Julia Menshova

Yulia Menshova: “I don’t know how to hurt people”

In August, "Alone with Everyone", which she hosted for four years. But the actress and TV presenter did not remain without work. Soon a high-profile premiere took place - Menshova, in tandem with Maxim Galkin, appeared in the Tonight program, which was previously hosted by Andrei Malakhov, who left the channel. the site learned firsthand what Yulia is like in a new capacity, and also remembered her previous roles.

Social media is buzzing and angry. It seems as if the whole country has come out in condemnation of the new TV presenters of the Tonight show. “Favorite program, goodbye”, “Channel One has slipped below the plinth”, “You are far from Malakhov”, “Shame on Menshova” - these are perhaps the mildest comments that in large numbers appeared on the pages of Galkin and Menshova.

Meanwhile, the updated program "Tonight" in terms of ratings easily beat those issues that Malakhov was still running. And by the second broadcast, Maxim and Yulia themselves already looked like a close-knit team. Although Menshova herself believes that they still have room to grow.

“So far, only two programs have been recorded, and it is too early to say that we have finally settled in, got used to each other. Our roles have not yet been fully distributed, there is a lot of improvisation, - she thinks, but immediately adds: - On the other hand, a purely technical division of labor is meaningless. Relatively speaking: Maxim is responsible only for jokes, I am responsible for “soulfulness”. Or vice versa. If the presenters are a partner tandem, then there is no need to drive in such clear pegs. We intuitively distribute the load of management among ourselves. I am a theatrical person and I know what a stage partnership is - both good and bad. If you have a great partner, it can't be compared to anything, it's like in a battle where you can run into a mine together or succeed together. If there is this “shoulder feeling” - and Maxim and I have it - one will always support the other.

Maxim Galkin, when we asked to talk about his emotions after the first releases, was full of compliments to his new partner: “Working with Yulia Menshova is a pleasure. She is a professional. Only her “Alone with everyone” is about 600 interviews. I'm not talking about the show "I myself". She feels her interlocutors. I think that on Russian TV now this is the number one interviewer.

I am alone with everyone

Menshova never intended to work as a TV presenter. She began her television career as a contributing editor. Also in school years she dreamed of journalism, but then she didn’t manage to enter the university - she was only in last moment learned that three published articles were needed. Therefore, she realized her dream much later - when she had already become a certified actress and for several years she appeared on the stage of the legendary Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. At first, Menshova worked in the My Cinema program, where she wrote countless texts. And then the program “I myself” arose, and Ivan Demidov, who in those years was the general producer of TV-6, it was Yulia who offered to become its host. She couldn't refuse.

For six years, Menshova went on the air weekly and constantly occupied the top lines in polls of who is the most beloved and best presenter on TV. After the closure of “I myself”, the project “To be continued” immediately arose on NTV. But then the unexpected happened. When this program died too, and Yulia, mindful of her ratings, was sure that other channels would tear her apart right now, her phone fell silent. whole year she waited to be remembered at last. And then she stopped waiting and began to look for herself in other areas: remembering her education, she played private performances, actively acted in films and serials, she herself directed some theatrical performances.

The program “Alone with Everyone” appeared at the moment when Yulia had already decided that the romance with television was over. But when she received a call from the First and was offered a program "in the style of Oprah", she agreed without hesitation.

Mikhail Kovalev

Nothing personal

For four long years, Julia in her program “Alone with Everyone” learned the secrets of the personal life of her heroes. But she herself is not so frank with journalists and tries once again not to draw attention to her family. Meanwhile, the story of her relationship with her husband, actor Igor Gordin, is worthy of being the basis of a melodrama script.

... They met in a common company. Julia was then a real star, her program “I myself” collected huge ratings. Igor was a young, yet unaccomplished actor. But the relationship began literally immediately after the first meeting. Soon they began to live together - in a small rented apartment. And when it became known that Yulia was expecting a baby, they went to the registry office.

However, after seven years (many psychologists consider this period a crisis for couples) decided to divorce. At that time, their son Andrei was six years old, and their daughter Taisiya was about a year old. The couple lived apart for four years. Of course, they constantly met and even went on vacation together (the psychologist insisted on this, to whom Yulia turned to the question of how to make divorce painless for children), but each tried to build his own personal life. More precisely, during this time, both Yulia and Igor realized that somehow it was impossible to start a relationship with someone else, even in their thoughts. And after one of the joint vacations, they came to Moscow again as a married couple.

And here is unexpected turn: it turns out that Julia, either quarreling or reconciling with her husband, repeated exactly family script your parents. After all, Vladimir Menshov and Vera Alentova also divorced at one time and only after all the same four years decided to reunite again!

TV hit new life

In her new television role, Yulia Menshova is not going to follow the path beaten by Andrei Malakhov, but wants to do something different. “In this program, no one will overstep the bounds,” she says. - Both the viewer and the hero should be comfortable, good. I see it this way, it's mine principled position. If a person does not consider it possible to make something public, to take it out into the public space, then this will not happen. I'm not good at hurting people. And if the editors have other plans, then we will argue.”

An accomplished actress and TV presenter of the show “Alone with Everyone”, Yulia Menshova interviews celebrities every day, asks them about family life, but he keeps his own secret, does not like to tell.

Spouses about personal life

It should be noted that the leader in family life did not go as smoothly as in her career. The actress met her husband in the theater, Igor Gordin immediately attracted the attention of Julia. Soon they got married and had a son, Andrei, and a few years later, a daughter, Taisiya.

After the birth of their daughter, a discord began in their relationship and rumors began to spread about the upcoming divorce of the presenter and actor Igor Gordin. Many fans were worried about celebrities. The couple broke up for a while and after a long pause (3 years) - complete harmony again developed in their relationship. The husband was the first to come up with the initiative to unite the family.

As Igor says, the crisis in family relationships occurred due to mutual grievances, problems and conflicts at work. However, when disagreements occur, it is important to find a compromise. Home, family is the most important thing in life.

Everything today free time family spends together. They do not argue where to relax, the spouses are happy everywhere together: fishing, on the beach, at home. "We are together even to the end of the world!"

Which easily "splits" the most secretive stars - an empty case. All the more valuable is her frankness.

Don't argue with your parents

- Julia, you are from a famous cinematic family. Did your parents spoil you as a child?

- I was brought up quite strictly, but I never was shy child. I remember in high school, when my classmates were already flaunting nylon tights, I wore simple cotton stockings. Mom let me wear nylon tights a couple of times, but they tore on the first day. Then, and even now, the chairs at school were made of eternally exfoliating plywood: as soon as you sit down, there is a hole in your tights.

My mother is a child of war, which left an imprint on her attitude to things. It is not just careful - mom keeps things that are 30-40 years old, but they look like new. In this sense, I’m not that sloppy - I just grew up in a different time, and my temperament is somewhat different. For example, if I have a choice between a beautiful and comfortable thing, I will choose the latter. Of course, ideally, a thing should be both beautiful and comfortable. But if incredibly beautiful Evening Dress will require constant concentration and control from me, then I will refuse it without regret. I can't be in an unnatural state - that's my nature. So, after I tore my pantyhose, my mother decided that I was not old enough to wear a scarce thing, and the family did not have the same income, and changed me into simple stockings.

Most likely, it was a pedagogical trick, and a belt with elastic bands, coupled with insulated pantaloons, at the age of 15-16 could well give rise to complexes, but I managed not to go in cycles in this.

- Did the actions of your parents cause you a feeling of protest?

– My performances were not particularly taken into account. Protest at this age is words, but they are of little use, because you have no money. And if we talk about complexes, then I, for example, did not seem attractive to myself at all.

Almost all teenage girls go through this...

– This period lasted quite a long time for me. Already studying at the institute, I absolutely sincerely believed that I was not good-looking. Or rather, like this: I didn’t think about my appearance at all. In relationships with young people, I had other priorities, I bet on the mind. Including on my own: how erudite I am, whether I am an interesting interlocutor. When in adult company I was suddenly asked: “How old are you?” - "Eighteen". The moment of surprise in the eyes of the interlocutor ("So smart! It can't be!") brought great satisfaction. The breaking of stereotypes about myself occurred at the age of 20. A man who met me on Tverskaya remarked to me: “Oh, what a beauty!” But it sounded so sincere that I was stunned. In the subway, everyone was waiting for the doors to close so that they could look like in a mirror. All the way I looked at myself and thought: “Why is she a beauty? What did he see in me?

“You are the only daughter. Didn't your parents say anything like that?

– But they didn't speak.

- Did you miss it?

– It is hard to say. As I grew up - I do not exclude that reading all sorts of psychological books contributed to this - I was able to assess how fair the criticism of my parents was. Or perhaps the problem was something else: my mother is very beautiful woman, so all attention was always riveted on her.

But you are so similar!

– I didn't look like her! I generally have daddy's facial features - eyes, nose. Mom's lips only. But since the girls copy the manner and plasticity of their mother, then in general I look like her. Besides, I have my mother's voice. But it just never crossed my mind to compare myself to her. Moreover, I know that I can be both beautiful and ugly. And I don't flirt at all. It does not depend on how I put on makeup - in my life I do not abuse makeup - but on my mood, on how I slept, even on the time of year.

Victory over yourself

- In connection with what did you become interested in psychological literature?

– I think this is an individual predisposition, a warehouse of character. Most of all, people are interested in their inner world. This is also a lucky coincidence: the time for growing up came in the 90s, when it began to be published psychological literature for every taste - from Carnegie to quite serious works. In general, I am prone to introspection, I kept diaries from the age of 12 - my dad taught me. He himself keeps diaries all his life and considers this activity extremely useful, contributing to self-discipline and awareness of mistakes.

– Is it really so?

– Yes, but the main thing here is not to overdo it. I'm a very big Samoyed. More precisely, it was. And when you are closed on yourself and there is no interlocutor nearby to whom you can tell about your own disorganization, cowardice and hear in response: “Yes, you are not the only one, everything is not so scary,” you can go to the extreme degree of self-flagellation. What destroys. I had such a period of isolation.

– Not all topics are suitable for discussion. For example, at the age of 16 you bow to Marina Tsvetaeva and also want to challenge the world. At the same time, you doubt whether you are talented enough for this. It is hard to imagine what a friend can advise in this case.

Unbearable but loved

- Who do your children look like?

– The son is also a Samoyed, the daughter is not yet. Andrei is 16, and he is just in the stage of denying experience previous generations when it seems that everything before you is a worthless chain of outdated approaches, but you brought something new to the world. But without it there is no youth.

- Everyone has transition period passes in different ways: for someone it’s hard, for someone with small losses.

– Everything is going great for us: there are no scandals, slamming doors, leaving the house, enmity, distrust. And this is our common merit. Of course, there are mutual claims, but we try not to go beyond the flags. He, like any teenager, is sometimes rude. Then we try to remember ourselves - it is easier to accept and understand. And Tasya, for all her touchingness, sometimes shows miracles of harmfulness. Together they can be simply unbearable, but no less beloved by children.

- Are you patient with children's antics?

“A lot of things are available to kids now. Do you think they should be pampered?

– I grew up less freedom-loving than Andrei and Tasya. I could easily be pressed to the nail, saying "it is necessary." The availability of toys and entertainment has done its job - our children are more spoiled. But the main thing is not to overdo it! I think it's right that children have a lot to deserve. On this occasion, my son and I have disputes. But when Andrew again asks: “Why should I do this?”, I am at a loss and do not know what to answer. My parents wouldn't even explain, but I have to.

The journalist defeated the actress

- Passion for psychology has grown into a passion for journalism. Does it give you pleasure?

– Yes, I'm already at the age when I can only afford to do what I like.

Are you more of a journalist or an actress?

– In the frame, I am primarily Yulia Menshova – man with his inner world. It is difficult for me to apply for the title of a journalist, because I do not have vocational education. But my theatrical education, my understanding of the dramaturgy of dialogue was very useful to me in this work. Does acting experience help me? Never! You can't play anything on TV. But I have an idea that the program is reaching out to a multi-million audience that needs to get their questions answered. I do not allow myself to arrange a television arthouse and talk about topics that are of interest exclusively to me.

- By the way, about the audience. Do you know that your program is sometimes arrogantly called "woman"?

– I can’t say that I agree with this, but it can be interpreted that way. For some, external events, talk about professional achievements and creativity. To me, not really. I want to talk about the personal, of course, within a certain ethical framework. A similar worldly experience allows the viewer to identify with the hero. Let's say if the hero is a singer (and I have nothing to do with music), then we are moving in different directions: his professional problems are alien to me. And if he is a husband and father, then he immediately becomes closer. Baba's point of view? Definitely! After all, a woman lives in an emotional sphere. By the way, many men also watch our program, but they are embarrassed to admit it.

Do you ask your characters uncomfortable questions?

– Of course, but I think that uncomfortable questions no. The art of the interview is in the mutual interest of the interlocutors, so we do not send questions in advance. Of course, any interlocutor has the right to say: “I don’t want to discuss this topic,” and I will never insist. Another thing is that the measure of permissible frankness is also very characterizing. Someone is not ready to give the name of his daughter, and someone will tell with tears in his eyes how he went through a divorce. By the way, I myself never ask to send me pre-interview topics.

- How do you prepare for an interview?

- When the hero is approved, about 30-50 pages of material are collected about him, which I proofread, making notes. Then, together with the editorial team, I build a conversation line, think over topics for discussion. The editors make up questions to which I make my own additions.

Is there someone you would like to talk to?

– For example, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I would be interested in talking to him about everything except politics. Of the St. Petersburg actors, I would very much like to talk with Alisa Freindlich, but for now we have a refusal. Forever or is it just a matter of time, I don't know.

- Do you watch TV yourself?

– No, and for many years now. But since last year, this has become more of a minus, since by the nature of my activity I have to navigate in the television space. Over the past ten years, the Voice show has caused me delight. I watched the first season without stopping, the second - much less often, the third - very rarely. But this project absolutely bribed me with the sincerity of human emotions.

Interviewed Anna Abakumova

Heroine in the series Between us girls after the divorce, she could not arrange her personal life for ten years. It took the actress only four years to reunite with her husband and become happy.

Julia, are you in love?

- Oh, I used to fall in love often! I remember my girlfriend and I in eighth grade were in love with two friends in tenth grade. We walked arm in arm with her at breaks, looked in their direction, sighed. Probably, it’s even hard to call it love - rather, we inspiredly trained in ourselves quivering feelings, without even pretending to reciprocity ...

And when she entered the institute, she was going to get married almost all the time. What she immediately reported to her parents: “We are going to the registry office!”. And every time they protested loudly, saying that this young man was not suitable for me at all. Nobody approached them.

Admittedly, years later it turned out that they were not so wrong. But since action gives rise to reaction, I think that is why I always intended to get a stamp in my passport - in order to immediately clearly determine the state of affairs: they say, comrades, everything is serious here, we have not some kind of shura-mura, but a responsible decision. Fortunately, despite the desire to demonstrate my independence and independence, I stopped every time in time. Although a couple of times my lovers and I actually applied, but I caught myself in time and backed off.

Why did everything end with a wedding with Igor Gordin?

- We met when I was 27 years old, and the period youthful revolutions left far behind. I really was ready to become a wife, not to play marriage. And then ... How can you analyze love? I saw him - we were in the same company, and caught myself thinking: “What a handsome young man! That's the kind of guy that could be my husband." That's right right away ... Although we have not really met yet. Despite the fact that he sat all silent, modest, not trying to impress at all.

But we were in no hurry to go to the registry office. They lived together for more than a year in a rented apartment before they started talking about the wedding. I then already worked on television with might and main, hosted the program I myself.

That is, you are a celebrity, very popular, and your husband is not yet an accomplished actor. Such a discrepancy - both status and material - can hurt male pride ...

- Yes, such a difference in positions for the family is a serious test. But in your youth, you don’t understand this at all. When we got married Igor I saw that for me all this hype, popularity did not matter, just like it was absolutely indifferent to me whether he was an accomplished artist or not, how much he earns. For us, only one thing was significant: our feelings for each other.

Over time, this state of affairs began to strongly influence Igor. Yes, and on me. Although, I repeat, the fact that his career did not immediately develop ideally was not something catastrophic. But, apparently, "a drop wears away a stone." In general, I am sure that our union collapsed after seven years, including for this reason. We didn't handle the situation with due wisdom, we couldn't get through this ordeal. And they parted ways. Thought, for good, but it turned out, for four years.

Your parents also separated...

- Yes, in this sense, I exactly repeated the family scenario - after all, they also lived apart for four years. The only difference is that I was three years old at the time of their separation, and when we Igor We parted, our son was six years old, and my daughter was nine months old.

The reasons for leaving are also somewhat different. Dad and mom say they overstrained themselves in everyday life. Unsettledness and poverty dope them. There were no helpers. If I was sick, I had to think of something, when I was healthy - to drive to a nursery. At the same time, dad is a student again, now VGIK, there is no scholarship, at night he had to earn extra money in a bakery - to unload bread and in the same place, in the supply room, write scenario developments, make storyboards. Therefore, household chores and caring for the child mainly fell on the mother. And she worked in the theater, and went on stage even in the eighth month of pregnancy and returned to work as soon as I was born. On these everyday problems, as parents say, and their relationship collapsed. It seemed that without each other it would be easier.

Did they formally divorce?

- No, it was somehow connected with housing, with a complex re-registration of documents: if dad divorced, he would lose his Moscow residence permit, which mom received from the theater. And my mother, although she was more radical, went to meet him: "Until one of us has an urgent need, we will not get divorced."

Did everyday troubles also affect you and Igor?

- Partly... Andryushka I did not sleep at all for a year after birth, and this turned out to be an unexpected test of strength for us. Both after all worked, I - very much. True, there was a nanny who came during the day. But, returning home in the evening, we knew for sure that we would not have to sleep at night. This greatly annoyed us. A purely youthful feeling was also added: when it’s hard for you, it seems that your close person He could help, but he doesn't. And since the other thinks in exactly the same way, mutual claims begin. And everyone thinks that it is definitely harder for him than for his partner.

In general, due to wild fatigue, the first discord began to occur in us. Then everything seemed to normalize, but the sediment of irritability remained. And on this basis, the already existing stress factor has intensified - that very difference in positions.

They didn’t tell my husband: they say, you are the head of the family, you have to do something in order to somehow break through, is it enough for me to pull everything on myself?

- Maybe that's what I didn't say, but, of course, I thought that he needed to make some decisions, go to work somewhere else, try something new. Moreover, I myself experienced an extreme dependence on the acting profession, and it seemed to me that I had to take life into my own hands, knock on all doors.

Years passed, but the situation did not change dramatically - I remained in demand, earned money, bought an apartment. She repeated: “It’s okay, don’t worry, in the end, other times will come for you ...”, however, male pride Igor found it difficult to cope with the situation.

And you, following the example of your parents, also decided to live separately for some time?

- They planned to get a divorce officially. And then ... Nobody wanted to deal with all this red tape with documents, and there was no time. Postponed for later. We just parted, not doubting that it was for good.

The departure of a father is always a trauma for children. How did you plan to tell them about it?

- Before leaving, I consulted with a psychologist. I brought him home, conducted several tests with my six-year-old son, consulted on how to properly present information so that it was perceived as least painful, and only after that I spoke with Andrey. I tried to present the current situation even as some kind of adventure - they say, now it will be possible to visit dad, have fun with him.

On the advice of a psychologist, I made a decision that was not too simple for myself at that time: by all means, once a year, go on vacation all together, that we Igor properly observed. During these joint trips lived in different rooms: Igor- With Andrey, I'm with Tasey.

How did the family recover?

- First of all, the children helped. One day Igor, as usual, came to visit the guys. Chatted with them, played. When I returned after the performance, I took my daughter to bed. They kissed dad. She is two and a half years old. I have already laid down with her, telling a fairy tale. Igor traditionally stayed for a short time with Andryukha in another room, laid him down and quietly left. Suddenly Tasya sat in the crib and said: “I didn’t tell dad” Goodnight"!". I whisper: "She said - when she went to bed." - "Not! I forgot, didn't say…” - and almost cries. I try to calm her down: “Listen, you don’t have to worry so much, after all, we can always call dad and you will tell him.” Then huge tears began to roll out of my daughter’s eyes, and she tells me in some surprisingly adult tone: “Well, how can you not understand, I don’t want to say “Good night” to dad on the phone! I just want to say "Good night" to him in the evening and "Good morning" in the morning.

This story pierced me to the very heart. Tasya because she was tiny when we parted, and could not remember how we lived together. But I imagined our life exactly like this - when all together ...

Julia, what attitude do you live with now?

- With the fact that the family and in general your inner circle is the most important thing, and everything else is secondary.

You know, for Last year I somehow especially clearly understood that I had entered that happy phase of life when I can afford not to prove anything to anyone. I didn't care what they thought of me. Truth! There is no selfishness or, worse, snobbery in this. It’s just that in your youth you feel the competitive environment extremely keenly, it seems to you that “being the best” is a measure. And over the years, you feel that something completely different is priceless: to be yourself. And do what you are truly interested in. Which is what I wish for everyone.

- How did the program "I myself" come about in your life?

Tatyana Fonina came up with it and brought this project to Ivan Demidov, then the general producer of TV-6. Tanya wanted it to be an entirely female talk show, in which there are no men at all and there is, respectively, a feminist and a woman of traditional views. The feminist had already been found, she was practically the only one in the country at that time - Masha Arbatova. Tanya also had a supporter of traditional views. And then there was the question of the leader. Since I worked at TV-6 as an editor, Demidov knew me and recommended me. I connected and began to offer options for what else could happen within the framework of the dramaturgy of the program.

I read a lot of books on popular psychology, which began to appear just in the 90s. There were smart ones among them. And I began to understand that men and women are really arranged very differently. It seemed to me that a literal opportunity - by example - to discover that we look at the same problem in fundamentally different ways, would strike a much greater spark. In my opinion, it was not enough dramaturgically - to discuss women's problems with a women's circle. There had to be a male audience. Let it be small, as it turned out as a result. And it justified itself, because it added a certain drive and sharpness to the program.

- What programs do you remember?

Later long years I can't say that there are programs at all that I sort through in memory. I, of course, periodically recall the heroes with some kind of flashes, although I do not always remember the topic we talked about. I remember the stories that were told. But I must say that out of 250-300 episodes there is not a single program that I would like to forget.

Elena Khanga, with whom Afisha also did a nostalgic interview, impressed me with how accurately and in detail she remembers everything.

Lena has such a mindset. She is an amazing storyteller. It has something of the ability to literature. She brings very finished good examples. My memory and perception are arranged differently, probably because I remember the line of life, and I can remember a specific case only by the way. I need to get turned on by something to say - but there was interesting story. Lena is different. When she was with me on a talk show and talked about her life, I listened directly.

- Why is she not doing anything on television now?

Don't know. We have a monopoly television. dominate federal channels, who have the right to rearrange the chips as they wish. And yet our mentality does not contain the custom of keeping traditions. Maybe in time it will. Here Sveta Sorokina does not work. Alisa Brunovna Freindlikh did not act in film for ten years. Can you explain it? Me not. I understand that, on the one hand, she was probably offered something that she was not interested in. But look: there is such an actress in the world - Alisa Brunovna Freindlich. Yes, aged, but an actress of the rarest level. Why doesn't the channel, the production company, set a goal - let's write a script for Freundlich. Or maybe we will even talk to her and ask: “Alisa Brunovna, is there a topic that interests you?” No. For ten years, Alisa Brunovna sat in the BDT theater without filming at all.

- What is happening with the talk show genre now? Is he less popular than in the 90s, when "About it" and "I myself" came out?

- Of course. Everyone is too used to it. In addition, there was some devaluation, because at the end of the 90s they began to bring front people to talk shows. Two people from the extras met, they were told: you are an offended wife, and you are a bastard husband. Let's break this story down. And the screen is a dangerous thing, and not only television, any screen. It conveys truth or untruth in different ways. You may not even know that this is a lie, but you will feel it. And stop trusting. Then talk shows generally turned into some kind of madness, when the problem is not important, and people are not important, it is important that the space of this time be filled with emotion. Everyone is screaming, everyone is sorting things out, but there is no dramatic denouement, and the genre has become much less able to hold the viewer's attention.

- As far as I understand, there were only real stories in the program "I myself"?

I had one selection principle: we never took local stories. Wow - this happened to a person, fir-trees-sticks. It was necessary to find topics that the audience could somehow try on, when generalization is possible. Therefore, topics such as "I'm so ugly" or "I don't love my child" arose. Can we say that this is a special case? Can. But is it possible to say that there is a certain layer of women who experience problems with motherhood? Can. So let's talk about it. From the particular to the general and from the general to the particular.

- Was there a feeling that the topics were exhausted in six years?

- Nope. You could always turn them at a different angle.

You said in one interview that the program is not feminist at all - it is rather everyday, and such a definition can scare a person away.

Feminism, as you know, upholds the equality of the rights of women and men in society. Where did he start? Let's let women vote, let's let women work, let's give mothers and fathers the same parental leave to stand in for each other. Such a social service. In that sense, of course, the program was not about women's rights. She really was worldly and to a greater extent understood what was happening to a woman, why she felt herself in a certain way, how it happens that she constantly steps on the same rake. And even Masha Arbatova, who positioned herself as a feminist, analyzed the situation with the heroine at the level of psychology. Although she periodically included aspects of equal rights in her speech - and sometimes she suddenly took the side of men.

One day a man came to our program who had plastic surgery. And all the women, including me, were set - are you stunned, or what? A man is decorated with scars, not plastic surgery. And Masha - to the question of feminism and equal rights - said: but I don’t understand, for a second, why do you deny a man this right? He wants to look good. He doesn't want to get old. How we look often determines our impact on the employer. Why does this immediately stigmatize him that he is, as it were, not quite a man? I remember that I thought about it: really, what kind of blinkers are these, why a woman can, but he can’t. But the program was not feminist. If, relatively speaking, many women have gathered and discuss their problems, this is not yet feminism.

How do you feel about contemporary feminism?

No way. It's boring. Life is very rich and so beautiful in its paradoxes, in its fullness. Whether in conflicts, in harmony. And then suddenly a narrow segment is taken. Therefore, the struggle for the rights of women seems to me terribly insipid. It's like unsalted rice. Women without men are not interesting to me. Generally uninteresting, I mean, not anyone in particular. A woman is always in interaction with a man. This is how the world was designed. We shape each other. Like two magnets, and an infinite voltage field between the poles. Even if you are alone now. Or the man is single now. But this world is made up of men and women. From the looks at each other, from each other's assessments, all this creates this field of tension. And the most violent manifestations of feminism arise from desperation and attempts to cut off the magnetic influence.

- On the contrary, this is an attempt to draw attention to yourself and say: we are no worse than you.

It's against female nature. Competition is generally male quality. A woman is built differently. It is softer and more flexible. She will take her absolutely for sure, but she has other mechanisms. Of course, we are not in the 17th century. In the 17th century, they would have told me - I shut my mouth, went to the stove, cook cabbage soup. This milestone has already been crossed. Maybe thanks to feminists, I don't know. Maybe I'm so impudent sitting here in this equal world now and I'm talking about the fact that feminism is unleavened rice. But I am sure that as soon as the topic “guys, we are not worse”, “but I can do it too”, “let's see who is better - a man or a woman” begins, at the same second the woman enters the territory of male tools. Let's compete? Happily. You forgot that you have another amazing power.

- Which?

Patience. This is a very effective tool, oddly enough. Waiting, contemplation. You can compete, or you can watch. And very accurately choose the moment and say: let me help. And to be needed, and very precisely to invest your energy, and to be a winner. Well different nature. There is no need to torture yourself in this sense. All forms of aggression - competition, seizure of territory - are in the male energy. And a woman has other ways of being in this same world. You just need to find your strength. At real strength there is no anguish and hysterical note - "well, look at me, take me into account, we also exist in this world." This is a position of weakness. Because if you're really strong, then you can wait on the sidelines. Your hour.

Did you expect to be called back to television after the program “To be continued” on NTV closed in 2002 and your work ended?

First year out of ten. It was a wonderful lesson for which I am grateful to life. When TV-6 ended in succession, and then NTV, I was sure that I would not be without work for long. I remembered the multiple polls that were made in the media about who is the most beloved presenter. It was me - in all categories, in all ages. I'm not vain at all, but I looked at these polls with great joy: I thought I was guaranteed a future. I will always have a job, because I seem to have proven that I can do it. And that they love me. So I get into the heart of the audience. And when my phone no longer rang and television simply forgot about me, closed the door, I, frankly, went crazy not so much from a specific offense that they didn’t take me, but from the fact that my illusion of guarantees and stability was completely destroyed . And I really wanted to hope for it. I would like to think that there is some kind of ideal justice in the world. Like at school. Proved - you were told "well done." Got a five - patted on the head, moving on, on city ​​olympiad. And it was a big blow to understand that nothing is guaranteed at all, there is no justice of this kind. First today, none tomorrow. That was what was painful. For a year I coped with the feeling of waiting that they would call now. A year later, I stopped waiting, I realized that I needed to wind up my mustache and live on. And I moved on, removing television from my life. Maybe they will, or maybe never. I no longer wanted to depend on this lottery. I wanted to live in such a way that it was always interesting for me, to invent this stability, depending on my own circumstances. So it was. And so it is.

How did your new meeting? Did the phone still ring? (Since 2013, Menshova has been leading to First talk show"Alone with everyone.")

Yes. They told me we want an interview program like Oprah's. I say - oh, great job. What rubbish. Just like Oprah... (Laughs.)

- What do you like about Oprah?

Courage. Professional - she takes on topics that are still hard to imagine on our television. And human. On me great impression produced when she went to prison with women who are imprisoned for killing their own children. It's such a Shakespearean drama. Gotta be courageous man to decide on such a conversation, and wise man not to judge. She talked to them, trying to understand. In general, I like her because she is always trying to understand. She examines the person. And this is also very interesting for me - to explore a person.

- It is absolutely impossible for us to imagine such a program?

I didn't think about how it would be received by our audience. But it is possible that she is not quite ready for this. We must understand that we live a difficult life, and the audience does not want additional suffering. Moreover, he does not want to be involved in empathy with an ambiguous problem.

- America and Europe are more open for this, because they live better?

Exactly. Widespread charity begins after a long period relative stability. Then you can think about helping your neighbor. In the meantime, you yourself are sausage - then the crisis, then the money will be lost, then there will be no food ... Man in this sense is an animal. He thinks about his interest.

- Do you have experience with charity work?

There is. Small. But I won't talk about it. I don't think it can inspire anyone. The movement towards charity is not born from the fact that you take an example from someone. This is your personal growth and your inner decision. This is your heart movement. Your conversation with God, actually. And no one can influence this - the stars, not the stars. Moreover, I have a sad suspicion that in our mentality - we must understand that we live in Russia, and we have our own perceptions - the more charity propaganda by media people, the sooner this story will be blurred, the more it disappears. from ordinary people into a separate space. Well, they say, there are famous people, they do it, let them do it. They have a lot of money, they unite from excess, they rejoice all together with each other. They say let's help. They brag - fu, they are nasty. Because a strange and dangerous connotation appears in the theme of charity - fashion ...

No, I in no way condemn those who promote it. We have the example of Chulpan Khamatova, who made an absolute revolution through her personal selflessness, but this is a little different. She harnessed herself in "Give Life" in all respects. She collects money, and controls what they are spent on, and goes to negotiations with officials. This is part of her life. And if this is not such a degree of involvement, then here I remain with my point of view: do something - and do it. I have no motivation to announce this publicly.

- Good. Let's go back to the "Alone with Everyone" program. Do you come up with questions for your guests?

Of course, there is a great edition. And scripts are being written. Jointly. A plan is drawn up for the course of the conversation and questions. To most capaciously touch on topics important to us. When I do something, I can't just be a performer. I have to feel the material. In this sense, my return turned out to be rather curious. Previously, it was not customary to work with the "ear", but now it is the norm. The production editor sits and just reads out the questions, and you voice them. This is a contrasting change with television in the 90s.

One transfer we worked so hard, and I realized that I was going crazy. I can't really hear my interlocutor. Literally, physically I can’t hear it, not to mention the fact that I need to somehow feel it, understand it, figure out what kind of person is sitting in front of me. And there, in the "ear", non-stop goes question after question. And I said: no, we won’t work like that, because I can’t do that. Probably, someone's hemispheres develop over time to hold both streams of information, but they develop towards schizophrenia. In addition, this is the profession of a leader. You are in the frame, and your class is in this - you know how to cope, you don’t know how to cope, you are either smart or stupid. Yes, I have cards, I have a well-thought-out plan. But still, the course of the conversation is my power.

- And what are you starting from, asking another question?

I have a good idea of ​​the audience for which I work. Which, by the way, is greatly facilitated by the fact that I work in the theater in an entreprise and do not refuse this work, although it could burden me, television takes a lot of time. I really love the entreprise for the opportunity to travel around Russia on tour. Hall in different cities - amazing picture: what he reacts to, which facets of the performance are perceived better, and which ones are not perceived at all. How people look. What do cities look like? The scent is adjusted. The television audience and the theatrical audience are mostly female, I feel that people are interested.

- Personal life?

- You can call it that. People are interested in everyday things, what can unite them. The principle is pretty simple. If you are a singer and tell me about how you get up in the morning, gargle, how you tune your voice...

- Go to the phoniatrician.

- If I'm also a singer, I'm interested. If I am not a singer, in five minutes I will understand that this is not addressed to me. What unites all people? Mothers, fathers, children, husbands. Love, separation, betrayal, friendship. You can call it a personal life, okay. But I think that these universal things just portray each of us to the greatest extent. And it is they who make it possible to connect the audience. When you say that you had difficulties with your husband, but you survived them, people have the opportunity to compare these circumstances, estimate for themselves, say - Lord, I didn’t have this, poor she. Or - oh, as I understand it, I had the same thing. And this is immediately a direct connection - from heart to heart.

I don't go deeper than a hero who guards his borders will allow. Even if that's what the audience might want, because the audience has no end of interest in details. This is a matter of my taste. I won’t let myself get very deep, and I won’t get into the hero very deeply. But we are obliged to come to this topic simply because this is the only thing that throws a bridge between any media person and an audience that loves him for his, maybe, creativity, but wants to know: what kind of person is he?