245 - Black Hair, Black Barbie, and Datemares with Actress Hayley Marie Norman

Episode • Aug 30, 2023 • 1h 8m

Today’s guest is best described as a multifaceted force of nature. Hayley Marie Norman is an actor, writer, activist, and podcast host. She’s lit up the screen with Hollywood legends Will Smith, Chris Rock, and Eddie Murphy, to name a few. In her wildly entertaining podcast called Datemare with Hayley Marie Norman, she brings her effervescence and comedic prowess to discussing her dating life post-divorce with notable guests and tales that will shock and delight. And as an activist in Hollywood, Hayley uses her platform to share the vegan message and shine a light on the cruelty and environmental destruction for which animal agriculture is responsible.

So join us today as we take a deep dive into everything from activism to adventure to affairs of the heart!

“Erykah Badu has this great quote that’s something along the lines of “vegan food or plant-based eating is the original soul food,” and it’s true because it is, and when I think about veganism I think about the government, the higher forces poisoning us for profit, because that’s essentially what is happening and what has happened since the beginning of time. And I think when black people were uprooted in the most brutal way possible and forced to come to America and start their lives over, I can’t even imagine, even though those are my ancestors, I can’t even imagine the brutality, and so I think that there was a level of you have to find joy and survive in whatever way you can when your circumstances are so brutal. So, I think that there was a level of this is what we’re given, and we’re going to make the best with what we have, and then like anything, these things get handed down, generation to generation, but I think that there is like a global awakening.” – Hayley Marie Norman

What we discuss in this episode:

Hayley’s journey to veganism and how eating a vegan diet affected her.
Her thoughts on the SAG and WGA strikes.
EMDR and EFT therapies and how they’ve been beneficial to Hayley.
The genesis of Hayley’s Datemare podcast and her baffling experiences on dating apps.
What it’s like for her to date as a vegan.
The chance encounter that launched Hayley’s acting career.
How Hayley remains true to herself and uses her platform to promote veganism.
That special Deal or No Deal episode, African-American Barbie, and a serious datemare.