“Whenever I’ve made sense of something I’ve been through, I like to share it. I think that’s what we’re all searching for in the age of social media”
off the table for Brandon, they eventually found their voice with their character, talk- show host Latrell Jackson — a larger- than- life creation complete with leopard- print leggings, lashings of body glitter and social satire. “Basically, like if Wendy Williams and Oprah had a baby and did a chaotic daytime show.” Alongside some other characters in one- man shows, they were soon gaining attention.
Today, Goodman exudes a calm confidence in their work, but it wasn’t always the case, particularly when making the leap from leopard print to lovebug. “I got thrown into this show, one of the most popular shows on Netflix, it’s intimidating as fuck for my first job. I went in and I was drowning; somewhere along the way figuring out how to swim,” they recall of their first days on the programme. “That came from me knowing how to ask for help and who were my allies in the room. There were certain people I took aside, and said ‘ Hey, what am I doing?’”
It was this fish- out- of- water feeling that inspired Brandon to set up one of their big passion projects, Brutus Pink x the Black Folx Initiative, a mentorship programme for aspiring writers of colour.
“I think what Big Mouth knows how to do is identify raw talent,” they remark. “I was raw talent and they identified that, but they needed to create a system that would shepherd me along the way. And we could expose aspiring writers to an actual writers’ room so as they know how things work. So, as it’s not a secret. I thought it would be amazing if you could bring that into the system of the show, you can hold their hands. And there’s no weakness. Sometimes, it’s seen as a weakness to ask for help, but it isn’t. There’s strength in it.
“There are not many of us in the industry — Black, queer people — and I think we can do two things. Some people want to be the only one: ‘ I’m going to get in and shut the door behind me.’ Or you can see the value of creating space.”
A large part of their empathy for others could be attributed to the fact they’ve found peace in themselves as a non- binary, queer person of colour. It’s a combination that potentially allows connection to a large swathe of individuals who may be struggling with the issues that can surround those groups. For Goodman, a part of helping others is not shying away from sharing their own personal struggles via social media. “What I’ve learned is talking, speaking about and sharing what I have been through is always the most impactful. Whenever I’ve made sense of something I’ve been through, I like to share it, because I can back it up,” they say. “I think that’s what we’re all searching for in the age of social media and all these apps, we’re so separated.”
Not content with already being the busiest person on the planet, they have a book, titled
You Gotta Be You, due out later this year, and are developing a show with a huge mental health component. “I’ve been having a conversation about resilience. I’m not a fan of resilience. I think it’s kind of a band aid,” says Goodman. “It kind of gets us to the next step. But if you don’t do the healing part, that resilience will bleed on you and then you’ll cover it more with more trauma, more whatever. Resilience is fine to get you back up, but how do we devote ourselves to healing? And that’s [ through] investing in your mental health, advocating for your boundaries, unpacking the trauma safely.”
Although they are a master of social progress projects, they also have some lighter- hearted queer topics they’re keen to discuss. Their sex- positive Instagram comedy series Messy Mondays is being developed as a game show by Netflix. “People submit the messiest, ‘ hoeist’ shit they’ve done. I can see who sends what but it’s always anonymous; I never reveal. It’s a safe space but to talk about how to give a better blow job, how do I douche, or eat pussy. When we learned about sex it was always heterosexual and it was never about pleasure.
“So many of us aren’t having great sex. We should be having mind- blowing sex, but we haven’t been t aught how. I’m hoping the game show will allow us to do a little bit more around that.”
Finally, Goodman also has a semiautobiographical scripted series in the planning stages. “I think it’s long overdue that we tell stories where a Black queer person is not in trauma. I’ve played every gay best friend there is. You come in and say some quippy ‘ Oh, gurl, this dress is fabulous’ and then you go away. What happens if the camera stays on that character?” they muse.
Brandon’s clearly keen to bring their queerness, Blackness and full intersectional realness to the forefront of all their work in as honest and frank a way as possible. “Black queerness rules the zeitgeist. It’s in every gif that you send, it’s all over the red carpet, we’re the trendsetters and yet our stories and who we are never gets to be centre stage. Our lives, our journeys, our adventures, the fun, fabulous, dick- sucking style part of it, the hard stuff, the reckoning, the navigating of it all.
“I want us to be able to play with all the colours of the crayon box of humanity. I don’t want to play with one fucking thing. I’m a full person who has plants and watches Housewives, I have layers, gurl.”
Black queerness rules the zeitgeist