Danny Pellegrino’s New Memoir Is ‘Iconic’ and More

A comedian, writer, and content creator hailing from Solon, Ohio, Danny Pellegrino is best known for creating the hit podcast Everything Iconic, which breaks down reality TV, discusses iconic pop culture moments, and features celebrity interviews. With almost 25 million downloads as of 2021, the show frequently appears at the top of podcast charts.

Earlier this year, Pellegrino released his critically acclaimed memoir How Do I Un-Remember This?: Unfortunately True Stories, where he opens up about poignant, yet hilarious tales from his past. From embarrassing teen mishaps and coming to terms with his sexuality during adolescence, to discovering the films and TV shows that made him who he is today, the book is a deeply funny and vulnerable look at Pellegrino’s life.

It is also a departure from his previous two books, Fancy AF Cocktails alongside Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval and The Super Carb Diet alongside Bob Harper.

Pellegrino took some time to chat more about the book and podcast with OFM.

I would like to begin by congratulating you on your new book, How Do I Un-Remember This?: Unfortunately True Stories. What’s the significance behind the title?

Thank you so much. The collection of stories that are in the book, they are embarrassing. They’re cringy, they’re awkward, and they’re meant to make you laugh. I think we all have those stories of things that have happened to us that maybe we wish to forget, but I included them all in this book. So, I hope people are laughing at me or with me, as long as they’re just laughing.

What initially inspired you to write the book?

I have a podcast called Everything Iconic, and oftentimes on the show while I’m recapping reality TV or talking to a celebrity guest, I would go and tell these stories that I call detours. I would tell a story about growing up in Ohio, taking a family vacation, or a bad date that I had, and when I went on tour right before the pandemic started, I noticed people were coming up to me and asking about these stories. Even more so than some of the other pop culture topics I was covering.

I’ve always loved writing and reading, so it was always something that I wanted to do. My own collection of stories, so it was sparked by that idea. I wanted to tell these stories in book form, and it was fun to retell some of the stories that I’ve shared on the podcast, but I dived in a little bit deeper. That was creatively fulfilling.

Besides getting readers to laugh, what else do you hope to take away from it?

I want people to feel like they’re getting a warm hug when they’re reading this book. Everything is so tough right now culturally and everything that we’re going through, so I hope people can escape for a couple hours. Aside from the laughs, I did try to open up about a couple deeper topics like my depression and anxiety, and there’s a chapter on grief. I try my best not to shy away from those heavier topics as well because I think people can hopefully relate, and they might feel like something I went through is something they’re going through or have gone through before. So, I hope people laugh a lot, maybe cry a little bit, and overall, feel less alone.

Talking about these tougher topics, was it painful to write about or did you find it to be a therapeutic process?

It was a little bit of both. Discussing grief was interesting because I feel like I learned a lot about it and how we sort of culturally handle grief, which I don’t think is handled in the best way. That came to me as I was writing, and I really analyzed grief. It’s fascinating how we deal with it. So, that was tough because it also related to the death of my grandmother, which is a topic I didn’t think I would write about, but it kind of came out organically. I hope people like it, but that was probably the toughest because it was so personal.

Is there anything you learned about yourself throughout the writing process?

Yes, and I was recently talking to somebody else about this. There’s a very small section in the book where I talk about weight and body image issues that I have, and it was so difficult for me to write. That reminded me that we do need to all talk about this because I think the way that I was feeling meant that we all don’t talk about those things enough, especially within the LGBTQ community.

Moving forward, I hope I can be more comfortable talking about this, and I hope that all of us, particularly the LGBTQ community, can have a stronger dialogue about it because I think it’s important.

Is there a section of the book that was your absolute favorite to write about?

There’s a lot of pop culture references throughout, and there’s a few stories where I go off and talk about NSYNC, Jessica Simpson – I’m a pop culture junkie. It was fun getting to include all my favorite nostalgic 90s pop culture references and sprinkle them throughout the pages.

What is a defining pop culture moment that has shaped you as a person and informed the trajectory of your career?

One of my favorite stories, it happened later on in life, my boyfriend and I had just seen the movie Judy with Renée Zellweger. I’m the kind of person that when I see something, I become obsessed with it. There’s a story in the book about how he made a bet with me. We were going out to dinner with his boss and some co-workers, and he had bet that I couldn’t go the whole dinner without bringing up this movie because I was just going around talking about it.

People will have to read and find out how that ends, but it’s one of my favorite stories in the book. It makes me laugh a lot, but it kind of encapsulates the obsession I have with pop culture. When I see something I like, whether it be TV, film, toys, books, whatever, I do become obsessed with it. I have a hard time shutting up about it, so I think that’s representative of that in the book.

Let’s segue and talk a little bit more about your podcast, Everything Iconic. Is it true that it began due to your Real Housewives obsession?

(Laughs) A little bit! I was performing around that time, I was doing sketch and standup comedy, and I had gone through a really rough depressive episode, and I thought I would never get on stage again. A friend recommended, she said, ‘you could do a podcast and then you can essentially perform without ever leaving the house.’ That seemed very appealing to me.

At the time, I had been making a lot of memes on my Instagram account, and all the memes tended to be on Real Housewives, Bravo, rom-coms we all love, actresses over 50 – I was doing a lot of content like that, and it gained a small following. It seemed like a natural segue to do a show that pretty much mostly covers Bravo, but then I also dip into other pop culture arenas. I tried to embrace my love of Bravo and use that for the podcast.

Did you ever think a podcast would take your career to where it is today?

No! It’s been wild seeing everything snowball, and it’s been very exciting and gratifying. I’m a one-man band on the podcast. I edit, I book my guests, I record, I do all of it on my own, so it’s been gratifying to see it snowball and lead to the book, which has always been a dream of mine. It means the world to me. I’m so grateful to everyone who listens and shares because they’ve changed my life.

What’s the secret behind making a great podcast like yours?

I think authenticity is most important. You have to like the topics you’re covering. I think people can smell through the bullshit, so if you don’t like something, chances are the audiences aren’t going to like you talking about it. Then the one tip that I had heard when I started was, consistency is key. If you are doing a weekly podcast, you have to do it weekly. Don’t take long breaks. The audience wants to make you part of their routine, but you have to make it easy for them.

Oftentimes, when people start a show, they will kind of dip in and out. Even if you’re doing a monthly podcast, you need to make sure to release it monthly. Every single month at the same time and day. For about three or four years, I didn’t have a single week off. It wasn’t until this last holiday season; I took my very first week off for Christmas. Otherwise, it was consistency, and I think that has helped me so much because when listeners wanted to hear me, they knew I would be there.

Now that the show’s a bit more established, I have a little bit more leeway to take a time off here and there if I’m traveling or something, but I was pretty obsessed with following that rule of being as consistent as possible for years and years.

A Britney Spears Instagram post is what inspired the podcast’s name?

It is. I remember her posting a picture of an ear of corn, and so many of the comments underneath it were, ‘this is iconic.’ I thought there’s two ways you can look at that. You can look at that as the pessimistic view and say, ah, that word is overused. It’s exhausting. What’s iconic about this? Or you can look at it as the glass half full way, and I thought it was great that people were celebrating this woman that they love. This entertainer that they love. They were celebrating this ear of corn and I thought there was something so great about that. I worship Britney Spears, so I thought it was perfect. Of course, the word has become overused, but I think it’s also a very sweet word. It’s a celebration of the things that we love. I always wanted the show to be a celebration of things that we all love.

Who was one of your early celebrity interviews, and what made it so memorable?

Jennifer Love Hewitt was one of my early guests, and it was so memorable for me because I had I Know What You Did Last Summer posters on my bedroom wall while growing up, so I saw her every day. This was pre-pandemic, so I was doing my interviews in person. She came to my house, and she had just gotten a puppy, so she had it with her. I got a knock on my door, and it was Jennifer Love Hewitt holding a puppy, and I just thought, it’s so bizarre that this is my life!

So, she was one of the most memorable early on, and there have been a slew of others. Miss Piggy was pretty crazy to me. Like, that was a lifetime achievement. Also, Cameron Diaz who I grew up watching. I love her so much.

Who are some celebrities on your bucket list?

I’d love to interview Meg Ryan. She’s at the top, along with Jessica Simpson and Mariah Carey. They’re my favorites. Nancy Meyers, Mandy Moore, Sandra Oh, there’s so many.

From interviewer to interviewer, how do you get celebrities to say yes and participate?

As my show has gone on, I think celebrities see that I’m not trying to have a gotcha interview or talk about anything that they don’t want to talk about. The things that I’m most interested in are their work. I’m a genuine fan of movies and TV, so that’s what I love talking to them about most. The gossip stuff is fun, and I think if that comes up naturally, hopefully they will feel comfortable enough talking to me about it, but for the most part, I want to talk to Cameron Diaz about The Holiday. I want to talk about some of those movies and TV shows that I love. I let the other stuff happen naturally.

What are some long-term goals you hope to achieve with Everything Iconic?

I’d love to bring Everything Iconic to TV and do a TV version. My favorite show of all time is the Rosie O’Donnell Show, so I try to model after Rosie’s 90s talk show, particularly with the celebrity interviews. The dream of dreams would be to do my own version of that show for television, and I also hope to keep writing books and act in a few scripted projects that I’m working on. I want to do it all.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Pellegrino by following him on Twitter and Instagram @dannypellegrino, or visit his official website, everythingiconic.com. How Do I Un-Remember This?: Unfortunately True Stories is now available at all major booksellers and online.

Everything Iconic is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other digital streaming platforms.

Photos courtesy of Brian Kaminski