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Where Is Tammy Hembrow's Husband? · Outspoken the Podcast

0:02
Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Outspoken. It's your dose of the
0:05
Speaker 1: hottest influencer and pop culture news twice a week. I'm
0:09
Speaker 1: Kate Torber and coming up on today's show, Michaela Testa
0:12
Speaker 1: says she's done talking about the Paul family and how
0:16
Speaker 1: Amy Connor's morning routine ended up with a police investigation.
0:20
Speaker 1: But first, rumours are swirling about the state of Tammy
0:23
Speaker 1: Hembrough's five-month marriage after her husband Matt Sikowski was absent
0:27
Speaker 1: from not only her Easter celebrations but her birthday. So
0:31
Speaker 1: speculation has been building since Tammy unfollowed her husband last
0:34
Speaker 1: month and removed the title Mrs. Zukowski from her Instagram bio.
0:38
Speaker 1: I feel like it's this unfollow that has put a
0:41
Speaker 1: lot of us on ring watch. Every time Tammy appears
0:44
Speaker 1: on an Instagram story and she's not wearing her massive diamonds,
0:48
Speaker 1: our inbox is literally flooded with messages of people being like,
0:52
Speaker 1: oh my God, this confirms that they're not together. And
0:54
Speaker 1: truth be told, In the past couple of weeks, she
0:57
Speaker 1: has appeared quite a number of times without her rings on.
1:00
Speaker 1: In saying that, she has been wearing them as well.
1:02
Speaker 1: That's why it's so confusing because sometimes you're like, oh
1:04
Speaker 1: my God, she hasn't worn her ring for ages. And
1:06
Speaker 1: then suddenly this massive diamond will be in her next story. Well,
1:09
Speaker 1: also she's always working out as part of her brand.
1:12
Speaker 1: She's always in gym gear. And it would be very
1:15
Speaker 1: difficult working out with those rocks on your hand. I mean,
1:18
Speaker 1: I hardly ever wear my wedding rings when I'm home
1:21
Speaker 1: looking after my son because it's just like... Are they
1:22
Speaker 1: too big, Kate? Is that what you're trying to... Look,
1:24
Speaker 1: they're not as big as tap me hem bros, but
1:26
Speaker 1: I get really uncomfortable with jewelry on. And if you're
1:28
Speaker 1: always washing your hands and you're looking after a baby.
1:31
Speaker 1: So I'm glad no one's watching the status of my rings.
1:33
Speaker 1: I always have mine on. I feel naked during the
1:35
Speaker 1: day if I don't, because I feel like I've lost it.
1:38
Speaker 1: I know some people sleep in their engagement or wedding vans.
1:41
Speaker 1: I draw the line at that. Oh, I can't. I
1:43
Speaker 1: can't even sleep with like earrings on. I have to
1:45
Speaker 1: have everything taken out. But the thing is, if my
1:47
Speaker 1: marriage was under speculation and people were like, hang on,
1:49
Speaker 1: are they together? I'd definitely be wearing them in my
1:51
Speaker 1: Instagram stories. I have noticed in a couple of their
1:54
Speaker 1: recent TikToks where she was miming to breakup songs, where
1:57
Speaker 1: she was, I don't know, trying to allude that something
1:58
Speaker 1: was going on. She did have her sleeves covering her hands. Yeah,
2:02
Speaker 1: I mean, it's very odd behavior. I can see why
2:03
Speaker 1: people are so interested to know what's going on. Yeah,
2:07
Speaker 1: and suspicion was really raised further over the Easter long
2:10
Speaker 1: weekend when he was visibly absent from her celebrations. And
2:13
Speaker 1: Tammy had what looked like a really wholesome Easter morning.
2:17
Speaker 1: I always love how she interacts with her kids. They're
2:19
Speaker 1: always dancing around. They were in matching PJs. I love
2:22
Speaker 1: how you say how she interacts with her kids because
2:24
Speaker 1: I always feel a bit weird when you know that
2:27
Speaker 1: the influencer has propped up their phone to film something
2:30
Speaker 1: and you can't help but feel like it's a little
2:31
Speaker 1: bit performative. Yeah, but the kids always look comfortable. So
2:34
Speaker 1: I get the vibe that the dancing also happens when
2:36
Speaker 1: the camera is off. I just think it's quite cute.
2:39
Speaker 1: And a lot of the content that we've been seeing
2:41
Speaker 1: of late with her and her kids is content that
2:43
Speaker 1: she used to share when she was single. It's sparking
2:45
Speaker 1: a lot of those memories for me. So yeah, she
2:48
Speaker 1: did show a very wholesome morning. Her kids were eating
2:50
Speaker 1: Easter bunnies for breakfast and also hot cross buns. And
2:54
Speaker 1: the video showed Tammy being every part of the doting mom.
2:57
Speaker 1: And it didn't take long for followers to start questioning, well,
3:00
Speaker 1: where is her husband Matt Sikowsky in all of this?
3:03
Speaker 1: So one follower wrote, I just don't get why Matt
3:06
Speaker 1: is never in the pics. It's weird and definitely shows
3:09
Speaker 1: something is going on with them. She seems doomed for
3:12
Speaker 1: any relationship, which is a bit harsh, that comment. Another said,
3:15
Speaker 1: and the husband, what PJs did he wear? Whilst another said,
3:19
Speaker 1: that photo of the pool is just stunning. But okay,
3:22
Speaker 1: why is Tammy a married single mom? It does feel
3:25
Speaker 1: like Tammy is trying to make a point by sharing
3:27
Speaker 1: this Easter content because it's very obvious that he's not there.
3:31
Speaker 1: And she knows people are going to comment. And it's
3:33
Speaker 1: not like she cleared it up in the comments and said, oh,
3:35
Speaker 1: Matt was away with his family at Easter. There was nothing.
3:38
Speaker 1: Or shared that she was FaceTiming him or anything like that.
3:42
Speaker 1: And it does paint him as being the baddie because
3:44
Speaker 1: she's essentially saying, well, he's absent from these very wholesome
3:47
Speaker 1: family activities. And what makes it even more complicated is
3:50
Speaker 1: the fact that Matt has taken this social media hiatus.
3:53
Speaker 1: So as his followers, we really don't know what he's
3:56
Speaker 1: been up to, what state he's in, what's going on. Yeah,
4:00
Speaker 1: I think people were expecting to see him at the
4:02
Speaker 1: Easter celebrations, particularly because Tammy had shared this TikTok five
4:05
Speaker 1: days earlier where she was gushing about how amazing their
4:09
Speaker 1: relationship was and It was so great for her kids
4:12
Speaker 1: to see this special type of love between the two
4:14
Speaker 1: of them. Yeah. So she captioned the video, a family
4:17
Speaker 1: where my kids see just how much he loves their mom.
4:20
Speaker 1: And in the video, Tammy and Matt were cuddling whilst
4:23
Speaker 1: Tammy's daughter Posey looked on and then eventually joined in
4:26
Speaker 1: on the cuddle. And that video attracted over 3 million
4:30
Speaker 1: views and over half a million likes because it was
4:33
Speaker 1: the first time that we'd seen Matt in Tammy's content
4:36
Speaker 1: since that unfollowed. And there seemed to be a sense
4:39
Speaker 1: of relief from some of Tammy's followers in the comment section.
4:42
Speaker 1: One follower wrote, so glad to see this. So much
4:45
Speaker 1: talk about your relationship being on the rocks. Whilst another said, oh,
4:49
Speaker 1: they've made up. How cute. Matt was also nowhere to
4:51
Speaker 1: be seen on Tammy's birthday. So on Tuesday, Tammy turned
4:55
Speaker 1: 31 and she marked the occasion by not only launching
4:58
Speaker 1: a new business, but changing up her hair, which is
5:01
Speaker 1: always a telltale sign of a breakup. I think she
5:03
Speaker 1: went red when she broke up with Matt Paul from memory. Oh,
5:06
Speaker 1: did she?
5:06
Speaker 2: Yeah.
5:06
Speaker 1: Well, this time she has swapped her platinum blonde bob
5:10
Speaker 1: for long hair extensions. And I have to say, she
5:13
Speaker 1: looked like the OG Tammy. Yeah. I feel like she
5:16
Speaker 1: was trying to show Matt what he was missing out
5:19
Speaker 1: on potentially because I think the long hair suits her
5:21
Speaker 1: really well.
5:22
Speaker 2: Yeah.
5:22
Speaker 1: I mean, it was so telling because after getting her
5:25
Speaker 1: hair done, she arrived at her office and she shared
5:27
Speaker 1: an Instagram story of this massive bunch of flowers. And
5:30
Speaker 1: I could tell they weren't from Matt because they weren't
5:32
Speaker 1: the Woolies chuck out ones. They were actually a really
5:35
Speaker 1: nice bunch. And she wrote, grateful for the girlies in
5:37
Speaker 1: my life, making me feel so special today. Thank you
5:40
Speaker 1: for all your birthday love. this seemed like a direct
5:43
Speaker 1: dig at matt yeah because she's literally pointing out to
5:46
Speaker 1: her followers the girlies are getting around me my husband
5:50
Speaker 1: is clearly mia from these birthday celebrations she also shared
5:53
Speaker 1: a birthday photo dump and wrote blessed with another year
5:56
Speaker 1: and again matt did not appear in any of the
5:59
Speaker 1: photos and he didn't like the post he also didn't
6:03
Speaker 1: upload a birthday post for her which I feel like
6:06
Speaker 1: if you're a social media couple, like a big social
6:08
Speaker 1: media couple in the public eye, this is important to
6:12
Speaker 1: do because last year he shared a series of photos
6:15
Speaker 1: of them together and wrote, happy 30th birthday, my beautiful fiance.
6:19
Speaker 1: Can't wait for the next 30 and 30 more years
6:21
Speaker 1: with you. I love you. I mean, it's not hard
6:23
Speaker 1: to put up an Instagram story. Particularly if, just say
6:26
Speaker 1: this is all innocent and he is back in Melbourne
6:29
Speaker 1: for work. Wouldn't you make it a bigger deal to-
6:32
Speaker 1: confess your love for your wife on social media, particularly
6:36
Speaker 1: when there are so many rumors swirling. I mean, you
6:38
Speaker 1: wouldn't go away on your wife's birthday either if you're
6:40
Speaker 1: just newly married. I mean, there would have to be
6:42
Speaker 1: some big reason. Now, as for this new business, Tammy
6:46
Speaker 1: launched a new supplements company with her sisters, Amy and
6:49
Speaker 1: Emily on her birthday called Selfish Supps. And this line
6:53
Speaker 1: has launched straight into 520 chemist warehouse stores across the country.
6:59
Speaker 1: And I noticed that Matt was originally following the supplements brand,
7:04
Speaker 1: but now he has done the dirty unfollow and he
7:07
Speaker 1: doesn't follow it and they don't follow him. Jesus, not
7:10
Speaker 1: looking good at all. And fans were even more convinced
7:13
Speaker 1: that this relationship is on the rocks when Matt popped
7:15
Speaker 1: up at his co-host, Annette McEnvoy's birthday dinner. So Anna
7:20
Speaker 1: turned 33 on the 21st of April, a day before
7:24
Speaker 1: Tammy's birthday on the 22nd. What unfortunate timing. I know.
7:27
Speaker 1: And Anna uploaded a photo dump of her birthday dinner
7:30
Speaker 1: showing that Matt was amongst the close friends in attendance. Now,
7:34
Speaker 1: the dinner was celebrated at the Conservatory Crown in Melbourne,
7:37
Speaker 1: Matt's hometown. So it all but confirms that he spent
7:40
Speaker 1: the Easter weekend in Melbourne and not on the Gold
7:43
Speaker 1: Coast with his wife and stepkids. Now, followers were quick
7:46
Speaker 1: to respond in Anna's comment section. One wrote, So did
7:49
Speaker 1: Matt make it to Tammy's bidet as well? To which
7:51
Speaker 1: someone replied, guessing not with a laughing face. I mean,
7:55
Speaker 1: that's very awkward for Anna McAvoy, but maybe don't post
7:57
Speaker 1: the photo that Matt's in. Yeah. Now there is a
7:59
Speaker 1: bit of a twist in this story because it appears
8:02
Speaker 1: as though Tammy and Matt have patched things up because
8:05
Speaker 1: Tammy went on a recent trip to Melbourne with her
8:08
Speaker 1: sisters to promote their new supplements company. And she was
8:11
Speaker 1: spotted at an NFL draft party with Matt. Now Matt
8:15
Speaker 1: is a huge NFL fan and We've actually had a
8:19
Speaker 1: number of attendees from the event DM us photos of
8:22
Speaker 1: the couple together. Now, one anonymous party goer said they're
8:26
Speaker 1: very much still together. Whilst another said that Tammy looked
8:30
Speaker 1: pissed off during the event and not overly pleased with Matt.
8:33
Speaker 1: It does appear as though Tammy potentially met Matt at
8:37
Speaker 1: the event. And prior to her being there, Matt was
8:41
Speaker 1: apparently avoiding speaking to anyone. women. I mean, I think
8:44
Speaker 1: that is a wise idea from him. We do remember
8:46
Speaker 1: that time back last year when he was on that
8:50
Speaker 1: brand trip with that jet company. The private jet.
8:53
Speaker 2: Yeah.
8:53
Speaker 1: And he was spotted speaking to some influencers. Well, I
8:56
Speaker 1: think he was playing darts and he was put in
8:58
Speaker 1: a team with some women and people snapped some photos
9:00
Speaker 1: and said it looked like he was flirting with them.
9:02
Speaker 1: It sounded pretty innocent. But Matt also has recently popped
9:07
Speaker 1: up in a Get Ready With Me video that Tammy
9:09
Speaker 1: shared on her TikTok a couple of days ago. And
9:12
Speaker 1: it showed him for a split second kissing her cheek.
9:15
Speaker 1: So again, he has popped up in her content. And
9:18
Speaker 1: Matt has also since hit out about his social media
9:21
Speaker 1: hiatus saying this.
9:23
Speaker 2: Okay, guys, so I took a little pause or break,
9:27
Speaker 2: whatever you want to call it, from social media. I
9:29
Speaker 2: haven't been on in a while because I just got
9:31
Speaker 2: over just the... I know it's not everyone, so I'm
9:34
Speaker 2: not blaming everyone, but there's a lot of people out
9:35
Speaker 2: there that comment negative stuff and they want to see
9:39
Speaker 2: people do like They want to see people fail. They
9:42
Speaker 2: want to see things fail. So I was just over
9:44
Speaker 2: seeing that sort of stuff. It's fucking depressing. So I
9:46
Speaker 2: took a break. I'm back now. I'm going to post
9:50
Speaker 2: regularly as normal. So I'm happy you guys should be.
9:55
Speaker 1: If this isn't gaslighting at its finest, I don't know
9:58
Speaker 1: what is. I totally understand. that it would be tough
10:01
Speaker 1: to be in the public eye and have your relationship
10:03
Speaker 1: scrutinized in the way that they have but i'm getting
10:06
Speaker 1: a bit sick of them airing their dirty laundry across
10:09
Speaker 1: social media in sense of them constantly unfollowing and then
10:13
Speaker 1: following And then being surprised that people want to talk
10:16
Speaker 1: about it or that people are intrigued and interested at
10:19
Speaker 1: what's going on. Particularly when Matt has a relationship podcast, like,
10:22
Speaker 1: you know, that's your bread and butter. I mean, he
10:24
Speaker 1: barely talks about his relationship with Tammy. He just kind
10:26
Speaker 1: of uses it as a little bit of a clickbait
10:28
Speaker 1: in the titles now. Do we actually believe that he
10:31
Speaker 1: took a social media hiatus due to the negativity? Or
10:34
Speaker 1: do we think that he took a social media hiatus
10:36
Speaker 1: because the couple has been arguing? Oh, I definitely think
10:39
Speaker 1: where there's smoke, there's fire. And there clearly has been
10:42
Speaker 1: some falling out between the pair and they're back together again.
10:45
Speaker 1: I just think they need to both grow up and
10:48
Speaker 1: stop having it play out on social media. I find
10:50
Speaker 1: it funny because once they're back together, it's us against
10:53
Speaker 1: the world. But then during their arguments, it's like, get
10:57
Speaker 1: the fuck away from me. Don't even follow my page.
10:59
Speaker 1: I'm going to block you from absolutely everything.
11:02
Speaker 3: I am literally on the toilet, but I have something
11:04
Speaker 3: to say. So I'm just going to say it. You
11:05
Speaker 3: are not going to hear me speak about Adam Paul
11:07
Speaker 3: or Addis Paul ever again after this video. This is
11:09
Speaker 3: the last time I'm speaking.
11:11
Speaker 1: About these people. Michaela Tester has announced she's done speaking
11:15
Speaker 1: about the Paul family. The revelation came a day after
11:18
Speaker 1: she released a shocking voice note Anna Paul sent her.
11:22
Speaker 1: My jaw is still on the floor after hearing this
11:25
Speaker 1: voice note. It was another receipt from the Millionaires and
11:27
Speaker 1: Billionaires group chat that Michaela Testa, Anna Paul and Addis
11:31
Speaker 1: Paul were a part of. I still can't get over
11:33
Speaker 1: the name of that group chat. That says it all,
11:35
Speaker 1: doesn't it? It does. Now, according to Michaela, Anna allegedly
11:39
Speaker 1: instructed the group to troll Addis' ex-girlfriend, Alice Patterson, after
11:43
Speaker 1: she pressed charges against him, which resulted in Addis Paul
11:47
Speaker 1: pleading guilty to statutory rape. Let's take a listen.
11:51
Speaker 4: Don't save this voice message, but we should make fake accounts.
11:54
Speaker 4: Others is all done. We should make fake TikTok accounts
11:57
Speaker 4: and just comment on her appearance on her TikToks, all
11:59
Speaker 4: the mean shit, all the things that she would be
12:01
Speaker 4: insecure about. We should just go into detail and comment
12:04
Speaker 4: that hate so that she knows that she is really
12:05
Speaker 4: that ugly. Like the type of comments that make you
12:08
Speaker 4: stay awake at night, those types of comments where you're like, oh,
12:11
Speaker 4: my arm's really fat. Is my nose really that ugly? Like,
12:14
Speaker 4: we should really go in, really specific.
12:17
Speaker 1: I mean, pretty wild that someone who has based their
12:21
Speaker 1: personal brand on kindness is saying this stuff behind the scenes.
12:25
Speaker 1: It's pretty shocking. Particularly going to the extent of saying, hey,
12:28
Speaker 1: let's make up all of these troll accounts to literally
12:31
Speaker 1: pray off any insecurity that this young girl has. I mean,
12:34
Speaker 1: she was only 17 at the time. She was underage
12:36
Speaker 1: as well. And these are adults doing this to a kid.
12:39
Speaker 1: It's utterly shocking because I mean, this is the worst
12:42
Speaker 1: of the worst. I wonder if Michaela just stumbled across
12:46
Speaker 1: this voice note and didn't realize she had it until now,
12:48
Speaker 1: because it is a real trump card that I thought
12:50
Speaker 1: perhaps she would have liked to use on her podcast.
12:53
Speaker 2: Yeah.
12:53
Speaker 1: I'm surprised we didn't hear it on the podcast first
12:55
Speaker 1: and off the back of sharing the voice note on
12:57
Speaker 1: her story. Michaela threatened Anna that it was just the
13:00
Speaker 1: tip of the iceberg when it came to the receipt
13:02
Speaker 1: she still had on her. She wrote, I've got miles
13:05
Speaker 1: more so stop lying because I'll post them all. You
13:08
Speaker 1: probably thought I'd ran out by now, huh? Now in
13:10
Speaker 1: an unexpected turn of events, Veruca Salt announced on Friday
13:14
Speaker 1: night that she would no longer be posting about the
13:16
Speaker 1: Paul family because it was having a detrimental effect on
13:19
Speaker 1: her health. Now she has been a very strong ally
13:23
Speaker 1: to Michaela She was the one who alleged first that
13:26
Speaker 1: Anna Paul's dad Hans was homeless. Yeah, she's been very
13:30
Speaker 1: vocal about the Pauls and in her personal life, she
13:33
Speaker 1: is currently trying to fall pregnant and says that the
13:35
Speaker 1: stress of the situation has caused her to lose her period.
13:38
Speaker 1: She finished up by writing, I'll be supporting all the
13:41
Speaker 1: girls from the sidelines from now on. Now on Saturday,
13:45
Speaker 1: Michaela surprisingly followed suit announcing on her Instagram story that
13:49
Speaker 1: she's also no longer going to be speaking about the
13:52
Speaker 1: Paul family. She said that there won't be a fourth
13:55
Speaker 1: episode of her podcast because she's proven herself enough. Instead,
13:59
Speaker 1: she said she'll be taking legal action and getting justice
14:02
Speaker 1: via the court. She also importantly added that Anna Paul
14:05
Speaker 1: is not suing her for defamation because she knows that
14:08
Speaker 1: she can't. And it was quite cheeky because she pointed
14:11
Speaker 1: out that she'll be resuming daily vlogging on her TikTok
14:14
Speaker 1: just like she did back in 2022. And she added,
14:17
Speaker 1: and what I said in those voice notes, I deserve
14:19
Speaker 1: those 7 million followers. Or should I correct myself? 6.1
14:23
Speaker 1: million now. She also urged her followers to go follow
14:26
Speaker 1: Alice Patterson on Instagram and TikTok because she is another
14:29
Speaker 1: victim that is continuing to tell her story. Now, she
14:32
Speaker 1: did back up her written statement with a TikTok, funnily enough,
14:35
Speaker 1: which she filmed on the toilet. Oh, I cracked up
14:38
Speaker 1: when she said that. And also, I could just see
14:40
Speaker 1: the flush button behind her during a lot of the video.
14:43
Speaker 1: It was a very fancy flush. You know what? It
14:44
Speaker 1: was pretty flattering lighting as well. I feel like that
14:46
Speaker 1: had something to do with where she was taking the
14:48
Speaker 1: video from. Sky Whitley always used to post from the
14:51
Speaker 1: toilet on her stories. You know what? Sometimes they say,
14:54
Speaker 1: if you're talking to a camera, do it in the
14:57
Speaker 1: spot where you feel most comfortable. Clearly the toilet is
14:59
Speaker 1: a spot where a lot of people feel comfortable.
15:01
Speaker 2: Yeah.
15:01
Speaker 1: Well, Michaela said that the show was over and she
15:04
Speaker 1: reiterated a lot of what she said in her Instagram story.
15:07
Speaker 1: She said that the whole ordeal had left her balding
15:10
Speaker 1: and also hiding indoors. It also seemed like it was
15:13
Speaker 1: an opportunity for Michaela to get on the front foot
15:16
Speaker 1: in terms of that voice note with Anna Paul because
15:18
Speaker 1: everyone was starting to ask, well, what did you say
15:20
Speaker 1: back to her? So Michaela shared Anna's voice note for
15:24
Speaker 1: TikTok because last time she only put it on a
15:26
Speaker 1: story and then she added her response in. Let's listen
15:29
Speaker 1: to what Michaela and Addis replied back in 2021 to Anna.
15:33
Speaker 1: I don't know if I told you, don't say this
15:35
Speaker 1: voice message too, but I.
15:36
Speaker 2: Made a fake account.
15:37
Speaker 1: I think I told Attis.
15:38
Speaker 3: I made a fake account like the other day because
15:40
Speaker 3: she did a video where she did winged eyeliner. And
15:43
Speaker 3: I know she's like really insecure about people telling her
15:45
Speaker 3: that she's copying me because every time she does something.
15:47
Speaker 1: That I do, everyone already pounces on her and tells
15:49
Speaker 1: her that.
15:50
Speaker 3: But I made a fake account.
15:51
Speaker 1: I commented it.
15:52
Speaker 3: And then I went back and looked an hour later
15:53
Speaker 3: and her whole video was deleted.
15:57
Speaker 2: Pretty much just like make accounts all day, like on
16:00
Speaker 2: a bankroll. Like I've got them on payroll. just make
16:04
Speaker 2: accounts and comment shit all day on every piece of.
16:06
Speaker 4: Her social media.
16:07
Speaker 1: Is this what these people spend their whole time doing?
16:09
Speaker 1: I mean, you see their daily vlogs. Maybe they need
16:12
Speaker 1: to be a bit more honest. I spent the next
16:13
Speaker 1: two hours just creating a ton of troll accounts. This
16:17
Speaker 1: was never in the daily vlogs. Michaela went on to
16:19
Speaker 1: say that she was a demon, but Anna Paul was
16:22
Speaker 1: the devil. And she said her behavior was the result
16:25
Speaker 1: of spending too much time with Anna. She also said
16:28
Speaker 1: the difference was that the Pauls had painted Alice out
16:30
Speaker 1: to be this crazy ex-girlfriend and she didn't personally know Alice,
16:35
Speaker 1: whereas Anna actually did know her. That is a good
16:38
Speaker 1: point because I feel like the wool was being pulled
16:40
Speaker 1: over Michaela's eyes a lot. Also, let's be honest, most
16:43
Speaker 1: of us hate our partner's ex-girlfriend.
16:45
Speaker 4: Yeah.
16:45
Speaker 5: Yeah.
16:46
Speaker 1: I mean, we also have to remember these people's ages.
16:49
Speaker 1: I mean, this is clearly something that none of us
16:50
Speaker 1: would ever, ever do. These people are in their early 20s.
16:53
Speaker 1: I'm not making excuses for what they're doing, but it
16:55
Speaker 1: is very juvenile behavior. And Michaela's been really upfront and
16:58
Speaker 1: taken accountability for what she's done. She's always said, look,
17:02
Speaker 1: I haven't been a good person in this. I should
17:04
Speaker 1: have spoken out. I shouldn't have participated alongside the Pauls.
17:07
Speaker 1: And she did say that again in her TikTok. There's
17:09
Speaker 1: been a lot of speculation that perhaps Michaela and Veruca
17:13
Speaker 1: had finally been gagged by Anna Paul's legal team. But
17:16
Speaker 1: Michaela finished by saying this.
17:18
Speaker 3: Everything I said is the truth. There is no legal
17:21
Speaker 3: action from Anna. There won't be because she knows everything
17:24
Speaker 3: I say is the truth. And Anna, I have a
17:26
Speaker 3: lot worse receipts in that voice message. I could have
17:29
Speaker 3: used that in episode one of my podcast, but I didn't.
17:33
Speaker 3: I've got some golden receipts and she knows I'll pull
17:35
Speaker 3: those out in court and all of her little money
17:37
Speaker 3: that she would have spent towards suing me for defamation
17:40
Speaker 3: would have gone down the drain. That's why she never bothered.
17:43
Speaker 1: What I'm reading into this is perhaps they've agreed to
17:45
Speaker 1: a bit of a truce. There's so much back and
17:48
Speaker 1: forth happening at the moment, this airing of dirty laundry,
17:51
Speaker 1: these voice notes. Maybe Anna has gone to Michaela and said, look,
17:56
Speaker 1: if you say anything else about me, I'm going to
17:58
Speaker 1: release X, Y, and Z. Maybe there's a bit of
17:59
Speaker 1: blackmail going on and Michaela's been like, okay, I've had
18:03
Speaker 1: my say. Let me release this last one and that's
18:06
Speaker 1: where I'll finish things. See, I actually think that Michaela
18:08
Speaker 1: has taken a step back and realized that the more
18:10
Speaker 1: she talks about the situation... the more it's diluting the
18:14
Speaker 1: serious message. And it is becoming this petty slinging match.
18:18
Speaker 1: And we're forgetting the real issue, which is Addis Paul's behavior.
18:23
Speaker 1: And I actually think it's really good that she's decided
18:25
Speaker 1: to take this offline now and actually follow it up legally.
18:27
Speaker 1: And when you think about the way a lot of
18:30
Speaker 1: these new stories break and everyone's attention, this story has
18:35
Speaker 1: been going on for over a month now. It was
18:37
Speaker 1: two months, actually. Oh, two months. And I think that
18:39
Speaker 1: they've realized that it's as terrible as it is to say,
18:42
Speaker 1: the people's interest in it is drying up. Everyone was
18:45
Speaker 1: there for the dirty details. I think that they've also
18:48
Speaker 1: realized they've done enough damage to Addis and Anna's reputation.
18:52
Speaker 1: I mean, you only have to look at Anna Paul's
18:55
Speaker 1: Coachella videos to see her comment section is flooded with
18:57
Speaker 1: people telling her to get off. We don't want to
18:59
Speaker 1: hear you. I think that they've realized that they've done
19:02
Speaker 1: all that they can, and now it's time for them
19:05
Speaker 1: to move on happily with their own lives. I mean,
19:07
Speaker 1: Michaela She's obviously trying to build a successful vlogging career
19:11
Speaker 1: on TikTok and her popularity is at its peak at
19:14
Speaker 1: the moment. So she doesn't want to be a one
19:15
Speaker 1: trick pony and only show that she can condemn this family.
19:18
Speaker 1: She wants to show a different side of herself. Well,
19:20
Speaker 1: she almost has to follow in Anna Paul's footsteps now
19:23
Speaker 1: and just ignore the whole situation and move on and
19:26
Speaker 1: be positive, which I think she's trying to do by
19:29
Speaker 1: sharing her daily vlogs. I think she realizes that people
19:32
Speaker 1: are getting a little bit tired of hearing the same
19:34
Speaker 1: thing about Anna Paul over and over again. I mean,
19:37
Speaker 1: I'm quite enjoying it. I've been enjoying it for two
19:39
Speaker 1: months now. But it gets difficult to keep following. You're like,
19:42
Speaker 1: hang on, I've missed that bit and then this person's
19:44
Speaker 1: talking about it and this person's talking about it. I
19:46
Speaker 1: wonder if Anna Paul will just take it lying down
19:48
Speaker 1: though or, you know, because the voice note has done
19:51
Speaker 1: her a lot of damage. She's going to continue to ignore.
19:53
Speaker 1: I mean, she's still posting like nothing's happened on Snapchat.
19:55
Speaker 1: I think that they're all going to get back to ignoring. And,
19:58
Speaker 1: you know, the damage is that Anna Paul has lost
19:59
Speaker 1: a million followers. She should have lost more. I think
20:02
Speaker 1: if anyone listening to this podcast is still following her,
20:04
Speaker 1: give her a round follow. I also, it's done so
20:07
Speaker 1: much reputational damage. I know she's not an influencer who,
20:10
Speaker 1: works with a ton of different brands, but no brand
20:13
Speaker 1: is going to want to touch her with a 10-foot pole.
20:15
Speaker 1: It's also done huge damage to her skincare brand, Polly.
20:18
Speaker 1: You say that, but she was still invited to the
20:20
Speaker 1: Grand Prix. There's still eyeballs on her. I think it
20:23
Speaker 1: would take a while for her to sign a big
20:25
Speaker 1: brand deal again. But I mean, she doesn't really- So
20:28
Speaker 1: if you had a brand, would you want to work
20:29
Speaker 1: with her? No, I wouldn't, but I don't think that
20:31
Speaker 1: she's cancelled. I don't think in this day and age
20:33
Speaker 1: that influencers can be cancelled anymore. I actually think that
20:36
Speaker 1: this has made her more famous, infamous, as it be,
20:40
Speaker 1: and I think she'll be back. I think now that
20:42
Speaker 1: she's been pushed down, it's tall poppy syndrome, she's been
20:45
Speaker 1: cut down, she will return. She'll return without Addis by
20:49
Speaker 1: her side, which will be very difficult for her because
20:52
Speaker 1: it's quite apparent how close they are.
20:55
Speaker 2: Hi, everyone.
20:56
Speaker 5: I just wanted to take a moment to speak openly
20:59
Speaker 5: and honestly about a video I posted that's been taken
21:02
Speaker 5: out of context and caused a lot of confusion and hurt.
21:05
Speaker 1: A three-second clip of Amy Connor doing a salute before
21:08
Speaker 1: heading off to work has resulted in the TikToker receiving
21:12
Speaker 1: death threats, being stood down from work and a police investigation. Kate,
21:17
Speaker 1: before we get into it, for our listeners who aren't
21:19
Speaker 1: familiar with her, who is Amy Connor? Well, she's actually
21:22
Speaker 1: better known as Ames Online and she's a 39-year-old registered
21:26
Speaker 1: nurse and mum from the south coast of New South Wales.
21:29
Speaker 1: We actually interviewed her on our Christmas special last year.
21:32
Speaker 1: And Ames started out creating content on TikTok as a
21:35
Speaker 1: way to stay sane during the pandemic and also as
21:39
Speaker 1: a way to be creative while she was on maternity leave.
21:42
Speaker 1: And she very quickly cultivated an engaged audience by sharing
21:45
Speaker 1: fly-on-the-wall style content of life at home with four children.
21:49
Speaker 1: She now has 1.2 million followers on TikTok and 143,000
21:53
Speaker 1: on Instagram. Now, despite taking off as an influencer, Ames
21:58
Speaker 1: still works casual shifts as a nurse. And she is
22:02
Speaker 1: far from being a problematic influencer. Her content is very positive,
22:06
Speaker 1: wholesome and fun. She's probably best known for creatively repurposing
22:10
Speaker 1: leftover food from her kids' meals. So I was absolutely
22:14
Speaker 1: shocked and confused when these accusations came out. Yeah, and
22:17
Speaker 1: she's just an all-round legend, I have to say. She's
22:20
Speaker 1: a lovely person. When Amy and I interviewed her for Christmas,
22:25
Speaker 1: she was so generous with her time. She's so smart.
22:29
Speaker 1: I love the fact that she still has a career
22:32
Speaker 1: whilst working as an influencer and also as a mom.
22:35
Speaker 1: And I never thought we would be discussing some scandal
22:38
Speaker 1: involving Ames on our podcast. I mean, I think she's
22:40
Speaker 1: even joked about it on her TikTok before when she
22:42
Speaker 1: said she listened to Outspoken because she just loves hearing
22:45
Speaker 1: all the drama that she's not involved in. Let's get
22:48
Speaker 1: into what actually happened because I feel like there is
22:50
Speaker 1: a lot of miscommunication and crossed wires. So two weeks ago,
22:55
Speaker 1: Ames shared a video to TikTok documenting her morning routine
22:58
Speaker 1: as a casual pool nurse. And in a now deleted
23:01
Speaker 1: clip from that video, Ames did a military style salute
23:05
Speaker 1: with her left hand in the mirror before heading off
23:08
Speaker 1: to work. Now off the back of that video, Ames
23:11
Speaker 1: was accused by some followers of performing a Nazi style salute.
23:16
Speaker 1: And the gesture is associated with Adolf Hitler and is
23:19
Speaker 1: performed by extending a the right arm from the shoulder
23:23
Speaker 1: into the air. Yeah, and screenshots of Ames with her
23:25
Speaker 1: arm in the air started circulating on TikTok and other forums.
23:30
Speaker 1: Next came doctored versions of the video where the salute
23:33
Speaker 1: was reversed to make it look like a Nazi salute.
23:37
Speaker 1: And Ames ended up editing the salute out of the
23:39
Speaker 1: original TikTok she uploaded, but the damage was already done.
23:43
Speaker 1: In an interview with news.com.au, Ames explained that she edits
23:47
Speaker 1: her own TikTok footage and she didn't think anything of
23:50
Speaker 1: the salute when she uploaded the video. So she was
23:53
Speaker 1: left absolutely shocked when people started making accusations. The sad
23:57
Speaker 1: thing is that Ames was simply saluting fellow healthcare workers.
24:02
Speaker 1: And she said in this interview that it was taken
24:04
Speaker 1: out of context. People were reversing it and playing it backwards.
24:08
Speaker 1: So it looked like the opposite of how I did it.
24:10
Speaker 1: She said, I see the image and I'm scared of it.
24:12
Speaker 1: The screenshot terrifies me. I'm having nightmares because this is
24:15
Speaker 1: not me and that is not what I was doing.
24:17
Speaker 1: When I see it in my head, I start shaking.
24:19
Speaker 1: And she went on to say that she can understand
24:21
Speaker 1: why people have gotten the wrong impression by the altered
24:24
Speaker 1: images online or the out of context screenshots. This is
24:27
Speaker 1: a very serious accusation to make against someone, particularly because
24:31
Speaker 1: in January last year, it became illegal in Australia to
24:34
Speaker 1: perform a Nazi salute in public. Now the law was
24:38
Speaker 1: introduced off the back of the rise in anti-Semitism in
24:41
Speaker 1: Australia and the accusation has been taken very seriously because
24:45
Speaker 1: Ames ended up being stood down from New South Wales
24:47
Speaker 1: Health while the matter was being investigated after her work
24:51
Speaker 1: was contacted. The police were then contacted to investigate. Now
24:55
Speaker 1: according to Ames the salute has been cleared by the
24:58
Speaker 1: police and the nursing board and the only reason she's
25:01
Speaker 1: unable to return to work is because she violated a
25:04
Speaker 1: social media policies by filming herself and co-workers at work.
25:07
Speaker 1: Oh wow, so they've said you're all clear of this accusation,
25:10
Speaker 1: but hold on, we've noticed that you shouldn't actually be
25:13
Speaker 1: posting about your job full stop. Now, New South Wales
25:16
Speaker 1: police have also confirmed that they commenced an investigation after
25:19
Speaker 1: reports of an offensive video posted on social media. Following inquiries,
25:24
Speaker 1: no further police action is expected. My heart's been feeling
25:27
Speaker 1: really heavy for Ames over this whole ordeal because I
25:30
Speaker 1: think it has been completely taken out of context. And
25:33
Speaker 1: it really shows how a screenshot can be manipulated and
25:37
Speaker 1: made to look a hell of a lot worse than
25:39
Speaker 1: it actually is. Now, on Easter Saturday, Ames posted an
25:42
Speaker 1: apology on social media. It was really difficult to watch
25:46
Speaker 1: because she was visibly distressed and shaking in it. She
25:50
Speaker 1: denied the gesture was a Nazi salute. She also took
25:53
Speaker 1: a note out of Michaela Tester's book and read from
25:56
Speaker 1: notes on her phone. Here's some of what she said.
25:58
Speaker 5: Hi, everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to
26:02
Speaker 5: speak openly and honestly about a video I posted that's
26:05
Speaker 5: been taken out of context and caused a lot of
26:07
Speaker 5: confusion and hurt. I've decided to use notes to make
26:10
Speaker 5: sure I don't miss anything and offend anyone further. In
26:14
Speaker 5: that clip, I made what was intended to be a
26:17
Speaker 5: soldier's salute, but a screenshot of that moment has been
26:21
Speaker 5: circulated and accused of being a Nazi salute. I want
26:24
Speaker 5: to be absolutely clear, that was never my intention. And
26:28
Speaker 5: I do not in any way support or condone hate
26:31
Speaker 5: or extremism of any kind.
26:34
Speaker 1: Now, Ames went on to apologize to military members for
26:37
Speaker 1: any offense she caused. She said that she realized it
26:39
Speaker 1: was not her place to use the gesture, even in
26:42
Speaker 1: a lighthearted way. And in Ames' apology video, she also
26:46
Speaker 1: confirmed that the incident had been reported to the police
26:48
Speaker 1: and she's been cleared of any wrongdoing. What shocked me
26:51
Speaker 1: the most was hearing Ames talk about the impact that
26:54
Speaker 1: the incident had had on her personally. She revealed she's
26:57
Speaker 1: been receiving very concerning messages and even death threats against
27:01
Speaker 1: her and her family. And she later confirmed that there
27:04
Speaker 1: is now an open police investigation going on because she
27:07
Speaker 1: fears for her own personal safety. Well, for Ames, because
27:10
Speaker 1: she does live her life so publicly online and people
27:14
Speaker 1: could easily piece together where she lives, this threat would
27:17
Speaker 1: feel very real for her. Exactly. You'd feel so vulnerable
27:20
Speaker 1: with four young kids. Now, it's important to note that
27:23
Speaker 1: Ames made a deliberate decision not to apologize to the
27:26
Speaker 1: Jewish community. In an interview with news.com.au, she explained that
27:30
Speaker 1: she didn't want to apologize over something that she didn't do.
27:33
Speaker 1: She said, why are you apologizing to them if you
27:47
Speaker 1: didn't do it? I think this was a very clever
27:49
Speaker 1: move by Ames. From a PR perspective, you should never
27:52
Speaker 1: admit guilt or apologize for something that you didn't actually do.
27:56
Speaker 1: If she'd released this official statement saying, I apologize to
27:59
Speaker 1: the Jewish community for the offensive salute that I did,
28:04
Speaker 1: it then just gives the media free reign to run
28:06
Speaker 1: with a story saying an Aussie influencer has apologized for
28:10
Speaker 1: doing a Nazi salute. You're right. But since then, a
28:13
Speaker 1: leading member of the Australian Jewish community has come out
28:16
Speaker 1: and condemned Ames' video.
28:18
Speaker 2: Dr.
28:18
Speaker 1: Diva Abramovich, who is the chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission
28:22
Speaker 1: and a leading force behind the national push to ban
28:25
Speaker 1: public displays of the Nazi salute and SWAT sticker, wrote
28:29
Speaker 1: in an opinion piece for the nightly online publication. He said,
28:32
Speaker 1: for Holocaust survivors, that outreached arm is not a symbol
28:35
Speaker 1: of fitness or fun. It is the gesture that marched
28:37
Speaker 1: 6 million Jews and millions of others to their death.
28:41
Speaker 1: A gesture that once accompanied cries of Hail Hitler is
28:44
Speaker 1: now edited into a Day in the Life montage and
28:47
Speaker 1: seen by millions of followers. That is not just poor judgment,
28:50
Speaker 1: it is a symptom of dangerous ignorance. This is the
28:53
Speaker 1: outcome when history is not taught, when Holocaust education is
28:56
Speaker 1: sidelined and when genocide is flattened into a trend. Now
28:59
Speaker 1: he went on to say that the intent behind the
29:01
Speaker 1: video was irrelevant because intent does not erase impact. Whether
29:05
Speaker 1: accidental or deliberate, performing a Nazi salute in any context
29:09
Speaker 1: is an act that reopens wounds and desecrates memories. He
29:13
Speaker 1: also went on to say it's not about cancel culture
29:15
Speaker 1: or punishing someone forever. It's a matter of collective responsibility.
29:19
Speaker 1: He wrote, because when influencers can post genocidal symbols without
29:23
Speaker 1: grasping their weight, we have failed not just as a
29:26
Speaker 1: Jewish community, but as a nation. It is a deeply
29:29
Speaker 1: distressing time for the Jewish community as a whole at
29:32
Speaker 1: the moment. And I completely respect what Dr. Abramovich had
29:36
Speaker 1: to say on the matter. As someone who isn't Jewish,
29:38
Speaker 1: I really can't begin to imagine how upsetting the whole
29:41
Speaker 1: incident has been and how triggering it would be. In
29:45
Speaker 1: saying that, I believe the upset has been unfairly caused
29:48
Speaker 1: by a lot of trolls who seem to have manufactured
29:51
Speaker 1: this drama in an attempt to bring Ames down. I
29:54
Speaker 1: do feel like her gesture has been taken out of
29:57
Speaker 1: context and also blown into something it was never intended
30:00
Speaker 1: to be. And I think we need to be very
30:02
Speaker 1: wary because manipulating footage and taking screenshots out of context
30:06
Speaker 1: to try and push a narrative against an influencer is
30:09
Speaker 1: incredibly dangerous, particularly when it's this serious. It's a criminal
30:13
Speaker 1: offence and labelling someone as a Nazi is life-changing. It's
30:18
Speaker 1: completely unfair and disrespectful to the Jewish community as well
30:21
Speaker 1: to use them as a means to start a witch
30:24
Speaker 1: hunt against an influencer. They're going through enough as it is.
30:28
Speaker 1: I just feel like there's so many people who are
30:31
Speaker 1: that desperate to bring down particular influencers that they don't like.
30:35
Speaker 1: that they're willing to stop at nothing. And it's really
30:39
Speaker 1: unfortunate that Ames edited the salute out of the vlog
30:42
Speaker 1: because I've seen it and it has been completely taken
30:45
Speaker 1: out of context. And the screenshots, as you said, have
30:47
Speaker 1: been manipulated. They've made to look completely different. And unfortunately,
30:51
Speaker 1: people are now going off the screenshots, which are misleading.
30:55
Speaker 1: And the fact that this woman and her young family
30:57
Speaker 1: are receiving death threats is appalling.
31:00
Speaker 2: Yeah.
31:01
Speaker 1: As Ames said in an interview, the people accusing her
31:03
Speaker 1: of a crime don't understand the magnitude of their actions. Now,
31:08
Speaker 1: Ames said that she would be taking time offline over
31:10
Speaker 1: the Easter long weekend. She did return last week to
31:13
Speaker 1: thank everyone for their love and support. She also revealed
31:16
Speaker 1: that she has called Lifeline for support over the weekend.
31:19
Speaker 1: And she said it's not the first time she's actually
31:21
Speaker 1: used Lifeline services before. She actually called them when she
31:25
Speaker 1: was going through a difficult time when she was 25. Now,
31:28
Speaker 1: she did return to social media on Sunday, sharing a
31:31
Speaker 1: Wheat Bix slice recipe and seems to be back to
31:33
Speaker 1: her usual positive and fun content. The thing is, when
31:37
Speaker 1: you actually look at Ames' comment section, the reality is
31:40
Speaker 1: that the people who know her and follow her for
31:43
Speaker 1: her positive content, they haven't bought into any of this.
31:47
Speaker 1: And that's the dangerous thing about TikTok. The people can
31:49
Speaker 1: stumble across content who don't know the creator and take
31:53
Speaker 1: it out of context. Yeah, I'm glad that Ames has
31:56
Speaker 1: the backing of her community, but there are still news
32:00
Speaker 1: articles now with her name and Nazi attached to it.
32:03
Speaker 1: You can't get rid of those. The damage has been
32:05
Speaker 1: done and it makes me really annoyed that people have
32:09
Speaker 1: to go out of their way to try and destroy
32:11
Speaker 1: other people's reputation just because they might not like them online. Like, okay,
32:16
Speaker 1: I'm all for holding influencers to account when they do
32:19
Speaker 1: the wrong thing. But to take something out of context
32:23
Speaker 1: and make it into something that it's not, to punish someone, what?
32:26
Speaker 1: because they repurpose their kids' leftovers. We need to look
32:30
Speaker 1: at ourselves as a society and be like, this has
32:32
Speaker 1: just gone too far. Yeah, it's like someone saw this
32:34
Speaker 1: and thought, well, this is an opportunity to take advantage
32:37
Speaker 1: and take this out of context. That's generally what it
32:39
Speaker 1: feels like. We need to look at people's intentions and
32:42
Speaker 1: their character. I mean, when Elon Musk got up and
32:45
Speaker 1: did that hand gesture, you could see why people jumped
32:48
Speaker 1: to conclusions. Yes, exactly. Because of his character. But in
32:51
Speaker 1: this instance, this is a nurse, a mother of four,
32:56
Speaker 1: and someone who shares positive content and uplifting content. Yeah, well,
33:00
Speaker 1: that is where we're going to leave things today. Thank
33:02
Speaker 1: you for listening to another episode of Outspoken. If you
33:04
Speaker 1: do enjoy the show, we would love it if you
33:06
Speaker 1: could leave us a review. Also, share where you're listening
33:09
Speaker 1: to the podcast from. This podcast was recorded on the
33:11
Speaker 1: traditional land of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains.
33:14
Speaker 1: We pay respect to elders past and present.
33:25
Speaker 5: Thank you.