CANNES, FRANCE — YouTube sensation Emma Chamberlain kicked off Cannes Lions 2023 with an honest admission.
“I’ve had my fair share of existential crises,” the 22-year-old star said Monday during a Spotify Beach panel — titled “Building a Brand Is More Than Meets the Eye … and Ear” — moderated by Taj Alavi, the company’s VP, global head of marketing, in the South of France.
Chamberlain, who rose to fame online as a teen, told an audience packed with press and marketing execs that she has coped with said crises by discussing deeper topics via her Spotify podcast, “Anything Goes.”
The Chamberlain Coffee founder said that talking about mental health and anxiety — in addition to her love of coffee and fashion — has been cathartic as she matures.
“I think that’s a special part about growing into an adult, and, you know, as always, I’ve shared what’s on my mind,” she said, describing the evolution of her content.
“And so these sort of more complex topics are what’s on my mind. But I also feel, as I’m growing older, more inspired in a way to sort of talk about things that are uncomfortable to hopefully make someone more comfortable about them things.”
Chamberlain added that she hopes to “provide something of value” to her fans through candid conversations.
“I want to push myself to find what that value is,” she said. “And I think that’s what’s been exciting.”
In a 2021 interview with Vogue, the internet celebrity explained that quelling her anxiety has been a challenge since childhood.
“I’ve struggled with anxiety ever since I can remember. I didn’t know what I was dealing with until I got older,” she told the publication at the time.
“I’ve been dealing with it since preschool when I would get really severe separation anxiety from my parents and also from inanimate objects.”
