Infrequently Asked Questions with Elle Mills: “I thought humping made babies”

Infrequently Asked Questions is back!

For our print magazine this year, we did an in-depth, detailed interview with Elle Mills. It covered her entire YouTube career so far, and delved deep into serious topics like the impact of fame on her mental health.

But there were some questions we sadly didn’t manage to fit in. Big, important questions that we’ve all asked a thousand times before, like “Has Elle Mills ever fallen in a hole?”, and “What’s her favourite building?”.

Thankfully, at this year’s Summer in the City, we managed to make amends.

Hello Elle. Have you ever fallen in a hole?

ELLE: “Fallen in a hole?”

Yeah. Like in cartoons.

ELLE: “I feel like I maybe fell in, like, a ditch, probably? I can’t remember a specific one, but I know I have, 100%.”

Do you want to make up an anecdote about falling in a hole, and we’ll use that?

ELLE: “Yeah, I was rescuing a dog from a burning building and I fell into a hole with the dog. I broke the fall for the dog, because I’m so heroic.”

If you were a scented candle, what would you smell like?

ELLE: “I would smell like clean, washed clothes – like, fresh out of the dryer – because I often get told I smell like clean laundry.”

Tell us about a weird belief you had as a child.

ELLE: “How sex works. Like, how babies are made. I thought humping made babies. Humping with clothes on. Is that weird? Sorry, I should make it more PG – Santa Claus, that’s a weird concept. But I stopped believing in Santa Claus really early – like, at five – because I was smart.”

How did you work it out?

ELLE: “The handwriting was the same as my mom’s. And also, I was like, ‘How the hell does this guy go to everyone’s house all in one night?’ For four years, I lived in Hong Kong, so I was like, ‘How did he get in the apartment building?’ My parents kept it going, but they knew I knew. And I spoiled it for my brother, which sucked because he was, like, three.”

If the human race ran out of conventional food, but discovered a way of transforming YouTube content into edible pellets and had to eat them in order to survive, what would your channel taste like and how nutritious would it be?

ELLE: “Ooh, I think I have a ‘teen movie’ vibe to my channel, so when I think of teen food, I think of burgers, fries… I’m thinking of something like that. Also I love burgers and fries. What was the other question – how nutritious is it? Not nutritious at all, not nutritious at all. But it tastes really good.”

What did your teachers say about you at parent-teacher interviews?

ELLE: “‘Good kid. A bit of a teacher’s pet. Funny.’ I actually did really well in school. Like, I was the president and I did all the clubs and stuff, so all good things. My brother not so much, but I was a good kid.”

What’s your least favourite episode of your most favourite TV show?

ELLE: “I love Glee. My least favourite episode was just, like, all of the last season. It went downhill. So I’m going to say the whole last season.”

What’s a piece of merch you wish you could sell but think might be too strange?

ELLE: “I always want to put my face on one, but I think [that’s] a bit obnoxious. But I do love my face, you know? Or maybe even like— Oh! The worst, ugliest photo of my brother. He has this photo, and I just want to put it on things and sell them. I feel like a lot of people on my channel like it when I make fun of my brother, because he’s just an absolute douchebag. But I wouldn’t be able to do that – my mom would say, ‘You can’t do that, Elle’.”

What’s your favourite building?

ELLE: “I mean, the CN Tower is pretty cool, I don’t know. Do you know what the CN Tower is?”

We’ll google it.

ELLE: “It’s in Toronto. It’s the best thing. I’m naming a Canadian building just to be patriotic!”

Finally, if you were trapped in a restroom with no means of escape, who would you call for help?

ELLE: “Would I have to call a friend, or can I call 911? I would call 911. Is it 999 here? I would call them, because I could rely on them. My family, not so much – they’ll probably be like, ‘I don’t know how the fuck to get you out!’”