From dealing with sexual abuse to self love, YouTube’s If I Could Tell You Just One Thing offers an unscripted view into the lives of three very different women – Simone Biles, Awkwafina and Diane von Fürstenberg. These starkly different women share an uncanny resemblance – having had to work hard to get where they are.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays the candid interviewer very well over ice cream, dog walks and impromptu dress fittings. She gets them to give her some pretty solid advice.
This half-an-hour YouTube Original is available on the site for free and not as a premium offering like much of YouTube Original’s other content. The idea behind the special revolves around the one piece of advice these three women have for Chopra, that has helped in shaping their own personal lives.
There is a beautiful moment between Chopra and Biles , where Chopra asks her “if you fail...does it crush you?” and she replies “yes”. In that moment, I felt, the special captures a true emotion, without any tricks or diplomatic rehearsed answers, just unabashed honesty.
Biles, who is a gold medalist Olympian in artistic gymnastics, came forward speaking about how sometimes even four gold medals aren't enough to satisfy expectations.
The expectation of always doing the best, being the best, does weigh heavy especially when people tell her “what the hell is a bronze?” when she came third in the balance beam round at the 2016 Olympics, in Rio. Simone also came forward speaking about her encounter with sexual abuse and how for the longest time she denied it.
“They’re not gonna see me as Simone the gymnast, they’re going to see Simone as a sexual abuse survivor”Simone Biles in If I Could Tell You Just One Thing
But soon, she realised that it was time to speak up not just for herself, but for other girls too.
“I feel like a stronger woman today and I feel like telling my story has helped younger girls”Simone Biles in If I Could Tell You Just One Thing
In the end the one advice she had for Chopra was to “Do something that terrifies you everyday”.
With Awkwafina, Chopra shared ice cream, sang karaoke and ‘’face-timed’’ her grandmother all the while discussing stereotypes, women’s roles and proving your mettle. Awkwafina, who's a rapper, comedian and actor spoke about how she ended up finding herself in comedy.
“I developed humour as a defence mechanism…I lost my mom very young so when people saw me they would cry and I didn’t like to be the emblem for sorrow for people. I wanted people to feel happy and feel joy”Awkwafina in If I Could Tell You Just One Thing
The one advice that she gave Chopra was what her grandmother gave her:
“Life is a series of ups and downs. When you’re up, the only way is down and when you’re down, the only way is up”.
The series also follows Chopra’s narrative. How her life has changed so drastically in the last few years and how she’s navigating through marriage, one step at a time. Nick Jonas, also makes a casual special appearance in the episode.
In the end, Chopra interviews designer Diane von Fürstenberg , the creator of the wrap dress; however the designer feels that the dress was the one who created her. Diane talks about the importance of kids, why her marriage didn't work out and how she's “never met a woman who wasn't strong”.
The one advice she had for Chopra was :
“The most important relationship is the one that you have with yourself”Diane von Fürstenberg in If I Could Tell You Just One Thing
The special ends with Chopra singing karaoke with Awkwafina despite being “terrified” of it as she says in the show. Coming a full circle, she uses Simone’s advice of doing something that scares her and as both ‘Fina and her sing and sway to “Take On Me” they both score a 100 points.
“If I knew there was a score, I would have done better”Priyanka Chopra Jonas in “If I could tell you just one thing”
In Chopra’s case, it wouldn't be wrong to say that one can only physically take the Asian out of Asia but never emotionally, especially when they're the “Indian high achiever” kinds! Guess that’s the one thing we’d love to tell her!
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