Amber Rose has had many titles: model, designer, activist, and even emoji creator. Now the SlutWalk creator can add "talk show host" to her resume when the aptly titled The Amber Rose Show premieres on July 8 at 11 p.m. ET/10 CT on VH1.
We got a chance to sit down with the always outspoken, proud feminist, and she answered the questions that you asked!
1. How do you handle the huge amounts of negativity and disrespect that come with being a successful woman? Would you say that you have always had the strength of character to deal with it or has it been a behavior/thought process that you've developed? —Halea Swanson, Facebook
Amber Rose: I definitely developed it over time. It initially was extremely hard, but then I just stopped giving a fuck, and that's when I got enlightened and was able to live my life to the fullest. And once you get to that point and you stop caring about what everyone says, you just start living, life truly becomes awesome.
2. What defines beauty to you? What do you find beautiful in others? —Lauren Sevin, Facebook
AR: I could see the beauty in any and everybody. I've always been that way. What defines beauty? Self-confidence. You know, everybody likes something, so it shouldn't be society's standards.
3. As a mother, what's the most important thing you want to teach your son? —Angelle Armuelles, Facebook
AR: I want to teach him to be a feminist. I want him to know that he needs to show women respect, he knows to show people respect. He needs to put 150% into everything he does — there's no "I can't" in my house. My son knows from the gate if he wants to take on something, like a sport or the piano or the guitar or whatever the case may be, that he really needs to focus on it and follow [it] all the way through.
4. What's your best advice for single moms? —Kip Jessica Caswell, Facebook
AR: Like co-parenting? Women are just naturally smarter, so if you just really take the high road in every situation, especially with a separation or a divorce or something, if you're always the bigger person, the nicer person in the situation, eventually they'll come around and it'll be the best thing that could ever happen for your baby. Try to have family days with your kid's father, that's the best thing for your baby. My son is the happiest when he's around me and his dad at the same time. Just push for that — don't bring up old shit, don't bring up anything that happened in your relationship — just worry about your baby.
5. What should young girls and boys know about slut-shaming? —ecy11
AR: They should know that it is an extreme form of bullying... That's what people need to understand. Not only is it extreme bullying, but people actually kill themselves over it, and there's girls that are killing themselves in high school just from being the "school slut," maybe from kissing one guy and dating one guy — not necessarily doing something extremely crazy.
6. I have three daughters, and I'm so afraid that they will have body image issues and self-esteem issues like I have always had. What is one piece of advice that I can tell them to give them the confidence that you have? —tcastillos101
AR: Always tell them that they're beautiful. Let them dress themselves — that's how you become creative — so when your kids dress themselves, even though they have two different color socks on or their shoes are on the wrong feet or their mismatched shirt and pants, tell them that they are absolutely beautiful no matter what they have on. I'm not gonna lie, that's what my mom did to me, because she grew up the same way — very insecure about her body — and when she had me, I would come out literally looking like a clown to the living room, and my mom would say, "Oh my God!" and it was always that reaction. And I always got dressed 'cause I knew my mom would give me that reaction every single time and she really built my confidence to the point where I was like, hey, I'm fucking 18 and I'm gonna shave my head and I don't give a shit because my mom says I'm cool. So it worked for me, and that's what I do for my son.
7. Aside from your son, what do you feel is your biggest accomplishment? —Belle DeJour, Facebook
AR: SlutWalk, for sure. People didn't see the background of what I had to go through to get that off the ground. Like, it was tireless days and a lot of money, a lot of my own money I just put into it because I'm not getting the donations that I feel like I should be getting, because people don't understand it. I just went super hard to get that off the ground, and I'm so glad I did, because it really changed a lot of people's lives.
8. What is your favorite color and why? —Aliluvv14
AR: My favorite color is pink, and I don't know, I've just always loved it!
9. Do you eat potatoes? And if yes, do you eat the skin or leave it? —Sarah Bonse, Facebook
AR: I like mashed, I like baked, I like extra sour cream and butter, I like home fries, I like Tater Tots. I love potatoes. I love to eat! The only thing I don't eat is cilantro.
10. You are an activist, a talk show host, an author, and an entrepreneur. You even have a successful emoji line to your name. What else do you want to achieve or launch in the future? A cosmetics or clothing line, perhaps? —itsgabsantos
AR: You know, I really want to dip my hands into everything I think is cool and figure out if I like it along the way. I kind of don't have one thing where I'm like, "I want to exactly do that." I want to try shit that I wouldn't normally try and maybe possibly be into it.
11. What made you decide to keep your hair super short and platinum blonde, and do you think you'll ever change your look? —s47d0854cf
AR: My hair is naturally dark, dark, dark, dark brown, and when I first cut it, I started crying. I was like, I look like a boy, I look crazy, 'cause [when] you have short, dark hair, it looked very masculine on me. So maybe a week goes by and [I thought] maybe if I dye it blonde, it'll soften it up or whatever, and I did, and it's been 14 years since I cut my hair, and I don't think I'll ever change it. Never. I just completely lose all my swag when I put hair on my head.
12. I'm a proud feminist but also a huge crybaby! I get emotional very easily, and I worry that by crying in front of people, it sets a bad example for feminism. I don't want my emotions to look like weakness. How can I stand up for myself and other women with tears rolling down my face? —cristinli
AR: I think being a feminist and being through a lot of shit, it gets very emotional. I would probably suggest that if she doesn't want to [cry], then she should practice speaking more before she actually goes and speaks to people.
13. If you weren't in the spotlight with the public, what would you do? —maryb485b14ae3
I don't know, I probably would have still been dancing for a while. I really enjoyed dancing; it was really fun and then I got cash every day. I mean, like now, at 32, probably own my own restaurant — I like to cook. I grew up in Philly, so I grew up with amazing sandwiches, Italian food — I grew up very Italian. Cheesesteaks. I always wanted to open up a really cool spot out here in L.A. because you guys don't really have good food out here. It's true! Everything's, like, vegan, it's so fucking weird.
14. What is it like to know that there are loads of people who look up to you and what you have done? —islachatter
AR: I don't do it for those reasons. I guess I don't really think about that. I don't look at myself as a role model, I kind of just speak on what I'm passionate about. And if you understand it and you live it with me, then that's fucking cool. But I never want someone to look at me as a role model and be like, "Hey, you know, I want to follow this same path that she had," because I have my own path and you have your own path. Everyone has their own path in life. So I appreciate it, but I think it's cool that they understand my movement.
The Amber Rose Show premieres on July 8 at 11 p.m. ET/10 CT on VH1!
