I thought that SNL parody of Jamie Lee Curtis eating Activia and talking about how she couldn’t stop pooping was a total put on, but it turns out it’s not. In a new interview with Starpulse, Curtis admits that’s what the yogurt is for. She also takes a lot of pride in the fact that she’s helped so many people have regular bowel movements by endorsing the brand. I’m not a fan of Activia and designer yogurts because just about any no-name probiotic or active yogurt will do the trick (and you can easily make your own kefir with a culture) but whatever floats your uh, boat. (Dropping kids off at the pool whatever.) Eating more fiber and fruits and vegetables helps too, as does a cup of coffee. Here’s what Curtis says:

As the spokesperson for Activia Yogurt, Jamie Lee Curtis more famous than ever. Now people don’t just recognize her, they share their personal stories with her. Curtis loves all the attention Activia brings her.

“I have a job where I advertise yogurt that makes you poop and that people love and people tell me about their bowel movements every day,” Curtis said. “I do something where people come up to me anywhere I am in the world and they go, ‘Thank you. Thank you for Activia. It has changed my life.’ I know what they’re telling me. They’re telling me that the product that I endorse has helped them.”

Curtis even recorded testimonials on her phone. She played recordings from people all over the country stopping her to thank her for bringing Activia to their attention. “Now, I’m not a doctor but I actually feel the way a doctor gets thanked by a patient and I get it all the time. All I can tell you is I’ve been in a lot of movies, I’m the daughter of very famous people, I’m married to a very famous guy, I do a lot of things. Nothing else in my life, nothing else gets people coming up to me saying, ‘You’ve changed my life. Because of you and that product, it is off the charts, my life is different.’ I’m telling you. Now if you told me three years ago when I started doing advertisements for them that that was going to be the reality of my life, that I would be in airports and people would come up, hold my hand and thank me… You just have to wake up in the morning and know that something is going to happen.”

A lot of celebrities do product endorsement. Curtis just stumbled into the big one. “I never in my life thought when I first was asked by this company, Activia, Dannon, to be their representative, I really don’t think it was just like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be a check, I’m going to do it.’ I really thought, ‘Okay, wait a minute. I’m going to go out and talk about bowel movements and about how people’s digestive tracts work. Some work better than others and why and blah blah blah and that this will help.’ I really thought, ‘Okay, is that going to be weird? I mean, is that going to be weird? You’re an actor, you’re a writer. Is that going to just be a weird thing.’ It has turned out to be the most fun thing.”

[From Starpulse]

I guess if you’re going to do a product endorsement you may as well believe in it and be proud that you’re helping people. Who is coming up to Jamie Lee Curtis in airports and holding her hand like she’s some kind of messiah? I guess old people are. Can you imagine? “Thank you, Jamie Lee Curtis. Thank you for convincing me to eat yogurt so I can poop regularly.” I can see her patting their hands and looking at them with a steady understanding gaze. Jamie Lee Curtis, the goddess of regularity. She’s kind of awesome in my book.

Also – after I published this I read Curtis’ remarks again and am wondering – when she says that “You just have to wake up in the morning and know that something is going to happen,” does she mean do you know that you’re going to poop or that she knows that someone is going to tell her about the fact that they pooped?

SNL Parody

Activia yogurt commercial