MADEXXX
MADE: What prompted
you to create the “Sh*t
White Girls Say … to Black
Girls” video? Was it an
isolated racially insensitive
comment?
Franchesca: It came on the
heels of my high school
alumni Christmas party--I
went to a predominantly
white school. I can’t say
that there was an isolated
incident that prompted the
video as much as a general
frustration with the oblivi-
ous ignorance that a lot of
have to deal with. The vid-
eo came naturally because
I had been hearing those
comments for a long time.
MADE: I can’t really think
of another personality to
compare your career to
which is amazing. You’re
like the poster child for
multi-passionate creatives
who are really good at
many things and don’t
want to have to lean on
one very specific skill set.
How’d you become
comfortable with
embracing all of your
talents?
Franchesca: Thanks! I’ve
just learned to really funnel
my energy into what I love
to do. I take the time to
remind myself that I can
do it and I really work for
it. Fortunately, all of the
things I do complement
each other well.
MADE: I think that part of
your appeal as an online
persona and ultimate
success is your ability to
come across as approach-
able and genuinely kind
despite some of your
heavy-handed (justifiably)
rhetoric. You’ve once said
that you get your high
emotional intelligence
from your dad and that
he’s basically “basically
Drake.” What are some of
the most important things
you’ve learned from him
on how you treat people?
Franchesca: Yeah, my
dad is literally the kindest
human being I’ve ever
known in my life. Being
raised by him and seeing
how far his kindness has
carried him through life
made me want to be the
same way. I know that the
best version of myself can
only be achieved if I treat
others the way I would
like to be.
MADE: You said it only
took six years and 4
incredibly fast hours to
reach stardom. What did
you mean by that?
Franchesca: I was
referring to my consistent
grind of working my day
job, going on acting
auditions and getting
no roles, writing scripts
for my videos, sourcing
costumes and backdrops,
shooting and then editing,
all with little to no pay off
besides the occasional in-
vite to events. Back when
I started, Youtube mone-
tization wasn’t the way it
is now so I wasn’t getting
paid for the content I was
producing initially. I just
needed to get it out. I also
knew that was a great
platform to showcase
my acting skills and
possibly lead to work in
that space. I did that for
years and it all seemed to
pay off about four hours
aft er I uploaded the “Sh*t
White Girls Say video.
That’s when the views
started coming and I
knew I had something.
CHECK OUT
Francesca’s book,
“Well, That Escalated
Quickly:Memoirs and
Mistakes of an
Accidental Activist”
and follow her digital
activism @chescaleigh.
Photos by Erin Patrice O’Brien
INNOVATION ISSUE
45