How a Bankstown It Girl became an Australian It Queen.

Commical – Episode title: How a Bankstown It Girl became an Australian It Queen

Published 25/03/2022 on Chasing Albert website, spotify and apple podcasts.

Marie 00:00 Carla from Bankstown. Hello, how are you? Oh my God, I am fangirling so hard right now.

Guest 00:19 Oh my God, stop.

Marie 00:20 How are you, babe? I’m so good. I’m so excited to be speaking to you. You look amazing.

Guest 00:25 Oh my God, thank you. I just woke up and I look this hot, obviously. You know, all the beauty sleep that I have just makes me look so good, bro.

Marie 00:34 Oh, stop it, like you had a chance to sleep. I saw you were busy over the Mardi Gras period.

Guest 00:39 Oh bro, Mardi Gras, and then just, like, going on dates with guys and just keeping hot. It’s a lot. It’s very busy. But Mardi Gras was a lot of fun. It was, like, the best time. It’s like gay Christmas. I love it.

Marie 00:55 You’re going on a lot of dates. I have to just inquire how you’re meeting these guys.

Guest 01:00 Tinder, Grindr, Bumble, like, whatever, bro. Whatever. Doesn’t bother me.

Marie 01:06 Not at Bankstown Centro then?

Guest 01:09 Bro, I don’t want to go to Bankstown Central. Bro, I’m gonna get mobbed. Last time I went there, there were people chasing me, bro, asking me for photos. I’m like, bro, I’m just trying to buy, like, my size 22 underpants and get the fuck out of here. I don’t have time to talk, bro. I’m busy.

Marie 01:25 I listened to some of your music recently.

Guest 01:29 Ah, yes. My top 10 dance track, “Yeah, That Bitch.” It’s beautiful.

Marie 01:35 Iconic song. I love it. It was amazing. What inspired it?

Guest 01:40 Thank you. Well, you know, I always think to myself, bro, Carla is the essence of just being a gronk and just being hot. And I said to my friend one day, like, I’m that bitch, bro. Like, I am the bitch. So I thought, you know what, let’s just make a song and tell everybody, like, I’m that bitch. Period. That’s it.

Marie 02:00 And how did the other women respond to you claiming that space?

Guest 02:04 Bro, everyone loves it. It’s like the bad bitch anthem from 2020, whenever the song was released. And a lot of people now are coming back to it and they’re like, Carla, this is so cool. And it’s good because my followers have grown and I’m showing more and more people, and they’re getting to see the old stuff that I’ve done. And, you know, the song’s up to like 50,000 streams on Spotify. It’s crazy.

Marie 02:28 It is crazy. So are we going to expect more music from you?

Guest 02:33 I’m currently working on some stuff at the moment. I’m trying to get some collaborations happening. I really want to do a song with Samantha Jade. She’s one of my besties. I want to try and put something out very soon because I feel like Carla needs a world tour or something, you know?

Marie 02:52 Is the world ready for Bankstown and Carla from Bankstown?

Guest 02:57 They fucking better be, bro, because I’m just gonna do it, bro. That’s it. Period.

Marie 03:03 You’re gonna have to put up with it. I love it. How did Carla from Bankstown come to be best friends with Samantha Jade?

Guest 03:07 So Samantha Jade and I worked together on Celebrity Apprentice, which is airing very soon on Channel Nine, which I am super, super excited for. And, you know, I never thought in my life that I’d be calling Samantha Jade every day and talking to her and saying hi to her. We got really close during filming, and I was like, bro, we need to make a fucking song together, because that would go off. The gays would enjoy it so much, bro. It would pop off. And then we were talking about, like, let’s go perform it in Queensland. Let’s go to the Gold Coast. Let’s go to Melbourne. So who knows, we could be doing a joint tour very soon.

Marie 03:45 Have you taken her to El Jannah yet?

Guest 03:47 No, I have not. All of the celebrities always ask me, what’s El Jannah like? When I met them all, they were like, Carla, you always talk about El Jannah. What is that? And I’m like, bro, it is the best thing that you’ll ever have in your life. We need to organise something. Get you guys out of the city, bro, get down here and let’s just get down and dirty and eat with your fingers.

Marie 04:06 Who cares? I would love to see you do some content or film your celebrity mates eating El Jannah for the first time.

Guest 04:15 That would be so good. You know what? It’s taken me how long? I’ve been doing this gronk shit for years, bro, and El Jannah has only just noticed me this year.

Marie 04:25 Are you serious?

Guest 04:26 Yeah, bro. They sent me a DM one year. They were like, “Happy birthday, Carla.” That was like two years ago. And I’ve been giving them free publicity for the last, like, 10 years of my life, bro, being Carla. And they literally only just started following me on Instagram very recently and messaged me, “Love your work.” I’m like, bro, I’m not talking about you no more. No way. Show me the money, bro. You owe me. You owe me the alimony check, bro. You owe me the child support that I’ve given to you over the last five years of my life, bro. Like, no more.

Marie 05:01 Honestly, the least they can do is give you a lifetime supply of hummus.

Guest 05:05 Bro, the least they could do is just send me a fucking chicken.

Marie 05:09 That’s it. Gronk spot. Total gronks. I agree. But delicious. I know what I’m having for lunch now.

Guest 05:17 Oh yeah, I’m hungry.

Marie 05:19 Tell me what’s next for you. What are you working on? Actually, no, no, no, I’m gonna ask a cheeky question. How good was Celebrity Apprentice, and what’s the goss on everyone?

Guest 05:31 Oh, well, you know, I don’t want to get sued for nothing. But I will say, from my experience, bro, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. It was just so weird to even be asked to be on that show because I’m a big fan of that show. I watch it all the time. I watched last season with Martha and The Veronicas, and I was like, bro, get me on this fucking show, because I’m gonna go off my nut. But, you know, when they asked me to do it, I was like, are you sure you want me? Little gronk from the area? Sure. I love it. And bro, it was a lot. The filming hours, obviously, I’d never done a TV show before, so it was long days, but they looked after us. They fed us. I got to stay in the Meriton for the whole time I was filming, and I got driven around all the time. So I was living my best life, bro. There was always someone there like, “Carla, would you like a coffee?” I’m like, bro, yes please. I had like eight coffees a day because everyone’s just like, “Carla, do you want a drink? Do you want food? Do you want snacks?” Me? Yeah, I do. Keep it coming, mate.

Marie 06:36 Look what El Jannah missed out on there. They could have catered that shit if they would have just reached out, bro.

Guest 06:42 Mr El Jannah, if you’re listening, bro, don’t hit me up anymore, because I don’t want to.

Marie 06:47 It’s over. It’s done. And did you give them a full taste of Carla from Bankstown on the show? Can we expect to see you in your true element?

Guest 06:57 Yeah. There were a lot of times where, like, I’m a massive reality TV fan. It’s my favourite thing to watch, bro. Kardashians, Married at First Sight, all that stuff. So for me to actually be on a reality show, I kind of forgot at some points that I was actually on the show. So there’d be times when people were arguing and there was drama, and I’m just sitting there with my mouth open like, oh my God, is this actually happening? Or drama would be happening and I’d be like, everyone needs to shut up, I need to listen to the drama, bro. I need to get into it. And then I’m like, no, I’m on a show, I need to join in. So there were a couple of times where I didn’t agree with some things that people said and, you know, went off about it. But other than that, I was just myself, and everyone loved it. So, you know, I feel like after this, I’m gonna be Australia’s sweetheart. That’s me.

Marie 07:49 Australia’s? That’s a big call, man.

Guest 07:53 I’m the people’s princess, Australia’s sweetheart, like whatever you want to call me, bro.

Marie 07:57 That’s it. I love it. I love the way that you’re giving Bankstown something new to be famous for.

Guest 08:04 Yeah, bro, because before it was just like drugs and shootings.

Marie 08:08 For many, many years.

Guest 08:11 For a long time, bro. Even like Cronulla riots, bro. Everyone’s blaming Bankstown for that shit too.

Marie 08:16 We don’t want to talk about that. No, forget that ever happened. We’re all happy, no one’s racist. I mean, I grew up in Bankstown at a time where, I mean, I don’t look Lebanese, so I saw racism from both sides. Bro, it’s bad.

Guest 08:37 But that’s the thing. That’s the thing I love about Bankstown, bro. One side is the Middle Eastern section and it’s all the amazing food and the culture, and then you cross the bridge over the other side from the train tracks and then you’ve got all the Asian food and Asian cuisine and Chinatown. It’s amazing. It’s my favourite place. I love it.

Marie 08:57 I love it too. It really feels great when I go home to see the family, and then professional Marie sheds, and then I’m walking around in my Nikes and my cap going, “Shu, what’s up, bro?” My brother’s like, “Go home, you fucking idiot.” But it really is nice to see what you’re doing. I find it so fun. It’s so much light and happiness that you’re spreading and sharing. So thank you so much for that. I have to ask you as well about your new show that you’re working on, Carla Driving School. Tell us about that.

Guest 09:32 So I only just got my licence last year, my Ls. I’ve never driven before in my life. I’ve never wanted to drive in my life, bro, because I always said as a kid, I was like, bro, I’m going to be so rich and famous, bro, I’m going to pay people to drive me around. I don’t need to drive, bro. I’m not going to waste my time. I can meet guys who have nice cars who can drive me wherever the fuck I want to go, bro. And my mum was like, “Carla, you need to get your licence because I’m sick of driving you to work. I’m sick of driving you here to your gigs, bro.” So I’m like, you know what, my ID was expiring, I thought I’m just gonna go get my licence, bro. I got my Ls. And yeah, so this show, me and my manager were talking actually because we were on our way to go see Kyle and Jackie O and my mum drove me there. And my manager’s like, “Carla, you need to get your licence. What are you doing?” And I was like, “I do have my Ls. Bro, I just like spending time with my mum. Is that a crime, bro?” So he decided, you know, Carla should get her licence, and why don’t we film you getting taught how to drive? And I was like, that is such a good idea, bro. Why don’t we make it even better and I’ll get all my celebrity friends to teach me how to drive, and we’ll have a laugh, we’ll go through drive-through, we’ll talk shit. That’s it. So I’m very excited. We’re going to start filming it very soon. Just got to get all the logistics set up with all the cameras. I need to do some driving lessons first, though, because I’ve literally only driven once, and I’m very heavy on the foot with the brake. So my mum hates it. She feels sick every time I’m in the car because I’m always jerking the car like, oh, oh. So I’ve got to do some driving lessons myself first before I try and almost kill my celebrity friends. I don’t think that would be very good for me.

Marie 11:32 No way. Go to Bankstown Airport. My brother taught me there. I mean, the first thing I ever learned to do was donuts and burnouts. And my brother was like, right, this is what you’ve got to do, and hold the handbrake. And I’m like, I was freaking out.

Guest 11:50 That is lit, bro. That’s so good. My mum would... if you need help... no, my mum gets scared when I fucking try to turn the corner, let alone do a donut. My God.

Marie 12:01 Yeah, that was my introduction to driving, was at Bankstown Airport doing burnouts. But I can’t wait to see how Bankstown handles you and your celebrity mates. It will be like a massive bright light. It’s gonna be hilarious driving through Gotham City.

Guest 12:19 Literally Gotham City, bro. I’m the Batty.

Marie 12:24 Oh my God, the Bat Girl. Bat Girl superstar. Oh my God. Carla, it’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for chatting with me.

Guest 12:32 Yeah, I’ve actually got to go because, you know, I’ve got to go shave my back. I’ve got a date tonight, so I’ve got to get myself all prim and proper and trimmed up, cleaned up, and ready for my date with Moe. So yeah, thank you for having me.

Marie 12:47 Good luck on the date.

Guest 12:49 Thank you. Maybe you can have a chat with my friend Ben. He’ll chat to you too, because he knows more about me than I do sometimes because, you know, I forget.

Marie 12:57 I would love that.

Guest 12:58 Yeah, thank you. I’ll get him on.

Marie 13:00 Have fun. Bye. Ben, hello, hello. You’re the person behind the persona.

Guest 13:14 Oh yes, I am. How do I say it? I don’t know. She’s the creator, the essence. She’s like the bad smell and I’m the... no, I’m the beautiful face behind Carla from Bankstown. Yes, that’s me.

Marie 13:30 Ben, when did you come up with this idea, and how did you develop the character?

Guest 13:38 So it’s actually one of my favourite stories. And I have told this story numerous times, but it’s so funny, and I think you will appreciate this story. So after I left high school in Bankstown, about Year 10, I left and went to Moorebank High. And my friends and I at the time used to play this game where we would people-watch, and then they would say to me, “Okay, Ben, look at that person over there. What’s their name? What’s their story? Go for it.” Because I was always doing voices and characters and was the class clown pretty much. So we were at Bankstown McDonald’s, the one on Rickard Road, sitting there one day. Well, first of all, this is how the story started so well. We used to go eat McDonald’s, and we used to play board games in the party room. That’s all we did for so long. We still do it sometimes now, like 10 years on. So we pulled up to McDonald’s at Rickard Road, and as we pulled in, there were like six SWAT cars that drove in. We got out of the car and we’re like, what the fuck is going on? Is this safe to be here? And they literally all got out like, “Move, move, move,” and then they walked in, and then someone came out of the McDonald’s like, “No, it’s the wrong McDonald’s. Let’s go.” They got back in the car and drove away. I saw one of them and I’m like, “Is this safe to go in?” And he’s like, “Oh yeah, sorry, it’s all good. We’re just looking for somebody.” Like, fuck. Okay. So we went inside, sat down, and we were just like, what is going on? So as we were sitting there, these two girls came up to us, and if Bankstown was in the dictionary, these girls would definitely be under Bankstown. They had head-to-toe Adidas tracksuits, big lips, hair extensions, Napoleon Perdis makeup, big lash extensions, everything. And one of them came up to me and she’s like, “Excuse me, do you got two bucks?” I was like, “No, sorry. I’ve only got my card.” And then she’s like, “Do you have one buck?” I was like, “I don’t have two, I don’t have one, sorry.” And then she looked at her friend and she’s like, “Bro, how am I gonna get a soft serve now? Fucking hell.” And she just walked off. My friends were like, what is going on tonight? And literally my friend was like, what’s her name? What’s her story? And I was like, that’s Carla from Bankstown. She is a gronk. And literally I just started doing the voice and saying, “Got one buck? What am I gonna do? I can’t get my hair done.” And it just escalated from there. And that was the time when Superwog was really big, so we were obviously watching a lot of that during school, and Fat Pizza and Wog Boy and all that kind of stuff. So I grew up watching all that stuff. That was very heavily influential for Carla’s character, especially Toula. Rebel Wilson is a big inspiration for me. And yeah, the Carla character just kind of developed from there. Then I stopped doing it for a while. I’ve had the character, working on it up until this point, probably for maybe like nine, 10 years. It’s literally been a long time. But it’s only within the last couple of years that it’s kind of taken off and become this massive thing that it is now.

Marie 17:12 But you can see that there’s been evolution there, because she’s got depth to her character, I find.

Guest 17:19 Yeah, definitely. When I first started it, watching all my old videos, the very first video that I ever did of Carla was with my best friend Aaron. We came up with this idea: let’s do Real Housewives of Bankstown. So we were like, fuck yeah, this is gonna be so good. That’s where Carla’s character came from. Watching it back now compared to where Carla is now, the voice is deeper, the makeup is a lot better, the stories are even more ridiculous than they were before. Watching it back, I’m just like, oh my God, this is so weird to see. You can see from then till now how much the character has just grown into this fucking gronk.

Marie 18:05 There really is. But she’s captured, I find, the hearts and the imagination of Australia. And you’ve done a lot of media work, but you’ve also been invited to collaborate with some serious brands, like ModelCo for example. Tell us about that and what you did for the brand.

Guest 18:33 So my whole thing was, when I was doing Carla, I was just kind of doing it for fun. And then it got to a point where I was working full-time five days a week and also doing Carla on the side almost every day. And I kind of felt a bit disheartened because I was putting so much time and energy and effort into this character, editing all my own videos and making music and all this kind of stuff, and not really getting anywhere, not getting paid for anything. I mean, I was enjoying it and everyone else was enjoying it too, but obviously if you put hard work and effort into things like that, you want to get rewarded for it as well. So for me, I wasn’t getting any kind of gigs for such a long time. And then I remember I got a DM from Shelley, who’s the owner of ModelCo. She’s like, “We’d love to send you a PR package for some makeup, see how you like it, if you want to make a video.” I was like, yeah, absolutely. So they sent me some stuff, and I still use their makeup today. Their foundation is the staple that Carla used when we were filming Celebrity Apprentice, and even just for my drag makeup in general, that’s my go-to kind of stuff. And then they were like, let’s work together. Let’s do a collaboration. Let’s pick your favourite products. Let’s make a little pack that we can sell on our website, Carla’s Favourites, and do a couple of makeup tutorial videos. And that was probably one of the first proper high-paying gigs that I got. And that was really good for me because, you know, at the time when people used to say, “How much is it to work with you?” and I had no manager at this point, I was just like, oh, like 100 bucks a video. I don’t know. I’ve never charged anyone before. I don’t know what my rates are. And then having Drew as my manager, he was just like, no, you need to know your worth. You’re worth this, this, this. And he would literally negotiate and get me, like, triple the amount of what I would normally think for myself for these kinds of things. And I’m at that point now where I’m making really good money and saving it and helping my family out and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, the ModelCo collaboration was probably one of my favourites, just because I’d never thought in my life that I would enjoy makeup. Growing up, obviously, when Carla first started, I was using my mum’s makeup. So my mum’s Australian, so she’s very fair-skinned. Using her ivory-coloured makeup on my olive skin was not cute. It ended up turning my face kind of like a green tinge. It was not nice at all. So trying to get more involved in makeup, and then for them to send me all these products and then work with them and all that kind of stuff, yeah, it was great. I enjoyed it so much. It was probably one of my favourite things I’ve done.

Marie 21:36 So good. And you know what? I don’t know if Drew told you how we met. And for those who are listening, the manager is Drew Lambert, yes, and I used to work with him many, many, many moons ago. We used to share an office when we worked for Marks and Sparks, and we used to fight like cats and dogs. We were constantly at each other all the time. He’s just so good to fight with.

Guest 22:00 Yeah, he’s just such a bitch.

Marie 22:02 I know. But super smart.

Guest 22:04 Oh, very.

Marie 22:05 And very creative and relentless. So when he believes in you and he says to you, “Mate, you’re worth more,” he’s going to get you more. And I’ve always really admired and respected that about Drew.

Guest 22:20 Yeah, that’s why probably finding him... he found me and approached me, I think it was kind of after lockdown, when all my Gladys videos started kind of blowing up and people were like, “Oh my God, you should make more content.” He contacted me and was like, “Hi, my name is Drew Lambert. I got your email from so-and-so from Kyle and Jackie O because I had done a lot of work with them before. And I think you’d be perfect for this opportunity, for this company. They really want a fresh face and are trying to get the younger crowd to use their company and all that kind of stuff.” It was the gold company.

Marie 23:02 Gold Buyers? Yeah, I saw that.

Guest 23:05 Yeah, I haven’t done anything with them for a while, but we keep in contact, obviously. That’s the one thing, I try and make a good impression with people so I can keep that relationship going with a lot of people. But yeah, they hit me up and said they wanted Carla to do a video pretending that Gladys’s parents are calling to get rid of her old gold, and Carla’s saying like, “No, don’t give it to her in the will. She doesn’t want that shit. Gladys has got Gucci bags now. She doesn’t need your gold. Sell it, make your own money.” And then that story got picked up by A Current Affair, and then ModelCo happened, and then the ModelCo story and A Current Affair happened, and then it just... it’s literally been such a whirlwind. The last six months have just been so crazy. And sometimes I just kind of sit back and I’m like, I’m tired. And then Drew’s always ringing me and he’s like, “You need three new videos this week. What are you doing? Why are you lazy for? Don’t do this. No, don’t do that.” And I’m like, can I just breathe for a second? Thank you very much. I was finishing work, coming home, putting on makeup, editing till late, and then just repeating the process every single day. And it got to a point where I was just so exhausted from putting so much time and effort into all of this stuff and also trying to work. And you know, I have a lot of mental health issues like anxiety and depression, and I think a lot of people suffer from that as well. A lot of creative people, a lot of comedians, people say comedians are the saddest people because they’re always making everyone else laugh, but they never kind of think about themselves. And I was getting to that point where I was just doing so much, and I was kind of draining myself emotionally and mentally. So I did take a break for quite a while because I was just at the point where I couldn’t handle it. And I guess when my videos started blowing up, there were a lot of people commenting really horrible things, and it just wasn’t nice to read. My one thing would be, don’t read the comments ever, because they’re just not the nicest thing.

Marie 25:24 But let’s talk about that for a second, right? Because Carla from Bankstown handles trolls by calling them out and kind of, not trolling them back, but dishing as good as she gets, really. But how does Ben handle the trolls?

Guest 25:42 I mean, growing up in high school, I was bullied all throughout high school, pretty much up until I left, because I went to an all-boys school in Bankstown. So you can obviously understand how that would be, myself not really being comfortable with my sexuality at the time and all that, and my weight and all that kind of stuff. So I was obviously a massive target for these people. So for me, being bullied for so long, I just got to a point where now I’m like, these people just need to learn that it’s not okay to say those things. They wouldn’t appreciate it if someone had said that about someone they care about, so why say it to someone that you barely know? And I think I try to take a lot of things that Carla does and emulate them in my own life. It’s the whole thing with drag, where when you put the wig and the makeup on, your personality just comes out and you turn into a completely different person. And that’s with me with Carla. As soon as I put the wig and the makeup on and I start talking to people and I’m, you know, “talk shit, get hit,” all that kind of stuff, it changes my whole personality. And Carla doesn’t care, so why should Ben care? So now I’m at that point where if someone’s going to say something horrible, I screenshot it, I’ll post it on social media. I don’t give a fuck. If you’re going to act like an idiot and post that stuff on a public platform, then you should be able to take the repercussions of what you say to people. Because a lot of people don’t have that confidence. Someone who doesn’t have a lot of confidence could read a comment that says, “You’re fat and disgusting,” and then they’ll go and kill themselves. You don’t know what people are going through when you’re saying these things. That’s why my parents have always taught me to treat people with respect, always. Even a lot of people that bullied me in high school, I’m at the point now where if I saw them in the street, I’d probably be like, yep, cool. I wouldn’t say anything. I’ve learned to forgive those people, because obviously they weren’t really comfortable with themselves as much as I was. And a lot of the people that bullied me in high school, calling me gay and all that kind of stuff, are now gay as well.

Marie 28:05 Okay. You know, Ben as well, having grown up in Bankstown myself, I think it’s also worth remembering that it’s one of the most conservative religious places to grow up. And I think when we had the vote on gay marriage, that area was one that, as a cohort, had voted a big fat no. So that is a massive influence on young growing kids. And I think having grown up and seen that and heard that and been part of it sometimes too as a young kid, when you grow up, you realise that’s not okay. And I think when you grow up in such a closed-minded area, it takes growing up and seeing the world to go, oh God, that was so bad.

Guest 29:02 Yeah, that’s what I mean. Looking back, I have had a couple of people who I did go to school with at the time, who were bullies, whatever, who now follow Carla and they love Carla. And they’ve messaged me like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re Carla. This is so crazy, and you’re doing a really great job.” And for me, I’m just like, okay, cool. You didn’t appreciate me back then, but now you want me because I’ve got some kind of fucking engagement behind me.

Marie 29:28 Fame, exactly.

Guest 29:30 Exactly. I hate saying that word. It’s so weird when people are like, “You’re so famous, you’re a celebrity.” I’m like, I’m literally sitting right now in my underpants. No, I’m not. No way. But yeah, I just think that people are getting to a point now where, especially in this area, it’s nice to see. I mean, we have a long way to go when it comes to acceptance, especially within the Bankstown community.

Marie 30:00 Very.

Guest 30:01 But it’s getting there. It’s not as bad as it used to be. One of my good friends, who actually went to school in Bankstown, is now this amazing trans woman, Victoria Anthony. Her and I went to school together. She was a couple of grades above me, and she was literally the first queer person that I met who was super accepting of me being a gronk at the time, or the humour and all that kind of stuff. So her and I bonded a lot, and yeah, I still talk to her quite a lot to this day. And that just goes to show some really good talented people can come from Bankstown.

Marie 31:01 And you know what? Smart people. That’s why when I was speaking to Carla, I made the point that I’m so happy to see Bankstown becoming known for something creative, for comedy, you know. There are so many smart people. We’ve got doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, business people, you name it, that have done amazing things from the area, but we’re still known as that place where there’s guns and violence. But you know what, Ben? Humour is a bridge. Honestly, it’s a bridge. It’ll bring that community, I think, lots of different communities together, and I think you’re at such an exciting point. I’m so happy I got to speak to you now, because in a year, I couldn’t afford you.

Guest 31:46 No, Drew would have made me do this. He would have been like, “You’re getting on the show and you’re gonna be good and you’re gonna talk to her.”

Marie 31:56 That’s true. Drew might have made you do it because it was me. But honestly, in a year, especially when I think about brand collaborations and the brands you’re working with now, I guarantee you they’re getting you... even though you’re getting paid, mate, where you’re going to be in the future is going to be exceptional.

Guest 32:16 I’m excited.

Marie 32:18 You should be.

Guest 32:20 My parents have always said to me, I’ve always been a gronk. I’ve always done voices, I’ve always done characters, I’ve always put a wig on and had a laugh with everybody. And it got to a point where my dad... in our house, I’ve got this back family room, and I’ve kind of converted it into Carla shit. So it’s not organised at the moment. It’s literally just coat racks and storage tubs of clothes and wigs and shoes and just crap. And my dad said, “If you don’t start making money off doing this, I’m chucking all of this shit out because I’m sick of seeing it. It’s not clean. You do not know how to clean properly.” And I was like, okay. They’ve always said that if you can make money off being an idiot, then go right ahead. And here I am sitting here, helping them pay rent and bills and all that kind of stuff. That’s one thing that I really wanted to do, not only do the character for myself and for the community and everybody, but also try and make money to support my friends and family who have always been there for me. So that’s a really big thing for me as well. So it’s amazing, helping them out.

Marie 33:30 The one thing that I’ll say to you is that you’re not out there being an idiot. Comedy is so hard, and the best comedians are often the smartest people. And you have to be super intelligent to be able to develop a character in the way that you have and keep it consistent and evolve her and collaborate and grow the Carla brand. So there’s a real... no wonder they had you on Celebrity Apprentice, because as sexy as Carla and amazing as Carla is, there’s obviously a very smart business brain in there.

Guest 34:04 Well, it was good to learn about that stuff because obviously I’m trying to kind of do my own thing now and get more merchandise out for Carla, like T-shirts and hoodies and all that kind of stuff, as well as music. And I really want to try and get some kind of makeup thing happening for Carla, whether it be a lipstick or eyelashes or something like that. That’s something I’m really interested in, making makeup and doing all that kind of stuff. So hopefully in the future we might have, like, Carla Cosmetics or something.

Marie 34:39 I think just remove the word hopefully. I think anything’s possible. So in terms of collabs, it’s beauty and lifestyle pretty much that you’re interested in. What kind of brands would you like to work with?

Guest 34:53 When I first started doing it, a lot of companies were literally just sending me boxes of desserts and food, and I got to a point where I was like, I love this and this is great, but I’m gonna get diabetes, and I am already extremely overweight. I do not need any more food. Please do not send me more food. I don’t want it. And then I remember saying something on my live once where I was like, I love candles, and then candle companies would just send me candles. And I still have them everywhere in my room, and I literally have a giant storage tub of just candles that companies have sent me. That kind of stuff is really fun. And, you know, we’ve got the makeup and I guess lifestyle stuff. There’s something really major... I’d love to do something with different makeup companies. I’m a really big fan of Morphe. I’m a really big fan of Mecca, Sephora, all those places. And I just kind of always think Carla can do anything. If I can promote Emco Beauty and then also promote a company that buys and sells old gold and silver, then I can do whatever. And I always try and put that in Carla, as in Carla can do whatever she wants to do. I always try and think, what would be a really funny job or a funny thing that a normal person would do, but Carla could do and just make it really ridiculous. I’ve done videos where Carla’s a schoolteacher, Carla’s a driving instructor, Carla’s a flight attendant, she works at Centrelink, just a whole range of things. So I’m honestly open to anything. It doesn’t bother me. I think I had once a vibrator company reach out to me, this was ages ago, and they were like, “We really want you to do... it’d be fun to have you promoting our new range of vibrators.” And I wrote back to them and I was like, “You do realise that I don’t have a vagina, right?” I just want to make sure you know. They were like, “Yeah, we know, it’s fine, we’re accepting of everyone, we think it’d be really, really funny.” I was like, okay, as long as we’re on the same page with that, that you don’t think that... because a couple of people that I’ve met in the past have been like, “Are you Carla?” I’m like, yeah. They’re like, “Oh, I actually thought you were a woman.” I was like, oh my God, thank you. That’s a good compliment, thanks.

Marie 37:10 Yeah, that vibrator would have been hard work. Get it?

Guest 37:13 Oh mate, I would have worn it out during lockdown, let’s be honest.

Marie 37:21 Oh God. Actually, I do want to ask you one thing back about the trolls. How did your collaborators deal with it? Because I saw that when you partnered with Kicking Inn, they got trolled.

Guest 37:39 Well, when they posted the content that I had made with them, I went through and saw it on their page. I’m like, yeah, I’ll click on it, whatever. And reading the comments, I was just like, oh my God, these people are horrible. What the fuck is going on here? So I found their Facebook page, went on the Facebook page, and the Facebook comments were 100 times worse than they were on Instagram. Because I feel like Facebook’s kind of like a cesspool of older people who have a lot of opinions, who are very old school, and just post a photo of them holding their fucking wine glass, “Cheers to the weekend,” with their feet in the background. Just shit like that. So I saw it and I was just like, this is crazy. So I thought to myself, should I reply to them? I don’t want it to make it look bad on my behalf, obviously representing this company and this brand. I don’t want them to say, “Oh my God, this bitch is popping off in the comments and calling everyone a piece of shit. Why are we working with her?” So I kind of just left it. I did comment, but it was more in a nice way, trying to see why they didn’t like the content, why they don’t accept me, and then kind of maybe give them some information that could help them understand where I’m coming from a little bit more, rather than just going straight for the jugular and saying, “Fuck you, don’t ever speak to me again.” So after that, I got an email from the PR person I was working with for Kicking Inn, and she’s like, “We’re really sorry this is happening. Don’t worry, we have your back 100%. This is not going to stand.” And within like 20 minutes, they posted this thing saying they were supporting Carla and the LGBT community and all this kind of stuff. And I was just like, wow, this is actually really decent for a company to do something like that. Because a lot of the time they’d probably just delete the comments and leave it at that. But I guess because Kicking Inn is more of a western Sydney kind of restaurant, I guess there are a lot more fans of it out this way than there are in the city and things like that. And the demographic is obviously people who aren’t accepting of the community. So I was expecting people to say shit. But at the same time, I really appreciated Kicking Inn having my back and saying what they did, because it kind of helped me. I felt a lot better doing it after that. And there haven’t really been any other bad comments on it since.

Marie 40:26 I was really impressed with them, to be honest, with Kicking Inn. Firstly, the collaboration for a restaurant whose biggest restaurant is in Bankstown RSL, right, and we just discussed that Bankstown is a very conservative area, I thought that was a really cool, brave thing for them to do in partnering with Carla. I thought the content was hilarious. The content of you eating that massive thing, and then the waitress coming and you’re like, “Are you serious right now?”

Guest 41:00 Bro, don’t talk to me. I’m eating.

Marie 41:04 So authentic, so Bankstown. I could see... and this is the beauty about Carla... I actually don’t see drag. I don’t see any of that. I actually see a Bankstown chick who happens to be hilarious and very reflective of that typical Bankstown chick persona, only a lot more fun. I thought it was genius. So well done to Kicking Inn if you’re listening.

Guest 41:34 Yeah, thank you. Just touching on Bankstown being conservative, one of the comments that annoyed me the most out of all of them was someone had commented on Facebook and said, “You being you, you know the area that you’re living in, and you know the demographic in there, so maybe you should behave accordingly.” And I’m like, why should I have to? Would you tell a person of colour to act more white to fit in? Would you tell someone who’s Asian to act more white to fit into that area they’re living in? Would you tell a Muslim person to act more Christian to fit in with that area they’re living in? No, you wouldn’t. So I’m just being myself. That comment just set me off, and I was so angry. I was just like, how can people sit there and actually think like that? It just baffles me. But I guess it all comes down to how they were raised from their parents and the stuff that was instilled in them as kids and not really knowing anything else.

Marie 42:41 You know what else is also very Bankstown? What I love about that area is we all love a laugh, and it’s very neighbourly and very community-focused. So I feel like every culture has 55 levels to it. There’s not just one version of it. This is why I’m loving the shift in focus and narrative, to be honest. I think it’s long, long, long overdue.

Guest 43:16 Yeah, definitely. I think it just needs... the whole thing with Carla is, if you can’t laugh at yourself, then what are we doing? Just take a moment to fucking have a laugh. Who cares? I hate politics. I hate what’s happening in the news. I don’t follow any of that stuff. I’ll just kind of read up what’s trending in the news and put some light into it. That’s what I was doing during lockdown. People were so stressed about the numbers of the cases and lockdown and all this kind of stuff. I thought, how can I just make this funny for people to have a laugh? And it worked out for me. That’s what people have to remember. It’s just a joke. And some of my best material has come from just walking through Bankstown. Some of the conversations that I’ve overheard from the boys sitting outside Hoyts at Bankstown having a cigarette, and the girls walking through the shopping centre... some of my best content has literally come from me just going through Bankstown and listening to people talk. I love it. It’s hilarious.

Marie 44:22 It’s the best place. I love it too. You’re doing an amazing job. I feel genuinely very thrilled and happy that you took the time to chat with me. Like I said, you’ll be ignoring me in a year.

Guest 44:38 Do you remember me? Do you remember this bitch?

Marie 44:44 Oh my God. I wish you all the very best.

Guest 44:49 Thank you so much.

Marie 44:49 My pleasure. And I’ll be looking out for your new content and the new series that you’re working on, and really hope that some of those brands head your way real soon.

Guest 45:01 Oh yes, please. And BMW, AMG, if you’re listening, I’d love a car. Tesla, if you’re listening, Elon Musk, if you’re listening to this, I’d really like a car. Thank you so much.

Marie 45:13 We’ll work on it. Drew’s on it already.

Guest 45:15 Drew, get on it. I want Tesla.

Marie 45:19 Thank you so much, Ben. It really was an absolute pleasure.

Guest 45:21 Thank you so much, darling. I appreciate you.