‘There’s a democracy to humiliation… it can find anyone’. Jameela Jamil is talking about her new podcast, Wrong Turns, a show where she asks comedians to share their most humiliating stories. There’s no underlying moral lesson. Bodily fluids, unrequited crushes, embarrassing celebrity encounters; it’s all there. As an interviewer, the former Channel 4 presenter, has an infectious ability to draw out the most excruciating, and yet deeply human tales from guests like Mae Martin and Jordan Firstmann. It’s refreshing in its unfiltered candidness.
‘A shame told is a shame halved’ says Jamil. ‘We feel really liberated after every episode. I like doing things that are uplifting. I've been predominantly saying very serious things for five years, and I need a little bit of reprieve, and so does my audience.’
It’s that same craving that led Jamil to her latest film project, Pixar’s feelgood Elio, which she is promoting at the same time as launching Wrong Turns. The heart-warming children’s film is worlds away from the raucous, expletive-laden podcast, and yet both are guaranteed to bring a dose of joy to their respective audiences. Elio follows a young space-obsessed boy, who, struggling with his life on earth, inadvertently becomes an intergalactic ambassador, finding community in outer space. Jamil plays Ambassador Questa, a diplomatic planetary leader / ‘some sort of a space squid’.
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‘It’s a much-needed story about loneliness; about how hopeless it can feel to not have friends and people who understand or accept you’ says Jamil. ‘What an amazing time to put out a story that reminds young people that they have the potential to change the world. They don't need to have huge amounts of influence; the power is with the people and with the kids.’
We’re meeting in a private suite at a Soho Hotel where Jamil, dressed in blue Oscar de la Renta, has been doing press all morning ahead of the film’s global premiere. The former English teacher landed a job presenting Channel 4’s youth show, T4, after being encouraged to audition by a TV producer who noticed her in a pub. Smart, quick witted and charismatic, Jamil was a natural broadcaster; in 2012 she made history as the first sole female presenter of the BBC Radio 1 Chart show. Despite having no intention to act, four years later she landed a role on NBC Emmy winning comedy The Good Place, kickstarting a flourishing career in film as well as broadcasting. ‘It's not so much imposter syndrome as legitimately being an imposter and loving that I really don't know what I'm doing’ says Jamil of her unpredictable career. ‘Perfection is the enemy of progress and freeing myself of that has liberated me and made the world so much more fun.’
Jamil is also as infamous for her 'I Weigh' initiative – founded in 2018 in response to a pervasive culture of body shaming – as she is for her film and TV roles. Jamil has been committed to using her growing platform to advocate for social justice, from calling out toxic beauty standards to championing oppressed communities. ‘Celebrities are often out of touch and tone deaf. But we do have big platforms, and so we should try to use them as best we can. I would so rather be considered irritating for trying, than cool for saying nothing.’
A 2022 study found that as a woman’s level of fame increases, their media coverage becomes more negative, evidence of a systemic misogyny that Jamil learned the hard way. ‘The media picks someone and goes, "Oh, she's interesting. She stands out for some reason." They platform that woman [...] they obsessively talk about her until people become sick of her, a public who already have a subconscious appetite for the extraordinary downfall of a woman.’ While being outspoken has gained Jamil a loyal following of almost 4 million Instagram followers, the vitriol she receives on the internet is insidious and brutal.
Not only has Jamil found a level of peace online (‘all I see on my algorithm is what I want to see [...] dogs, fashion, snacks, dogs’), she is now openly exploring her own responsibility. ‘I think the world is recognising that dogmatic moral superiority and exclusionary hazing is not, in fact, the best tactic for gaining allies in a battle. We've all had to gulp down some humble pie, and I feel very comfortable with saying that I got it wrong, I reserve the right to change. I think we don’t believe in change anymore, and that really has to shift. There’s no point in activism if you don't believe in change.’
Jamil turns 40 this year, a milestone she is greeting not with dread, but with a clarity and joy that’s been hard won through trial, error and an unfaltering sense of humour. ‘I’m seeking out pleasure first, and everything else comes afterwards’ she says. ‘Life is not a test. My life is here for me to enjoy, and I would like to make the most of this world and the people in it.’
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