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Carly Fleischmann has severe, non-verbal autism, but that didn’t stop her from interviewing one of Hollywood’s biggest (and hunkiest) stars, Channing Tatum.
Fleischmann, who is from Toronto, was diagnosed with autism and oral-motor apraxia at the age of two. This means that she cannot speak. However, at the age of 10, she had a breakthrough and realized she could communicate through typing on a computer.
Now the 21-year-old communicates through technology, revealing her witty, honest and hilarious personality. Watch below as the young woman interviews her biggest crush, Tatum. Here she asks him all sort of personal questions, ranging from his childhood to his marriage to his baby girl Everly.
In the amusing seven-minute clip, Fleischmann makes her love for Tatum clear. When introducing him, she casually jokes, “Soon [Tatum] will dump his wife to be with me.” Later, she then reveals that sitting beside the 36-year-old actor is one of thescariest moments of her life.
Fleischmann’s interview is part of her new YouTube series, “Speechless with Carly Fleischmann,” which launched on April 29. Through her series, the 21-year-old hopes to become the “world’s first autistic and non-verbal talk show host.”
On Saturday, Fleischmann shared her video on her Facebook page where it quickly racked up over 13,000 likes and received hundreds of positive comments.
“OmG that interview was GREAT! You are so funny!” one fan wrote. “How about the first non verbal comedian? Think it over. Love you Carly!”
Another said: “Who cares about autism after seeing this... There is nothing about autism getting in your way here!!!! Well done Carly ...well done!!!!!!”
Since finding her voice, Fleischmann has made it her duty to spread autism awareness. In 2012, the young woman made headlines after she co-wrote a book called “Carly’s Voice” with her father, Arthur, based on her struggles and experience with autism.
That same year, a video revealing what autism is really like from Fleischmann's perspective went viral. Today it has over 2.5 million views.
Earlier this year, Fleischmann was also credited for bringing awareness to Toronto’s “dancing barista,” Sam. In January, Fleischmann posted a video of the Canadian teen with autism to Facebook and YouTube in an attempt to combat misconceptions about the condition.
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
