Latest / Mini Scroll / MINI SCROLL: Wishbone Kitchen vs. Bon Appetit, Avery Woods podcast backlash & apology + Melanie Martinez update

Transcript

MINI SCROLL: Wishbone Kitchen vs. Bon Appetit, Avery Woods podcast backlash & apology + Melanie Martinez update · Mini Scroll

• 0:00
  Hi everyone, welcome to Mini. Scroll the daily.
• 0:03
  Intranet Culture podcast bringing you the.
• 0:06
  Biggest stories from. Social media, the creator
• 0:08
  economy and the. Digital space Every.
• 0:11
  Monday through Thursday, I'm your host, Lauren Meisner, the
• 0:15
  founder. Of the youth.
• 0:16
  Digital media brand Centennial World.
• 0:20
  Welcome back to Mini Scroll, everyone.
• 0:22
  Happy Monday. OK.
• 0:25
  I. Have to let you guys know that
• 0:27
  next week, unfortunately there is going to be no.
• 0:31
  Podcast there will. Be no mini scroll next week.
• 0:34
  I'm so sorry, but I was. Offered a very.
• 0:39
  Exciting professional opportunity.
• 0:41
  I'm going to be speaking at a big international tech
• 0:45
  conference. About the.
• 0:47
  Future of media consumption I'm so.
• 0:49
  Excited. It was an opportunity that
• 0:51
  honestly I just could not turn down.
• 0:53
  There were a lot of factors that went into.
• 0:54
  Play if I. Wanted to you know.
• 0:57
  Leave the business. For a week, attend this specific
• 1:00
  conference, all of that, but honestly?
• 1:02
  It's a big. Stepping stone for me.
• 1:04
  To a bigger goal that I. Have at the end of.
• 1:07
  The year with, essentially. Like the same conference but
• 1:10
  like their. Flagship.
• 1:12
  So I'll tell you guys a. Little bit more.
• 1:14
  About that, probably. Tomorrow I'm just working out
• 1:16
  some final details like I don't want to jinx anything so.
• 1:19
  Yes, I will be away. All of next week doing some
• 1:22
  foundership and I'm really excited.
• 1:25
  It's a huge opportunity for my career and like I said, kind of
• 1:28
  a stepping stone. To this like.
• 1:30
  Really big dream that I have. That possibly could.
• 1:34
  Happen at the end of the year if I.
• 1:35
  Do this one basically OK, the first story that I have for you.
• 1:39
  Guys is I'm going to be covering the Wishbone Kitchen versus Bon
• 1:43
  Appetit drama Going Down South. Foodie influencer Meredith
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  Hayden, who goes by Wishbone Kitchen on socials, is claiming
• 1:51
  that Bon Appetit's new dinner. Party series has.
• 1:54
  Too many coincidences or like similarities to her own very
• 2:00
  similar dinner party series. So for anyone that doesn't know
• 2:04
  Meredith. Rose to viral.
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  Fame after sharing content of herself working as a private
• 2:08
  chef in the Hamptons, I'm sure you guys have seen her tick.
• 2:11
  Tocks like she. Was so.
• 2:13
  Viral for a couple of years. There, and she has since built
• 2:15
  herself like quite a little empire off the.
• 2:17
  Back of that. Bon Appetit, which is a food
• 2:20
  publication by Conde Nast. They have a huge digital.
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  Audience on socials and YouTube and Bon Appetit, especially the
• 2:27
  YouTube channel was really popular around like 2020,
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  especially when we were all in lockdown and everybody was like
• 2:34
  cooking rogue shit for themselves and like trying
• 2:36
  different recipes and stuff. But the publication faced a
• 2:40
  massive scandal around the same time.
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  So this is an excerpt from the Michigan Daily quote.
• 2:47
  Everything came crashing down in early June.
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  A picture of Bon Appetit, then editor in chief Adam Rappaport
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  in brown face surfaced on Twitter, which opened an
• 2:56
  enormous can of worms not only about his conduct at Bon
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  Appetit, but. Also about the way people of
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  color. Were being treated on the
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  channel so. While El Whaley was the first of
• 3:06
  the test. Kitchen chefs to reveal an
• 3:08
  incredible. Pay disparity.
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  Between white employees and employees.
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  Of color, although she was quickly.
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  Becoming one of the most popular chefs on the channel, she had
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  not been compensated for any of her video appearances and was
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  making significantly less than white contributors.
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  Things spiraled from there. Rappaport resigned most white
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  test kitchen chefs. Publicly vowed.
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  Not to appear in Bon Appetit videos.
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  Until chefs of. Color were fairly compensated,
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  and some, including El Whaley, left the company outright.
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  So despite some changes made at the publication since, Bon
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  Appetit has understandably struggled to bounce back
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  reputationally. But now they are under fire
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  again with this new dinner with friends.
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  Series after being. Called out on TikTok by Meredith
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  for copying, kind of copying, allegedly copying her name.
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  So Bon Appetit launched a new video series today based on
• 4:04
  dinner parties and guess what it's called?
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  Now in case you're new here, Dinner With Friends is the name
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  of my dinner party video series that I launched on YouTube in
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  January 2024. It is self-directed, self
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  produced, and self shot most of the time.
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  Now I'm not going to accuse them of copying me because I'm not
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  stupid. I know that the phrase Dinner
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  with friends is not like a revolutionary the title, but
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  they should have done some due diligence and at least given it
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  a Google to make sure that title wasn't already spoken for.
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  Up until a few weeks ago, pink and red was Wishbone Kitchen and
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  Dinner with Friends branding. I feel like they could have
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  chose any other color combination.
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  And then in a statement to The Cut, Meredith said the entire
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  situation is extremely disheartening and just another
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  example of traditional medias unwillingness to properly
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  embrace, acknowledge, and. Credit digital creators.
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  I agree with that, Meredith. Amen.
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  Also, apparently she said that she.
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  Has been trying to get bon appetit or she was trying to get
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  bon appetit? To hire her for like 2 straight
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  years. And then finally, she built her
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  own platform. She's like, OK, well I went and
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  built my own thing and now you're basically trying to like,
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  take my ideas. So.
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  I guess the concept, obviously the name, they're all very
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  similar. Do I think Conde Nast is aware
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  of Meredith series? Or was aware.
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  When they decided to launch their own, I do.
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  I do actually think they were. I think they have a legal team
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  that would have done that due diligence that Meredith was kind
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  of calling for. I think that due diligence was
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  done. I just think at the end of the
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  day, they knew. That they could get away with
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  this. If there's no trademark,
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  obviously. They have a big.
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  Legal team behind them at Conde Nast like they have so many.
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  Resources they. Recognized that the benefits
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  would be. Worth the risk?
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  I don't know. If they factored.
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  In her sharing this on TikTok, because it's gone pretty viral
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  and she is like quite famous. I don't, I don't know that part
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  is interesting to me. And I do think that's the
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  mentality of media in general, because when I worked in
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  mainstream media, like we would have trainings like legal
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  trainings and things and. That would always be the advice
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  that the. Legal counsel would give.
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  US. Is, you know when you're
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  publishing anything about like? Public figures if there's.
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  Imagery involved like even when. You have like.
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  Getty subscriptions and stuff like whenever you are covering
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  anything that. Is about a.
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  Brand, someone else, whatever. Like obviously there is.
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  Always risk involved. So basically the way you have
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  to. Look at it in media is you know.
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  Would the risk or is this risk worth the payoff, which is I
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  guess? Traffic PR money.
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  Whatever it is. And you do get.
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  Taught. You know little, not loopholes.
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  But I guess like tricks of the trade to get.
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  Around certain things, you know, like never use a.
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  Paparazzi picture. You know, always use if you're
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  going to publish a photo of a celebrity and you don't take it
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  from Getty or one of the subscriptions.
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  That you have. Like take it from their
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  Instagram where it's like. A selfie.
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  Never take a photo that looks. Like it has been taken by
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  someone else. Because you know, they could sue
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  you for that, like a celebrity is likely.
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  Not going to. Sue.
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  You for taking a selfie off their Instagram.
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  Things like. That, but yes.
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  I think unfortunately, they probably knew that there was
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  nothing that Meredith. Could really do like legally.
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  To prevent them from using the name and the concept, I don't
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  think they necessarily. Copied her.
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  Like, I don't think they intentionally copied her.
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  I think they probably did come up with a similar concept
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  themselves. I think they knew about the name
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  they probably knew about. Her series.
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  But I think at the end of the day, they came up with a similar
• 7:41
  idea and they didn't really care.
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  That's my theory on that. OK, the next story that I have.
• 7:45
  For you guys, is that Avery Woods is.
• 7:47
  Facing backlash. For her new podcast episode with
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  Harry Jowsey. OK, influencer Avery Woods is in
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  hot. Water after.
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  Releasing a new episode on her podcast Cheers featuring Harry
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  Jowsey, in which she made comments, which I guess were
• 8:02
  meant to be. Jokes about Jesus.
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  Punishing people. Sexually who have Bible verses
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  in their BIOS. But also then send mean DMS and
• 8:13
  comments to influencers. I know that's incredibly
• 8:16
  specific. But that is literally what she
• 8:18
  said. And she also made a joke.
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  About the fact that. She.
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  Her lady parts. Are intact because.
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  She has C. Sections and not vaginal births
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  there were. Also a host of other.
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  Things you could kind of. Criticize this podcast.
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  For I don't know, in my opinion, I don't, I don't know, like, I
• 8:39
  don't know Avery, I don't follow.
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  Her I. Have never really listened to
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  her on any like podcasts or anything like that so I don't
• 8:46
  know what her personality is normally like this honestly.
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  All really, really surprised me. It's like kind of.
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  Very opposite of what I thought she was like, however.
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  Some of the other criticism, like I said, I don't know if
• 8:55
  this is normal for her. But she was very like, flirty I
• 8:58
  guess. With Harry and some people were
• 9:00
  saying like is this girl trying to get?
• 9:01
  Like a divorce. But yes, so Avery's.
• 9:05
  Podcast is hosted on the Unwell Network by Alex Cooper and the
• 9:09
  episode has since been re. Edited.
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  Avery did. Respond to the backlash in a
• 9:14
  TikTok. My podcast is a comedy podcast
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  and there are jokes that I should not make that cross lines
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  and I made a joke that crossed the line and I'm so sorry.
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  I have been very, very open about religion in general.
• 9:31
  You know, David's father is a pastor and we've talked very
• 9:35
  openly on my podcast multiple times about our beliefs and why
• 9:39
  we believe those things. But I never, ever want to bash
• 9:47
  religion, bash someone's beliefs.
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  We have so many people in our lives that are religious people
• 9:51
  and faithful people, and I 100% support them and love them no
• 9:54
  matter what. First of all, fuck, I need media
• 9:57
  training. I don't even know what I'm doing
• 9:58
  right now. I'm just like looking out the
• 10:00
  window because I just feel awful.
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  The episode that I did with Harry was scripted.
• 10:06
  These were questions that were, you know, written by producers
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  and I, you know, I probably should have spoken up and maybe
• 10:15
  dimmed it down a bit. And I chose not to.
• 10:18
  When the camera turns on, it's entertainment, right?
• 10:21
  Like, we are both podcast hosts strictly for entertainment.
• 10:25
  There's nothing else going on. I need to remember that my
• 10:29
  sarcasm and my comedy is not going to be the same as other
• 10:32
  people's. And there's certain lines that I
• 10:34
  shouldn't cross and cross those lines, and I apologize.
• 10:36
  This statement has not been very well.
• 10:39
  Received. A lot of people are making.
• 10:40
  Jokes about how she's basically like this is who I am.
• 10:44
  Thanks, I feel. Like there's a.
• 10:46
  Couple things happening here. First I've seen people say this
• 10:49
  feels like oh Gee like call her daddy type of like.
• 10:52
  Reaches, you know, reaching for like that joke, like reaching
• 10:55
  for that viral moment that. Like shock value?
• 10:58
  And I can. Totally.
• 10:59
  See. That happening here.
• 11:01
  However, she also. Said in her apology.
• 11:03
  That the episode was scripted. So that's where that's not like
• 11:06
  lining up for me. Because for sure like.
• 11:08
  Especially when you're in the early days of podcasting.
• 11:10
  Actually don't know when she started podcasting, but when
• 11:13
  you're in the early days and you're kind of like bantering
• 11:17
  with someone and you do want to have.
• 11:20
  That like electric. Kind of chemistry, you want to
• 11:24
  have those moments that like you.
• 11:25
  Guys are just. Like laughing and you make the
• 11:27
  audience laugh and it's like so much fun and like, I totally get
• 11:30
  it. Things can get carried away.
• 11:31
  It's like when you're in a. Group with all your friends and
• 11:34
  you guys are like feeding off of each other and like.
• 11:36
  The jokes and stuff just get like.
• 11:38
  Weirder and more obscure. And there's this element of you
• 11:41
  playing the gesture, you know, and everybody is kind of like
• 11:45
  looking at you and you're like the center of attention and
• 11:47
  like, whatever. You guys all know what that
• 11:48
  feels like. And it can feel like that on a
• 11:51
  podcast, especially because you're trying to produce
• 11:53
  something that's like entertaining.
• 11:54
  So I totally understand that things can get away from you.
• 11:58
  What I don't? Understand is you also can edit
• 12:02
  a podcast, so I'm. Surprised that these.
• 12:06
  Things made it in and I am surprised.
• 12:10
  For her to say that it's scripted, it's I.
• 12:13
  Don't think that. This episode.
• 12:15
  Sounded scripted to me. I think what probably she means
• 12:18
  is like they are given an outline.
• 12:19
  I would be surprised if that Jesus joke or.
• 12:23
  Even that joke. About the C.
• 12:24
  Section like I would be. Very surprised.
• 12:27
  If those things were like written in the script by
• 12:30
  production, Avery's always in some weird shit, like the only
• 12:33
  other thing that I know. About her is.
• 12:35
  That she went viral when she made that.
• 12:39
  Actually, I know two things and they're both about her daughter.
• 12:41
  Unfortunately, the first. Is that?
• 12:43
  She apparently made a series, I didn't see this, but she
• 12:46
  apparently made a series where she was like sharing
• 12:48
  embarrassing milestones or you know, elements of her.
• 12:52
  Daughter's. Day all the time and she's like
• 12:54
  2:00 and 3:00 and just, I don't know, just like sharing way too
• 12:57
  much about her daughter. And I guess that was like a
• 12:59
  series. And then the other thing is you
• 13:01
  guys probably remember this, but she went viral.
• 13:04
  Where she was like. Talking about this was last year
• 13:06
  I think where she was talking about being a boy mom.
• 13:09
  She was like, I love my daughter.
• 13:10
  But and then. She's like, there's nothing like
• 13:12
  being a boy mom and blah blah blah and she was in her.
• 13:14
  Car. I'm sure you guys know that.
• 13:16
  Video people lost. Their minds at that video.
• 13:19
  Fair enough. So yeah, she's always.
• 13:22
  I guess actually now with all of that context, like when I'm
• 13:25
  thinking about it now, maybe. This.
• 13:27
  Stuff doesn't surprise me as much.
• 13:29
  She remains questionable. OK.
• 13:32
  The last story that I have for you, you guys.
• 13:35
  This is an interesting 1. So a.
• 13:37
  Scroller requested that I cover the latest.
• 13:40
  Melanie Martinez situation So of course I want to oblige whenever
• 13:44
  we get a. Request directly.
• 13:46
  From you guys, if it kind of aligns or makes sense or?
• 13:49
  I have capacity or whatever. Like I want to do it.
• 13:52
  For you guys. I think that this.
• 13:54
  Is the latest. Situation I really I'm unclear
• 13:57
  because this happened last month, but I'll.
• 13:59
  Still give you. Guys, the information hopefully.
• 14:02
  This is what the scroller was after.
• 14:05
  Hopefully this is like what you guys were.
• 14:06
  After but I did want to issue a trigger warning because this
• 14:10
  story. Will cover sexual assault.
• 14:12
  And allegations of see Sam. OK, so we covered Melanie
• 14:17
  Martinez one other time on this podcast.
• 14:19
  I'll give you guys a really high level recap of who she.
• 14:22
  Is and why we covered her? Because I think it provides a
• 14:25
  bit more context. For the rest of.
• 14:27
  The story so Melanie is a 29 year old singer-songwriter who
• 14:30
  rose to fame after appearing on The Voice in 2012 in July 2024
• 14:36
  so. July of last.
• 14:37
  Year Melanie was embroiled in controversy when her former best
• 14:40
  friend and fellow singer Timothy Heller.
• 14:42
  Took to TikTok to share. Her experience being quote
• 14:45
  effectively run off the Internet after she opened up on Twitter
• 14:49
  in 2017 about experiencing alleged abuse by Melanie.
• 14:53
  So in 2017, Timothy opened up on.
• 14:56
  Twitter about alleged. Abuse from Melanie and then in
• 15:00
  July of. Just this past.
• 15:01
  Year 2024. She talked about what it was
• 15:04
  like to. Open up on Twitter about that
• 15:06
  and what like happened after that on a TikTok.
• 15:08
  OK, so in this 2017 allegation, Timothy tweeted a notes.
• 15:12
  App post. In which she referred to Melanie
• 15:15
  as her best friend, but said over the course of their
• 15:17
  friendship, Melanie's quote, power and control over me grew
• 15:20
  and grew, she said during a sleepover one night, Melanie.
• 15:24
  Repeatedly asked Timothy if she would sleep with.
• 15:26
  Her and Timothy said no. Timothy also had a boyfriend at
• 15:29
  the time. She then said that she was
• 15:31
  molested by Melanie, according to Sam Hargrave for The Direct.
• 15:35
  Melanie responded to Timothy's claims at the time, she said.
• 15:38
  I'm horrified and saddened by the statements and story told
• 15:41
  tonight by Timothy. Heller What?
• 15:43
  She and I shared was a close friendship for a period of time
• 15:46
  we came into each others. Lives as we.
• 15:48
  Were both starting our careers as artists and we tried.
• 15:50
  To help each other, we both. Had pain in dealing with our
• 15:53
  individual demons and then new paths we were forging.
• 15:57
  But I truly felt if. We were trying to lift each
• 15:59
  other. Up.
• 16:00
  She ended her statement with she never said no.
• 16:03
  To what we chose to do. Together, and although we parted
• 16:06
  ways, I am sending her love and light.
• 16:09
  Always this. Saga spawned a hashtag, Melanie
• 16:12
  Martinez's over party on Twitter, and fans began getting
• 16:16
  rid of their merch and posting all of that online.
• 16:19
  However, amid these claims, Melanie's fans.
• 16:22
  Worked very hard. To invalidate Timothy's claims.
• 16:25
  And then I guess what happened is kind of the pendulum swung
• 16:30
  the other way. So, you know, hashtag Melanie
• 16:33
  Martinez was over. And then because her fans were
• 16:35
  working overtime to invalidate Timothy, then, you know, the
• 16:40
  hate kind of went towards Timothy and her social media
• 16:43
  was. Absolutely flooded.
• 16:45
  So in the tik. T.O.K that she.
• 16:46
  Posted in July 2024, Timothy talked about how speaking up
• 16:50
  against Melanie led to her family and friends being doxed.
• 16:53
  She lost all sponsorship. Opportunities and she stopped
• 16:57
  pursuing a music career. OK, so all of that was the last
• 17:00
  time that I had heard about Melanie, but now it seems that
• 17:03
  there is more controversy around her and as far as I can tell.
• 17:06
  It is. Also, controversy.
• 17:08
  That is like. Resurfaced again from several
• 17:11
  years. Ago but last.
• 17:12
  Month social media users started debating whether the cover art
• 17:15
  from Melanie's 2015 single. Soap was.
• 17:19
  Inappropriate or not, I won't. Show the cover art because I.
• 17:23
  I personally do think it's like questionable, but essentially
• 17:27
  it's a cartoon drawing of a little girl in a bathtub crying
• 17:30
  with a. Bar of soap.
• 17:31
  Shoved in her mouth. The bubbles are.
• 17:34
  Covering everything but like. And you get the idea.
• 17:37
  This discourse came about after. A TikTok.
• 17:39
  Questioning the cover art went viral.
• 17:41
  Off the back. Of this and people started
• 17:43
  looking into the coloring book. That was released.
• 17:46
  To promote the album so it was called Crybaby coloring Book and
• 17:51
  this was released in 2016. Crybaby is the album that soap.
• 17:55
  The single. Soap is off of and yeah, the
• 17:57
  book. Depicts the story.
• 17:58
  Of like, that same girl that we saw in the bathtub.
• 18:00
  And there are apparently several images in this book that users
• 18:05
  have found to be quite disturbing.
• 18:06
  So I don't really know anything about Melanie Martinez.
• 18:09
  But. What I do know is when we
• 18:11
  covered this story back in July. And I was just.
• 18:14
  Sharing. You know what Timothy had?
• 18:16
  Said what? The history.
• 18:17
  Was from all of the articles and research I had done and the
• 18:22
  fanbase that came into our TikTok and YouTube comment
• 18:27
  sections. DMS like.
• 18:29
  It was actually I. Think if we even got emails, it
• 18:32
  was really intense. So Melanie has an incredibly
• 18:36
  strong fanbase still even now, who are going to like, I mean,
• 18:40
  she's still making music and stuff, but like.
• 18:42
  Who will go to bat? For her, for things that
• 18:44
  happened Even so long ago and. I truly fear for the people.
• 18:51
  That are taking to. TikTok to talk about this like
• 18:54
  past. Content this past.
• 18:56
  Cover. Art, you know.
• 18:57
  All of this stuff, she just. Seems to be one of those people
• 19:01
  that has such an. Incredibly dedicated coltie.
• 19:03
  Fanbase. I think maybe because she's kind
• 19:05
  of like a unique and quirky personality.
• 19:08
  But wow. That is what I know about
• 19:11
  Melanie Martinez. So to the scroller that asked me
• 19:13
  to cover her, I think that is the most recent story on Melanie
• 19:17
  Martinez. I couldn't find anything else.
• 19:19
  I mean it only just. Happened a couple of weeks ago.
• 19:22
  So I assume that is. But I hope.
• 19:23
  It was, and I hope that gave you a bit of insight into what was
• 19:26
  happening. All right, guys.
• 19:28
  Well, that's it for today. Thank you.
• 19:29
  So much for listening to mini scroll I.
• 19:31
  Love you guys, please rate. Review and subscribe.
• 19:34
  It helps us so much. It helps.
• 19:36
  US grow please. Star rate.
• 19:37
  US on Spotify, we're trying to get to 1000 star ratings.
• 19:40
  I love you guys and I will talk to you tomorrow.
• 19:42
  Bye.