One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Joni Mitchell Gives Candid Talk About Fame In 1986 In Animated Video
Joni Mitchell gave an endearing and frank interview in 1986 where she talked about fame and how she longed to just be an ordinary person. And now the interview, which was conducted by music exec Joe Smith, has been made into an animated short courtesy of the folks behind PBS' Blank on Blank series.
The legendary 71-year-old singer-songwriter went into how she wanted to keep her freedom by doing her own grocery shopping. "Some people like it. It makes them feel at ease. It confirms their hopes that you are in fact, similar to them." However, others weren't so keen on her trying to lead a normal lifestyle. Mitchell recalled how she went to a rock concert, and an annoyed man next to her told her she couldn't sit with everyone else because and should be backstage or up in a box.
Despite all of this, she'd still go on solo cross-country trips using fake names and wearing a wig so she could still live her life.
Mitchell has been in the hospital since March 31 when she collapsed in her Bel Air home. It's still unclear what illness has been keeping her in the hospital, but her attorney said earlier this month that she may be released soon. A judge granted Leslie Morris, Mitchell's close friend of 44 years, a conservatorship over the singer's medical care.
Most recently, Mitchell's had to put her singing career aside because she says she suffers from a mysterious condition called Morgellons. While medical researchers believe that it's more of a psychological rather than medical condition, the people who do have it believe that it causes fibers to come out of the skin and cause tingling sensations and lesions.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
