What up, Young Hollywood? I am here with Stephanie Beatriz from Brooklyn 99. How are you, doll?

I'm great. How are you?

You look yummy.

Thank you.

I'm loving the little black out with a hint of navy.

Thank you. Thank you. These are my new favorite boots. Aldo, everybody.

Cute. Get in. Get in. Okay, so I want to know really quick. I heard that you didn't get your license until you were 30.

That's correct.

What the fuck?

Because when I was in high school, I failed algebra and my parents were like,

What does that have to do with

My parents were like, "You're going to go to summer school. We're not paying for drivers' ed because you failed the class." Gotcha. Which, like, I get it. I get it. I didn't really deserve the freedom of driving a car. And then right after high school, I went to college and then after that, I moved to New York, and I just didn't need a car. I love it.

So, I was doing a little bit of snooping online and I saw that you had a cover of You and I by Lady Gaga.

Oh, yeah.

It was really bomb. I was shocked. I was like, "Not only is she funny and a talented actress," I was like, "But she can sing." Oh my God, I'm shocked that she's also talented in this other way. No, seriously, I was like, "Wait a minute. Is this really like

Yeah. Thanks. I picked up the ukulele like maybe five or six years ago. It's really easy to play.

Oh, stop. Hold on. Stop. I heard the audio. So, I didn't see anything. So, that was you playing the ukulele?

Oh, yeah, that's me playing the ukulele. Yeah, that's me playing the ukulele.

That is intense. She's like, "Not only am I a singer and an actress, I can also play ukulele."

I mean, I'm not going to come out with like a pop album, so don't worry, everybody.

So, let's chat a little bit about Brooklyn 99.

Yeah, let's.

Your character, Miss Rosa. I love her. She's spicy. She's just a tough cookie. She's really, she's tough. And also, this season, you came out, your character came out as bisexual.

Yes, recently. It was kind of like a an idea that the writers had before the season started. I have been out as bi for a long time, but I just like sort of publicly said it maybe like around sometime last year. So, I think that kind of was something that the writers were like, "Oh, I wonder if she would be interested in exploring this with the character." And I was like, "Absolutely, because there's little to know, as you probably know, there's little to know representation of bi people on television at all."

Exactly. Or if they are represented, it's often like we're this weird sort of mix of hypersexualized slash villain. Did you have a part in adding the kind of conflict?

You know what I did have a part in was making sure that the writers knew that I thought it was really important that the word bisexual was in the script. And so, like, for people that identify as bi or queer, like that that word is powerful and it's big. So, I was like, "Please, we have to have it in the script." And they agreed.

You are working on a new movie. Fill us in like about the news.

Yes. So, this movie really deals with the very real repercussions of rape and how it affects a a victim slash survivor and what that journey is like. You know, we've all been consistently and constantly hearing these stories about sexual abuse, sexual violence, and sexual harassment. But like the thing, the thing that I think is sort of getting a little bit lost in the mix. And I think that's what's so cool about the Time magazine cover was all these women behind this Me Too movement, right? And like that movement really shines a light on the actual survivor of the assault. Not just the person who did the thing and like how can we punish them and like how can we take away their like next, you know, comedy special, but like how the thing that happened affects that human being that now has to go out into the world and deal with everyone in their environment, you know, like do they tell people they were raped? Like, how do you have sex with your partner after that? Like, do you tell your parents? Like, how do you go to work? You know? I'm really proud of it. I think it's I think it's like kind of a a special little film and I feel like people that are seeing it are also being really affected by it, which is great.

I love it. You are killing the entire game. Congratulations on everything. I can't wait to see the growth of your lovely character.

Thanks.

Rosa on Brooklyn 99.

I'm excited too. I'm excited.

Thank you so much for stopping by, your first time here at Young Hollywood. This is great.

I'm really into the plush couch.

I know, it's it's a good time. Yeah. Love it.