Alanis Morissette Wants to Mentor These Younger Stars After Craving 'Sisterhood' Early in Her Career

As someone who’s been in the music industry for over two decades, Alanis Morissette has seen it all. From being a trailblazer in her music, to finding her footing when it comes to fame, she’s experienced just about every phase, and she’s ready to tell the tale.

In a new interview with W Magazine, the “Hand in My Pocket” singer got candid about growing up in the industry as a woman, and why meeting her “superheroine” Joan Jett changed her life.

“I had a sense that she was awesome, but when I met her, it was just an immediate, ‘Oh, s–,'” she said about the legendary singer-songwriter. “She’s basically seen it all, and not only is she still alive, but she’s still empowered and doesn’t f– around. But she also has a side that maybe people don’t know that’s super maternal and empathic, and would never tolerate anything that didn’t feel good for people she loves.”

“She’s who I wished I’d met in my 20s,” Morissette admitted. “Where was Joan when I needed her?”

According to her, one of the hardest things she experienced growing up in the industry was not having a female mentor to look up to and protect her. “In the ’90s, there was no sisterhood, kumbaya thing going on,” she said. “It was quite the opposite, actually.”

“The pervasive messaging was very much: You pick a lane, and you stay in it. And if you step out of your lane, it’s career suicide, which is total bulls—,” she said. “Whereas now, there are all these allowances for us to be multitudinous.”

“I was on these festival bills with 342 men, and I was the only woman,” Morissette remembered, showing how dire the situation once was. “I would literally go to the BRIT Awards or wherever I was, and I’d look around like, can you be my sister? Can you be my mentor? I was just looking for Joan.”

As a result, Morissette, who’s now 50 years old, has her “mentor” hat on for anyone – like Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan – who may want some advice or a shoulder to lean on. “When I’m in a position where it’s flipped and maybe a young artist will have my phone number, I make sure that I respond like a motherf—-,” she said. “I want to be available for those who may need me in the way that I needed Joan 30 years before I met her.”

“I completely understand what it’s like to be inside the white-hot heat of fame and notoriety,” she continued. “And I think about Chappell Roan right now. I think about these women who are just in it. I’m here. Even if they wanted to text me at four in the morning and go, ‘What the f— about—’ fill in the blank, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, that is bullshit!'”

If you ask us, having Morissette as a mentor for a rising artist like Roan or Rodrigo would be like a dream come true. Morissette is truly really paying it forward!

Before you go, click here for more documentaries about strong women in music.