So in case you haven’t heard of Gloria Steinem, she a feminist icon is best known for being an activist, journalist, and overall amazing person. Instead of singularly championing “white feminism,” Steinem strives to establish inclusivity in the modern feminist movement. Basically, as a young feminist, her advice and wisdom have been invaluable to me. So that’s why I was shocked when a recent interview with Steinem wasn’t being widely publicized. On October 8th, 2020, The Late Late Show with James Corden uploaded a snippet from the broadcast which included Corden interviewing Steinem over a video chat. Their conversation was casual and relaxed, but I thought Corden did an excellent job asking questions about Steinem’s current work and business associations. In case you don’t have time to watch the entire interview, which is linked here, here are some of the highlights.
First off, Corden politely asked how Steinem was, specifically how quarantine was affecting her life. Steinem talked about moving to Los Angeles to quarantine there. This was a great segway into Steinem explaining how she befriended Meghan Markle while she was in quarantine. If that wasn’t exciting enough, Corden revealed that Steinem and Markle spent time together calling prospective voters!
Steinem is humble and sincere about her friendship with Markle, but Corden was like the rest of us, excitedly fangirling over this dynamic duo teaming up! Yes, Steinem clarified that she and Markle did make several phone calls to random people encouraging them to vote in the 2020 election. This part of the interview wasn’t surprising, as Steinem has stated several times on record that she feels very passionate about this year’s presidential election.
The focus of the interview was when Corden asked Steinem about Amy Coney Barrett and her possible rise to the Supreme Court. Corden’s question to Steinem was: “If you had the opportunity to speak to her now, what would you say?” Steinem gave what I thought to be a well-reasoned and considerate answer: “You have the right to be there [the Supreme Court].” However, Steinem then used historical examples to cite the reasons why people may choose to rebel against a Supreme Court nominee. Steinem’s use of a Martin Luther King Jr. quote was amazing! The message was clear: if a judge doesn’t rule in favor of a population’s best interests, Steinem will not support them.
