Original subtitles

REN: New York City.

You have a show with Hood by Air.

(cheering and applause)

Me and Laith have talked on the phone

almost every day.

You're really cute, by the way,

You better work.

Now that she's opened up to me...

I suffered from both bulimia and anorexia.

LAITH: ...I think it's just strengthening our relationship.

Don't let them let you be a third wheel. Oh, please.

Al was drunk and out of control.

She's my friend.

I'm not gonna sit there while someone...

AL: I'm always gonna be f---ing me. ...disrespects my friend.

Listen.

You are going on a date tomorrow night.

ISIS: Dominique took the initiative

to set me up on a date.

ARISCE: Dom and her husband got into a fight

in New York when we were there.

Cassandra, I'd like you

to sit on something.

Dominique was hammered.

Spiegel is huge.

Three, two, one.

Welcome to the Spiegel Catalog Company.

ARISCE: Spiegel is wanting to have a trans model as the cover.

Landing this would be epic.

It changes history.

*

* Tell me what's the problem, baby girl *

* You're doing just fine for yourself *

* My heart grow

* My heart grow baby in love.

You. What? What'd I do?

You forgot last night?

Mm-hmm.

Why do you have to turn up like that?

DOMINIQUE: Last night, Al showed up intoxicated and caused a scene.

It was really bad.

I'm not gonna let you f--- my career.

Seeing him act out

made me realize that he's struggling

with me leaving New York.

He's just missing me.

I'm doing what I need to do

to give us the come up that we need.

So, I need you to be on board.

You're out there by yourself and I'm gonna be by myself.

DOMINIQUE: The only way he expresses his emotions is through anger

and he is not good at communicating.

I love being with y'all,

but you got to make the sacrifice

because I'm not going to give up my career.

Please understand,

I have to go back to L.A.

It's literally tearing me

apart inside

because I'm telling my husband

that I have to leave him again.

And I'm telling him

that he has to find a way to deal with it.

But I'm coming back home to you and my son.

So, let me know that I-I don't have to worry

when I'm out there.

We'll be fine.

DOMINIQUE: I love him more than anything,

but I'm worried about what's going to happen

to my marriage while I'm away.

*

* Wanna know, wanna know, wanna know what it is *

* Ooh, ooh, ooh...

Hey, kids.

Hi, Cece. These are really good.

Thanks. All right. We'll use that.

How was New York? It was great.

Exhausting.

But I think it was fruitful, I mean,

people in New York now know that Slay exists.

And we have a go-see with Spiegel.

Great.

Spiegel is huge.

They have been around for decades.

CASSANDRA: I grew up in Iowa

and my mother used to drink her Pepsi,

and eat her Doritos,

and watch her favorite soap opera,

and she'd be flipping through her Spiegel.

CECE: While we were in New York, I met Richard Lowe,

the International Creative Director.

And this is the first time they've even considered

using a trans model.

Let's send Dominique,

Isis, Arisce and Ren.

Oh. Yeah. Yeah.

CASSANDRA: This is monumental.

A transgender person

has never been

in Spiegel. Yeah, it's huge.

Huge.

CECE: The girls have their work

cut out for them.

*

ARISCE: Hey.

Nothing.

What are you doing?

ARISCE: So, since New York,

me and Laith are dating. It's official.

You're really cute, by the way, you better work.

I don't think anyone signs up

for a long distance relationship on purpose,

but I'm willing to try it out.

It's still new; everything's still new.

Uh, a lace dress.

Laith is a huge FaceTimer,

especially unscheduled FaceTimes.

I like scheduled FaceTimes.

Sorry, I need my face on

to FaceTime.

I'm going to drinks tonight.

Oh, thanks. Don't regulate what I wear.

That's very misogynistic.

You think I'm your property?

(laughing)

I'm not wearing this out.

I would never wear white at night.

Thanks. That's so sweet of you.

LAITH: I'm very protective

and... she likes to show skin.

I don't know why.

No, it's not, it's West Hollywood.

It's the most not dangerous place in the world.

(laughs) I think I'm safe.

Laith has proven very considerate, very thoughtful.

I'm not used to that. I'm used to jerks who only think

about themselves.

And he's sounding awfully flirty and protective,

and that's so cute

because he's so cute.

Okay, well,

I will talk to you later.

And I'm probably not gonna call you

because it's gonna be late.

Okay. Bye, Laith.

Okay. Bye.

* They said you like me

* There's no one like me

* I'm on top of the world

* I'll take you to the top...

*

Landing this would be epic. REN: Yes.

Like, seriously epic.

Hi, ladies.

How are you doing today? Very good.

Wonderful. Well, thank you all for making the time.

I'm gonna try and make it as quick as I can

for all of you today,

so I'm gonna start with Arisce.

ARISCE: All right. Please follow me.

Fantastic.

ARISCE: Spiegel is a huge deal.

It's in households everywhere.

This company wanting to have

a trans model as the cover

is...

absolutely groundbreaking.

You can just sit right there if you don't mind. Oh, lovely.

Thank you for coming.

All right. So, it's important to us

when we hire a model and when we introduce

new cover girls to our customers

that we don't disappoint.

What's the highest heel that you typically wear? Sorry?

The highest heel that you typically wear

for a long photo shoot? Any.

Just keep in mind that we shoot, in some cases, 150 looks a day.

ARISCE: This casting is like nothing

I've ever been to. It's almost like a full interview process.

It is a little intimidating just because,

like, you don't know what they're gonna ask you.

DOMINIQUE: 15 years ago, you would never expect

an openly transgender woman

to show up at a casting.

It shows that the world is progressing so much.

Obviously, you have incredible bone structure.

Thank you so much. And incredible height.

Yeah. I will tell you

that the one challenge,

being a catalog company,

is, um, is height.

What is your inseam? 37.

You know, maybe we can get around that.

I first wanna start with this amazing hair.

Is it all real?

Uh, it's all Brazilian.

LOWE: I like it, I like it.

I mean, it's really beautiful,

but if we had to cut it?

Oh, definitely.

I'm here to evolve my brand.

Spiegel can help

take my career to the next level.

Of course, I would wanna book it.

REN: I've never really been on a go-see like this.

This is serious business.

I see you have a lot of very editorial work,

a lot of beauty with dramatic makeup.

But I don't see as much of the fashion side.

So, what-what-what are you passion about in fashion?

Um...

I just always had a passion for fashion.

Fantastic. Good for you.

ARISCE: I think clothes are amazing.

They're art that you live in every day. Perfect.

We might need you to let us try some things

that, that maybe are a little different.

I'm okay with that, definitely.

We might need you to come in for some private fittings.

I would be so honored.

If we decide to work with you,

we might wanna do something softer with the hair.

That's fantastic.

We want you to get that emotion out

during the photo shoot. Four years of theater...

I'm open for anything and everything.

I honestly don't really know too much about Spiegel

except for everybody has been telling me

that it's f---ing massive.

So, we're gonna want you to be on point.

We're gonna want you to be, you know, at the top of your game.

We do a lot of products here. We're 151 years old.

That's fantastic.

Spiegel makes super models.

From Stephanie Seymour to Christie Brinkley.

These are the supers that I always looked up to,

and wanted to be like.

Three, two, one.

ARISCE: I've done this a thousand times.

I'm very comfortable in front of a camera.

The younger girls freeze up all of the time.

Three, two, one.

REN: I have no idea what to expect.

Honestly, I'm just hoping

one of us gets this-- I'm rooting for us all.

Three, two, one, and cheese.

DOMINIQUE: As a transgender woman,

getting this job at Spiegel would be monumental.

One more. ISIS: I just want to book the job,

especially when

it's a prestigious brand.

It was lovely meeting you.

This is a huge deal.

Like, these people give zero f---s

if you don't know what you're doing.

I'm not gonna be the one to mess this up.

You are going on a date tonight.

What are you guys drinking?

Where's the bartender?

There's nothing in my glass.

Dominique is wasted.

CECE: Oh, I have news.

Spiegel, I heard from them.

ARISCE: I have wanted to do this

since I was about 14 years old.

* I wanna feel the breeze...

DOMINIQUE: What's your town like?

It's just like any white suburb with money.

I go back to visit my family because I love them.

I think they're great,

but there's nothing for me there except for them. Really?

Are you gonna take Laith with you the next time?

I don't know. (giggles)

What's going on?

I kind of gave my husband an-an an ultimatum

before I left New York.

After all that chaos?

Yeah. He just needs to be on the same page with me, you know,

and he hasn't called.

I don't know what's going on with him, but...

You haven't even texted him?

I mean, I text him and let him know I arrived safely, and...

Did he text you back?

Yeah, he did. But like before,

we would, like, you know, like, talk

on the phone for at least, like, an hour.

No. (Arisce laughing)

ARISCE: After the Hood by Air event,

me and Isis sort of cleared the air.

The tragedy in Orlando really put things

into perspective for all of us.

We're friends now.

She's a nice girl. We actually have a lot more in common

than I ever thought we would.

DOMINIQUE: I'm married.

She's dating, what are you doing?

I'm single. Are you dating?

Are you on any, like...

on those sites? Well, you know,

Yeah, I'm on a few dating sites, well, really just one.

But I just got here, I have to settle in.

Like, I'm ready to start dating now, but...

Are you going out at all?

Um, a little bit, but not really.

Girl, you just had gone out... ARISCE: I didn't say

you had to find love, I said find a distraction.

Is Laith your distraction?

Laith is a lovely distraction right now.

Oh, really? That's why you're drawing hearts?

Oh! You are so right.

ISIS: Oh, my God, this bitch is turning red!

Girl!

You're in love.

There go that red again. Look.

Anyway...

Spending more time with Arisce, I've realized that

Arisce is really, really cool.

And, you know, honestly,

I'm happy for her, because...

everyone deserves love, and no matter what,

I feel like the more relationships I see

with trans women,

it continues to give me hope.

I want to meet a nice, handsome, tall,

established gentleman

who's traveled the world.

Travel the world with him,

and you guys can buy unicorns together.

And has a great stock portfolio.

I don't think I'm asking for too much, Dominique.

You know

that I love love.

I'm very optimistic.

I want love.

You want love. Let me see your phone.

I want love, but I want the right love.

I've been in a couple of really bad

relationships.

I really took a lot of time,

a year and a half to myself, to really, like, learn

to be okay with being alone.

I definitely want a relationship, but I don't want

a relationship, I want the relationship.

Okay. No.

No.

ARISCE: Hell, no. Isis, some of these guys...

Wait, he's cute. Pause. ...are, like, too old.

I've dated, like, um,

guys my age, and it's never worked out.

I'm sorry. I'm... Look how hot Marco is.

I bet you'd have a good time with him. He looks like

I would sit on this face. ...that actor from Wolverine.

Arisce!

You would, too. Here you go.

(laughs)

Ooh, wait. He's nice.

Instead of us sitting here talking about this, right?

You are going on a date tomorrow night.

I already sent him

the message.

Oh, my God! ARISCE: Oh, man!

ISIS: I'm very picky,

because I know what I want at this stage in my life.

But, of course, just like that,

Dominique set up this date in, like, 2.5 seconds.

He better be cute.

It's a love intervention. Oh, my goodness.

DOMINIQUE: We're gonna be there. We're gonna make

a girls' night of it. I love that you

signed me up for this, but I'm in.

Okay, cool. You're lucky I didn't have anything to do.

Girls' night out.

And I'm gonna what, look around at you guys...

while I'm on it? Mm-mm. You won't even know

we're there. Yeah, right.

I don't believe you.

Actually, have a little fun. High-five. That's good.

ISIS: Yay, yay.

LIAM: So, what'd you think

of the other night?

I think it went well.

You were a little bit nervous initially.

Yeah, I was nervous. LAITH: Liam, he's a prospective,

uh, Slay model, which is awesome,

'cause we need another guy on board.

He's a really good-looking guy. I think he'd make

a great model, and he is actually transgender.

I met him during the Hood By Air show.

*

Having a friend that's also a trans man

is super important, especially

when you're dealing

with certain things and still

coming to terms

with who you really are.

I've been transitioning off, like, two and a half years--

is it the same for you? Yeah. Yeah.

I started, like, end of December...

2013. So you...

Still sort of recovering from surgery,

but everything's, like, been good. Yeah.

Is your family supportive? Yeah, yeah.

Both my sets of grandparents were... really supportive,

and, like...

I feel, like, got my pronouns really quicker than, like...

Than your parents did? Yeah. Like, my immediate family.

Yeah. With my mom-- to me, she was, like,

never gonna get it, she wasn't even gonna try,

not even in public. Really?

How is she now? Oh, she's still...

she still calls me she.

AGUEDA: You want to force me

to call you "he,"

but I can't. It just seems

like you just don't even try.

I don't want to try.

LAITH: In a perfect world, yes, absolutely,

I would want her to call me by...

using the correct pronouns, using he, her son,

but she's known me

almost 25 years as her daughter.

Are you dating anyone?

Yeah, actually, I live with my girlfriend.

All right, cool. Is she taking, like,

helping take care of you and stuff? Yeah, she's been...

she's been awesome. It's weird,

because I actually went to high school with my girlfriend.

We grew up in the same town. Yeah.

You know... like, never expected

to find someone out here. You're from the same town

and you end up moving to New York

and that's who you start dating? Yeah. Exactly.

That's crazy. Yeah.

I guess we've been together, like... ten months.

Okay. So...

So it's still... it's relatively new. Yeah.

I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.

I feel, like,

going through transitioning single

would be super hard.

Yeah. I couldn't imagine, like...

You need that support system. Someone...

Totally. And, like, someone

who you're just totally comfortable around.

Yeah. So, what's going on with Arisce?

She's a really nice girl. I like spending time with her.

She's almost, like, the complete opposite of me.

So...

she allows me to see things in different ways,

and sometimes I can be a bit stubborn, and...

I'm kind of learning from her. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

To hear that Liam started dating

his girlfriend so early in his transition

and they're still together,

it makes me even more excited about...

dating Arisce. So...

I don't know.

(both laugh)

We'll see. We'll... yeah, we'll see.

*

CECE: Thank you so much. I'm really excited about this.

Thank you.

All right. Bye-bye.

Hey, ladies.

CECE: Today,

I called Ren and Arisce into the office

so that we can talk about this season's work.

But now I have other news.

Hi.

Hello. Sorry, I was on the phone.

How are you? Good. How are you?

Excellent.

Mwah!

Well, all right.

I'm glad you're both here.

But before we get into everything else,

I have some life-changing news.

This... is major.

So, Spiegel.

I heard from them.

You got the job.

(rhythmic grunting)

(laughing)

Yes!

(whispers): Yes!

ARISCE: Again, they pick the young girl

who's inexperienced

and doesn't understand the weight behind...

getting such a prestigious campaign.

It's really... frustrating,

because it's ageism.

When, really, you should be picking the older girl

because we're not gonna waste your time.

CECE: I still have to tell the other girls.

But here's the thing, it's a national brand,

and they've been around...

You're a fashion girl-- what, 19--what-30s?

Yeah.

They've never had a trans model.

Ever.

You're gonna be their first trans model.

(whispers): Yeah!

It's a big responsibility.

ARISCE: I've wanted to do

major campaigns

since I was about 14 years old,

but life doesn't go how you plan,

(chuckling): it goes how it goes.

CECE: Arisce is the one who always wanted

a mainstream gig like Spiegel.

I know she's disappointed, but she won't show me.

ARISCE: This gets us out of tokenism, just being...

featured in Spiegel.

Like, you're just a regular girl.

Selling clothes. You get to sell clothes.

Which is all any of us came here to do.

ARISCE: I'm 12 years deep

in this industry-- I have not gotten

maybe a million jobs at this point.

But this one just happened to be the straw

that broke the camel's back.

Maybe a big mainstream campaign

just isn't in the cards for me.

This is gonna be a lot of work, honey.

You're gonna be a big representative,

like, whether you like it or not.

Spiegel's bigger than you think.

You're gonna have to wear, like,

125 outfits in one day.

Why? Because it's a catalog shoot.

That's what those are like.

CECE: You know, and just learn your poses.

You're gonna have to learn your smile, by the way. You do.

Like, you have to have a controlled smile.

It has to be a catalog smile.

Which means all your teeth can't show, and that is not it.

Yeah. Enough of that.

REN: I'm starting to feel

the pressure a bit.

I never really wanted to be

representing an "entire community," but...

I guess let's see what I can do.

ARISCE: This is the real deal. This is the big leagues.

You have to represent all of us,

every single person at this agency.

It's a lot of pressure.

It just doesn't even feel like you wanna talk to me at all.

Al has become distant. I'm really worried.

Cassandra, I'd like you to sit on something.

*

(Skype rings)

Hi, Kevin.

Just got home. Losing Spiegel was annoying,

so I can always count on Kevin

to, I don't know, be there for me

when I'm feeling kind of low.

We were all up for the Spiegel campaign.

The Spiegel, like, it was on our coffee table

growing up. Yeah.

Yeah. That was our biggest casting that we've gone to,

like, our... campaign-wise.

Ren got it. Like, this younger girl.

And, like, she doesn't even care.

So it's kind of, like, frustrating.

Yeah. I don't know.

(laughs)

'Cause, I don't know,

I feel like I'm going backwards, and then also,

like, not moving forward.

I feel like I'm the only one affected.

'Cause Cecilio doesn't care.

Cecilio is making money, regardless

of who gets it, but, like...

Yeah. But he should be, like,

pushing for the girls

who, like, really wanna be here.

I know.

I know. I 'm just waiting for the payoff.

I'm patient. This is 12 years.

I'm like, I know you're not calling me impatient.

12 years of modeling...

Thank you for your advice. You're always there for me.

My brother's always been there to remind me of who I really am

and how strong I am.

I'm not the kind of girl to sit around and wait

for things to happen. I've had the same goal

since I was 14. I've had to work

harder, harder, harder, harder,

harder, keep showing up, keep working,

keep proving myself to people who don't know me yet.

Rejection

for 12 years is exhausting,

and I have feelings.

Okay, well, you go take care of your dog.

I love you. I will talk to you later.

And thank you for the sound advice.

(chuckles)

* I don't really wanna say sorry... *

*

Finally. There you are.

Since I left New York,

Al has become distant.

I don't know...

what is going on.

Why won't Al

respond to my phone calls

or text messages or anything like that?

What are you doing?

But it's, like, after 7:00. Why aren't you home yet?

When I can't reach Al, I get...

really frustrated.

I get... I get even a bit depressed.

You made me that promise that you would...

we would talk at least once a day or text or something.

It just doesn't even feel like you want to talk to me at all.

It's not me. It's you.

Well...

It's been a roller coaster with Al.

I'm loving my career,

but I still feel this obligation

to my husband, to the man that I married.

I really want to talk to you.

All right, fine.

Love you both. Bye.

Give Scooter a kiss for me.

I'm sure you do.

Uh-huh. Bye.

I don't know if my relationship will be able to take

the distance of me living in two cities.

It's quite stressful

and physically draining,

mentally draining.

I fly 3,000 miles away,

and you can't even answer your damn phone.

* Feels nice, hold tight

* Take a listen to you, keep it on my mind... *

ISIS: So, Dominique took the initiative

to set me up on a date. She kind of

just went and took my phone and kind of just swiped yes.

At least I have friends there somewhere,

hopefully lurking around the corner

to protect me.

This is my favorite bar. Do you come here all the time?

I come here all the time. I bring all my dates here.

But also... How many dates do you have?

ISIS: Hi.

Of course you're drinking. Hi. Mwah.

I wanted to get dressed up and look really cute because

it's not just, like, a first date--

it's girls' night. And everybody know

you look cute for your guy

but you look even cuter for your girls.

Isis, you look so...

Beautiful. ARISCE: You look really pretty.

I love your eye makeup. Thank you. Thank you.

DOMINIQUE: Yeah. You look amazing.

Cassandra, why are you wearing flats? ISIS: I... Ooh, midriff.

(laughs)

Why? I think your hair's

getting messy, Dominique.

I can take it off and put another one on.

(laughs) ISIS: Okay, you guys

already really been, like,

indulging. REN: A little bit.

I just don't understand why you're wearing flats.

If you walked out of the apartment with me

wearing flats, there would be an... there would be an issue.

So, how's Al doing?

Oh, he's alive.

(laughter) ARISCE: Dom

and her husband got into a fight in New York when we were there.

She's absolutely distracting herself with drinking.

The sun hadn't even set yet,

and Dominique was hammered.

I was like,

"Girl."

CASSANDRA: Well, let's do a cheers.

Cheers to what? There's nothing in my glass.

I need more.

A little too many.

Cassandra, I'd like you to sit on something.

(laughter) ISIS: Whoa, Dominique is

in rare form. This is a lot

of things to take my focus off this date.

The girls are gonna be, like, five feet away.

Dominique's gonna be drunk.

They all have on bright Power Ranger colors. I hope

I don't run him away before I even get to know him.

CASSANDRA: Is this him?

ARISCE: I don't know. DOMINIQUE: Excuse me.

DOMINIQUE: Give me just one second.

Hello. Hi!

Hi, how are you doing? How are you?

Pretty good. How about you? Good? A pleasure to meet you.

AJ: Nice to meet you. This is...

Isis. Is. Hi, Is. Nice to meet you.

My name is AJ. Nice to meet you. You have beautiful eyes.

Thank you. (chuckles) Okay,

so, why don't you guys come over here

and you can sit at the bar.

Watch it. We're gonna be right over here.

Okay? All right, good. AJ: Okay. (chuckles)

Thanks, Dominique.

(chuckles)

ISIS: I'm gonna try to give this guy

my full attention. But at that moment, I was like,

"Okay, this chick is really drunk."

How long have you been here?

Almost a year. Almost a year. From where?

I'm Brazilian. Oh, okay.

What are you guys drinking?

AJ: Uh,

nothing here.

Well, you should be drinking something.

Yes, just a cup of water. I mean, just to loosen yourselves up.

Every few minutes, I turn around and look

and Dominique is in, Dominique is out,

Dominique is up.

Where's the bartender?

DOMINIQUE: Oh, I am

so sorry. I'm-I'm...

It's just that... Dominique, come.

Yeah. (stammers) Okay, I'm sorry. Come sit here.

They're falling in love.

Dominique is wasted.

Like she's at Coachella.

So it's time to call

Hurricane Cassandra.

She can solve all of this.

Dominique...

we need you to... More crackers.

go home.

We're going to get her

out of her date. I'll do it.

So have you ever, um,

dated a special girl before?

I have the perfect person for that.

You need an audition tape.

I'm Arisce Wanzer for EBS... (groans)

Do it again. Hey, everybody, I'm... (stammers)

*

ARISCE: Dominique set this whole thing up with the date

for Isis. Like, it was her idea.

And when she shows up, she's trashed.

DOMINIQUE: I don't give a f--- about that,

but I... D-Do you understand what I'm saying, Arisce?

It's fair. CASSANDRA: I think Dominique

is drinking so much because

Al is really stressing her out.

But she's Slay Management now. She can't just

act like this.

CASSANDRA: It's getting quite embarrassing.

So I really think it's time for Dominique

to exit.

(door creaking)

It's a good place for wine, though.

Yeah, if you like it. Wines and ch...

You understand something about wines?

Who, me? No. ISIS: Dominique sets up

this date, and then she disappeared.

He seemed really sweet, but...

we don't have any type of connection.

I was like, "Okay, what am I gonna do

to get out of this situation?"

I can do it. Can you do it discreetly?

I can do it discreetly. Because you know I don't dig you and discreet.

I'll do it.

Isis is having a terrible time on her date,

a visibly terrible time.

She seems to be signaling us.

Something has to be done,

and we're gonna save Isis.

I'm feeling, like,

adventurous. (chuckles)

CASSANDRA: So, how's this date

going?

So, have you ever, um, dated a special girl before?

Never? But you're open to it, right? You're open-minded?

Where are you from, originally?

I'm Brazilian. Brazilian, Brazilian.

Don't I look Brazilian, kind of?

Yes. (chuckles) CASSANDRA: Isis

wasn't interested in him.

So my plan is to kind of distract

the guy from Isis so she can make a clean getaway.

Let me give you a hug. Thank you so much. Nice meeting you. Sure.

It's so nice... (laughs) ARISCE: Oh, my God.

I can't help it if he...

thought I was cute.

(laughing) Oh, my God.

On that cue, we can go.

ISIS: If there's one thing I learned

from this experience

it's don't let your friends near your phone.

Friends don't let friends swipe right.

I learned that the hard way.

(laughing)

Bye!

Bye. Bye. (chuckles)

* Hey!

*

* If you can dream it, you can do anything *

* That's what my mama said and I believed it *

* Hey!

Hi, Cece. Hey.

I just wanted to give you a quick reminder

that you have your phone call with Diana from OBSEV.

Oh, perfect.

OBSEV is short for Obsessed With Everything.

They are such a progressive company.

Diana ran a story on Slay a few months back.

So it's really exciting that she set up a call with me,

and I'm really hoping that she has something for Slay.

(line ringing)

Hi, Diana.

It's Cece with Slay Model Management. How are you?

Hi! Great! How are you doing? I'm good.

What's going on?

I think I have the perfect person for that.

Uh-huh.

I'll send over the tape,

and then we'll take it from there.

All right. Well, you have a great day, Diana.

Bye.

CECE: OBSEV is looking for a new host for their new show.

They're looking for somebody sassy, somebody funny,

somebody who speaks their mind.

And we all know who that person is.

Sign me up. I'm great for that.

So, I'm so excited about this.

I asked Arisce to come into the office

right away. Hello.

Hi. I'm so excited.

So, I got a call from Diana at OBSEV.

They're looking for a new host,

and they need somebody who's very smart,

somebody who's a go-getter,

a game changer,

opinionated. So they're looking for me.

Exactly. (laughs)

ARISCE: This would be

something that could take me to that next level.

Like Joan Rivers-style.

So, you need to go and do

an audition tape for it. Okay.

I'm really excited at this news

because this is my first shot at moving on

in my career and trying something new.

I actually want this. Like, I really want this.

* Give it up, give it up

* Give it up, yeah, to all my beautiful women *

All right. Okay. One, two...

Landing a hosting job at OBSEV

would be amazing. But, of course,

there's a catch.

I have to make a video.

Let's go, girl. Give it to me.

Hey, boys, girls, and everything in-between,

I'm Arisce Wanzer,

and you're here for My Model Moment

with... And today I'm gonna have Ren Spriggs.

This is your moment. This is what you've always wanted.

All right.

Okay, one, two...

Hello, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in-between,

I'm Arisce Wanzer for EBS... (groans)

for OBSEV TV. F--- me.

It's important that I do well in this because

I really want to move on.

I really want hosting gigs.

I really want to do TV.

But I've never done this before.

So, I'm green now.

I'm the Ren here.

Hey, everybody, I'm... (stammers)

Do it again. I'm f---ing up.

(laughs)

Hey, everybody, I'm Arisce Wanzer

and I'm gonna... Ugh!

Hello, hello, hello, I'm Arisce Wanzer,

and, um, I don't know, I'm the baddest bitch you've ever meet.

You just haven't met me yet.

Um,

I don't know.

What else about me? Okay,

I'm gonna give you some... Go. Feed me something.

Don't say "um," because you need to... You know what I mean?

You have to be sure. Like, it'd be like...

REN: A pause is always better

than an "um."

Yes. Interesting.

Look at you. REN: I took two years of speech

and four years of theater.

Your nervous tic is your laugh. Yes.

Whenever you can't think of anything to say... You laugh.

...you laugh. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."

It's funny for the first one, two, three, four,

and then after that, Thank you.

then people can tell that it's a nervous tic. Yes.

When did Ren become Meryl Streep?

I mean, all of a sudden, she, like, knows everything.

The difference between acting and modeling--

you're posing, you're not supposed to be posing.

Oh, no. (laughs)

'Cause you know what... you know what I see

when you do this? That.

REN: It's really weird,

having this sudden burst of self-confidence,

especially around Arisce.

She's not really been through this kind of aspect,

and it's really a great feeling

to be able to share my experiences with her.

REN: I'm just gonna do one more

thing with you. Okay? All right.

Big mouth.

Little mouth.

Little, little, little mouth.

(muffled) That's as small as it gets. Like, I'm black.

(laughing) There you go.

Loosen up a little bit.

Loosen up.

There you go. Get the nervousness out of you,

because I can feel that you're out of your...

You're out of your comfort zone. Comfort zone? Mm-hmm.

You're a little bit nervous.

And the biggest thing about acting is getting out

of that nervous zone.

ARISCE: This is my shot, and

I will get this right.

I'm here to work, I'm here to win.

I'm gonna make them want me.

Now, come on. (sighs)

This is the first time you're gonna be

in front of a teleprompter? Uh...

A 12-year old girl was the opening... was...

Uh... sorry.

And what did they say?

*

It's fine. (chuckles)

LAITH: My mom and I-- we are already close.

And essentially the only thing

that really separates us is my transition.

Mom, stop.

But she still struggles with pronouns

and seeing me as her son.

So, what's going on with church lately?

(laughs)

LAITH: My mom shows my modeling pictures to everyone.

So even though she doesn't

agree with me having transitioned, or maybe she...

she wishes that I would be transitioned.

I don't know. But there's part of her that is proud.

And what did they say?

That I was what? What did they say?

(Laith scoffs)

LAITH: This is the first time that she's...

that she called me her son.

Like, my mouth dropped.

I was like,

"Oh, I'm your son now."

I think it's a mourning

process for her, and

I need to also learn to be patient with her

as she transitions with me.

(laughs) I know.

LAITH: She calls me "she," but she's come a long way.

It's-it's definitely a process.

I've accepted her not accepting me fully,

um, because I know that she loves me,

and I know that it's... it's not me.

It's her... it's her thing to deal with,

with her religious beliefs.

I love you, Mom. (sniffles)

ARISCE: So Cece sent my audition tape to OBSEV.

And the next thing you know, I have a screen test.

Getting this job would change everything for me.

Like, I could do modeling part-time, and then,

I can move into television.

It's another way to break into the mainstream.

You know, make trans mainstream,

because that's one of my big goals,

so that we are normalized and people stop staring at us

in the grocery store 'cause it's annoying.

I love modeling.

I think it's great, I want to do it forever,

but if I'm not gonna be booking major campaigns,

I got to move into TV because I'm too smart not to

be using my voice for something else.

I hope they see that I am here to work,

and that I am a professional, and that I am good at what I do.

WOMAN: Hi. How's it going?

Good to see you. Hello. I'm great. Nice to meet you.

You look amazing. Good. Thank you.

You look amazing, too. Thank you.

ARISCE: The OBSEV screen test

is actually a major for me because

this is where I see my career going.

I really want hosting gigs, I really want to do TV.

This is my shot to be mainstream.

I could be on your billboards

and your TV sets at the same time.

Like, my commercials could run right after my show.

How great would that be?

I'm so happy you're here. Thank you.

I saw your audition tape, and you are so funny.

It's interesting 'cause the show we're doing right now--

it's revolving around a host, a talent, that could

bring, you know, comedy to issues

that are, like, kind of serious,

but at the same time, a game changer, and I felt like

you could be really good for this 'cause you're kind of

changing the game with, like, your personal story.

I think I'm changing the game, too. (both laughing)

ARISCE: I'm excited

just to be in the room, you know, just being in the room

with Diana Madison-- it's a huge deal.

All right, let's do this. All right.

You want to do it? Let's go ahead. Yeah.

This is gonna be fun. Nice.

We definitely want you to, you know,

be yourself 'cause you got those great one-liners,

which I know our audience is gonna love.

Thanks. Okay, cool.

It's an amazing opportunity,

and I will not f--- it up.

And I just might adjust the mic a little bit

for you there. All right. Is this

the first time you're gonna be in front of a teleprompter?

Um, yeah, I think so.

Okay. All right.

ARISCE: Teleprompters, sight unseen, are the devil.

They're out to get you.

Reading a teleprompter is probably the hardest part,

'cause you don't want to sound like you're reading.

Right...

Could you imagine if I couldn't read,

and we found out right now?

(laughter)

That would be hilarious.

MAN: Rolling one.

101. Take one. Mark.

Cool.

Three, two. (beep)

Hey, I'm Arisce,

and I'm taking you inside the world of Pokémon.

In an attempt to be the very best, Poké Masters have, uh...

Oh...

...are risking their jobs,

relationships, health, and... just to catch them all.

While chasing... Oh, this is "while chasing."

This is hard!

...while chasing a Jigglypuff,

um...

This is not getting off to a good start,

and Diana looked really annoyed.

A 12-year-old girl was the opening... was...

Uh... sorry.

It was getting messy to the point of no repair.

And, uh...

I need to pull this together.

I actually wanted to apologize to you guys.

I realized that all the stress is really too much for me.

*

DIANA: These videos

that we produce

reach out to millions of people.

You're making change, by, like,

speaking about these issues to our audience.

So that's why it's important for you to be really

authentic and bring out the real you.

ARISCE: I'm shooting my screen test with OBSEV,

and I f---ed it up a little bit.

Okay, so, you're gonna read it again.

And this is not a camera.

It's your girlfriends. Okay? Okay?

(clears throat) ARISCE: I need to get it together before it's too late.

I need to channel my inner Joan Rivers.

A-1, 101, take two. Mark. Do it again.

Hey, guys, it's Arisce,

and I'm taking you inside the world of Pokémon GO.

This is the first time Pokémon players actually want

to go outside and exercise,

which never happens because they're nerds.

So, in Kentucky, a 23-year-old man,

actually walked in front of a bus

chasing a Jigglypuff. Not worth it.

(Diana laughs) Doctors are scrambling

to figure out a cure to this epidemic.

I love that. (Arisce laughs)

I love that.

I really love your look, I love your personality.

Thank you. I think

you just got to practice more,

and maybe think about doing some hosting classes,

you know, outside of, like, your daily routine,

just to, like, work on your delivery.

Yeah, you definitely need to polish that.

ARISCE: I always go into everything

that I love with 110%.

I got three shots with the teleprompter.

I nailed at the last shot, but I know I have

more work to do, and I will work just as hard as that

as I did at modeling.

I just have to keep hustling.

ARISCE: You can talk about your date.

(laughs) Her date.

(laughter)

At the girls' night,

Dominique just started acting kind of crazy.

She was, like, jumping up

and getting in between Isis and her "date."

After the date, he came up and actually gave me his number.

Last time... He liked a little more curve.

There was nothing on the the plate. Are you f---king kidding me?

So, she'd invited us out

to talk about what happened.

Hey. Hey. Hi.

Ugh! CASSANDRA: You're wearing flats.

Yeah. I thought there was a rule on no flats.

Girl, that was the other night.

That chick was... There was too much going on.

I just had...

Couple drinks? I needed... No. More than a couple.

I just needed a...

I needed a break.

I feel so bad about being drunk.

I have a lot of things going on, especially with my marriage, and

I feel like and... I owe them an explanation for it.

Yeah. I actually wanted to apologize to you guys

if I made anyone feel uncomfortable.

CASSANDRA: Sure. I realized that

all the stress is just...

It's really too much for me.

My happiness is

entwined with my husband's happiness.

I want to stay strong

and focused on my work out here.

But I cannot help but worrying about him back at home.

We understand you're going through stuff, but

we don't want you to go back

into your space. We're trying to help you, too.

ARISCE: You don't have to go through stuff alone.

Yes. Yeah.

DOMINIQUE: Please understand,

I need to know what the hell

is really going on with him.

My career means the world to me, but

I am so worried that I may have left him too soon.

I cannot do this live-apart thing.

I need to go back to New York.

LAITH: This is New York Fashion Week.

I invited my mom.

She's never seen me

at a runway show.

Did your mom come? I don't know.

LAITH: Arisce is saying "You should come to L.A."

ARISCE: If Laith ultimately doesn't move to L.A.,

there is no relationship.

Is she ready? I don't know.

We just keep losing it with the face.

It's distracting from the clothing.

I can either shut it down and cut my loses...

I just can't afford to lose the money.

Cece, I need to go home.

Al got her a ring.

Your job is to keep Dominique in L.A.

CASSANDRA: You got the bridal commercial.

I would get married in this.

What the hell?!

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

REN: For more information on Strut, go to Oxygen.com.

Did you see that? That was incredible.

Amazing. I love this.