4 Minutes and 50 Seconds of Ilene Chaiken

Ilene Chaiken recently visited a wall of books about architecture in Los Angeles, where she was interviewed by Fashion News Live, a groundbreaking news program that brings you fashion news, live. My number one feeling about this video is that I like what Ilene Chaiken has done with her hair. I’m being totally honest. As for my secondary feelings re:Ilene Chaiken, you’re probably already familiar with them.

Actually though, for serious, she was at a reception at Rob Robinson on Melrose in Los Angeles for Romi Klinger (of The Real L Word)’s new jewelry collection, The Lost Girl!

Do you know how long it took me to learn how to spell the word jewelry? I literally think I finally got it down yesterday.

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3262 articles for us.

56 Comments

  1. SO THAT IS HOW YOU SAY HER LAST NAME!!!* “Shay-ken” like shake and bake.

    This is crazy.

    * I never bothered to learn how to say it.

  4. The main thought I had while watching this video is “I wonder if my library has Beaches: 100 Ultimate Escapes.”

    • haha it kind of does…

      Or like if Jenny was playing the role of Friar Tuck and forgot the bald spot…

  9. In person she reminds me of a cross between Dawn Denbo and Jenny. I kept expecting her to introduce her lover, Cindy, while pulling a pomeranian from her handbag.

  12. I like how she specifies that The L Word is “the scripted series”… you know, to differentiate it from the real, unedited stories of TRLW.

  14. The L word was before my time (Like, probably before I even hit puberty), so my one feeling about this article was “Lost Girl?” Like the amazing Canadian fantasy TV show about a bisexual succubus and a hot lesbian doctor?” I watch way too much TV, but thankfully couldn’t make it past the first season of the L word.

  16. i’m not going to watch this because i like my blood pressure at its current level.

    does she know how much we all hate her?

  17. On working with the Magical Elves: “…and I didn’t know what I was doing.”

    You clearly still don’t know what you’re doing. Oh God. Why. This. Just. Why is she even. Ugh.

  18. omg doesn’t this explain so much about jenny? like OF COURSE she was a psychotic manipulative weirdo nobody could stand! and you just know ifc had to make the jenny+shane thing happen for her own projected satisfaction

  19. I have a lot of feelings right now. Mostly A #1:

    I WAS THERE THAT NIGHT.
    I narrowly missed her! I’m sure it was by a very small margin.

    Had I not missed her I probably would have asked her to sign a picture of Riese.

    • I need someone in the Los Angeles area to start stalking ifc with a video camera and a picture of riese and a pen. I expect that this will result in a 100% increase in my daily laughter quotient.

      To all of the reasons that TRLW and really all reality tv is bad, I would like to add that the stars don’t even get a trailer. If my life is going to be on tv, I damn well better have a trailer.

  22. I hate to admit it, but her inability to remember to breathe while speaking made me feel slightly sympathetic towards her. It reminds me of how I felt and probably sounded while giving presentations/simultaneously having panic attacks.

    It possibly helps that I stopped listening to the actual words she was saying about 20 seconds in.

  25. I’d really like to know what her “other ideas about continuing the l word brand” were.

    my top guesses are:

    1. theme park
    2. video game
    3. trademark flavor of starbucks coffee

  26. The video stopped working for me after she said “scripted series”. Finally, my internet connection saves me from myself.

  28. I read the teaser copy on the front page as: “If I am to be the foreskin of lesbian representation in the media, then yes I feel good about it.”

    Am slightly disappointed in actual article.

  29. I feel bad because I couldn’t get past the fact that all the questions/credits were in Impact. I don’t know, it felt like LOLCats were going to show up and make this a more articulate interview.

  30. OK, I’m sure it’s been said, but
    1) I HATE REALITY TV – It should be called STUPIDIFICATION TV!
    2) it’s not reality people, wake up & smell the manipulated b.s.
    3) it puts writers/actors/crew out of jobs …you know the people who went to school to hone their craft and earn a living?
    4) WTF? who watches this SH#T anyway, seriously?
    5) and the worst reality crap we export to the world: shows where idiots become group-think bullies that lie, cheat, and steal then are rewarded for pathetic behavior. That’s a nice export, no wonder most of the world thinks we’re idiots.
    6) if you like reality TV, I dare you to read a book to its end.

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