Speaker 1: And That's what You Really Missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1: Welcome to you and That's what You Really miss Podcast. Today,
Speaker 1: we have a really special episode today we are honoring
Speaker 1: our friend Naya.
Speaker 3: We knew before wrapping up our Glee rewatch that we
Speaker 3: wanted to do something honoring Naya like we did with Corey.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we felt like we obviously did a beautiful one
Speaker 1: for Corey and everybody wrote in and you know, we
Speaker 1: got to share that with all of you guys, So
Speaker 1: we wanted to do the same thing for Naya. So
Speaker 1: today we're going to be sharing some of our favorite
Speaker 1: moments and memories, both on and off the set, and
Speaker 1: we're also going to hear from some of our wonderful
Speaker 1: friends who also want to share some thoughts and memories.
Speaker 3: And we also know how much Naya and Santana meant
Speaker 3: to all of you listening who watch Glee, so we're
Speaker 3: going to turn the podcast over to you guys as well.
Speaker 1: There's just like so much stretch we could talk about Naya,
Speaker 1: but to keep it compassion cohesive, obviously, you know, we
Speaker 1: know she was a dear friend and on an off
Speaker 1: screen she was so wildly talented Santana. I really grew
Speaker 1: to be one of the most beloved characters on television
Speaker 1: on our show and you know, spanning across all of TV.
Speaker 1: Do you remember meeting her?
Speaker 2: I remember, yes. I think it was.
Speaker 3: When we also met Diana, like in passing really quickly.
Speaker 3: But the first time I ever like talked to her.
Speaker 3: And I think I might have told this at some point,
Speaker 3: but just give you a quick version again. I was
Speaker 3: lunch break during the pilot and I had figured out
Speaker 3: somehow that my dad had helped her look at a
Speaker 3: car because my dad was selling cars at the time,
Speaker 3: and we both lived in Santa Crita, which most people
Speaker 3: do not live in Santa Creta, and I sat down
Speaker 3: with her at lunch and I was just like, I
Speaker 3: think my dad might have talked to you at Mercedes
Speaker 3: and he's like she was like, oh yeah, and so
Speaker 3: like we just sat there and talked felt like we
Speaker 3: had been friends for forever. And it was one of
Speaker 3: those things where being like cast as a quote unquote
Speaker 3: regular on a TV show and she necessarily wasn't. I
Speaker 3: did not know her, and it was my first gig
Speaker 3: like that that I was just trying to make friends,
Speaker 3: and I wanted her to feel comfortable, and we had
Speaker 3: this like sort of connection. It felt like high school
Speaker 3: where it's like it's awkward, it's hard to make friends.
Speaker 3: And she was so funny and obviously so smart. Like
Speaker 3: from that one conversation, I was like, Oh, we're going
Speaker 3: to be actual friends, and it like laid the groundwork
Speaker 3: of like breaking that uncomfortable we don't know each other
Speaker 3: bubble and right then you know it's also she is
Speaker 3: a professional. She had worked for forever, like since a child.
Speaker 3: So she also when you come in there those first
Speaker 3: two days, you're not trying to, like, I don't know,
Speaker 3: take up too much space, and so she was really quiet,
Speaker 3: and so it was really fascinating to think about, you know,
Speaker 3: how she was then to you know, the eventual Naya
Speaker 3: on Glee she became. Do you remember meeting her.
Speaker 1: I don't remember the first time I met her. I
Speaker 1: think it probably was the pilot as well, just like
Speaker 1: I remember seeing them up on the balcony shooting filming,
Speaker 1: and I remember them coming down in between. But we
Speaker 1: were for a long time. We were kind of like
Speaker 1: divided and not purposefully, but like we had all of
Speaker 1: our scenes together as like the you know, the five
Speaker 1: of us or six of us at that time, right,
Speaker 1: and then as the the Glee clubs started to grow
Speaker 1: on screen, like I think, we didn't really know how
Speaker 1: the show was going to play out, like storyline wise,
Speaker 1: if we were gonna be spending time with these people,
Speaker 1: if we.
Speaker 2: Weren't right exactly.
Speaker 1: So I felt very divided, Like you know, I felt like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: we have our little like underdog group and then they're
Speaker 1: the cheerios. It felt like kind of like that, you know,
Speaker 1: the sentiment of like high school a little bit. But
Speaker 1: as like the Glee Club grew and they became a
Speaker 1: part of the Glee Club, we have new directions, we
Speaker 1: were like, oh, like we're a unit, Like we're starting
Speaker 1: to really like meld. And so I remember us like
Speaker 1: bonding over sushi as we do, and I remember spending
Speaker 1: a lot of time with her, But like again, like
Speaker 1: during the touring period between the pilot and like shooting
Speaker 1: and filming the series, they were a part of the show,
Speaker 1: I remember, but they weren't being asked to do all
Speaker 1: the press that we were being asked to do. And
Speaker 1: I remember that creating like this tiny divide, and I
Speaker 1: was like that feels so weird, right, because they are
Speaker 1: a part of the show. But then I remember like
Speaker 1: doing award shows together and they did get invited and
Speaker 1: it was so exciting, but like they didn't get all
Speaker 1: of the perks of like being a series regular, where
Speaker 1: like you get makeup and hair. So I remember our
Speaker 1: first girl and Globes. I invited her to come over
Speaker 1: and get her hair and makeup done too, So she
Speaker 1: came to my house and like brought her dress and
Speaker 1: like came in the car with me, because like this
Speaker 1: was also new for us. Anyway, they get to sit
Speaker 1: at the table with us, right exactly, So like I
Speaker 1: just remember being like, you're you're all a part of this,
Speaker 1: and like us having kind of bonding over this experience
Speaker 1: of like not being the star of the show but
Speaker 1: also being there. Like I remember feeling this feeling that
Speaker 1: like God there. And I remember sitting with her in
Speaker 1: a boots somewhere, might have been like Sushi Roku or
Speaker 1: something on Third Street, and we were like chatting about
Speaker 1: how and I remember being like, I'm I have so
Speaker 1: much talent to offer and like feeling a little bit
Speaker 1: like not complaining, right, not complaining about being undervalued, but
Speaker 1: like being like I just have a lot to give
Speaker 1: and I know it, so like she always I remember
Speaker 1: just knowing that she always knew that she had a
Speaker 1: lot to give. And that's like kind of how we bonded.
Speaker 1: And then obviously there's like the outside part of that,
Speaker 1: which was like she grew to be so appreciated on
Speaker 1: that show and so valued and like really people got
Speaker 1: to finally see her in the light that she deserved.
Speaker 1: But like on the outside, then we were also had
Speaker 1: this like you know, we all kind of bonded, and
Speaker 1: we would go to Vegas together for her birthday every year,
Speaker 1: and like we were always going, you know, going out
Speaker 1: before a rap party. We'd go eat dinner and then
Speaker 1: go to the wrap party. And it's it's like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, there's so many of those early memories were
Speaker 1: tagged with like nine and I doing like little one
Speaker 1: off things before the Vagley thing. I don't know if
Speaker 1: that makes sense.
Speaker 3: Yeah, totally. She was sort of like our resident party planner.
Speaker 3: Obviously we've talked about Snick's miss, but she was so
Speaker 3: good at making creating social situations, yes, for all of
Speaker 3: us to like going to dinner or lunch or having
Speaker 3: people over at her house and having game nights and
Speaker 3: things like that. She was so good at getting all
Speaker 3: of us together, and she loved to cook. She like
Speaker 3: cooked for us with chickens, and like that's when those memories,
Speaker 3: like the most valuable memories we all have together would happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so if it wasn't for.
Speaker 3: Her, like I think we were all a bit more
Speaker 3: maybe like low key or I was definitely more of
Speaker 3: a homebody, but like.
Speaker 1: She would get people together, yes, right fully, because it
Speaker 1: was always like she would post those events and those
Speaker 1: like social events and then the next day like something
Speaker 1: to like talk about. Like it just created this like
Speaker 1: really good vibe of like friendship on set.
Speaker 3: I didn't know that story about her telling you she
Speaker 3: had so much more to give, which makes obviously she did.
Speaker 3: But you know, when you think about how her journey
Speaker 3: from like doing her Monica impression from the Boy's Mind
Speaker 3: on set and us getting Ryan to like watch it
Speaker 3: because like, oh my gosh, she's so funny when she
Speaker 3: didn't really have a lot to do yet on the
Speaker 3: show and like, oh my god, she can sing. Yeah,
Speaker 3: we didn't know, and then watching her sort of like
Speaker 3: fight her way yep. To get more in that way.
Speaker 1: It's almost like she was it was almost undeniable, right,
Speaker 1: like at some point people were going to figure it
Speaker 1: out it was the show or somebody else, like that
Speaker 1: talent was gonna have to come out somewhere, right like,
Speaker 1: and so if it didn't come out on screen first,
Speaker 1: like kind of like Heather and Brittany S. Pierce, like
Speaker 1: that was created behind the scenes because Ryan saw the
Speaker 1: undeniable talent that these people had that was like, let's
Speaker 1: use it, you know what I mean, like learning about
Speaker 1: the superpowers that we had, I think, and that was
Speaker 1: really like to your point about like the monica of
Speaker 1: it all. Like she would just sit backstage with that
Speaker 1: cackle and make us laugh like so much.
Speaker 3: Insane, Like she she was so funny. It's I can't
Speaker 3: sometimes I get you know when I think if I
Speaker 3: heard now and I'm just like pissed, I can't hear
Speaker 3: her like take on something that's going on stupid or big.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I was.
Speaker 3: Thinking of times like early in the Pandemic where I
Speaker 3: would call her and like talk about something and she
Speaker 3: would just have some wild yeah They're like oh, I know, well,
Speaker 3: you know it was crazy to me is like, obviously
Speaker 3: when they hired her, they did not Santana as she
Speaker 3: ended up being did not exist, and they did not
Speaker 3: know the talent that Naya possessed at the time. And
Speaker 3: to think about how powerful she is and was in
Speaker 3: that part, I mean she was always powerful, like she
Speaker 3: was tiny.
Speaker 2: But mighty mighty.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, And the fact that they had her to
Speaker 3: handle such a difficult role, powerful role, complicated role and
Speaker 3: just an expert I think one of the best actors
Speaker 3: I've ever seen, one of us singers I've ever heard,
Speaker 3: and she never talked like it was always shocking. I
Speaker 3: think that going back and watching it now, yes, because
Speaker 3: you know, people ask us like, oh, how did she
Speaker 3: handled the responsibility of playing like you never know?
Speaker 2: You would never know.
Speaker 1: She came on set and she had fun and she
Speaker 1: was professional, like she showed up, she knew her stuff,
Speaker 1: she delivered a hundred times over. But like you never
Speaker 1: saw it on set where she was like making you
Speaker 1: feel or think that she was working really hard. She
Speaker 1: just kind of did it. And then she would do
Speaker 1: it and you'd be like, wow, that's crazy, that just
Speaker 1: came out of you and that you just did that.
Speaker 1: And then you'd watch it and be like wow, everybody
Speaker 1: gets to see this now and experience this, and it
Speaker 1: translated from the work to the screen to the audience.
Speaker 1: But like you never saw it, like she never presented
Speaker 1: it to the world like in that way like I'm
Speaker 1: working really hard.
Speaker 3: She never sought like attention for it. She never she
Speaker 3: never wanted to be She just wanted to be like
Speaker 3: utilized for her gifts, and she was. And it's like
Speaker 3: when you challenge her, when you give her a lot
Speaker 3: to do, like that was yeah, yeah, I never I
Speaker 3: never heard of like her process, her working her like
Speaker 3: if anything was too much or too hard.
Speaker 1: Never, no, never ever ever, no, no no.
Speaker 3: And her and Chris were similar in that way where
Speaker 3: they like were silently like lethal yes, and that's like
Speaker 3: they were. But they're both so so talented and have
Speaker 3: really heavy stuff to do, yep, and you never saw
Speaker 3: them like working on it or like they would just
Speaker 3: show up and.
Speaker 1: Deliver and just deliver. And that didn't mean that they
Speaker 1: weren't working on it, but they just didn't. They didn't
Speaker 1: feel like everybody needed to be a part of that
Speaker 1: process or like be proving something, you know, they just
Speaker 1: did it.
Speaker 3: That's how like they both, and I especially like we
Speaker 3: learned from her in those ways of her like subtlety,
Speaker 3: how friendly she was with every cast and crew. She
Speaker 3: got along with everybody. Everyone left it.
Speaker 2: The crew really loved her.
Speaker 1: She brought so much joy to that set, and even
Speaker 1: in like the hardest of times, like things would be
Speaker 1: like she was so unafraid that like if there was
Speaker 1: tension on the set, like because you know, sometimes there
Speaker 1: was like between anybody, like if you're just like get
Speaker 1: me out of here, this day is like awful, she
Speaker 1: would never be afraid to like cut the tension with
Speaker 1: a joke that would like make you laugh and be
Speaker 1: like right, You're totally right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Like it was just like never never afraid to say
Speaker 1: what she was feeling or thinking or like want to
Speaker 1: make somebody laugh, even on set, like watching her do
Speaker 1: do Valerie, or watching her do any of these like
Speaker 1: huge numbers, Like I don't think I realized the gravity
Speaker 1: of like how that was going to translate on screen
Speaker 1: until we got to the tour and I saw her
Speaker 1: do it live night after night, Like that's when I
Speaker 1: think it really translated for me. I knew she was talented,
Speaker 1: and I knew she was like going to be huge.
Speaker 1: I just didn't I think being able to witness it
Speaker 1: from behind on stage and watch her do that day
Speaker 1: after day and night, like I was like, Oh, that's
Speaker 1: a different kind of I don't know, it's just very special.
Speaker 1: It was very special to watch. What's interesting to me?
Speaker 1: I had forgotten about this or I because she was
Speaker 1: so funny and so seemingly casual, like we were saying,
Speaker 1: like you wouldn't ever see her sort of like put
Speaker 1: on the presentation of working hard. There would be times
Speaker 1: where I'd be like, can you throw in this dance move?
Speaker 1: Like can you do this thing? And she would do
Speaker 1: it sometimes, but it's like she would never do it
Speaker 1: to the extent where it compromised what she was doing
Speaker 1: in the scene, like or I might go overboard and
Speaker 1: do it just to try to make her laugh. Yeah,
Speaker 1: she would do it maybe to see if I could laugh.
Speaker 1: But she was very very serious about like what she
Speaker 1: was doing all the time, like when the camera was on,
Speaker 1: and it's easy to forget about that because she was
Speaker 1: so disarmingly like jovial when the camera was off, and
Speaker 1: even like during the tour or when I would ask
Speaker 1: her like you know, she would tell me to do
Speaker 1: certain things and I would be like, can you throw
Speaker 1: this in and she'd be.
Speaker 3: Like, no, no, no, I can't do it. It's gonna throw me.
Speaker 3: And she wanted to be perfect. She wanted it like
Speaker 3: she wanted to dance correctly, sing correctly, and like not
Speaker 3: mess with it. And even you know, doing scenes. It's
Speaker 3: like when we had our one scene together and it
Speaker 3: really bothered her that she kept cracking and she she
Speaker 3: was very, very very professional. Yeah, very and so it's
Speaker 3: it's such a lesson to like that balance of you know,
Speaker 3: being fun, being the person you want on set, and
Speaker 3: then also being the most professional when that camera is on.
Speaker 3: And like just how you were saying, how you know,
Speaker 3: if there was tension or people got in little TIFFs,
Speaker 3: that she would crack a joke or something. But she
Speaker 3: also would be the first to like charge full steam
Speaker 3: ahead to speak up for people or situations that didn't
Speaker 3: feel feel right right, and she would she didn't care,
Speaker 3: like she may face the brunt of the blowback from
Speaker 3: doing things like that, right, she didn't care. And I
Speaker 3: learned that, you know, I've always said I've learned from
Speaker 3: all the girls on the show to like learn how
Speaker 3: to speak up for myself. Obviously she was a huge
Speaker 3: part of that. She was like fiercely loyal to all
Speaker 3: of us and protective of all of us. And when
Speaker 3: you know, she felt like we should speak out for ourselves,
Speaker 3: she would she would encourage that. And I think something
Speaker 3: else that was really important for me to see was
Speaker 3: how she would call herself out just as much as
Speaker 3: she would call anybody else. And it was it was
Speaker 3: wild to see that, you know, when somebody is if
Speaker 3: she got into it with somebody and I would ask
Speaker 3: her for the story or and I would maybe saw
Speaker 3: it and I would talk to her out and she
Speaker 3: would be like, yeah, I shouldn't have said I did that,
Speaker 3: and I said this thing and that thing and that was.
Speaker 1: Not okay, Well you're right, And I think that just
Speaker 1: speaks to like how self aware she was. Like it's
Speaker 1: so it might be, you know, like she would say
Speaker 1: things that would not be how somebody would normally handle
Speaker 1: something right like it would it's always it's not always
Speaker 1: the way that somebody would handle something. But she was
Speaker 1: so self aware of herself and everything around her, and god,
Speaker 1: she was so smart and so fast, Like I mean,
Speaker 1: you you said this before, She's like whip smart. It
Speaker 1: is actually yeah, every joke, every serious moment, Like she
Speaker 1: just she saw a situation, she clocked who she was
Speaker 1: in that situation, but then she clocked who that person
Speaker 1: was in that situation, and like if there was some
Speaker 1: kind of like something that went down, she'd be able
Speaker 1: to give you the recap in like thirty seconds in
Speaker 1: the most seamless way, and you're like, she's right, You're right.
Speaker 1: Like it was really amazing. And I think that's like
Speaker 1: why I respected her so much was because she was
Speaker 1: so aware and rounded. Yet there's this element to her
Speaker 1: that's like a little bit out there and a little
Speaker 1: bit in the clouds, but not in a bad way,
Speaker 1: just in a way that's like, wow, I wish I
Speaker 1: could kind of be like that. It was like aspirationally
Speaker 1: sometimes and like she's just she was just so like
Speaker 1: without a doubt herself all the time. Oh yeah, she
Speaker 1: had no choice and exactly, and that was so admirable
Speaker 1: in so many ways. And yet like she knew who
Speaker 1: she was and she knew when she was wrong, she
Speaker 1: knew when she was right even more so, and that
Speaker 1: was just like she's just one of a kind.
Speaker 3: And she knew she could depend on us, like she
Speaker 3: was an open book. And when she trusted you, she
Speaker 3: gave you all of it. And so there were no
Speaker 3: walls up. If there's ever a time when I felt
Speaker 3: like maybe there, you know, something was going on, we
Speaker 3: could snap each other out of that.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 3: And like seeing her with her family again, all those
Speaker 3: qualities that she had with us, she had them tenfold
Speaker 3: with her family.
Speaker 1: Totally loyal, rejective.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we all feel like family with her family
Speaker 3: because of that. And she brought us in to all
Speaker 3: of that. And when my family would visit, she would
Speaker 3: treat them like they were her family. I think they
Speaker 3: would go for any of our families. And she made herself,
Speaker 3: She made herself so memorable and you know, unforgettable and
Speaker 3: a vital part of like my nieces and nephew's memories
Speaker 3: of the show growing up and my family and my
Speaker 3: experience there were like you said, she was one of
Speaker 3: a kind and always herself.
Speaker 1: When I think about like the fans and how they
Speaker 1: related to Santana so deeply, like resonated with her character
Speaker 1: and who she was and her talent, you know, like
Speaker 1: in tandem with that, Like I think I want all
Speaker 1: of you guys to just hear over and over again,
Speaker 1: like how awesome and incredible and special Santana was. Nya
Speaker 1: was just the same, And I think you guys know
Speaker 1: that that at this point. Like I think that they
Speaker 1: mirror each other in a lot of ways. They're also
Speaker 1: different in a lot of ways, but like they the
Speaker 1: I think the thing that brings it all together is
Speaker 1: like that Nya and Santana were both one of a kind, right,
Speaker 1: Like they were both so special and on screening off
Speaker 1: like when they say like, oh we were you know,
Speaker 1: be worried about meeting your heroes. Like I think if
Speaker 1: anybody met Naya, they would feel like it was a win,
Speaker 1: not a loss.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that, Like I think Santana was probably
Speaker 3: a little more from like abrasive than Naya Nyaga.
Speaker 1: An elevated version of yes exactly.
Speaker 3: But that power, Yeah, that like steadiness that Santana has
Speaker 3: is all Naya. And the openness that I feel like
Speaker 3: Santana has with her emotions and Naya yeh all day. Yeah,
Speaker 3: And the fact that Nya could do those insane monologues
Speaker 3: written by Ian and could make them funny and have levels.
Speaker 3: Here my favorite thing besides her obvious insane talent. Hearing
Speaker 3: Naya tell a story like monologue for you for five
Speaker 3: to ten minutes, Kelly and I would talk about like
Speaker 3: I can't wait to hear it, like Naya's version of
Speaker 3: what happened or she went to this thing.
Speaker 2: I can't wait to hear about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it would just be the most elevated, truthful
Speaker 3: and like funny, funny version of whatever you're going to hear.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, wild insane.
Speaker 3: And I just you know, we're so lucky that she
Speaker 3: did get so many opportunities on the show to showcase
Speaker 3: her talent, extraordinary talent in so many ways. And we
Speaker 3: do get that for forever, in a terrible situation where
Speaker 3: I wish, you know, she was here and making more
Speaker 3: things and giving us more, many more things to watch
Speaker 3: and fawn over.
Speaker 2: At least at a minimum, we have, you know, all
Speaker 2: of this.
Speaker 3: And yeah, it's been I was worried about coming into
Speaker 3: this rewatch. You and I talked about it about how
Speaker 3: it would be to watch her right, and it's been
Speaker 3: such a gift.
Speaker 1: It is such a gift, such a gift. Well, we
Speaker 1: talk about her a lot. We talked about Santanna a lot.
Speaker 1: You guys talk about her a lot, so obviously we
Speaker 1: wanted to give this episode to you guys, and also
Speaker 1: we wanted to talk about her because you know, we
Speaker 1: talked about Santanna, but just to give Niah her own
Speaker 1: like moment. But in addition to us, we've asked some
Speaker 1: of our fellow cast member and Glee family to send
Speaker 1: us some of their favorite Nya memories. So let's kick
Speaker 1: it off with the one and only.
Speaker 4: Heather Morris, one of my favorite memories of Naya. And
Speaker 4: this is shuffling through probably hundreds of memories, but I
Speaker 4: think I really love this one because it's just such
Speaker 4: a simple memory of Nya. And I think those ones
Speaker 4: are really important because our lives at that moment in
Speaker 4: time were so chaotic and so busy, and so I
Speaker 4: remember from the beginning, Nya was always obsessed with food,
Speaker 4: and like loved really good food. We'd go to restaurants
Speaker 4: and she'd find good restaurants with great food.
Speaker 2: She loved to cook.
Speaker 4: I would go over there and she would have like
Speaker 4: a full spread of food. It was amazing. I think
Speaker 4: that's why her and Telly were so close because of
Speaker 4: their love for food. But I remember it was like
Speaker 4: season four or five, I can't remember which one. I
Speaker 4: think it was after Eli was born, and we were
Speaker 4: sitting in the auditorium in the audience in the chairs,
Speaker 4: watching some sort of performance, and she had brought a
Speaker 4: three ring binder with like clear plastic covers inside and
Speaker 4: magazines with like food magazines and recipes, and she would
Speaker 4: shuffle through them, and I just remember sitting next to
Speaker 4: her and looking at her do this. She was shuffling
Speaker 4: and like picking her recipes and her favorites, and then
Speaker 4: she would tear it out and she would put it
Speaker 4: in the binder and we would sit there and like
Speaker 4: just salivated all the food that we would find in
Speaker 4: all the recipes that we're getting.
Speaker 1: So to this.
Speaker 4: Day, I have a white three ring binder that I
Speaker 4: keep and it's my recipe binder, and I do the
Speaker 4: same thing. Obviously, I don't always print have magazines, but
Speaker 4: I like to print out my recipes and put them
Speaker 4: in my binder, and I always think of Nio when
Speaker 4: I do it, and it's just so comforting.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Heather. We love you very much. We know
Speaker 1: how much you loved Naya.
Speaker 2: And here is Paris Barclay.
Speaker 5: Here's my thing about Naya. I don't know anyone in
Speaker 5: the world, I mean literally in the entire world who
Speaker 5: could have done what she did. I mean, it's if
Speaker 5: you take a part the talent and there and put
Speaker 5: it into little boxes. Her ability to dance, her ability
Speaker 5: to be funny, her ability to be dramatic, her ability
Speaker 5: to sing. I mean, it's not just a triple threat.
Speaker 5: It's a quadruple threat. And there are no weaknesses in
Speaker 5: any of those categories. Plus, I always found she was
Speaker 5: a lovely person to me. She was incredibly respectful, She
Speaker 5: committed to every single thing she did. Her relationship, her
Speaker 5: love relationship with Heather was completely real to me. The
Speaker 5: way they looked at each other, the way they kissed,
Speaker 5: it was to me, it felt really authentic and really real.
Speaker 5: And I just thought, there's nothing this girl can't do.
Speaker 5: And that's why her loss is so difficult, because she
Speaker 5: would have had an enormous career, just an enormous career.
Speaker 5: And it pains me to not have her because I
Speaker 5: would love to be doing some other show with her
Speaker 5: some other time. But we do have the things we
Speaker 5: have and the moments that we have, and we have
Speaker 5: you know, dance with somebody, which was hilariously great with
Speaker 5: her in Heather and I just think there can't be
Speaker 5: enough enough tribute to her. I seldom have seen like
Speaker 5: that in my thirty years of doing this. It's hard
Speaker 5: to think of another person who could do everything she did.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Paris, I wholeheartedly agree with everything that you said.
Speaker 1: And one of our dear friends and cohorts in Snacksmus
Speaker 1: also tell Because.
Speaker 6: Naya Rivera was my best friend, we became a part
Speaker 6: of one another's lives. We became part of one another's families.
Speaker 6: We spent holidays together, we took trips together. We spent
Speaker 6: every day together at work or at home. I have
Speaker 6: so many memories of her, But the memories that come
Speaker 6: up most often, and the ways in which she's still
Speaker 6: such a part of my life, are in the words
Speaker 6: that she made up or we made up invented, the
Speaker 6: turns of phrase, the funny little sayings, the jokes, the commentaries.
Speaker 6: So whenever I'm saying anything that was something that passed
Speaker 6: her lips, it feels like she's right.
Speaker 2: Next to me again.
Speaker 3: Love you, Kelly and one of our best friends, megsd
Speaker 3: Megan Doyle, my.
Speaker 7: Fondest memory of Naya is she gave everything she did
Speaker 7: one hundred and ten percent. If she was given a
Speaker 7: three page monologue, which she was pretty much every day,
Speaker 7: she'd show up and nail it on the first take,
Speaker 7: and she made it look easy as hell. Most people
Speaker 7: tend to downplay their birthday, but Naya totally owned the
Speaker 7: fact that she loved her birthday, and she always planned
Speaker 7: a wild trip for everyone to celebrate her. This usually
Speaker 7: involved a talent show where she sat there and had
Speaker 7: everyone perform in her honor. On her birthday. She was
Speaker 7: the queen and we were her jesters, and honestly, I've
Speaker 7: never laughed so hard in my life. The irony is
Speaker 7: that we were all performing for the most talented person
Speaker 7: in the room, and yet she was absolutely tickled. Her
Speaker 7: snicks miss parties were obviously legendary. She had carolers and
Speaker 7: elves and Sanna and missus claws. Her individual Halloween costumes
Speaker 7: were always next level, though I'd say the best Halloween
Speaker 7: we ever had was when we were all dressed as rugrats.
Speaker 7: We had a party bus take us around town and
Speaker 7: we even carried a playpen with us. She really loved
Speaker 7: any excuse to celebrate and bring everyone together. And it
Speaker 7: wasn't just parties where she gave it her all. If
Speaker 7: you were lucky enough to make Nia laugh, she threw
Speaker 7: her head back and cackled with her whole soul. There
Speaker 7: was no better feeling. Her fearlessness was contagious. Having Nia
Speaker 7: in your corner rooting for you and your success was
Speaker 7: just the best feeling.
Speaker 1: We have the one and only Sugarmna here to share,
Speaker 1: Vanessa Lenji's.
Speaker 8: Kevin and Jenna asked me to do a voice note
Speaker 8: for a memory or a remembrance of Nya. And I'm
Speaker 8: sitting here and I'm eight months pregnant, and my mind
Speaker 8: originally goes to her laugh and her joy and her talent,
Speaker 8: and I'm thinking about listening to her and Kelly make
Speaker 8: jokes about anything in the laughter that came from it
Speaker 8: and the sound of her laugh. Or I'm thinking about
Speaker 8: trips to Mexico we took, and funny things that happened,
Speaker 8: like you know, Paaras sailing with Britt Parks and crashing
Speaker 8: into a family on the beach, and thinking about set
Speaker 8: and how funny she was and how she always had
Speaker 8: something to say about what was going on that was
Speaker 8: so cutting and true, but also.
Speaker 1: You know, wise and brilliant.
Speaker 8: And then I was thinking about all the time since
Speaker 8: we finished filmingly and her becoming a mom, and just
Speaker 8: with what I'm understanding of myself going through this process now,
Speaker 8: I think that I wanted to remember her as a
Speaker 8: wonderful mother and a loving mother and a fun mother.
Speaker 8: And I know that she was close with her mom
Speaker 8: and her sister and family was really important to her,
Speaker 8: and I feel lucky that I knew that side of
Speaker 8: her too. And I think that Nya, and I'm sure
Speaker 8: I've said this before, is someone irreplaceable on the planet.
Speaker 8: She was a unique individual who was outstanding and as
Speaker 8: a friend, as a talent, as a beauty, as a mother,
Speaker 8: as a family member, as a partner, just an incredible,
Speaker 8: irreplaceable human being.
Speaker 1: And I love her. I love you, Naya.
Speaker 8: We carry you with us everywhere we go.
Speaker 1: You've left a legacy, we have the icon and legend.
Speaker 1: Jameinch to share her favorite memory of Nia.
Speaker 9: It was the episode after Corey died and I had
Speaker 9: a scene with Nya and as Sue Sylvester, I say
Speaker 9: something just horrible about Finn played by Corey and Nya
Speaker 9: grabbed me by the collar and threw me up against
Speaker 9: a wall. I mean it was I was scared. It
Speaker 9: was powerful, it was real, and she meant it. And
Speaker 9: I was very impressed with her, her commitment and her
Speaker 9: strength because I'm a big girl. Also, I remember how
Speaker 9: she would have these monologues and she'd be word perfect
Speaker 9: in first take.
Speaker 2: She was a real pro.
Speaker 9: So missed.
Speaker 1: Thank you to everyone in our Glee family who shared
Speaker 1: your Naya memory with us, and all of you, Like
Speaker 1: we said, we just we felt like this podcast wouldn't
Speaker 1: be complete without just sharing our wonderful memories and reflections
Speaker 1: on the amazingly talented but also incredible human Nya bus
Speaker 1: and was. So we obviously know how much Naya and
Speaker 1: santanamental of you guys, as well as the fans, and
Speaker 1: so we wanted to give you guys the space to
Speaker 1: share some of your thoughts and your tributes to Nayas
Speaker 1: as well. So next episode it's for you, and we're
Speaker 1: turning things over to you guys.
Speaker 2: We love you, Naya.
Speaker 3: That's what you really miss Thanks for listening and follow
Speaker 3: us on Instagram at and That's what you really miss pod.
Speaker 3: Make sure to write us a review and leave us
Speaker 3: five stars.
Speaker 2: See you next time.