One day after Grace O’Malley announced that she’s leaving Barstool (amid her messy Brianna Chickenfry friendship breakup), Whitney Cummings stopped by the Betches office to chat. As you’re probably aware, Grace is Whitney’s Big Baby Tour opener, so the hilarious girlies know each other well. “Grace is so wildly talented, amazing,” Whitney gushed. When I asked about her professional take on the saga with Bri, she had some incredible words of wisdom. The comedian reflected on staying out of other women’s business decisions, toxic relationships, when to speak about a personal situation online, and prioritizing friendship. I took mental notes.
@realwhitneycummingsBarstool Sports?♬ original sound – WhitneyCummings
“I think Barstool Sports needs a Human Resources department,” she joked. (Later that day, Whitney joked in a TikTok that she’d do the job for free.) “Let me just really choose my words,” the comedian said, carefully. “It’s interesting. I think that women were only used to being exploited sexually, and now to be getting exploited emotionally, on some level, it may feel like progress.” She noted that perhaps this is “a new business model that is consensual with everybody” and said it’s not her place to “judge” other women’s business decisions if that’s the case.
Whitney added, “I would not want any decision that I made, or anything I said after getting out of an abusive, toxic relationship in my twenties to be permanently on the internet.” She thinks if Bri had waited a little longer to speak about the situation, her comments about Grace might’ve been very different. “I would like to think, if the podcast was two weeks later, it would’ve been, ‘You know what… this has been a wild year, I’m oversensitive,'” Whitney said. She explained that sometimes it’s “okay to not talk, to hold” and wait until you’ve processed everything and you’re more clear-headed.
When the comedian appeared on PlanBri in February and spent time with Bri and Grace, she straight-up asked them: “So, what’s your plan for staying friends? What’s the plan here? Because fame is… You guys don’t know about this drug.”
Whitney stressed that it “sucks” to grow apart from a close friend, especially when it’s all public. She pointed out that we’ve all lost a friend to a toxic guy at some point. “And then you get out of a relationship that’s bad, and you look at it and go, ‘So embarrassed.’ I’ve been there, man.”
Honestly, she should teach a class on how to navigate friendships in the public eye. Thank you for your thoughtful take, Whitney <3.
