Beyond the documentary, Vayntrub sees
#CantDoNothing as a movement with two
messages—creating awareness and action
for refugees, and calling on the public to
recognize what issues are important to them.
So whatever the cause is—from regulating
gun laws, to advocating for women’s rights
and beyond—Vayntrub hopes she will make
others think about what matters to them and
ask, “How bad does an issue need to get
before you take action?”
AS A POP CULTURAL FIGURE with a
strong following on social media, Vayntrub
has a unique opportunity to inspire others
on a grand scale—but one doesn’t become
such an influencer overnight. Vayntrub’s
trajectory into our homes started at UC
San Diego, where the communication major
found herself gravitating more toward the
Student Cabaret program in the Depart-
ment of Theatre and Dance. The program
allowed students to put on a show in a
little black box theater in Galbraith Hall,
with access to the props and costumes at
the La Jolla Playhouse. Working within a
small budget, students would self-produce
a show of their own. Vayntrub immediately
connected with the can-do spirit it fostered.
“It created a real love for creative collabo-
ration, for getting together with people and
saying ‘Okay! We’re going to do something
together’… and then we’d really run with it.”
This experience at UC San Diego also
taught her to create her own opportunities,
an ethos that truly shaped her career to
come. With only so many plays per quarter,
not everyone could be cast in each and
every production. “When we weren’t [cast],
it was never a rejection, it was always,
‘Okay, well now we’re taking this as an
opportunity to create our own work.’”
This attitude served her well after
graduation. Upon moving to Los Angeles,
she found herself frustrated when the
casting process yielded few opportunities
that she believed in. Recalling the spirit of
her UC San Diego cabaret days, Vayntrub
gathered together friends and, with just a
few cameras and the drive to learn skills
like film editing and video production,
she created the popular You Tube channel
Live Prude Girls. The channel was a huge
accomplishment and was enough to get her
noticed. “It was a real confidence booster,”
she says, “It was a live resumé, a way of
showing people, ‘Look what I can do!’”
Vayntrub has certainly done a lot since.
While still the current face of AT& T,
and also continuing work on her You Tube
channel, she is also featured in episodes
of the new Netflix original series Love,
and still looks out for the next leap in her
career. Can’t Do Nothing and its corre-
sponding movement remains her passion
project, one that she hopes creates a ripple
effect of good. Looking ahead, Vayntrub
hopes to return overseas to document
the next steps of the refugees’ journey—
whether that’s going to a refugee camp,
many of which are located in Jordan, or
going to other countries like Germany to
further document the relocation process.
It may not be through a You Tube channel
or a social movement, but Vayntrub believes
everyone can have a similar spark, and can
likewise mobilize others to create great
things and make an impact among those
around them. She considers her documentary
as a piece of “artivism”—creating activism
with art—and she sees every individual as
having their own following online which,
in turn, makes every person an influencer
of sorts. “When you talk about the good
you do, it plants a seed that grows,” she
says. “Let’s challenge each other to make
the world better; let’s make it cool.”
“I’m not going to be a passive citizen anymore.
I want to be a force for good.”
#CantDoNothing
Vayntrub travelled to the Greek island
of Lesbos to help aid Syrian refugees.
TV Personality
Vayntrub stands out as Lily, the AT&T spokeswoman.
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