*By Alyssa Caverley*
When your approach to life is to always look for the joke, you're bound to find the funny things along the way, even on the bumpy road into the Hollywood Boys Club, said Nell Scovell, a comedy writer and the author of a new memoir.
"My story is kind of like this 'Lean In' case study, but with this pop culture background," said Scovell, a writer for "The Simpsons" and creater of the teen comedy "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."
"I tell people 'come for *The Simpsons*, stay for the feminism'," she said in an interview Wednesday with Cheddar.
Scovell helped Sheryl Sandberg write her book, "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead." In Scovell's new memoir, "Just the Funny Parts: And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boy's Club," she details her experiences navigating the entertainment industry at a time when she had to fight to be heard as a woman. The #MeToo movement and TimesUp campaign have made some of her experiences more resonant, she said, and easier to tell.
"I went from being anxious to tell my story and then October hits and just all the stories are exploding and then I was like, I couldn't wait for my book to come out at the end of March," she said. "Because I wanted to add my voice to that chorus because I know not everyone can speak out, but I feel like those of us who can have a responsibility to do it."
Scovell, who has also written for publications such as Vanity Fair, is sharing her experiences in the hope that other women will find inspiration from her story and strive to help one another succeed.
"I do share a #MeToo story, but I think it's funny and I did work with some of the funniest people on the planet," she said.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nell-scovell-is-combatting-sexism-in-hollywood-with-humor).
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
E-commerce platform for construction and building materials RenoRun has raised $142 million in a Series B round, which the company says is the fourth largest Series B round in Canadian history. RenoRun’s platform offers same-day delivery of construction materials to job sites in Canada and the United States. The company aims to revolutionize the construction industry by maximizing productivity and efficiency. RenoRun co-founder and CEO Eamonn O’Rourke joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Like so many other cities, Miami experienced a tourism boom over the summer after vaccines were distributed. But, the Omicron variant has thrown the travel industry for a loop. David Whitaker, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, joined Cheddar to discuss the city as a tourist destination, and how it has handled headwinds from the pandemic.
Rockstar Energy, a subsidiary of Pepsico, unveiled its new beverage brand, Rockstar Unplugged, changing up the energy drink formula with hemp seed oil as an ingredient. PepsiCo Energy CMO Fabiola Torres joined Cheddar News to talk about how the product promotes “good vibes” and allows consumers to unwind and discuss partnering with "MTV Unplugged" for a concert series. "We couldn't find a better partnership that MTV," she said. "MTV Unplugged has been such an iconic proposition … and we believe that we're the right partners because the insight of our proposition for Rockstar Unplugged comes from music.
Eight months after the National Football League announced $1 million in research into cannabinoids, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee has awarded the funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The NFL says the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. Cheddar correspondent Chloe Ailello spoke with Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy for the NFL, about the studies, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against the NFL by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. "Maybe we can learn things from other alternative pain approaches that are going to benefit our player population and then sports medicine as a whole," Miller said.
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, NJ and Ayana Morris, co-director of the documentary 'Why Is We Americans?,' join Cheddar News to discuss the new documentary highlighting the impact of the Baraka family.
Former New York City mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani made his singing debut on a taping of Fox’s The Masked Singer. However, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, two judges on the competition show, reportedly left in protest when Giuliani was unmasked upon being eliminated.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
