Aubrey Plaza had an honest conversation about grief during an appearance on Amy Poehler’s podcast, “Good Hang,” on Tuesday.
Poehler, who co-starred alongside Plaza on “Parks and Rec,” asked Plaza how she was doing in the wake of her “terrible, tragic year.”
Plaza’s husband, writer and director Jeff Baena, died by suicide in January. He was 47.
“Just to get it out the way, people want to see you and want to see how you are; they love you,” Poehler said at the beginning of the podcast episode.
“So you’ve had this terrible, terrible, tragic year,” the “Saturday Night Live” star added. “You lost your husband, you’ve been dealing with that, and you’ve been looking for all different ways in which to feel and find support.”
“And I think ― on behalf of all the people who feel like they know you, and the people who do know you, how are you feeling today?” Poehler asked.
“I mean, right in this very, very present moment, I feel happy to be with you,” Plaza answered.
“Overall, I’m here and I’m functioning, and I feel, you know, really grateful to be moving through the world. I think, like, I’m OK, but, you know, it’s like a daily struggle, obviously.”
Plaza then compared her husband’s death to the 2025 horror movie “The Gorge” to try to explain how she felt.
David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
“This is like a really dumb analogy, and it was kind of a joke at a certain point, but I actually mean it. Did you see that movie ‘The Gorge?’” Plaza asked.
“It’s like a alien movie or something with Miles Teller,” she explained. “In the movie, there’s like a cliff on one side and then there’s a cliff on the other side, and then there’s gorge in between, and it’s filled with all these, like, monster people that are trying to get them.”
“And I swear when I watched it, I was like, that feels like what my grief is like,” she said, adding “or what grief could be like.”
“At all times, there’s like a giant ocean of just awfulness, that’s like right there and I can, like, see it,” she said. “And like, sometimes, I just want to just dive into it and just, like, be in it. And then sometimes, I just look at it, and then sometimes, I just try to get away from it. But it’s always there. It’s just always there.”
Poehler’s podcast marks the first time that Plaza has spoken publicly about her mental state in the wake of Baena’s death.
The actor issued a joint statement with Baena’s family when the director’s death was announced. “This is an unimaginable tragedy. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support,” the statement read.
The couple began dating in 2011 and tied the knot in 2021.
They had been separated for four months before Baena died, according to a report from the Los Angeles County medical examiner that was released in March.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
