They Thought I Was You

The countdown to New York Minute continues! And today, we're examining all the late night interviews and talk show appearances that Mary-Kate and Ashley did to promote their action comedy feature, New York Minute (excluding their appearance on Oprah, that will be its whole own episode). 

Many of these interviews happened just days apart, but watching them all in sequence feels like watching a lifetime go by. In their first interview with Letterman, they're poised, well trained, and eager to promote their SNL episode and upcoming film. The next day at their TRL appearance, they're goofier, loose, and casual, clearly trying to relate to their fellow teens. Then, while hosting  "25 hottest under 25," we see them hollow, bored, and aloof, seemingly trying to fit into the '"sexy" MTV aesthetic of the 00's. 

All of these appearances seem to demand something different from them, and on top of that they're also in the throes of graduating from high school, getting ready to host SNL, and somehow trying to celebrate an 18th birthday that the world keeps counting down to. To say they were under pressure would be a wild understatement.

We discuss each of these appearances and what stood out to us, and also try to figure out if they knew before this press tour if they were going to be firing their team as soon as they turned 18, or if this grueling schedule brought them to that decision.

We hope you enjoy, and if you'd like to follow along with the videos we discuss, here are the links:

• Letterman, May 3rd 2004, Letterman
• TRL, May 4th 2004: 
  • Pt 1 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTNPUPC/
  • Pt 2 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTNUYB4/
  • Pt 3 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTFgnVP/
  • Pt 4 https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTNgpmc/ 
• "Olsen Eye for the Video Guy" Jan 2004 (not NYM promo, but we're obsessed)
• Teen People's 25 Hottest under 25
• Rove Australia (just Ashley) June 2004
• VMA’s, September 2004

You can watch the video version of this ep and get more bonus content by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us at: [email protected]

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We are officially on the road to New York Minute! In our next few episodes, we will cover the press & publicity tour that Mary-Kate and Ashley went on in 2004 ahead of their much anticipated theatrical release, New York Minute.

And our first stop is the press that Mary-Kate, Ashley and their team didn't have much control over: the tabloids. In 2004, celebrity gossip magazines were at the peak of their popularity and ruthlessness: Britney Spears was dating Kevin Federline, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston were about to get divorced, and Paris Hilton was Hollywood's it-girl. The profits were white hot, and they had their eyes set on their next targets: the Olsens.

Since this is an extremely delicate topic that we weren't thrilled about diving into, we decided the best way to approach it would be to go directly to the source. We purchased 6 tabloids from 2004 on eBay and thumbed through each one to examine *how* the tabloids talked about Mary-Kate and Ashley instead of dwelling on *what* they talked about, since we all know it was all trash. We track the progression of the stories, the sources they site, and the pictures they pull. We also contemplate the legality of talking about the sexuality of minors-- seriously, how is it legal?

We also take care to burn sage before and after opening these magazines, being mindful of the dark energy they possess. Please take care while listening to this episode.

You can watch the video version of this ep and get more bonus content by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us at: [email protected]

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On April 29th, 2004, at 17 years old, Mary-Kate and Ashley received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And on February 14th, 2024, two thirty-somethings, Lani and Becca, finally visited it.

Since Lani and Becca both live in Los Angeles and had somehow never gone to see the Olsen's star, we decided there was no better time than now for our podcast's first field trip. Located on 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, their star is in the primest of prime locations, on the same block as the TCL Chinese Theater and among megastars-- we could not have been prouder when we finally found it.

When we get back to our studio, we unpack the physical and emotional journey we just embarked on.  We also discuss what the Hollywood Walk of Fame even is and why (and if) it matters to us and pop culture at large. And most importantly, we talk about what Mary-Kate and Ashley getting this star meant to us back in 2004, what we remember, and how we feel about it now.

You can watch the video version of this ep and get more bonus content by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Do you have more information about the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Email us at: [email protected]

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Last month, we received an email from our former podcast guest Deborah Dean Davis (screenwriter of It Takes Two) with the most amazing message:

"After alllllllllllllllll these years I took down the It Takes Two film poster..........(sharp intake of breath) and PUT UP A NEW POSTER! The poster... the first poster got a little bit faded. It's still in the massive frame, etc. And you are the only people on the planet I would offer it to."

We were tickled beyond belief, so we obviously said yes and set out to pick up the poster. Since we went during rush hour in LA, we had a loooot of time in the car, so naturally we felt it was a good opportunity to record an impromptu bonus episode.

We hope you enjoy this episode as we sit in traffic and reflect on how our lives have brought us to this moment of becoming friends with the writer of our favorite movie.

You can get more bonus material by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us: [email protected]

Welcome to our first interview of 2024! Today we talk with Viviana Rosales Olen  and Matt Harkins, the creators of THNK1994 and the masterminds behind the "Olsens Hiding from Paparazzi" museum and the Mary-Kate and Ash Tray.

Viviana and Matt tell us about how THNK1994 was first started with a museum in the hallway of their apartment and has blossomed into an experimental pop culture empire. Their second exhibit in 2016, "The Olsens Hiding From Paparazzi,"  featured paintings by Laura Collins of Mary-Kate and Ashley literally hiding from cameras, which gave museum goes an eerie invasive feeling as they walked through the gallery. THNK1994 is now an entire creative agency which bridges the world of experimental art and pop culture trash in the most delightful ways.

Of course, we had to dig into the nitty gritty of their fascination with our gals MK&A. We talk about what inspired them to feature Mary-Kate and Ashley in their second exhibit, how creating the museum changed their perception of them, and what they hope for them now.

We hope you enjoy a trip into the bizarre and inspiring world of THNK1994 as much as we did. You can watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Follow THNK1994 on Instagram: @thnk1994

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Do you have a favorite picture of MK&A smoking? Email us at: [email protected]

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We are SO excited to share our very first subscriber bonus episode with you! In this bonus series, we will be discussing Mary-Kate and Ashley adjacent, feminine-centric pop culture of the '00s. And we're starting with the film that defined the "Pink movie" genre for the past two decades: Mean Girls.

Becca and Lani saw Mean Girls 2024 together this month, and as we stood by the fountain outside the The Grove AMC in Los Angeles discussing what we liked and didn't like about the film, we realized that everything we were talking about was deeply relevant to our podcast. Not only because it's based on one of the biggest movies of 2004, the same year we're currently talking about in Mary-Kate and Ashley's timeline, but also because its literally re-examining and re-imagining girlhood in the early 00s through a modern day, feminist lens. That's our expertise, babe! So here we are.

It's impossible not to compare this film to the Lindsay Lohan classic film from 2004, so we discuss which changes worked, which ones didn't, and how the characters themselves have changed in this modern-day retelling. We also discuss the budget this film received, its marketing strategy, and how the Mean Girls Musical translated to film.

We're so excited to bring this first installment of our bonus series, and we hope you enjoy! Subscribe and listen wherever you get podcasts here.

You can also watch the video version of this podcast & get more bonus material by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us: [email protected]

In July 2003, Vanity Fair, whether intentionally or not, put together the most monumental photoshoot in history. A photoshoot like nothing that had ever been done before and, dare we say, could never be done again.  A photoshoot so deeply iconic, every pop culture loving person still knows 20 years later: "It's Totally Raining Teens."

On that fateful day in 2003, Amanda Bynes, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, Alexis Bledel, Evan Rachel Wood, Raven, Lindsay Lohan, and our gals Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, wearing metallics and soft pinks, posed for in the same room together for this iconic cover. The inside of the magazine was bursting with even more teens (and shockingly some twenty-somethings) including Brittany Snow,  Solange Knowles, Christina Milian, Shia LaBeouf, Bow Wow, Aaron Carter, the Harry Potter kids, Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padelecki, Kaley Cuoco, and even more teens I'm too tired to name! It was literally raining teens! Every teen was also asked what kind of cell phone they used, if they preferred Britney or Christina, and how many Juicy Couture outfits they owned. It was the most 2003 thing that has ever 2003'd, and we are obsessed with it.

Why did this happen? We may never know. But what we do know is that this little time capsule is one of the most important documents in modern history. So we read through every profile, contemplate every photograph, and much like we did in 2003, try to decipher secrets of culture and girlhood that we know this magazine holds.

If you, like us,  have tragically misplaced your original hard copy of this iconic issue, you can read it along with us this link from Simply Olsen (our Olsen media lord and savior).

You can watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Some other links we talk about: 

Lindsay Lohan reflects on the cover
Hilary Duff reflects on ‘anxiety-inducing’ Vanity Fair cover
Evan Rachel Wood, The Real Story Behind That Iconic 'Raining Teens' Vanity Fair Cover

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Do you know if Juicy Couture sponsored the "It's Totally Raining Teens" issue? Do you know the correct way to pronounce "Ryan Phillippe?" Email us: [email protected]

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We can finally say it-- HAPPY NEW YEAR! We didn't intend for this to be a 2 part episode, but you know ur girls. We can never have a short conversation ;)

So as promised, the remaining questions and long anticipated voice mails are answered in this episode! This episode was the most perfect way for us to end last year and start the new one, and we hope it leaves you feeling inspired & motivated as we rev up our engines for 2024.

Love you all so much!!!

You can watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us: [email protected]

Support the show

It’s the most wonderful time of the year— it’s our end of year Q&A! Last week, we collected questions from you— our listeners, Patreon subscribers, Instagram followers, etc, about topics ranging from our favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley dads to what has been the greatest lesson we’ve learned since starting our podcast.

We absolutely love doing these episodes, and this year, your questions were really something special. So special we couldn’t them all in one episode. Classic us. Please enjoy this first part of our Q&A, and if your question didnt get answered, tune in next week for part 2!

Thank you all so much for all your love and support this year. We’re so grateful for this community, and we wish you all the happiest holidays and a wonderful new year!

You can also watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Email us: [email protected]

Support the show

"You know, anonymity is a luxury as well.” - Mary-Kate Olsen, 2023

On Nov 17th, 2023 (that's right THIS year, just a few weeks ago) Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen sat down for an extremely rare interview with Financial Times Fashion to discuss their brand The Row and the meaning of "stealth wealth."

We so rarely get a peak into Mary-Kate and Ashley's lives these days, let alone a whole snippet of a conversation between the two of them, so we jumped at the chance to do a whole episode on this article. In this interview, we get a glimpse into Mary-Kate and Ashley's approach to their business, their dynamic as adults, and a few secrets about their brand's Instagram and distaste for interviews. Most importantly, we learn straight from Mary-Kate and Ashley themselves how The Row is and always has been directly influenced by the careers they had in the spotlight (for better or for worse).

What stands out the most from this interview is the strength that Mary-Kate and Ashley yield now as women. We can't help but gush about how continually proud we are of them, and how inspired we are that they've been able to take back so much control and power of their lives and careers. And my god, the quotes in this interview are ZINGERS!

We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this exclusive interview (major props to the writer Jo Ellison for this impressive feat), and don't forget to read the whole interview in all its glory on Financial Times.

You can also watch the video version of this ep by subscribing to our Patreon here.

Find us on Social Media!
Instagram: @theythoughtiwasyou
TikTok: @theythoughtiwasyou
Becca: @beccaroth
Lani: @laniharms

Next week's episode is a Q&A and we need YOUR questions!  Email us your questions (or a short & cute voice memo) at [email protected]

Links we talk about:
Gigi Hadid Fights Off Man Who Grabbed Her Outside Fashion Show
Cara Delevingne Talks About 'Paper Towns'
“That’s not the truth, Ellen”: How Dakota Johnson won her birthday feud against Ellen DeGeneres 

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