Fran Lebowitz Doesn’t Have an iPhone Because Yours Will Do, Thank You

From the late-night circuit and an HBO documentary to her essays and speaking engagements, Fran Lebowitz has never shied away from a controversial topic. And in this new video, she takes on public transportation, Motel 6, and driving cross country. Watch the Vanity Fair contributing editor-who has been likened to a modern-day Dorothy Parker for her razor-sharp wit-stop by her office to give her altogether original take.
Credits: Filmed by Vance Spicer; Interview by Cat Buckley; Lighting by Greg Waszczuk; Audio by William Pierce; Edited by Nikhil Shah and Jeremy Elkin.
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Fran Lebowitz Doesn’t Have an iPhone Because Yours Will Do, Thank You

[@defneustunoglu291]

I want fran lebowitz to call me culturally deprived to my face

[@dennis_duran]

With that many umlauts in your name I doubt anyone would dare

[@skontheroad]

@@dennis_duran That was funny!

[@perrycomeau2627]

@@skontheroad She is. That's what I like about her in a serious way.

[@jinancim]

HAHAHAHHAAH

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa333]

How does someone become culturally inclined?

[@akayrk]

“When I say New York, I mean Manhattan - I am not young enough to have to mean Brooklyn.” 😂😂🤧savage

[@1991jdclark]

I love the way she thinks about things. A fascinating and intelligent person.

[@yeahiprotest]

Jenny klarke hyperbole

[@davedaniel4824]

So she doesn't own an iPhone, but she gets people to pay for her Uber rides?...

[@benkleschinsky]

Intelligence and observation, something that is absent in this decade.

[@davedaniel4824]

@andrewquinn2012 Does she really? She seems to be a very cheap person. And not in a good way.

[@bauman7962]

Id HAPPILY pay for many Uber rides so she could tell me stories

[@yourjewishmom7791]

I’m not young enough to mean Brooklyn. Omg hahaha 😂

[@oquefilmaragora]

Your Jewish Mom “to have to be in Brooklyn”!

[@jaylabuzov6650]

@@oquefilmaragora no she said "to have to mean brooklyn?

[@jojomakes]

@@oquefilmaragora You’re correct. I don’t know what everyone else is listening to lol

[@GaryDelgado]

@@jojomakes Parallelism with "when I say New York I mean Manhattan", but yes she says "to have to be in Brooklyn"

[@tillysanders2593]

So refreshing to listen to someone's whose brain is working at lightening speed .

[@dunebuggy3262]

I'm 21 and I love listening to her talk because she's not only hilarious but really puts things into perspective

[@juicebox5883]

Me too

[@karolbloss3217]

And you are eager for older person authority in your life ;)

[@simraarif4163]

Same, mate

[@kaliyuga1476]

Cringe

[@miamijim5964]

I am so in awe of her.. she has seen it all, she knew Warhol, she went to Studio 54 , Paradise Garage, she was in that scene.. just the thought of being a part of all that gives me goosebumps.

[@ilikecinema1234]

When cool and famous people were meant to be famous!!!

[@rr7firefly]

Fran did not smoke a single cigarette in this entire video. Congratulations, Fran. We want you to live a long life in good health.

[@DHU11]

70+ is a long life

[@poolmilethirty2859]

Fran has actually had much longer interviews and talks without smoking. She's been on 17-hour flights without smoking.

[@rudypalma1250]

Every day we have her is a gift.

[@rr7firefly]

@@poolmilethirty2859 That's a long time, for sure. I have a friend who is a chain smoker. Like Fran, he is very intelligent, with a facility to communicate verbally. I've seen him fumbling for a cigarette in his top pocket as he speaks.

[@mragbangles]

"I'm not young enough to mean Brooklyn." I'm 29, and I'm not young enough to mean Brooklyn either.

[@GH-oi2jf]

Cielo Suite - There are plenty of late 20s - early 30s people who migrated to Park Slope.

[@itssoezy]

100%. New York _is_ Manhattan. Brooklyn is where New York ends and America begins.

[@istvanpraha]

@@GH-oi2jf 40-50 somethings nowadays!

[@nicolecarnemolla8724]

She is so SPOT ON....I so relate to her thought process and I am 4 years older than she is....just finished watching the NETFLIX documentary with Martin Scorsese.....SUPERB

[@SloggieBear]

How do I get to hang out with this woman? I feel like she could tell my anxiety to go away and it would say "ok, yes, you're right. That's correct." and it would never come back.

[@nancywysemen7196]

Always clever and pointed.

[@MichelePernerBlum]

My mom doesn't have one either. She's over it and one of the happiest people in the world.

[@Bergen98]

Still unbelievable to me that she has had writers block for all these years. She is genius

[@andreasloizou3038]

Post more Fran!

[@ShivCreates]

I don’t know who this is but she is an ICON 😂😂

[@StacyPowerhouse]

Shiv same

[@sambrownsings]

Google, kids. Fran Lebowitz is legendary.

[@OsirisIxchel]

Some people think of her as Oscar Wilde's love child. 💋💋

[@jonathanyodice8732]

@ Shiv - she's a writer and she was something of a big deal in the 80s - her book "Metropolitan Life" is marvelous. Check it out - you'll enjoy it!

[@themaggattack]

Correct! You know an icon when you see one! You should definitely learn more about her.

[@springhillgolfer878]

Surprising that she never became a stand up comedian. She's hilarious.

[@dailybls]

That's basically what she is, she just works for more serious establishments.

[@gutsfiend6678]

@@dailybls more like too pretentious to appeal to a club crowd

[@mammontustado9680]

Here I am thinking of what she said here that you find so hilarious.

[@maureenharrison1261]

However, she is. College campuses etc.

[@sosonolow5094]

The story she told about how she viewed watches when she was young.....Hahaha!....so cute!

[@paulstillman2878]

I used a triptic when I took a road trip to Western Massachusetts in 2009. Got it at AAA.

[@akayrk]

"when i say new york, i mean manhattan -- i am not young enough to have to mean brooklyn" i felt that 😂 guess i am not young enough either 😂😂

[@elizabethtrainer9732]

I've had a HUGE crush on Fran for 40 years...love her!

[@AlvaSudden]

That's sweet. And understandable.

[@XX-zk2lf]

I've recently discovered her and same. lol

[@shena1256]

I adore her so much. She is a gem. Like a emerald in a word of diamonds

[@wendysherbert3257]

They do still make Trip-Tiks...but generated on computer and printed these days. Making Trip-Tiks for AAA Members for AAA was my first full time job. :)

[@bauman7962]

I can listen to her forever. What a fascinating mind

[@woin9361]

She’s fascinating; I love her anecdotes

[@bgimusic]

I enjoy hearing her stories

[@DasZuckerhaus]

the fact that she can be so sure that there will always be someone with a phone there speaks to her social wealth

[@KD-ou2np]

Phones are so accessible now what are you talking about?

[@DasZuckerhaus]

@@KD-ou2np „social wealth“ is about something different; it means she know she will never be lonely or rejected socially

[@fpengelbrecht9314]

@@KD-ou2np You probably own an iPhone and a wristwatch 😂😂😂😂

[@KD-ou2np]

@@fpengelbrecht9314 no wristwatches and I happily used my droid razr for yrs.. yeah the cheap brick phone that does the job.

[@joez6235]

@@KD-ou2np He's not talking about access to phones, he's talking about access to someone who has a phone. Fran thinks you can just turn to the person next to you at any given moment and ask them to call you an Uber, but she doesn't realize that many of us don't have a personal assistant to do stuff for us. Who am I supposed to ask when I'm on my own? It's not an "incredible extravagance for no reason" when you don't have many other options.

[@redooc223]

OMG Triptik! Haven’t heard that word in years!

[@Ojuolape]

I find the wristwatch analogy interesting. However I’m a doctor & sometimes might need it to count the pulse 😂

[@dash6385]

She is a national treasure.

[@cam11971]

I can concur and say that one of the best Thai restaurants is in Morristown NJ :)

[@samanthab1923]

laying outside with my sibling & neighbors when my mom drove by on the way to our house with my dad in the passenger seat. Always stood out

[@BebeLush2]

We love you Fran. Never change.

[@helioliskfire5954]

I like this neurotic energy. She's my idea of the artistic type who is always preoccupied with being original or coming up with something original or coming off as original. And the performative aspect of this process is an element of his artistic being itself, that is, to regale the audience with that frenetic persona.

[@Confuzius]

i understand your comment and appreciate it - i don't like the neurotic energy at all it makes me neurotic myself lol

[@namesshmames]

Unfortunate side effect of modernity

[@dillon9016]

This lady seems just great. Idk what she does but I need more.

[@CaptainKarma1972]

I love her !! ❤️woman of substance !!!

[@margoomahony9565]

I love her. Thank you Fran x

[@paula889]

The way she pronounces Morristown brings me back to my childhood and makes me miss some of my deceased relatives.

[@Julie-bq6iz]

Fran's family vacation via the car was just like mine-right down to fighting with my little sister in the back seat...

[@camham2097]

i love the way she speaks

[@ChristinaGina]

Im in my 20s and i relate to her

[@lawc23]

I love her voice

[@safhirarovida8850]

yes. me too. very soothing for my ears

[@karynb7781]

….raspy 'smoker's' voice, like an old Rockstar! I love her writing 'voice', refreshingly unabashedly opinionated but INFORMED. Smart Cookie.

[@pnkgrlxo05]

There’s at least some Thai food in Morristown now, that’s for sure

[@lilycoyle9560]

Why was there an I phone ad?!

[@emmaburgess4320]

You are the best at everything !! I love you Fran!!

[@hotstitch1]

Yes that wonderful joy of Discovery - real life; real time discovery. How do the young experience that now?

[@gemmeeljanne3184]

Exactly what I feel about watches.

[@beakittelscherz5419]

she is so right about what she said!

[@biomanization]

I love Fran! Read “Metropolitan Life”! If you’ve already read it, read it again

[@usethis4511]

That title makes you think she’s the fbi member watching us through our phone screens lmaoo

[@lesleymcshanemitchell9651]

love this lady so caustic and funny

[@Starkardur]

I love my iPhone but I understand the wrist watch thing. I could never get used of having it on my wrist. I would rather just ask someone about the time and now that I have a phone I can see the time.

[@sableann4255]

I love this woman! She's a jewel!

[@JustSomeCanadianGuy]

Suddenly watches do sound like the most pointless object imaginable. 😄

[@capybaraponque611]

Come on, dude, don't fall for her antics.

[@proud2bme998]

I love Fran Lebowitz! She is one of my favorite people to watch, read, and just enjoy! Such an interesting person, such a interesting woman! Hooray for Women!! I too have seen many of the things that F.L. has seen and done! My dad always got a TRIPTIC as my husband and I did when we went somewhere! I still love a good map! Yes you can look it up online, but I like seeing the full picture of every state that we visited! No tiny little screen to visualize on my phone or Ipad!!

[@gutar5675]

I have no idea who this is, but she would be a perfect Edna Mode in a live action Incredibles

[@blahblah1438]

She is so funny

[@stevie68a]

I read her book, "Social Studies" years ago, and I remember enjoying it.

[@markmarrk5060]

"I think me being totally out of touch has been an aid in journalism."

[@geraldfrank1630]

George Eliot revisited. 👌👏

[@mcgonagallerys]

I just hate how people say IPhone to mean smartphones

[@danholmesfilm]

Well that's almost literally what iPhone means -_-

[@ImNotADeeJay]

It amazes me how I didn't know about this woman before yesterday (thanks Netflix for recommending me "Pretend It's a City") but I heard about the Kardashians a long time ago

[@joez6235]

"There's always someone you're with" No there isn't

[@vincentmaldon7707]

Only Fran can make me laugh despite this horrific weather crisis in Texas! An American treasure.

[@johnbondza]

Wow - Is this an AMERICAN ICON?.... As a kid in Port St John's, South Africa we had no phones. Electricity came when I was 6. Paved roads, what were those. You reached our town by pont (car carrying boat) over the river. We knew about the deep south. We marvelled over Detroit 😢. We understood President Eisenhower policies. We were troubled about the developing Vietnam war (French). I speak for the whole community of about 1000 people. We read Time and Life and a couple of English publications. Few Americans can claim they didn't know the USA of the 1950s. I now play with IOT and using data in the cloud. I've written two apps for smartphones. I am excited by the power of AI. I am one of countless people over 70 doing this. How can you NOT know the current world. The world has little time or space for dinosaurs. Look rather to the young trailblasers with merit. The youngsters also have IQs that are on average 15 points higher than us old people.

[@samanthab1923]

It’s funny I was born in 59 & remember it the same with men driving. When my parents met in college my Dad had no license. Didn’t need one grew up in the Bronx. Mom did though, she was Yonkers.

[@gibsonmitchell]

The fact that I got an iPhone 12 Pro ad before this video😂😅

[@thugtrippin]

You have everything humanity has ever learned in your pocket and you don’t want to carry it around? Okkkkkk Fran

[@dallasboringnews7157]

I'm excited to see how silicone valley will sell an affordable spyphone without Chinese slave labor

[@sparklebutt1119]

When I say New York, I mean Manhattan. 🤣

[@samurai331]

The not seeing the driver is a great point.

[@outtathyme5679]

One of the best brains

[@perrycomeau2627]

But what if I get stuck in an elevator alone? Who is going to feed my cactus?

[@allthatjazzspaz95]

Fran Liebowitz is so honest. I respect her

[@lifemusic1980]

So true about the subway drivers. Lol

[@stephj505]

I relate to Franny on hating the present, but not enough to not have a smartphone.

[@bethberger19]

Weird that VF has terrible color graders...

[@supervegeta101]

+Beth Berger Right. They must be working on old monitors and didn't notice.

[@jamescasteel8990]

+Beth Berger budget is also a thing.

[@jamescasteel8990]

+brad fuller Could be a double compressed h.264?

[@mauritiusdunfagel9473]

There aren’t clocks anymore!

[@jojo-fj7lw]

"i profited by not knowing anything" ✨

[@danielpalma1426]

She was great in The Incredibles.... Ed-nah..😬

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Modernity is a story of gains and losses. Fran is always magnificent.

[@XX-zk2lf]

An icon and and gem.

[@spb7883]

She is spot on about everything that is wrong with American culture, especially at present.

[@greyclouds2069]

Love her!!!Great vlog!!

[@greyclouds2069]

👋👋😊😊

[@ritaroad]

I can relate, on road trips my dad drove and my mother sat like a princess doing her nails. I grew up in Chicago and was taking the L at 10. I loved those big green buses. I usually paid with a token but the driver actually used to give change. He had the coin thing on his belt and a wad of bills in his pocket. I don’t drive, never have. I always thought it was safe but now I’m not so sure. The pandemic and politics has people deranged.

[@melissacallia4230]

I miss 2015

[@HandlewithcareVibes]

That means she won’t ever be self sufficient, telephone wise

[@emmettbortnick1181]

Yo I grew up in the same town as her that’s wild

[@henningbartels6245]

So "iPhone" stands basically for all smartphones in American English?

[@minnak6873]

ohhh, that explains, i was sitting here wondering why you can't get uber on a non-iPhone like a true idiot :D

[@dxmxo9427]

There's also Android... did she forget about that lol

[@ronaldjohnson3206]

Androids aren’t relevant

[@aaronying4989]

Who uses Androids LOOL

[@TristenHernandez]

She is fascinating

[@TrixieBoo]

I want to have a chat over a cup of tea with this lady:)

[@wayfaringshaman]

Fran Lebowitz is my spirit animal.

[@ArghRawrWhoa]

Ok

[@mishaelfernandez1]

watching this video gave me the connection between iphone/smartphone saturation and herd immunity XD

[@ErinsProjects]

The odd thing is children in the South are taught not to go places like New York, because of the high crime rate and pollution. We tend to vacation in Florida or the mountains. I was not alive during the time period that she is talking about, however, so maybe we had a higher murder rate back then? Still the murder rate couldn't have been higher than New York.

[@GF-dt1ex]

I love her.

[@AAAE95]

does she make super suits?

[@ellebee8476]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mafred2069]

if I ever had the good fortune to get famous at any level I'd love to meet her and maybe have her like me so much she'd be my friend. she is so f'ing interesting and candid. i love how secular she is. she reminds me of valerie solanas if valerie wasn't batshit crazy.

[@vitalino1981]

I'm sorry can anyone explain the Brooklyn joke?