Shabooty Interview Series: Jillian Barberie (Part 2)

Shabooty Interview Series: Jillian Barberie – Good Day LA (Part 2)

For Part 1 of my interview with Jillian Barberie of Good Day LA go here.

PART TWO

Shabooty: <anecdote about how I started listening to the Howard Stern Show>
Jillian: Isn’t that amazing? How can you go back after you hear it. It’s just like “What? This guy is f*ckin’ genius!”

It’s weird too, because at least with terrestrial radio, you get so hooked into the Stern show that… it’s almost like a residual effect where you’re like, “I actually like the shows after it,” but really you just like the Stern show.
Oh, insanely so… what amazes me and I think I twittered it one day, but who can talk about sneakers for 10 minutes and make it interesting, Howard Stern can. I mean it was just these random rants on sneakers and how he’s he’s pissed off because he likes a certain kind, and he’s annoyed they don’t have them and this and that and it was just like – it was nothing, but it was funny. And you know they say the Seinfeld Show, the show about nothing, it was funny — to me it’s all scripted and it was what it was. And Howard’s just not. He’s not scripted and to me, that’s his genius. He’s great. Yeah, I will be very, very sad if he goes away in a few months. I can’t imagine it happening, but you never know. I talked to Lisa G the other day, and she seems to think he’ll come back, but no one knows for sure.

Well, if you hypothetically were having triplet boys, one of them would have to be named Howard, right?
Ha, you know what’s funny? I was supposed to have a c-section, and they scheduled it on Howard’s birthday, so I emailed him and I was like, “you’re gonna die, you’re gonna think I did this on purpose, I did not, my doctor scheduled it, but it’s January 12th,” and he’s like, “Nice!!!” And then he said, “you know you have to name him Howard, now” and I was like that’s pushin’ it. But they ended up doing it on the 11th because my doctor’s schedule worked out, and they called me and said we need you on the Monday, instead of the Tuesday – I was like cool. But yeah, he was almost born on Howard’s birthday, which I thought, this is just so apropo, I love it!

At GOOD DAY LA, are you co-workers fans of the show as well?
No, they don’t have SiriusXM. Nah, they don’t really listen, but they don’t have to because they can live vicariously through me, because I give daily updates on what was on and what was said, and truthfully, a lot of the guests we get, do his show first. I’ll have [listened to] a full hour – I mean I’m so jealous of what he gets out of them, I don’t care who the guest is, it’s a homerun. But we get them afterwards for a few minutes and it’s like um, it’s hard sometimes, because you wanna get to so much, so I try to cut through all of the bullshit and get to the good stuff, but yeah, they don’t listen like I do. Absolutely not , I don’t think that they listen to Howard. I think Steve thinks he’s a incredible entertainer. But I think he’s more into NPR.

When’s the next Celebrity Superfan Roundtable?
I dunno that’s a good question. They were just talking about getting Jon Favreau on that. I think we need to, that’d be the ultimate, because he’s such a huge name now and director, but he’s a huge fan, so… I dunno.
Do you ever find it funny – I liked [Howard] back when it wasn’t cool to like him because he [had the wrap for being] so raunchy and shocking and provocative and gnarly and all he talked about was strippers and I was always like, “no he doesn’t – he always has politicians on, what are you talking about?” But nobody would admit to actually listening to him, because they were all too busy being disgusted by him, and now I find that EVERYBODY loves him. It’s kinda like he hit this mainstream and it’s funny to me. It kinda pisses me off a little but, I dunno why. I love it for him, I do. He was really funny about coming out here [to Los Angeles], and the reception he received. I think he was truly startled and bewildered and amused by it,  I really do. I think he was really tickled that people really dig him. I think he’s so used to being the pariah and expecting people to hate him, that when they actually know that he’s really talented and we’re excited for him to be here [visiting LA], I think it floors him.

But he still rants and raves that everybody in showbiz hates him.
He’s so funny, and he’s so full of it, because everybody loves him – and he knows it. I mean you should have seen [Jimmy] Kimmel’s party, it was funny. People love him, they love him!

What’s up with the Jon Stamos’ of the world, they must not be hard core Stern fans, because they don’t really follow any Stern related people on Twitter?
Well, I think what happens is, I think there’s a level of fame, where they feel that they’re sort of on the same level — I mean he’s known Howard for 25 years, they’ve been friends and he’s a fan, but I also think he considers himself a friend. But even Howard will say, the Stern Fan Network, they hate him and it’s hilarious. I love when he goes on there and rants – like if I ever wanna feel really shitty about myself, I go on the Stern FAN Network and it’s hilarious.

So you wouldn’t think Jon Stamos would be excited to meet Mutt of SFN (for example)?
I dunno, that’s a good question. I dunno. That’s a really good question. I know I get excited to meet everybody associated with the show. You should have seen me in Sal and Richard’s office, they could not get me out of there. I was like, “and how do you do this, and how do you do Tradio, and la la la,” they were like, “Jesus!” It’s fascinating, though. I mean I couldn’t get enough of it. They’re my favorite part, whenever I hear the phone ring and it’s a phony phone call, I get so excited.

That’s what I like about you, you get excited about the whole Stern universe.
Oh my gosh, I totally do. Oh yeah, I think it’s a connection. I want to know, and I look forward to that. I love [Stern fans on twitter], yours, everybody, I mean I don’t follow everybody, but certainly the people that are huge Stern fans on it that I def. connect to — cause we speak the same language, ya know?

When you initially left Canada, was that for show business reasons?
Yeah, I worked up in Montreal at the weather network, it was 24 hours a day weather, and that’s how I got started and I sent a bunch of tapes out. I only wanted to live in Miami or LA, because I was like I’m not freezing my ass off anymore, I wanna live in the warm climate, so I sent a tape out with all of my screw ups, behind me on the weather wall, or technical difficulties, because I figured, these news directors are going to get a ton of tapes from people in the states, so one of the news directors in Miami liked what he saw, and hired me. That started me career in the states and I think I was twenty-three, when I moved to Florida.

Aren’t you afraid Rocco is a male p0rn star’s name? [The name of Jillian's newborn son].
Haha, oh a girl can dream. I dunno, I haven’t really thought about that. I call him The Rock. He’s chunky and you know what’s really funny? Because I follow Tabitha Stevens and Chi Chi LaRue, and Jenna – obvs Jenna Jameson, and I know you know Tabitha Stevens, –that whole world is so interesting to me. It fascinates me. Yeah, whatever he wants to be – whatever rocks his world, I’m fine, long as he’s happy, ya know? Long as he’s happy.

Are you done having kids?
For sure. I’m done for sure, I love it. But I’m done. I’ve got a boy and a girl and shaboom! I’m really happy, but that’s it.

In your past have you ever dated a guy that was into the Stern show as much as you?
Uh, no. In fact, no I have never. One, who was pretty into it. And he ended up actually being a guest on Bubba [the Love Sponge]‘s show recently. But yeah, not like me. Not to the point you know — that’s the thing, Frankie B Jeans’ Daniella Clarke — Daniella’s the only other girl that listens to them on a daily basis, so we speak our language. Like last night, we were talking about, what about this, what about that, and her husband was in a band with Steven Adler, so it’s kinda fun. But twitter’s an amazing thing, it connects you, like we were talking about Stern fans, and I don’t think I have any other great friends in my life like her that are into it as much as we are. Yeah, it’s like our number one priority in the morning, absolutely.

And out of curiosity, do you watch the Jersey Shore at all?
I have NEVER seen the Jersey Shore. I mean it’s a phenomenon right now. I lived in Miami and I was looking at the LA Times this weekend and I was looking at them [in South Beach], and I love it, that they’re there and it’s just to shake it up, and it’s great that they’re every day people. Didn’t even the New York Times interview Snooki’s dad recently, and he’s like “I don’t get it either.” She’s a short little whatever. That’s what I love about the fame thing. You capture the imagination of people and run with it and who knows where it can take you…

You can follow Jillian Barberie on Twitter at @askjillian.

[ PART ONE | PART THREE ] NOW LIVE ON SHABOOTY.COM!

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Permalink Posted in: celebs, chick, howard stern, interview, jersey shore, shabooty exclusive, sirius, tv August 10, 2010