mom's too, sometimes, but with her permission.


Sometimes I did it with her permission as well.


Yeah. Okay, good.


Sometimes I did not. Yes. Sometimes I was just not in school, so I don't know. It's a bad kid. So, anyways, so, yeah, I was just really drawn to her relationship with her nana. and I'm a grandma girl, so I didn't know that was a thing, but it is. you know, they're in Delta. Me and Delta, they're two of the most special relationships in my life. And I just love that she was, like, her best friend and she toted her around in Hollywood and that, like, she, like, wasn't dating and she was, like, going home to play gin rummy with Nana. Yeah, I love it. It was awesome.


I love wholesome.


Yeah, I just. Again, like you said, her nana and her mom both seemed so fun and eccentric. I think there was the story about them dressing up, at the garage sale. Like, everyone's in costume. I was like, sure, I can see It.


They did sound like the town kooks. Because she also talked early in the book about how her mom would, like, stand. I don't remember. Stand behind the tree and act like a witch or something.


Something at Halloween or was. It wasn't even Halloween. No, it was, like, Arbor Day. Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty great. I would. It's much scarier not on Halloween, isn't it? what else did you have about family? Uh-huh.


nothing.


God, it's like you just show up, you know.


I'm just to the point, Salina.


So I was just gonna say, like, I think it was really brave in 1998 for her to talk about her sexual abuse. and, you know, it was quick. but it was mentioned, and you can just see how that impacted her in some profound ways. And, I think it's probably also, in addition to her family being kind of eccentric, it's just why she loved being on stage and dressing in costume. I think it gave her a way to both hide and put herself out there. This unique thing that, like, a costume can do, you know? But perhaps it's nowhere more evident than the way she talks about trying to hide from the attention of men. It just feels like all that was baked in in her childhood. And so that that point can come up and could come up in several different categories. But that is, where I think it really hit for me.


Yeah.


it's not a really good turn from that, as a topic.



Pageants are another theme that was very prevalent in the book


but pageants is another theme that was very prevalent in the book.


Yeah. So this one was part surprise, part major theme for me. So I was genuinely surprised to realize the pageant chapter of her life was as brief as it was. M. So the book doesn't offer, like.


Though.


Yeah, it doesn't offer a definitive timeline, but she points to being discovered at 15 when she talked her way into a job with Tupperware. It sounds like maybe she had taken a modeling course before that. So. So really, we're looking at a start in Entertainment modeling at 15. What?


four years. Okay.


Yeah. Right. Her first pageant was at 16, Ms. Flame. And then her final win was Miss Orlando at 17. So there's three years.


Florida. Sorry. She's 19.


Sorry. Okay. There you go. But, like, very brief period of time, and M. It became such a prevailing theme of her life and her career.


But thinking. Think about how long 15 to 19 felt.



I wonder if she still looks at being a pageant queen as funny


So that's my next point, is that it is certainly at, like, a pivotal point in your life, and, you know, the things that happen to you between the ages of 15 and 20 are part of your DNA for the rest of your life. But it's just so funny because I think of her as a pageant queen, and I wonder, this many years removed from that, if she still looks at it that way, too.


Yeah. You know, And, So I had. It's funny that you said you also felt, like, surprised by some of this. I did, too, but on some different things. Like, one thing is, like, she reads like an introvert. And I think there's, like. Whether it's the costumes and all of that or whether it's the pageants, for her to, like, ham it up on stage but seem so quiet, is interesting, and I do understand that happens, but I think it's always this, like, fascinating, like, juxtaposition for me.



I was surprised by how much Suzanne loved crowns. And obviously, like, I knew about Delta Burke


I, also was thinking a little bit about. In the Designing Women canon. You know, we know LBT took things from real life and worked it into the script. What I. And obviously, like, I knew about Delta Burke and her pageant wins and particularly winning Miss Florida and being part of Miss America or whatever. But, like, what I don't think I would have put together is just. Just, like, the way that she talked about how she loved it. I thought that was strictly a Suzanne thing. So when she was talking about how much she loved crowns and really how into it she was, I think I just always have this perception, that kids are forced to do those things.


Right.


And so, I wasn't expecting her to be in love with it the way she was.


I think young kids might be. She didn't get into it till she was 14. 15.


Right.


So it became a bit of a hobby, I will say, because you mentioned the crowns, I really loved the crown anecdote at the beginning of the book where she talked about how she has. She, said, I still have two little pink carrying cases that were gifts to the contestants at the Miss Orlando pageant of 1974. Inside one, wrapped in white tissue paper, all of my crowns. Inside the other are the sashes that went with the crowns. Then she lists them all out and says, one, I slept in. I even bought a couple myself to replace the ones I thought weren't up to snuff. So this was like. And this is what I mean. Like, this was a huge part of her life and her identity.


Right. Yeah, I. And she was such a baby when she won miss Florida. 19.


Yeah, 19.


You know, all the things I wasn't doing when I was 19. Anyways. Pretty.


But I think that's prime pageant age.


Yeah.


Well, otherwise you become Mrs. Yeah.


these are not things that we think are acceptable. For what it's worth. I. I'm like, speaking for you. but does say you, man. She does say that, like, by 20, like, everybody else was in their mid-20s, so she was like, oh, in the past.


Yeah.


so she was like, far younger. I, I also was surprised by the Anne Boleyn thing. I think probably because of the batons on Designing Women. I was like, really? Anne Boleyn? Okay. I mean, I'm a big ambolin head, you know, I think she got a. I think as much as the next guy, I think that she got a real bad rap.


Delta Burke.


Yeah, like somewhere between Delta Burke and, Henry viii. You know, that's.


I'm in the middle.


That's a historical joke. You know what I'm saying? Someone that's really gonna hit for, you.


Know, I appreciated that one.


for all our, England freaks. Just can't get enough. okay. do you have anything else, or should we move to another category?


I think we can move on.



Next topic was abuse in Hollywood. Did any of that ping for you as you were reading through


All right, so our next theme was, abuse in Hollywood.


So, you know, we really could have ordered these better. Let's keep the whiplash going.


I think at 5am it made perfect sense. It's just me, like, all caffeinated and like one, you know, similar to your eye thing sliding down your face. That's me at 5:00 in the morning. But this is another one that did emerge for us and one that I'm not sure she even realized was in there. You know, her account is such a perfect example of how Hollywood knew for years before metoo that metoo was me tooin. You know, and much like when we talked about sexual harassment in the workplace in our Anita Hill extra sugar. It's just that it was like, so very acceptable. You know, sexual abuse was the culture. And so I think some of that still reads that way in the book. Did any of that ping for you as you were reading through?


You know, I think similarly, this is another area where I feel like she obfuscated a little bit with careful, polite wording. And so maybe that's part and parcel to the point you're making. Like, the meaning is there. Hollywood used to, and almost certainly still does love to take advantage of sweet young women. But, like, the words were so, so benign for what was happening. So, like she said, yeah, what.


Sorry, I'm thinking about.


I.


Go ahead. I'll tell you one of mine Once you get finished.


So she says, like, I could have easily been taken advantage of because I was always reacting to other people's expectations of me rather than acting on what I felt. She talks about how lucky she was to have so much support around her, protecting her. and then she mentions this well known producer who literally jumped her in the hallway of a studio. The words are so interestingly chosen that it doesn't quite feel probably as aggressive as it must have felt in the moment.


Right. Or like there. Well, that sounds good. So it's funny that you say like, she was using some other words because there's a section that's like, be polite. And I think what she mean means is like, please don't be rapey.


Right, Right.


You know what I'm saying? And I don't mean to like, I'm not trying to minimize, the seriousness of it, but at the same time I'm like, this has to be what she means. Right?


Yeah. Right. The wording was chosen so carefully. And I wonder if that was an editing choice or a her choice.


And it could be both.


Yeah, but like, she still wanted to work at this point.



Delta says she experienced multiple sexual assaults, including date rape


Well, when we talk about like the 1998 of it all, like, you know, this certainly is in the 1998 whatever culture, because you have to think this is the same year that Monica Lewinsky would be dragged to hell and back by the media. And like, how casually again that Delta spoke to several accounts of abuse, not to mention the abuse that she'd already experienced as a young child. So, like you said, jumped in the hallway by a producer similar to what you had to do with the childhood piece. I had to go back and read some of this because I was like, she's saying she was assaulted. Right, Right. She rarely dated, but still managed to experience a date rape. That was my reading of it. It sounds like she was also attacked by her agent who then threatened her when she tried to leave the agency. She frames it as, quote, every actress in Hollywood has a story like this. But she is also one of those stories, I think. And this is on page 101 in case anybody want, like, feels that maybe I misinterpreted this because I'm not trying to put stories on her. and it also sounds like some of these Malibu parties were quite dangerous. And like you said, she only avoids it because there are some kind of veterans in that scene that took her under their wing. anyways, just really something.


Yeah, no, you definitely read that. Right? I remember it now that I'm looking at it, it's just interesting. Like her people deal with trauma and process trauma in different ways. And maybe part of her processing through it is to not fixate on it and to acknowledge that that's a piece of her story, but not give it too much credence and too much, influence. But man, if you have to read something a few times to try to understand that this poor woman experienced sexual assault to a level that is like unacceptable. I mean, no level of sexual assault is acceptable, but like this happened multiple.


Times and she's counting herself as one of the lucky ones. So I'm like. And she's like. And I did not succumb to the casting couch. Which I feel like sometimes is really unfairly put on women anyway. Like that's something that any or man that like any one person wants to do. Like they're like, oh, you know what? When I get older, I would love to have sex with someone so I can have a role.


And I want my entire career to hinge on who I'm willing to have sex with.


Exactly.


wild.


Yeah. And so like putting, I think putting it that back on a woman is like kind of the height of misogyny. And we all get to participate a little bit in that one if we're not careful. So I don't know.



One of the things that I did, again, thinking about


One of the things that I did, like sort of in this vein, again, thinking about, you know, everyone processes things differently. I do appreciate that her takeaway from all of this is that I think she feels pride in having maintained who she is despite everything she's been through. So she said years later, when an infamous Tell all book written by Hollywood call girls and prostitutes came out. I thumbed through the book thinking that could have been me. One thing that saved me, even way back then, I had a real mission and I believed enough in my abilities to keep me going. Had I not had a single minded sense of direction, theirs could have easily been my fate. More important was a solid family foundation instilled from the day I was born. If you don't have a supportive upbringing, it's easy to lose yourself in Hollywood. And that thread of like, I didn't lose myself in Hollywood kind of weaves through that entire memoir section of the book.


She had Nana.


She had Nana thrifting with her on the weekends.


Yeah. Thank you, Nana.


Thank you.



Next section is Designing Women. What struck you about this book


do you feel like you're ready to move on to what is perhaps probably for us and many listeners, the most interesting theme from the book?


I am. And you would think this section would be longer for me, but it's not.


Well, the next section is Designing Women. You know, that. That is. I. I don't know. I think it was pretty fascinating, like you said at the top, to hear things from her perspective because we haven't gotten a ton of that, especially the removal of some years. So what you think, Nikki? What. What struck you?


So few things. One, it's clear that enough time has passed for her to look back on Designing Women with pride and honor. I, think she wrote, and I didn't write any of the quotes down, but she definitely wrote a little bit about how maybe she didn't go out the way she wanted to, and maybe it didn't end the way she wanted it to, but it wasn't all lost.


Chapter four, verse.


I also, personally, again, thinking about the podcast, I really loved how she talked about the themes that LBT had in mind when she developed the show, Particularly dispensing with Southern stereotypes that the entertainment industry has fed the public for years, which she called hick bashing. I, swear we didn't read that before we started our podcast and started out with that as a mission.


It's the same as ours.


Same page central with lbt. I also really liked that she. This is not about Delta, but she talked about Jean Smart's frustration in season one that her character was ill defined. One week she was ditzy, the next week smart. Again. One of our general observations from way back, way before we read this book, it reads on screen that comes out.


Yeah, it definitely, does.



The networks did not want Delta for the part at first, according to LBT


And then I was also surprised at a quote they included from LBT that the network didn't want Delta. I don't remember knowing that. they actually only got her in just 24 hours before they were supposed to shoot the pilot. I think in all the things I've read, I'm not sure if I've read it. I don't remember that.


Yeah, there's, So I did remember that, but I don't remember from where. But this is. I. I think this is probably.


You can't keep talking till you tell me where it came from.


Well, I don't remember.


Cite your sources. Well, go figure it out.


I'm so sorry. so this one might be worth, reading. The networks did not want Delta for the part at first. That was one of the conditions in doing the pilot. No Delta boy, what?


Strong stance, very aggressive.


Right. But once we started shooting, we realized pretty quickly that the actress we got in her place was not working out. It was giving me some of those Game of Thrones vibes, you know, There was a whole pilot shot with, another actress playing Daenerys.


Oh, this might be insider information.


Well, you know me, Hollywood Reporter over here. so 24 hours before we were to shoot the pilot in front of a live audience, I went to the network people in desperation. If one person doesn't work, I said, then the whole thing doesn't work. The characters are so intertwined. They let me make the call. So I let the other actress go and called Delta, who was on the other side of the country, and said, you have to come out and read for this right now. Hours later, she came barreling into the studio, and I took her aside, and we were both chattering away. We can do this. It's you. It's your part. And she went out and did it. It's amazing. it's amazing. And I think, honestly, for, me, that's helpful because it helps explain the performance, which I'm just. We talked about it. It's a little weird.


Yeah.


I, mean, she is. She has no Southern accent.


Yeah.


At all. the whole character is a little different. We often see this in pilots, so that's not new news.


Right.


I mean, for me, it's just like. That makes Delta Burke really all that more impressive.


Man. I haven't watched that pilot in so long.


Yeah, I've seen pieces of it lately. Just going to, pull, like, other. Like, I went to go find what seasons were on Tubi, and when I did, it. They only have five and six, but they play a clip from the pilot. It's really weird.


Perfect.


That's helpful to be. So anyways, I just thought that was really interesting, and, really kind of helps cement. Just. I don't know, like, she's a force. She really is. What else? Or did we go through all of yours?


That was all mine.


Okay.



I was super interested in what she would be willing to say about Designing Women


So I was super interested in what she would be willing to say about Designing Women. Uh-huh. at this point, it was seven years past the exit of the show. Her and LBT have already made up.


Uh-huh.


Because in 95, they did women of the House. So you can feel that here, you know, like, in the quotes that are included. And the way she talks about LBT, I don't think she's talking about her like that. 91.


No, for sure not.


So, like, there just. All of that aspect I thought was.



So in this book, their relationship reads like you said, They've made up


Really interesting, you know, not to interrupt your train of thought, but I wanted to say One more thing here is, this, to me, might be, an exercise in. You only know what someone's willing to tell you. So in this book, their relationship reads like you said, They've made up at this point. I almost would take away from it that they've worked through their issues. Not like they've put a patch on it and they're good, but they've worked through it and they have a shared understanding. I feel like in the Glamorous Trash podcast, she sort of almost alludes to the fact that they never actually worked through the things. They just patched it over.


Yeah.


And I would just. Again, we. We've read an entire memoir from her written after her time on Designing Women, and we still don't know what happened.


It's very interesting. I'm glad we did this in the order that we did because we do have, like, that fresher perspective. And I do think that, like, you could feel it was a little bit more stilted in those areas, that there's still. Maybe there's not anger, but maybe there's still pain.


Yeah, for sure.


you know, I. Yeah, I don't know. I learned a lot, but there were some things that stood out to me. So, Delta admitting just how much LBT and Dixie Carter were like, these big supports for her and how much she relied on them.


Talk about that after her nana left.


I think so. Yeah. And. And so, like, I think that that sort of shows why the ending of those relationships was so hurtful. She was really, you know, I think she was in such a tough spot in her life, and she was at a pretty low point. And then to have the people that she trusted the most, whatever happened there, we don't know. But, like, for that to fall apart must.


Have been incredibly painful.


Yeah.


And I just, like, this is some broader things, similar to what you were saying about the Southern thing with lbt. That also popped for me, but also just the premise of the show, which is get four women together and listen to them talk.


Yeah, go figure.


What a concept. Maybe they have something to say. Annie Potts apparently said that the characters were all four facets of LBT's personality, which is something that you and I have also talked about, trying to figure out too, like, who she really is the most. And we'll kind of of switch around. It's like she's from where Charlene is and there's some of that energy there, but really she's Julia.


Right. And I love that these women knew LBT Way better than we ever will, for instance. And I love that even they had debates about what. Which one resonated the most.


Right. Another thing that popped for me is she does say Delta, that she particularly missed Meshach Taylor and Jean Smart. Yeah, So I caught it. I think I've heard this before. Oh, sorry, We've talked about that. Seamless.


That's what.


That's where you heard seamless note reading. In my defense, this is the first time I've had to read notes off of my phone.


It's a blast, isn't it?


It's very tiny. but I mean, the most fascinating, thing that we've talked about a little bit is hearing directly from her. And I'm just gonna. I'm not gonna read it all, but if you have the book, you should go to 74, page 74.



My seasons with Designing Women went something like this. The first season was a rocket ride


The blonde in the classroom, part two. Because she literally goes through where she was in the different seasons, so she says. My seasons with Designing Women went something like this. The first season was a rocket ride. The second season, I was stressed and exhausted. The third season was when the character really began to take off and become multi dimensional, which is also something that we've talked about. It was no coincidence that this occurred simultaneously with my weight gain. The fourth season, I was much more together. It was the year of the Fat Women. I looked that up. I still haven't found out what that means. And I was nominated for an Emmy, and, oh, what to wear. I was so damn excited. And then she goes on and she Sundays, by the fifth season, I was much more easygoing about everything. I had learned through intensive and difficult therapy that there were, there are, and there will be some things I simply had to let go. She goes on for a little bit more. I'm going to skip down a little bit.


The year of Fat Women, by the way, is they shoot fat women, don't they? She's just referring. That was the season they did that.


Oh, I thought we were doing, like, another Year of the Woman.


Yeah.


And I was like, what was happening? and what wonderful place was it.


In the fourth season of Designing Women? I don't think there's ever been a year of the Fat Women, for the record.


so at the same time, the work had become grueling. Yes. This is an astute point, Nikki Mays. the work had become grueling. And after five years and going through lots of emotional changes, Linda and I often found ourselves in conflict. The strange part of all of this was that Linda's people were telling my people that we were in conflict, and my people were telling Linda's people that we were in conflict. Conflict. When all that time Linda and I should have been talking to each other. Then she talks about the blow that it was to be released from the show, even though she wanted to be released. And I was supposed to distill that more than that, but, you know, it.


Goes that way sometimes.


Why do it when, I can read it?


She's already done the work.


Yeah, she wrote it, hear her in her words. You know what I'm saying? But that was the last thing for me was just that that was really meaningful to hear her break down those seasons like that. And, that they aligned very nicely with the things that we said because we just, we're just fooling. We're just goofing.


Just goofy podcasters over here.


Yeah.



The most obvious theme of this book surrounds issues with weight


So are you ready to move on to our next theme?


Sure.


Do you love these seamless transitions? maybe the most obvious theme of all in the book surrounds issues with weight. Gaining it, losing it, contemplating it, frankly. I'm still reeling a little from some of the stories she shared about people running up to her in the street, grabbing her, pulling at her, commenting on her. I would be in jail. it's just absolutely flabbergasting. Did you have, like, a top reaction or thought for this theme?


I had several.


you can start anywhere you like. This is your podcast.


I think you mentioned earlier, how important it was for her to acknowledge her childhood sexual abuse, but I think drawing the through line between that and how it affects her weight for the rest of her life and her self perception. So she talked about how, weight almost became a security blanket for her. Like, no one would be interested in her if she was a little heavier. that's a horrible reality. But I imagine a not insignificant number of people felt really seen by that.


Yes.


And I think that matters.


Yes. and I have known people who have told me that before in their personal journeys, that that was their way of protecting themselves because they didn't know what else to do. I know it's a real. We live in a complicated world. M. I think it feels silly to say maybe, but I don't think I was prepared for just how much her struggle with weight would be featured in this book.


Really?


Yeah. I like. Okay, to be clear, I don't mean her struggle to stay rail thin, and I mean the struggle to not put your sides, your number, on the scale, whatever that is at the center of your life. M. Like it was just literally the thread throughout the entire book. So I know it's something that you and I have talked about at length on and off the podcast, like focusing so much energy on like, weight and body and shaving, whatever, like all this stuff to do with like, looks or whatever, but I, I can just feel it taking up so much of her mental capacity, you know, and you know, not only do I personally feel that struggle I felt so deeply for her and you know, it just, it really resonated with me.


I wonder, trying to choose words carefully because I don't want this to become a, criticism of pageants or pageantry or anything like that. But we did talk about how that was at a formative part in her life where at, ah, probably your most vulnerable self esteem wise, she was being judged based on her appearance. And so it does not surprise me that her appearance and weight is inextricably tied to appearance in society. For better or worse. it does not surprise me that it would be that common thread. I think it's sad and I think, I really feel for her. Like you said, I could see myself in some of the things she was saying about her weight. but it didn't surprise me because that pageant queen, former pageant queen, gains weight. That is something that's like a narrative that, that everybody is interested in. so it doesn't surprise me that that became a central theme of her life. I do also feel like it's probably worth saying, I wonder if that was a bit of an editorial choice as well. because that became the thing that was sort of a lightning rod for all the criticism of her was her weight. So you mentioned that there were stories about how people would just come up and rip her jacket back just to see how fat she had gotten. So I wonder if there was a bit of an editorial. she said that when she wanted to write this book again, going back to glamorous trash, because that's the only time she's really given an interview about this memoir that I could find. She says that she wanted to write a book about her life and they wanted her to write a book about style and fashion and beauty. And so she had to find a way to merge those two things together. And the only way she could do it was this split theme. So I wonder if that was the thing that the editors thought was most interesting about her as well.


Yeah, that's a great point. Yeah. I mean, only she knows.


Only she knows.


And she, she wants to talk about that particular aspect I can just talk about it one more time. I also write a lovely letter. I've been thinking about it, just see if maybe she bites. I had some other pieces that jumped out at me. This is just kind of like an amalgamation of some of the things that she shared. Starving herself as early as 17, taking Black Beauties in London. According to drugs.com, these were the street name for a pill that contained 10 milligrams of amphetamine and 10 milligrams of dextroamphetamine. So two amphetamines, heist up just two of them. her use of crystal meth, this got some play in the media in the spring after her interview, on Glamorous Trash. I was really annoyed by that because some people were like, she would never. And I was like, she flipping said she did it, guys. She said she did it. I don't know why these people made it the main headline. She's trying to raise a more important point than like actual meth use. It's more about the body issue, but like, also meth, not a known quantity at that time. You know, it was just like, hey, try this thing. You know, I think she even talks about in the podcast, she used to put it in her cranberry juice.


Right, right.


So there's that. if anything, I think what it speaks to is the lengths that people will go to stay thin. more than it's like, oh, she has a drug problem. No, she has a weight problem.



Author was fluctuating between 123 and 133 pounds due to weight problem


Right.


And I mean the focus on weight, as so many of us do, including myself at many, many points in my life. so that is not a hit on her. That is the problems in me seeing the problems in her. so other diets she did diet shakes and stimulants. The Lindora program, which is injections with pregnant women's urine. Drinking powdered drinks. The Pritikin center program where they had a dress up day while everyone was on the treadmill. Which does sound kind of fun because themes. But like, also there's something that's like, like a little twisted about that.


only if you have to be wrapped in Saran Wrap while you do it.


Right, right. I also think this piece is just really important. She was fluctuating between 123 and 133 pounds and losing parts due to her weight problem. Good God, I'm 5 foot 2 and 135 is like a goal weight for me. I have never as an adult dipped below 127 again. Five two.


Yeah. I think I always get really uncomfortable when they start putting numbers to those things. Ah. Because, I mean, £135 for me would be like, oh, my. I couldn't even imagine what. I couldn't even imagine.


My, license says I'm 110, and I beg any officer of the law to tell me that that's incorrect.


Yeah. That. All of that was astounding. All of that was really astounding. I was really heartbroken when she talked about how she changed her body language every time she got down on herself. So she talked about how she'd, like, let her hair hang over her face. She would stoop. She wouldn't do public appearances. I've seen enough, like, early paparazzi photos of her to see how that was, at times, the case. And it just. Just really breaks my heart because that's not how she wanted to live.


Yeah. well, in another. In another hill turn, or do you have more that you want to talk about in the. Wait.


No.


Okay. No. What would you like to.


I was gonna try to make a transition to style, because I was. I just said, like, she never wanted to, like, give up on her appearance because she loved being in style. She loved clothes.


Well, okay, so, arguably, this is the second biggest theme, because I guess that's what the editors wanted.


Right.


so what you got from there?


I am going to be the most annoying co host on this part, because that was the part of the book that I skimmed, because that's not. It's 90s fashion. and the part that I really did like was the, The, like, beauty section, because I am such a sucker for DIY beauty. Things like, anything you could make at home that promises to make you look 20 years younger, I love. so I really liked that part. I just thought that. That the style and beauty part was probably the least interesting part of the book.


Yeah. I mean, I think, if anything, it would have been more m of, like, And I do have some, like, some tiny thoughts, but mainly it's like, I'm 39, so I've ran across a lot of these tips by now.


Right. They, feel very Cosmo.


Yeah. And, like, I could see it as, like, a nice reference guide. It'd be nice if there's, like, a digital version so they could go back in and update some of the 1998 of it, you know? but, like, you know, we're seeing that reemergence of winter. I'm, summer. I'm, you know, and. Or, like, the way that you. We're talking about strictly about, like, the style tips I did. Like. Like, I don't feel like a lot of people know how to dress their bodies, and if they did know, like, the rule of thirds and stuff, they would be in a better position. So I think that kind of thing is, really helpful.



She talks about the lack of quality of clothes for real sized women


But actually what stood out the most to me out of any of that part is really more to do with giving a crap about having clothes for women who are beyond a size two. so she says. There's a quote. She says, it seems to me that we in the entertainment business and society as a whole have a responsibility to show our daughters and ancestors that a world full of options is theirs for the picking. We need to teach them they need not compromise themselves in unhappy or unhealthy ways in order to meet an idealized image. We have to show these girls that there are many definitions of beauty so they don't feel compelled to chase down an image that, for a sizable segment of the population, is murderous to maintain. We have to free young girls from the rules and constraints set by commercial image makers and give them some breathing room to let their own unique beauty evolve from the inside out. It's time to balance the scales of beauty and justice. It's time for a little fashion equality. I thought that was really great.


Yeah. yeah, I do think. I mean, there were parts of it where she. What you were just saying, like, she talked about how fashion isn't made for women if their body isn't a certain way. And I almost wonder, like, because I really just don't care that much about fashion. I don't consider myself fashionable. Like, it's just kind of. I have to put clothes on my body and go out the door and try to get clothes that don't make me look horrible. I. My mom hates shopping with me because, like, everything I pick apart and there's 50 reasons why it's looks terrible on me. and I do wonder if that's a little bit of a holdover from the way the fashion industry. Like, I saw an, ah, Instagram reel today that was like, I will never buy anything from Abercrombie. I don't care if you say their jeans are amazing because of the way they tortured me in the late 90s and early 2000s by saying, like, a size 6 was enormous. And I think, again, thinking about that, like, important part of your life. That was an important, formidable part of my life that I'll never get back and has somehow convinced me that clothes are not made for me and will never work for me.


Or just go watch the Abercrombie and Fitch documentary and if that doesn't kill it for you, I don't know what will. Also, it smells in there. so, yeah, I mean, that's really what she does. She's talking about the lack of quality of clothes for real sized women is how she puts it. she also says very candidly that the fashion industry acts like you're dead if you're past a certain size. you know, I think it's. Ah. It reminded me I had a couple of instances that came to the top of my brain pain when reading that part. But the very first one was what happened to Leslie Jones back in 2016. Oh, only to say that, like, I think things have gotten better since 1998, but we're still having problems. So this is 2016. She couldn't find any designers who address her for the Ghostbusters premiere. and she took to Twitter and Christian Siriano stepped up happily to. To dress her then. also this brought up a couple of other instances when I look back for, like, the details of that story. Melissa McCarthy started her own line after five or six designers turned her down for an Oscars dress. Octavia Spencer, Khloe, Kardashian, Bryce, Dallas Howard and Beyonce all have stories of their fed upness with the fashion industry, as well as their inability to dress women with curves. So anyways, the bottom line for me is that I'm on board anytime anyone wants to call out the fashion industry because they are really quick to snap back to the status quo. And it's kind of bull.


Huh?


Shirt.


I mean, Beyonce, she said something. How can we not fix this?


Exactly. Bullshirt. It's good because it's fashion.



This is our first ever sweet TNTB book club


Well done. Well done.


I think that's all I have for the book. Just those two hours.


Is that officially a wrap on our deep dive into Delta style and our first ever sweet TNTB book club.


Book club.


Leave your shirt on, Salina.


no, I will not be constrained by the fashion industry.


Well, you know what? So I love a good book club. I've never been in one. This is my first official book club I've been in.


I love.


Big fan. Big fan. So if anybody was inspired to check out the book or revisit some of Delta's wisdom, if they've read it before, let us know. We'd love to hear your thoughts. have you read it? What surprised you? Most importantly, which beauty tip did you try out? So share it with us. You can reach us on Instagram and Facebook @Sweet TNTV. We're also on TikTok weeeeettbpod. And you can email us@sweettvpodgmail.com. also, if anybody has a suggestion for a future book club, because I've already been thinking and I was Googling like, Jean Smart memoir and like, just seeing if there were memoirs out there that I hadn't heard of yet.


Dixie has one too.


Well, there we go.


That's your next one. Yeah. I also have, I think I told you I bought the, Annie Potts, Mary Jo mentions in the Hollywood episode later in the season. it's some sort of tell ah, all dish book on, you'll never eat in this town again. Work in this town again.


You'll never work in this town again.


Yes, Eat. I'm just kidding. Wait a minute.


This might be the book that, Delta was talking about. It was a book by, I'm gonna say the wrong thing, but it's what she said in the book. Call Girls, Prostitutes and Call Girls in Hollywood.


No, these are two different books. But I would also be into anything called called Girls and Prostitutes is a book to read Google, because I was.


Trying to figure out what book Delta was talking about, and I think I came across you'll never eat. You'll never work in this town again.


Oh, I thought you were saying that's the title. And I was like, okay, well, that gives us two reasons to read it. I've also bought it, incidentally.


Oh, well, there you go. Never mind. Don't give us ideas.


No, give us ideas.


I'm just kidding.


No, no, we'll take all the ideas. But yeah, I tried to buy Dixie Carter's book, like two years ago, and, it never made it to me. It was like. It was like, we'll deliver soon. We'll deliver soon.


You got ripped off.


Well. And then a month later, they were like, sorry, we don't actually have it.


We're never delivering.


Yeah. So it wasn't meant to be. It's because this was meant to be our first.


This was meant to be the first one. That's true.


This one.


This one she's pointing to right now.


I like this because I always get to have like a, It's like show and tell.


There you go.


Yeah.


She's going to pick up the laptop and start walking around the place. So we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. We're going to be talking about Bernice's season six escapades. you can also keep up. So we shared Instagram and Facebook and TikTok. But you can also keep up on YouTube, Sweet TV 7371, or on our website, WWW. And then, as always, there's several ways to support the show. You can tell your family and friends about us. You can give us five star ratings wherever you listen to the podcast. And then you can visit the website. There's a support us page where you can find other ways to support the show.


Five stars.


So you know what that means, Salina?


I think so.


They're gonna go give us a five star rating?


yes. And it means we'll see you around the bend. Bye.


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