Latest / Mini Scroll / MINI SCROLL: CleanTok vs. Bradley On A Budget, Megan Thee Stallion x Adin Ross lawsuit + Nepal social media ban
Transcript
- 0:00Hi everyone. Welcome to Mini Scroll, the
- 0:03daily Internet culture podcast bringing you the biggest stories
- 0:06from social media, the creator economy and the digital space
- 0:10every Monday through Thursday and sometimes Fridays like
- 0:13today. I'm your host, Lauren Meisner,
- 0:16the founder of the youth digital media brand Centennial World.
- 0:21Welcome back to Mini Scroll everyone.
- 0:24Please no one tell me that I look tired or sick OK, I'm just
- 0:28wearing a lot less makeup than I normally wear.
- 0:31I don't have a winged liner on and I barely have any mascara
- 0:35and whenever I don't have like a full glam because I always do my
- 0:38eyes so dramatically every day whenever I don't do that people
- 0:42are like Oh my God are you OK I'm fine I just could not be
- 0:45fucked today OK OK before I get into it, Please remember to rate
- 0:50review and subscribe. Please Spotify star rate US.
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- 1:02inclined. Leave us an Apple review, all of
- 1:05that good stuff. All right, the first story that
- 1:07I have for you guys is I'm going to breakdown what's going on
- 1:10between Clean Talk and Bradley on a budget.
- 1:14So popular budgeting creator Bradley on a Budget is facing
- 1:17criticism from his followers after he recently exposed his
- 1:21living conditions. OK, so Bradley is very divisive.
- 1:25This is like giving you guys the background.
- 1:26He's quite divisive. I actually didn't know him
- 1:29before this week. But what I've gathered from my
- 1:32research is people either love him or they hate him.
- 1:36He does make really valuable content and he shares a lot
- 1:39about his debt recovery journey, but the way that he goes about
- 1:43it rubs people the wrong way. A lot of people find him to be
- 1:46condescending and patronizing. For example, he has called
- 1:50people who are struggling financially brokies in the past.
- 1:54And he basically talks down to his followers forever wanting to
- 1:58indulge themselves or treat themselves like, you know, going
- 2:01out to eat, buying yourself a coffee every once in a while
- 2:04out, things like that. And when he gets criticized for
- 2:08his delivery of his message, he basically throws like tantrums
- 2:12on TikTok live, sending his followers to that person's page
- 2:16until they delete the video. So anyways, he's going pretty
- 2:19viral right now, especially on Clean Talk because he posted a
- 2:23video cleaning his bathroom, which had definitely not been
- 2:27cleaned in a very long time. And I will put a video up on the
- 2:30screen. But if you guys are listening
- 2:32and not watching, just know this bathroom has definitely not been
- 2:36cleaned in like months and months and months.
- 2:38This is not like, oh, we haven't cleaned this in a few weeks,
- 2:40like months and months and months and months and months.
- 2:43It is very dirty. In this video, he said he has 10
- 2:46side hustles so he doesn't have a lot of time to clean.
- 2:48And he explained how he basically remains frugal even in
- 2:52his hygiene routine. For example, he reuses dental
- 2:56flaws. He has a decaying towel that is
- 3:00like, he called it his comfort towel or something like that
- 3:03that he's had for like years. But it's literally like decaying
- 3:06and it ripped at one point. So he just stapled it back
- 3:09together. He reuses the Swiffer pads
- 3:13instead of like when he's washing his floors, he uses a
- 3:16Swiffer and they're single use, but he doesn't throw them out.
- 3:20He just washes them in the sink. Just get a mop.
- 3:23I like that's what I'm finding weird about this.
- 3:25Oh, he also has like stacks of dirty paper towels.
- 3:28So when he washes his hands, he uses paper towel after and
- 3:31there's just like stacked high in his bathroom instead of
- 3:34throwing them out. I don't understand why there's
- 3:36so much single use stuff because he is like part of his messaging
- 3:39is like, don't do that, like don't over consume.
- 3:42And that's how you will stick to a budget.
- 3:45So it's very bizarre that his whole thing is, you know,
- 3:47centered around that, and yet he has all this single use stuff
- 3:51when it comes to cleaning. A lot of Clean Talk does believe
- 3:54that maybe he was just never taught to clean properly.
- 3:57But yes, like, get him up, get some hand towels.
- 4:00So this is actually not the first time that Bradley has
- 4:02talked about hygiene and frugality.
- 4:05He's also apparently at one point talked about how he only
- 4:08showers once a week. Clean Talk is now making tons of
- 4:12videos about this, noting that it's irresponsible to showcase
- 4:15this as normal living conditions just because you're so busy.
- 4:19Especially because one of the major points in his content is
- 4:22that he has $300,000 in his savings account.
- 4:26So if you have $300,000 in your savings account, surely you have
- 4:30a couple bucks to buy a hand towel?
- 4:32Kind of an aside, but like related to this is he's also
- 4:35talked about how he doesn't have health insurance.
- 4:36He lives in the US And some of the criticism then has been,
- 4:41well, you know, proper hygiene and cleanliness is preventative
- 4:44because, like, you won't have that safety net of 300K if you
- 4:48get an infection or like, a serious illness because you
- 4:52don't have health insurance. And so, yeah, like, keeping your
- 4:55place clean, cleaning yourself, all of that is preventative to
- 4:59helping you stay healthy. So with Bradley, aside from, you
- 5:02know, posting this on social media and possibly, I guess,
- 5:05influencing people, he's not really harming anyone with this.
- 5:08Like, as far as we know, he lives alone.
- 5:09He doesn't have kids. But this conversation around
- 5:13Bradley is very much echoing something that was viral on the
- 5:17app about a year ago, which was the 17 diapers mom.
- 5:20So the 17 diapers mom, she was a creator who made a video
- 5:24counting how many dirty diapers were left sitting around her
- 5:26house after a weekend of solo parenting.
- 5:29And I don't mean like in the diaper bin or in the garbage.
- 5:32Like, these were diapers, just like around her house.
- 5:35And there was a huge group of people who were like, this is
- 5:38super were unsafe and unhealthy. Like you have children that live
- 5:41in this house that are running around playing existing in this
- 5:43house. So are you, you know, but then
- 5:45there were also a big group of people saying, well, this just
- 5:49shows the challenges of parenthood.
- 5:51And there actually is like a big corner of the Internet that is
- 5:55all about showing how filthy your home or your car has gotten
- 6:00and cleaning it right and trying to like, quote UN quote,
- 6:03normalize it. But it's kind of like
- 6:06understanding, I guess, where the line is like Internet users
- 6:09are constantly trying to understand, like, OK, yes, like,
- 6:12of course, when you're going through a busy period, a
- 6:14turbulent time in your life, whether it's your mental health,
- 6:17maybe you've just become a new parent, whatever.
- 6:19Like things are going to fall by the wayside.
- 6:21Like you're not going to be able to do the dishes every single
- 6:23day probably, you know, you're probably not going to be able to
- 6:26actually deep clean your bathroom once a week anymore,
- 6:28whatever. But the discussion then becomes
- 6:31like, when does it become neglectful to the people or the
- 6:35children that live with you and also yourself, right?
- 6:38So I think in some of these instances, people post content
- 6:41like this out of like, a cry for help.
- 6:43Maybe they feel guilty and overwhelmed that things have
- 6:46gotten out of hand, especially if they have kids living in
- 6:49these conditions. And they want, like, validation
- 6:51from people that it's OK, that it's normal, that they're doing
- 6:55their best type of thing. Bradley has now responded to the
- 6:57backlash. He made a video just a couple
- 6:59hours ago. So I'll play a clip.
- 7:01If you scroll on here for more than 5 minutes, you probably
- 7:04will see multiple videos of people talking about me because
- 7:07I'm so passionate about how living frugal, having
- 7:10discipline, saying no to things, changing my mindset saved my
- 7:13life. Honestly wanted to use the
- 7:14platform that I've built to help other people try to do the same,
- 7:18trying to help people and teach people in the ways I wish
- 7:20someone did for me. I've never made a video saying
- 7:22you must do exactly as I do. You must not use AC in the
- 7:25summertime, you must have holes in your shoes, must eat the same
- 7:28meal every day to save money. I've never made a video saying
- 7:31that. It's about picking and choosing
- 7:33from my content. What would work for you in your
- 7:35life? I never.
- 7:37I don't expect people to have. I have eight side hustles and
- 7:39it's not good enough for people and I get nothing but judged and
- 7:42crucified. People literally think my
- 7:44apartment is a set. This is exactly why I just do
- 7:48not care what anyone has to say about me anymore.
- 7:50Whatever you want to say about me, go say it.
- 7:52Whatever stories you want to create in your head, whatever
- 7:55lies you want to make up, make them.
- 7:57I don't care anymore. I'm not trying to be relatable.
- 7:59I am trying to show you, for one, how I like to live my life
- 8:03because it's my page and it's my content.
- 8:04And I'm also trying to show people how they could turn
- 8:07around a bad financial situation.
- 8:08But yes, in the case of Bradley, I actually don't think that this
- 8:11would have exploded because again, like, he doesn't have
- 8:13kids living in his house. You know, I don't think that
- 8:15this would have become what it did if he was more well liked or
- 8:20if he wasn't so, like, antagonizing towards people and
- 8:24the decisions that they make with their money.
- 8:26And then, you know, he shows on the Internet that he's making
- 8:30decisions around his living conditions that like, the
- 8:32average person would probably not make because of how he
- 8:35delivers his messaging. People have a lot less grace for
- 8:37him, I think. All right.
- 8:39The next word that I have for you guys is that Megan the
- 8:41stallion is allegedly suing Aidan Roth.
- 8:45And the way that they've gone about serving him is very
- 8:49iconic, allegedly so. Aiden Ross says that Megan Thee
- 8:53Stallion's attorneys went to extreme lengths to try and serve
- 8:56him legal documents. They allegedly sent a mariachi
- 9:00band to perform outside his home.
- 9:02The Kickstreamer claimed the group was sent to lure him
- 9:05outside so he could be handed court papers.
- 9:08He said, quote, they called a mariachi to my house.
- 9:11They called a mariachi like a Mexican band to perform outside
- 9:14my house to make me want to come outside so they can serve me the
- 9:17papers. My lawyer is like Aiden.
- 9:20Just tell them to contact me. So me and my lawyer are hopping
- 9:24on a call tomorrow to figure out when I'm going to do the
- 9:26deposition and I'm going to ask if I can stream it.
- 9:29I don't know why we need to see this streamed.
- 9:31We just need to keep some moments private.
- 9:34Do not stream your deposition like you are currently allegedly
- 9:37being sued by a major celebrity. I know Aidan Ross is really
- 9:41famous in his like niche, you know, manosphere, conservative
- 9:45influencer, gamer, streamer, corner of the Internet.
- 9:48But like, Megan the Stallion is an international superstar.
- 9:51Like, you don't need to stream that.
- 9:53It's like with Bradley and like 17 diapers mom.
- 9:55Like, we just don't need to see it.
- 9:57Like, if if your house gets to that place, we don't need to see
- 10:01that. You are opening yourself up then
- 10:03to weigh too many opinions. And like, that's never going to
- 10:06be good for your mental health. It's unclear why Megan the
- 10:09Stallion would be suing Aidan Ross, but the main theory is
- 10:12that it could be over his support of Tory Lenez, who, as
- 10:16we know, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting
- 10:18Megan the Stallion multiple times in the feet outside of a
- 10:21party in July 2020. In January, Aiden said this on
- 10:25his live stream. Free motherfuking Tory Lenez and
- 10:28I will always stay with the statement.
- 10:30I don't give a fuck where I'm at in life.
- 10:32Free Tory Lenez. She as in Megan got caught
- 10:35lying. She got caught lying in 4K.
- 10:37She said they weren't having sex then said they fucked a few
- 10:40times. She's never even shown her foot.
- 10:44I hope Megan the Stallion is suing him.
- 10:47I hope she's suing him. And I hope that she served him
- 10:50those papers with a mariachi band.
- 10:53All right, the last story that I have for you guys, I'm going to
- 10:56explain what's going on in Nepal right now with the social media
- 11:00ban and how that's erupted into all of these protests really
- 11:04being led by Gen. Z.
- 11:06So we had a request to cover this and I was already
- 11:09considering it anyways because some of the youth content coming
- 11:12out of Nepal, it's been all over my for you page.
- 11:16And I feel like it's really relevant to all the
- 11:17conversations that we've been having about the possible social
- 11:20media age restrictions that will come into play in Australia.
- 11:24So Nepal's Prime Minister has stepped down earlier this week
- 11:27after 2 long days of protests fueled by public outrage over
- 11:31government corruption and its recent ban of social media
- 11:34platforms. The situation began when Nepal
- 11:37blocked access to 26 platforms, including Facebook, Instagram
- 11:42and WhatsApp, for failing to register locally as required
- 11:45under new rules. Authority said the policy was
- 11:48designed to combat misinformation, hate speech and
- 11:51online scams, and required companies to appoint local
- 11:54compliance officers and remove flagged content within 24 hours.
- 11:59TikTok and Viber complied, but others refused, prompting the
- 12:03ban. Frustration with government
- 12:05corruption was already growing online when this happened, and
- 12:09then users launched a campaign to quote, name and shame the
- 12:12privileged children of political and business elites, which
- 12:15sounds very similar to what I reported on from the
- 12:18Philippines. I think that was like last week
- 12:19or the week before. The ban quickly escalated that
- 12:22anger, which led to young Nepalese, many of who depend on
- 12:26social media for income, to organize peaceful protests in
- 12:30Kathmandu and nearby areas. On September 8th.
- 12:33The police used tear gas and rubber bullets on the crowds of
- 12:36peaceful demonstrators and chaos ensued.
- 12:40This is from the BBC quote. Anti corruption protests
- 12:43escalated in Nepal's capital city Kathmandu today as
- 12:46government buildings were set ablaze.
- 12:49The unrest was sparked by a social media ban which has now
- 12:52been reversed by the government. It has now grown into a wider
- 12:55anti corruption movement that took to the streets on Monday.
- 12:58In total, at least 22 people have been killed in the protests
- 13:02and dozens more injured. As protests raged, Nepal's Prime
- 13:06Minister resigned from his post. So Nepali creators generate more
- 13:10than ₹3.5 billion annually through platforms like YouTube
- 13:13and TikTok. And the Prime Minister basically
- 13:16dismissed these concerns, saying national sovereignty mattered
- 13:20more than, quote, a handful of people losing income.
- 13:23So now if you look this up on TikTok, you will see tons of
- 13:27videos of young people in Nepal like Jen Zed doing literal
- 13:31trends like TikTok trends outside of these burning
- 13:35buildings. It's so Gen.
- 13:38Z. It is so Gen.
- 13:39Z. So this is not, you know, just
- 13:41happening in Nepal. It's not just happening in the
- 13:44Philippines with the nepo baby stuff.
- 13:46This is from The Conversation quote.
- 13:48The protests in Nepal mirror similar movements LED recently
- 13:51by young people elsewhere in Asia, especially Bangladesh, Sri
- 13:54Lanka and Indonesia. Like Bangladesh in 2024, the
- 13:59young protesters in Nepal were frustrated with corruption and
- 14:02joblessness. Similar to Sri Lanka's movement
- 14:04in 2022, Nepal's protesters fought against inequality and
- 14:09nepotism, resulting in the collapse of the government.
- 14:12And in Indonesia's student protests in recent weeks, the
- 14:15Nepali protesters relied on memes, hashtags and digital
- 14:18networks rather than party machines to organize.
- 14:22I feel like this really just exemplifies what we have been
- 14:25saying about Gen. Z for so many years, is that
- 14:28they are such a socially and politically active generation.
- 14:32And I think sometimes, I mean, especially in the West like that
- 14:35can feel confined to social media.
- 14:37It can feel almost performative because it feels confined to
- 14:41social media. And this is very much
- 14:44demonstrating at least examples across Asia where that's not the
- 14:48case. All right, guys, Well, that's it
- 14:49for Mini scroll today. Thank you so much for listening.
- 14:52I love you guys. Please remember to rate, review
- 14:54and subscribe Spotify star rate US, please, over the weekend and
- 14:59I will talk to you on Monday. Bye.