Original subtitles

I am a sexual person, and I'm okay saying that.

I told my mom I was in the Mile High Club, so...

Yeah, girl!

That I'm not a part of, but, like, it's on the bucket list.

- [ laughs ] - So...

♪♪♪

I'm a big fan of today's guest.

No, really, I'm binge-watching her show right now.

She's an actor, singer, and like me,

she had to grow up quickly in this industry.

I can't wait for this conversation with the one and only Lucy Hale.

- Hi, Lucy. - Hi, girl!

I am so excited to see you.

I started watching "Pretty Little Liars."

- I've seen that. - I know you have!

This makes me so happy.

I--what made you want to start watching?

I was trying to find lighter content,

and I feel like it's controversial to watch now.

- It wouldn't be made that way. - Yes.

Both: Yeah.

I play Aria, who at the time we meet her, she's 16,

and she meets someone who she falls for.

They hook up, and then she goes to school the next day

and it's her English teacher.

They end up getting married, for those--

Oh, no!

- Oh, my God, I just ruined it! - Oh, no!

- You knew it would happen. - No, I didn't!

- Crap, I just ruined the whole-- - Oh, no!

What season are you on?

- I was just kidding. - I'm only on season three!

You're like, "Leave, Lucy. Get--"

- No, no, no, it's ok-- - Anyway, moving on.

- [ laughs ] - You're seriously flustered.

- Oh, my God. - We had moms against the show.

Moms boycotted the show. It was a big deal,

And at the time--I was 20 when we started that show--

I honestly didn't think about the weight.

I was just like, "He's hot. He's a hot teacher."

Now I'm much more careful about roles I play

and things I choose to do because

it does have such an impact on people,

and such a direct correlation

with the decisions we make in life.

I had people writing me saying they had crushes

on their English teacher, and I'm like, "Oh, God."

Now we live in a different time where we're aware of...

- Oh, yeah. - ...those things not being okay.

- It was before the MeToo movement. - Exactly.

♪♪♪

I want to bring up something that I actually had no idea

that you had dealt with--

You had struggled with an eating disorder.

Probably from like 15 till, like,

midway through "Pretty Little Liars,"

I, um, had severe anorexia,

and exercise bulimia.

Like, I would just work out for hours.

It wasn't really about how I physically looked,

it was because I had moved across the country.

I just felt so completely out of control.

The easiest thing you can control is

the food that goes into your mouth, or how much you work out.

I had an eating disorder and I didn't even know

what anorexia was.

And so it kinda got really bad

in my late teens, before... anyone knew what was happening,

because I'm a petite person anyway, and I just looked sick.

It was--I look back at pictures, and I'm like, "Oh, my God."

I just look so sick.

My mom was like, "We're moving home

if you don't get help."

And now where I'm at, like, do I have bad days?

Oh, God, yeah.

That's the first thing I want to control, of course.

But I know now that I'm like, "Oh, no.

That's just my--that's not me. Those aren't my thoughts."

So I can sort of compartmentalize it a little bit better.

I want to say thank you for sharing that because

I too have good days and bad days.

- I mean... - Mm-hmm.

Having my own talk show brought up stuff immediately...

- Of course, yeah. - ...on the first day

that I thought I was over, you know.

And it--it ebbs and flows, just like life.

Right.

♪♪♪

What made you get started being outspoken

about the things you believe in and what are some of those things?

I used to be so scared to talk about things,

because I want to make everyone happy.

And with everything that's happened in the world,

I was like, "I gotta be able to sleep at night,"

so I want to talk about the things that matter,

the things that really speak to me,

and it was a natural progression.

If you can encourage people to speak up

and give them the space to talk about

something that matters to them,

like, that's all I really want to do.

And it's empowering, too, because

I felt, because I was quiet, like I didn't have the power

that I knew was inside me, so I feel like

I took some of my power back by speaking up.

What made you want to speak up about sex positivity?

I think my journey with loving myself

and loving my body and making better decisions for myself

has led me to want to speak about it.

And I think it's just embracing and expressing your sexuality.

- Mm-hmm. - And stripping away

the way the shame and the negativity away from it.

People hear "sex positivity" and they're like,

"Oh, you like to have a lot of sex."

- [ laughs ] - It's like, no.

- If you want to, that's great. - Right.

If you don't want to, that's fine,

and I've only recently become comfortable

enough with myself to be that person,

because...I mean, I would still call myself an insecure person,

but to have, like, newfound confidence in myself.

Like, I--I am a sexual person, and I'm okay saying that.

I told my mom I was in the Mile High Club, so...

Yeah, girl!

That I'm not a part of, but, like, it's on the bucket list.

- [ laughs ] - So...yeah.

I think it's just really cool to meet another female that's like,

"I am proud to be sexual."

If you would've told me a couple of years ago

that I would be having this conversation about sex positivity

about my sexuality, I would've been like, "You're absolutely nuts,"

because I used to be so ashamed of that side of me.

I feel like, as women, especially when you're young women,

you're taught to feel ashamed of your sexuality,

in regards to masturbation or having sex.

What would you say to a young woman who is being taught that today?

How can they shed their sex shame?

The only answer I know how to give is to start conversations,

to talk about it, to make strong, positive choices for your body.

I work with Bayer, and a lot of it is around IUDs and birth control.

- I have an IUD. - It's the best.

- Yeah, yeah. - It's, like, life-changing.

But so many people are scared to talk about

birth control, because what does that mean?

Oh, it means they're having sex.

- Right. - So, it's mainly I just want

people to educate themselves.

Your body's the one thing you have that's yours

and you can make those decisions for yourself.

Yeah.

I'm really proud of the women that we have become.

- Me, too. - We've come a long ways

since our meeting on the "Wizards" set,

- and thank you so much. - God, thank you.

This is wonderful. You're wonderful.

[ laughs ]