{"id":79716,"date":"2025-08-20T08:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=79716"},"modified":"2025-08-20T08:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T12:59:15","slug":"aubrey-plaza-discusses-griefs-unwieldy-shape-shifting-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/aubrey-plaza-discusses-griefs-unwieldy-shape-shifting-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Aubrey Plaza Discusses Grief\u2019s Unwieldy, Shape-Shifting Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Aubrey Plaza | Good Hang with Amy Poehler\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gLe9yRkrfCE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Actress Aubrey Plaza (right) gets real about grief and loss with Amy Poehler.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/emma-payne-grief-coach\/\">Grief<\/a> is one of life\u2019s most destabilizing experiences \u2013 and we all navigate it at some point, through death and change alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actress Aubrey Plaza has been wading through loss herself this year, following her husband Jeff Baena\u2019s death by suicide in January. While appearing on <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/amy-poehler-wine-country-directorial-debut\/\">Amy Poehler<\/a>\u2019s \u201cGood Hang\u201d podcast this week to promote her newest movie, \u201cHoney, Don\u2019t!,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gLe9yRkrfCE\">Plaza spoke<\/a> about the journey she\u2019s been on since Baena died \u2013 and the many forms grief has taken on throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_80124c8ab66517eb9afb0ea9884991ca\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/anastasiia-ferman-tingle-studio\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_5149.jpg-150x150.webp?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Anastasiia Ferman Tingle Studio\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_5149.jpg-150x150.webp?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_5149.jpg-45x45.webp?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/anastasiia-ferman-tingle-studio\/\">\n              Channeling Fear and Grief into Self-Expression\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>At one point, she likened it to a scene from \u201cThe Gorge,\u201d a 2025 sci-fi horror\/romance. \u201cIn the movie, there&#8217;s, like, a cliff on one side and there&#8217;s a cliff on the other side. Then there&#8217;s a gorge. And it\u2019s filled with \u2026 monster people that are trying to get\u201d the film\u2019s protagonists, Plaza said. &#8220;When I watched it, I was like, \u2018That feels like what my grief is like \u2013 or what grief could be like.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later, she compared the sensation of loss to \u201ca giant ocean of awfulness, that&#8217;s, like, right there, and I can see it. Sometimes, I just want to dive into it, and just, like, be in it. Then sometimes, I just look at it. And sometimes, I try to get away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut,\u201d Plaza added, \u201cit&#8217;s always there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That last bit has held true for actress <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/regina-king-reveals-how-shes-coping-with-loss-of-son\/\">Regina King<\/a>, who spoke last year about her experience with losing someone to suicide. The relentlessness of grief ultimately changed her. \u201cI\u2019m a different person now than I was\u201d before her son, Ian Alexander Jr., died in 2022, she admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a reason why Plaza\u2019s metaphors cast grief as intimidatingly gigantic and murky.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what else can one do, in the face of it, but put one foot in front of the other? Plaza says she\u2019s content with that for the time being. &#8220;Overall, I&#8217;m here and I&#8217;m functioning. I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think I&#8217;m okay. But it&#8217;s, like, a daily struggle \u2013 obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"block_8717f89a04964e45ef261bda1df52844\" class=\"wp-block related-post alignwide\">\n      <div class=\"wrap\">\n    <div class=\"section-title\">\n      <h4>Related<\/h4>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"post-wrap\">\n              <div class=\"thumbnail\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/anna-wojtowicz-the-aw-creative\/\" class=\"post-image-link\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-e1717076064557-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Anna Wojtowicz The AW Creative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-e1717076064557-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-e1717076064557-96x96.jpg 96w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-e1717076064557-84x84.jpg 84w, https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Anna-e1717076064557-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"entry-text\">\n          <h3 class=\"post-title\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/anna-wojtowicz-the-aw-creative\/\">\n              Grief and Burnout Motivated Her to Help Others Find Balance\n            <\/a>\n          <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>(Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Aubrey_Plaza_(46801520094).jpg\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Amy Poehler\u2019s \u201cGood Hang\u201d podcast, the actress spoke about the pain of losing her husband, describing it as a fictional canyon, a vast ocean \u2013 and a \u201cdaily struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":79717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Aubrey Plaza gets real about grief and loss with friend Amy Poehler:","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f","date":"2025-08-20T12:58:37+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lwti5zbvuj2h","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lwti5zbvuj2h\",\"cid\":\"bafyreihlex3kp2dc5udpodhflcm6kr5qljmt6ijeseptwqvfxc5tzqr4z4\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreiaumv32b3gbux74uetcgckc2gk23xs7knttmpggdfr3b42eck5j2u\",\"rev\":\"3lwti5zcghr2h\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19477,73],"tags":[21428,21427,19730],"class_list":["post-79716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-women","category-happening-now","tag-celebrity-experiences","tag-grief","tag-mental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ 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