COVID-19 has been a trying time for everyone all over the world. Scott Tweedie, co-host of E! News and Pop of the Morning had just called America – in particular, New York his home right before the pandemic outbreak. We caught up with Scott to see how he is adjusting to his own home studio for big celebrity interviews during quarantine and how his neighbor’s bell has become a part of everyday life. And you might just receive a tip or two on a cool DIY home gym!
Note: This interview was conducted three weeks ago.*
Q&A with Scott Tweedie, E! Host
So many people are adjusting to life where remote meetings are the norm. How have you had to adjust and what changes have you made work wise since we were all shut down?
Everything has changed in our world. For the better, maybe. I’m really enjoying it. We’re doing all sorts of shows for E! Online, YouTube, Instagram, as well as for broadcast, all out of our apartments or homes. We were just doing E! News from our laptops, then after we started to incorporate lighting and microphones. I requested some colorful lighting because we are doing something called “Happ-E Hour” which is a lot of fun with all sorts of musicians. We had Antony from Queer Eye on the other day, he was a lot of fun. Basically the sky is the limit, but the limit is what you can do within your own home.
Lucky for me I have a very creative brain, trying to go above and beyond. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Some nights I’m up until 1 or 2 am thinking of some ideas. I’m really enjoying my weekends, even though we’re at home!
We know you’ve only been here in the US for a short time. Have you been able to observe how New Yorkers have banded together during COVID-19? What have you seen?
It’s a beautiful community feel, especially where I am right in the middle of Manhattan. 7 pm every night we clap for all the first responders, the volunteers, all the people on the frontlines putting their lives on the line to help with this awful thing which is COVID-19.
7 pm is one of the highlights of my day. Directly across from my apartment, there is this guy we call “Bell Man” and he has this huge bell which he rings and everyone loves to see him. He looks like the singer, Moby, it could even be him, I’m not sure. I haven’t confirmed that. The days he doesn’t come out, everyone is really upset. I’ve started to do it on my Instagram, because it’s early morning in Australia, so they can see what is going on out here.
The small coffee shops and local businesses, I’m trying to go out there and support them as much as I can. Everyone is struggling right now in a big way. All the little things you can do to help will help in a big way.
How have you been spending your personal time during quarantine when you have any, and have you picked up any new hobbies or learned anything new?
I built my own gym, when I say I built my own gym, I’ve been working with some concrete and some items from Home Depot. All the kettle bells and dumbells were sold out. I’m not sure if that was nationwide or not but I couldn’t get it. It was a DIY project, I failed a couple times, then got it right. I’ve been cooking a lot, but everyone has. I’m sick of cleaning. Other than that, it’s working and binge watching TV shows. Now I’m enjoying getting out when I can, go for a run, anything in the outdoors. I’m still exploring New York City. It’s not so bad right now because it’s really quiet on the streets. It’s easy to go get a Citi bike and ride around, observe the architecture, the buildings, and the wonderful city that is New York.
You were mentioning you created weights. Staying in shape in your home gym, I’m assuming during quarantine. Has that changed from what you were doing workout wise pre-COVID-19?
Majorly. My motivation is still 0. I spent all this time and effort on building these weights. Now I have these weights and now I don’t want to do them. I started doing yoga and Pilates when this first started. My flexibility is a 1 out of 10. I signed up to all these apps. They give you a trial period, now I’m paying the fee for all of them. If I do one per week, that’s a good week for me. I had all these ambitions but I’m trying to motivate myself to do more and more everyday.
I’ve also discovered my love for cookies in New York City! I never was a sweets person, I never really loved desserts. I love them now. Levain cookies have blown my mind and I can’t stop thinking of them. If you haven’t tried them, they are unbelievable.
Levain cookies were part of a TV show. They’re a big fat chunky cookie, they’re soft on the inside, and they have all different types of flavors.
We know you are super creative with video. Have you been making any new videos lately and how do you come up with ideas?
When we weren’t as busy, probably week 1, 2, and 3, I got into Tik Tok. I had some really great videos I was proud of. I had 2 million views on one video. Then I got super busy with work and I didn’t have time for it. On my days off I just wanted to rest and get my energy back up so I can be the best I can at my job. So unfortunately, outside of work there aren’t many creative projects I’m working on. Inside of work, I’m being so creative and pushing the limit. I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m really proud of what we’ve done for Happ-E Hour. It was only meant to be a small interview show, I designed the logo with the team and how to use my TV in a way that really makes it pop on camera, using colored lights all around my apartment.
We are creating drinks for artists. Depending on what they were releasing at the time, we’d figure out a way to customize a cocktail drink just for that artist. 9 times out of 10 they’re all about the visuals so they don’t taste that good but I’m drinking it so I’ll take a sip and say “this is great!” I involve the celebrity to help me put the finishing touches or garnishes on the cocktails which they really enjoy. The first one was Adam Lambert, and we created the Adam Lambertini and he called it the Glambertini, which was a twist on it. We have DJ Kaled coming in next week.
Pop of the Morning is still going strong, for those that don’t know the show, why should viewers tune in during quarantine?
If you want to see three extremely different people, catching up, talking about the latest celebrity topics. Victor Cruz is incredible, there is nobody cooler in the world. He has an incredible shoe collection, and is currently riding around in a convertible Rolls Royce. He just lives an amazing life. Also, on his phone he is friends with every big celebrity, he can call Drake like that, Jay-Z, he has them all in the palm of his hands, so he has great insights into how these celebrities are living their lives.
Then you have Liliana, she loves all things fashion and all things Housewives and is just a passionate New Yorker. So she brings a lot of inside experience and intel from her life.
Then you have me, the new American, I’m from Australia. It gives great insight into how everyone around the world watches, loves, and listens to everything you’re doing here in the USA. In particular, all your very talented celebrities.
We’re a great mix when we come together, we all bring different opinions on what we’re talking about which is a lot of fun. We just can’t wait to get back into the studio. We just started our show, starting to build momentum. Then we all have to work from home. So we can’t wait to get back and hang out together once again.
I know you’ve interviewed a number of guests. Which guest from Pop of the Morning do you feel you’ve learned the most from?
I can’t get past our first interview on air which was with Shaquille O’Neill. He’s not only a sportsman, but he’s an entertainer and an entrepreneur. I also thought it was so funny when he stood up and hit his head on the studio ceiling. Our studio ceiling isn’t that high and he hit his head on a light. It was so funny. He was definitely a standout for me.
We’ve had a lot of great interviews. I loved my interview with the Nanny, Fran Drescher. We actually did some role playing. I have my gray hairs coming through, I played the part of “Mr. Sheffield.” I wore my turtleneck and a blazer for that interview. She was so much fun and a great sport.
Watch when Scott (“Mista Sheffield”) Meets Fran below:
What are your quarantine meals like? We know you must have to cook for yourself quite a bit at this time. Any new meals?
I’m really good, I’m killing it in the kitchen, I didn’t know I was this good. My standout has to be my curries. My Bolognese. I found a really cool traditional Italian Bolognese recipe online, failed at that. It was a 12-hour process and I thought it was going to be so good, it was the worst one I’ve had in my life. Apart from that, I tried it again and nailed it. I also like to do fresh tacos. The last two weekends I try to go to the farmers markets. Once again, the poor farmers would have had such a long time of nobody buying their produce so I bought fresh produce.
Have you discovered any new shows to binge watch?
My attention span has been really short lately. I watched “Last Dance,” I thought it was brilliant. I watched “Tiger King” but that feels like years ago. The trashiest show I watched was “Too Hot to Handle.” I did that on a rainy Saturday. I did the whole 10 episodes in one day, I couldn’t stop watching it. I thought “this is the worst!” I love it. Then I knew I was interviewing Jerry Seinfeld, so I got lost in the world of re-watching Seinfeld. The new Chris Hemsworth Extraction film, that was a lot of fun. Any new films coming out on Netflix, I’ve been really interested in those too.
We are all waiting for this quarantine to be over. What is the first thing you want to do when we are allowed to go out again?
The first thing I want to do is find one of New York City’s best rooftop bars, go up there in this glorious hot weather we have at the moment. When we went into isolation, it was freezing cold here, probably still snowing. Now it’s nice and warm. I want to get out there, wear a t-shirt, order a cocktail, not made by myself on Happ-E Hour because I’m the worst bartender in the world, and have a beautiful fresh cocktail looking over at some part of New York City.
See the Full Video Interview Here:
Tune into Pop of the Morning weekdays at 11am on E!
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Courtney Rose is an Entertainment Writer at Feeling the Vibe Magazine based in New York. Pop culture and rom-com obsessed. Studied Journalism and is up to date on all the latest entertainment news. For tips or comments, email me at Courtney@feelingthevibe.com