Fran Lebowitz Talks Fashion, Politics, and Revenge — Then and Now — Harper's BAZAAR

[0:00] I think there should be a separate plane for children that has no seats. [0:03] Just let them race around screaming their heads off. [0:05] No seats at all. [0:06] I am Fran Libowitz, and this is Then and Now for Harper's Bazaar. [0:11] We talked about fashion last time. [0:19] Do you think men are dressing any better? [0:21] It's totally adolescent. [0:22] At best. [0:24] I mean, sometimes it is pre-adolescent. [0:26] I was in Baltimore. [0:27] I check in the hotel, and it seemed to me at first, [0:30] this place is full of baseball players. [0:32] Why are all these baseball players staying in this hotel? [0:34] So I tell this to the guy at the hotel. [0:37] He said, they're not baseball players. [0:39] They're baseball fans. [0:40] In this country, you see men dressing very, very poorly. [0:46] In Europe, people dress much better. [0:49] I mean, there's just no question that that's the case. [0:52] In New York, people dress much better than they do outside of New York. [0:55] Did you track any of the new debuts, like the new Chanel designer? [0:59] You know, I don't go to shows anymore. [1:01] Jonathan Anderson's good. [1:02] I thought that show was good. [1:03] But most people don't wear those clothes. [1:05] See, the thing is, yes, are these designers good? [1:07] Yes. [1:07] Are those clothes good? [1:08] Yes. [1:09] You're not going to see that many of them, you know, [1:11] and you're certainly not going to see them in an airport. [1:16] We did talk last time about revenge being personally very satisfying. [1:21] Has that remained true for you? [1:23] Yes, I find revenge in the instances I've been able to take it. [1:27] Very satisfying. [1:28] Okay. [1:28] This guy did something. [1:30] And then five years later, the opportunity came and I took it. [1:35] And this is years ago. [1:36] But it was so delightful that I still recall it. [1:38] Have things gotten any better since we last spoke? [1:41] They are much worse for everyone except Donald Trump. [1:45] It seems like some of those tech guys are doing well, too. [1:48] You know, the thing about these tech people, [1:50] every single thing they want, approval from the government, [1:52] they shouldn't have. [1:53] Because every single thing they want is bad for everyone except them. [1:57] Truthfully, they've always been like this. [1:58] In other words, this idea that they used to be leftists [2:01] and now they're right wing, they were businessmen. [2:04] You know, a business is a very simple entity that has one goal, [2:08] which is to make a profit. [2:09] But it doesn't matter whether it's a lemonade stand, you know, or, you know, Google. [2:13] It makes no difference from that point of view. [2:15] Do I think they like Trump? [2:16] I have no idea. [2:17] Because let's face it, he's not really likable. [2:19] You know, he's not like he's, well, who could resist that charm? [2:22] Trump's so easy to figure out. [2:24] He really wants you to like him. [2:26] I don't want to blame Meryl Streep for Donald Trump, [2:29] but I really believe if Meryl Streep had once said hello to him, [2:33] we wouldn't have to deal with him. [2:35] He would have lived on that for the rest of his life. [2:37] He would have gone around saying, [2:37] Meryl, do you see Meryl Streep said hello to me? [2:39] I said, hi, Meryl. [2:40] She said, hi, Donald. [2:41] So you can't say it's Meryl Streep's fault, but you kind of can. [2:44] We did talk about RFK Jr. briefly last time. [2:47] He told me he's going to make my life a whole lot worse, [2:50] but I feel like I could not have anticipated how much worse. [2:54] Are you surprised by what he said? [2:55] No. [2:56] I mean, the first shock is that he has this job. [2:59] Almost no one in the Trump administration is qualified for their jobs. [3:02] We can't go backwards fast enough. [3:04] I remember when they invented the polio vaccine. [3:05] If he's going to be against that, they better buy wheelchairs because these viruses still exist. [3:14] Why do you think we're not growing up? [3:15] What do you think has happened to our attention spans? [3:18] Artists I know, very, very good artists. [3:21] I said something to this guy about his son. [3:23] He should see this movie. [3:24] And he said to me, he doesn't like movies. [3:25] I found this shocking. [3:27] He doesn't like movies. [3:29] Why? [3:30] They're too long. [3:31] That's a bad sign, I think. [3:33] They have an expectation of a certain kind of pace of things. [3:37] And if it's not met, they are bored, I guess, by it. [3:40] One thing I do notice, even with kids who are very smart, who've had tremendous cultural advantages, [3:45] know very little about things that happened before they were bored, and they feel justified in this. [3:49] They'll say, well, no, I didn't know about that. [3:54] You know, I wasn't even born then. [3:56] It's just an absurd thing to say. [3:57] I always say, well, I wasn't born during the Civil War, but I heard about it. [4:00] I don't know what they teach in school anymore, frankly. [4:03] Hand-wringing right now that kids can't finish books or can't read books. [4:06] That's not true. [4:07] I agree. [4:08] I don't know, but you know what? [4:09] On the subway, mostly you see people on their phones, okay? [4:12] But when you see someone reading an actual book, it's always someone in their 20s. [4:15] It's always someone young. [4:17] Like, that is when I become incredibly nosy, because I always want to know what they... [4:20] Anything is good, but I was like, like, I'm always trying to look, what are you reading? [4:25] It's like... [4:26] I actually had a question for you about rage, and if it was ever helpful, [4:29] and what people should be mad about. [4:32] Well, what should they not be mad about? [4:33] I don't know. [4:33] Like, you know, I have been angry since birth, so I'm not maybe the best person to ask. [4:38] Like, because, like, I am so angry all the time that I barely have other emotions. [4:43] So I'm not suggesting that's the best way to go through life. [4:46] Although I don't understand why people aren't angry. [4:48] The very last thing, just because I read something you said about restaurants, [4:52] and I wanted to know what made the perfect restaurant experience. [4:55] I got to dinner, like, 9 o'clock. [4:56] Children should not be in the restaurant. [4:58] They're there at 9? [4:59] Oh, they're there. [5:00] Okay? [5:00] So sometimes babies. [5:03] Babies should be home. [5:05] You know what people say? [5:06] But then they can't go out. [5:07] Then stay home. [5:08] Look, no one made to have this baby. [5:10] Okay? [5:10] I like babies, by the way. [5:12] But not in a restaurant. [5:13] Okay? [5:14] And I don't like a 5-year-old kid in a restaurant at 10 o'clock at night, [5:17] because they don't have very good manners. [5:20] I think there should be a separate plane for children that has no seats. [5:23] Just let them race around screaming their heads off. [5:26] No seats at all. [5:27] Even the parents might be happy for that. [5:30] Goodbye, sweetheart. [5:31] We're getting on the adult plane, and we'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:35] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:36] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:36] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:37] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:37] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:38] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:39] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:40] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:41] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:41] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:42] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:43] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:44] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:45] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco. [5:46] We'll see you when we get to San Francisco.