Danny Pellegrino shares the story behind his podcast Everything Iconic

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Danny Pellegrino has become a pillar in the Bravo world as his podcast, Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, continues to gain legions of adoring listeners with each passing week.

On the series, which publishes new episodes multiple times a week, Pellegrino recaps Bravo hits like the various “Real Housewives” franchises and “Vanderpump Rules” and interviews celebs like Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine from “Pen15,” Chrishell Stause from “Selling Sunset” and nostalgia-inducing stars like Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The podcast host appears on the latest episode of In The Know’s “We Should Talk,” where he opened up about his favorite “Real Housewives” encounters and memorable celebrity interviews, shared his thoughts on all things Bravo and revealed the story behind his influential podcast, Everything Iconic.

Listen to our full interview with Danny Pellegrino on “We Should Talk” below, and keep reading for some highlights from the wide-ranging conversation:

On what he was doing before he started Everything Iconic: “I used to do standup and sketch comedy around Los Angeles. Before I moved to Los Angeles, I actually was in Chicago, and I was studying at Second City at the iO Theater there and nothing was really working for me career-wise. I was sort of having trouble finding my niche. At some point, I started an Instagram account where I was really making a lot of memes, specifically ‘Housewives’ [and] pop culture memes. I noticed there started to get a little bit of a following of like-minded people. A friend recommended that I start a podcast. She said you can perform without ever having to leave your house, so without getting on a stage. At that point I was performing for, like, threes of people — sometimes I would do an improv or sketch show where there were more people on stage than there were in the audience.”

On how a Britney Spears Instagram post inspired the name of his podcast: “People always wonder about the name. I was on Britney Spears’ Instagram, and she had posted a picture of an ear of corn. You know, like, it was just a Google Image search of an ear of corn. I remember looking at it, and everyone had written ‘iconic’ underneath it, and it was just so funny to me that so many people were writing ‘iconic’ under it. I also thought it was great, because it was a celebration of something. People like Britney — of course, because she’s the best — but people were celebrating just this ear of corn picture. I thought it was just funny and also really a positive thing and a great thing. That’s how the name came to be.”

On why he tries to keep things positive online: “I try to keep positive. I like all this stuff. The “Housewives” and stuff? I don’t want to tear it down, because I genuinely enjoy watching it, and I think we’ve just become as a culture so negative and rightfully so for a lot of reasons. I try to keep it positive and celebrate the things that I love instead of doing the opposite. I also realized early on that people do that mean sort of sense of humor better than I do. I think there are people that do it really well, but it’s not really me or my style.”

On worrying about offending a “Real Housewife” with a hot-take that he might want to interview in the future: “There’s a weird balance. I’d say for the most part — like 80 percent of the Bravolebrities — they get it. They’re cool with you talking sh*t about them one minute and then interviewing them. They get it. They get that it’s all in good fun. But I always get frustrated when they don’t want you to ask about the show. They want to come on the podcast, but they don’t want you to ask about something going on. But then it’s like, ‘What are we going to talk about? You’re on the show…'”

Watch In The Know’s full interview with Danny Pellegrino below:

For more from Danny Pellegrino, subscribe to Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

If you enjoyed this interview, check out another recent episode of In The Know’s “We Should Talk” featuring “Real Housewives of Potomac” star Ashley Darby.

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Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk: