struct the nuances of ‘good’ vs. ‘bad,’ but hopes she doesn’t inflict her own insecurities on others. “I think the reason why I beat myself up so much is because when you are in the public eye, you do feel this pressure to be the perfect person,” she ad- mits. “And I think that that has led me to some incredible discoveries, and I have no regrets about that. But I think that I do take it too far on a personal level all the time, because I’ve developed this sort of obses- sion with myself, with being perfect morally, physically, emotionally.” While Chamberlain has become in- creasingly protective of how she’s perceived, she gives little thought to what many may claim as her biggest successes. Even birthing a series of highly meme-able red carpet inter- views for Vogue at the Met Gala feels mostly “one-note” to the star, just “hanging out with a bunch of hu- mans.” What really fires her up is a fan connecting with a recent podcast episode, or making sociological con- cepts digestible for her generation. When asked if she would give up a career in entertainment for academ- ics, she notes the two aren’t mutu- ally exclusive. “I’m really obsessed with psychology, and more now than ever, because I think we have a whole new batch of issues that we’ve nev- er had before. I’m not saying I’m a fucking philosopher, but I defi- nitely am intrigued by this new set of problems, and I’m experiencing them. I want to figure out a way to combine [entertainment and educa- tion].And also if you can make some- thing deeper fun. Why not? I think that’s a huge opportunity there.” It would “suck ass” if Emma Cham- berlain was to wake up to a drained bank account and canceled career tomorrow, but she knows her worth wouldn’t change without the world watching. Despite her capacity to outsource, the young star claims she would descend into insanity with- out doing her own dishes, cleaning Frankie and Declan’s litter box, or
was the achievement of a lifetime—an eclectic five-bedroom, seven-bathroom, Architectur- al Digest -approved and Internet catnip—and the catalyst for a long-imminent meltdown. “This was one of my biggest goals, and it didn’t solve all my fucking prob- lems,” she says. “Because of course it didn’t. I don’t want to admit that arriving at this point does not solve anything. It doesn’t automatically come with fulfill- ment. There’s a reason why so many people who end up in this industry end up having a really hard time psychologically. I’ve felt like I had it all, but I still feel empty. It didn’t fill a void for me. That realization can absolutely destroy people.” An all-too familiar question of “What does it all really mean?” began picking at the edge of Chamberlain’s consciousness, soon becoming a gaping, unignorable wound. At the dawn of 2022, void unfilled, Chamberlain stepped away from YouTube for months on end. Shifting her attention to less financially “fruitful” ventures: her podcast—which, to note, now outranks some of Spotify’s most popular—and the coffee company born of Cham- berlain’s well-documented caffeine connoisseurship. “It’s not about money,” she says, on her choice to instead re-invest her profit back into the company.“I’ve never made a penny from Chamberlain Coffee. Not one penny. I don’t care. I love it. And it doesn’t matter if I’m making money from them, it doesn’t matter if it’s going to make me more famous.” If there’s such a thing as the perfect storm for online popularity, Emma Chamberlain is a typhoon. Although, as Internet clout is increasingly easy to come by, it’s proven more and more difficult to maintain—forcing most Gen Z sensations to capitalize on their 15 minutes with hasty beauty deals or nonsensical pivots to music and movies. For her part, Chamberlain wants none of it, explicitly refusing to seek long-term relevance in realms she believes to have no business in: “Guess what? That’s not my specialty. I don’t want to take shortcuts to succeed in other areas just because I established myself in one—I just think that that’s cheating.” Chamberlain continues, “I learned at a young age that you don’t get away with shit. You don’t just get to cheat your way and then never pay the price. And I know that, and I’ve learned that the hard way. This is why you have to be a good person because shit comes back to bite. And I think a lot of people don’t know how to be a good person.” Doing the ‘right’ thing in all areas of her life has become Emma Chamberlain’s North Star. She readily admits to feeling “used” by other creators upon arriving in LA, but understands their actions. She’s the first to empathize with her critics. She keeps her long-term relationship private, for its preservation. She wants her podcast to decon-
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