Latest / Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel / Ep. 1 - Dax Holt, Host of "Hollywood Raw" Podcast and Former TMZ Reporter Who

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Ep. 1 - Dax Holt, Host of "Hollywood Raw" Podcast and Former TMZ Reporter Who · Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel

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Speaker 1: real conversations in a new language today. In this first episode,
1:29
Speaker 1: we are going to talk about what it's like to
1:31
Speaker 1: be branded by the media. No one is a better
1:34
Speaker 1: guest than the OG entertainment reporter, Dax Holtz. He is
1:39
Speaker 1: someone who was at TMZ for 11 years and someone
1:43
Speaker 1: who chased me down for a very long time. Hello.
1:46
Speaker 1: Thank you for coming.
1:47
Speaker 2: Hello, Rachel. How are you?
1:50
Speaker 1: I'm great. How's it going out there in California?
1:53
Speaker 2: It's a little rainy, but all good, all things considered.
1:58
Speaker 2: How about you?
2:00
Speaker 1: Well, I'm in sunny Florida, so all things are good here.
2:04
Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us. I'm so excited that you're
2:07
Speaker 1: here for my very first podcast. Honestly, you are the
2:13
Speaker 1: one person I wanted to have on the show because
2:16
Speaker 1: this topic is very important to me and really encapsulates...
2:22
Speaker 1: what I really wanted to talk about in my first episode,
2:27
Speaker 1: which is how people become misunderstood and how that happens
2:32
Speaker 1: with sort of the help of the media. And I
2:35
Speaker 1: wanted you to be the person to talk about it.
2:39
Speaker 1: But before we do that, I really wanted to get
2:42
Speaker 1: into how you became who you are and how you
2:45
Speaker 1: got to TMZ.
2:47
Speaker 2: Oh, okay. Well, listen, TMZ was my first job out
2:51
Speaker 2: of college. I had one of those random right place,
2:55
Speaker 2: right time kind of careers where I needed to do
2:58
Speaker 2: an internship when I was going to Cal State Fullerton.
3:01
Speaker 2: And Extra, the entertainment show, was the only place that
3:05
Speaker 2: actually let me in the door to do my internship.
3:07
Speaker 2: And that was Extra and TMZ were sister shows at
3:10
Speaker 2: the time. They're still owned by the same parent company.
3:13
Speaker 2: And so I ended up meeting Harvey while I was
3:16
Speaker 2: doing the internship there. And he sent me out on
3:18
Speaker 2: a red carpet and said, hey, go test it out.
3:20
Speaker 2: We're you know, we've got a new website that we're
3:22
Speaker 2: going to be launching. And we're looking for reporters, we're
3:25
Speaker 2: looking for people to cover entertainment news. And so I
3:29
Speaker 2: covered a red carpet, it was a random Peter red carpet,
3:31
Speaker 2: interviewed all these cool people like Pink and Pamela Anderson
3:35
Speaker 2: and Dennis Rodman, all kinds of fun people brought it back.
3:38
Speaker 2: And he was like, I don't know how the hell
3:39
Speaker 2: you got all these interviews, but I want you to
3:41
Speaker 2: come work for me. And that literally was the catalyst
3:44
Speaker 2: to my time at TMZ. And a few months later,
3:48
Speaker 2: the TMZ website was actually officially launched. And then it
3:52
Speaker 2: just all went so quickly. It was like the website
3:55
Speaker 2: took off. And then on next, we're doing a TV show,
3:58
Speaker 2: then we're doing a tour bus, like everything just kind
4:00
Speaker 2: of came together, I could have literally never planned it out.
4:03
Speaker 2: And so my job there went from like a PA
4:06
Speaker 2: to then kind of running a department, then running like
4:09
Speaker 2: a bigger department. And my job was really just kind
4:12
Speaker 2: of clear doing all the clips clearance. So I was
4:14
Speaker 2: the person that when paparazzi were out taking photo, they
4:18
Speaker 2: would upload them to their paparazzi websites. I don't know
4:21
Speaker 2: if people kind of know the behind the scenes of
4:23
Speaker 2: how that works. But basically, paparazzi work, and then there's
4:27
Speaker 2: an agency that will kind of fuel their or funnel
4:31
Speaker 2: their content to the different outlets, whether that's an ET,
4:34
Speaker 2: Access Hollywood, any of the other platforms out there. And
4:37
Speaker 2: so you can go on and you can look through
4:39
Speaker 2: all the different photos from the evening or all the
4:41
Speaker 2: videos from the evening and choose what you want and
4:43
Speaker 2: download it there. And that's really how people find their content.
4:47
Speaker 2: And so my job was looking through all that stuff,
4:50
Speaker 2: and then licensing it and putting it out to the
4:53
Speaker 2: world on the on the website.
4:56
Speaker 1: So can you explain back in those days how it worked?
5:00
Speaker 1: Because there was no social media. And before TMZ, the
5:04
Speaker 1: only kind of blogging website was Perez Hilton, right? I mean,
5:09
Speaker 1: do you remember that?
5:11
Speaker 2: And that was the biggest thing. When I got into
5:14
Speaker 2: this industry, Perez's website was like the biggest thing out there.
5:18
Speaker 2: Everyone was talking about it. And so when TMZ came in,
5:23
Speaker 2: There was one thing, though, that, like, with Perez's website,
5:26
Speaker 2: which he did more, like, blind items and, like, gossip.
5:30
Speaker 2: And TMZ came in and we said, okay, well, not we.
5:33
Speaker 2: Harvey came in and said, I want to make sure
5:35
Speaker 2: that I'm reporting accurate news. And so that was the differentiator. Like,
5:40
Speaker 2: he wasn't going to just put up gossip and rumors.
5:42
Speaker 2: It was going to be factual news. But it was
5:43
Speaker 2: going to be more of, like, the other side of Hollywood.
5:46
Speaker 2: Not the side that publicists want you to see. Not
5:48
Speaker 2: the side that is just all red carpets. But, like,
5:50
Speaker 2: the actual... what's really happening out there.
5:54
Speaker 1: Okay, so let's get into that. How did you decide
5:57
Speaker 1: what actual news was?
6:01
Speaker 2: You know, it was in regards to just like breaking news,
6:04
Speaker 2: are you saying?
6:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure.
6:06
Speaker 2: Numerous people to, you know, take at least three sources
6:09
Speaker 2: to confirm a news story, whether you're getting that then
6:12
Speaker 2: from the police, whether you're getting stuff from the courthouses,
6:16
Speaker 2: I mean, there had to be substantial evidence behind whether
6:19
Speaker 2: a news story was accurate or not. You wouldn't just
6:22
Speaker 2: put it up because your friend told you it was
6:24
Speaker 2: a story. Right.
6:26
Speaker 1: And were you guys at that point in the incoming
6:29
Speaker 1: phone call business or you guys were out there chasing
6:32
Speaker 1: stories at that point?
6:33
Speaker 2: It was a little bit of everything. I think every
6:35
Speaker 2: news site is like that. You've got, you know, boots
6:39
Speaker 2: on the ground out there looking for the, you know,
6:42
Speaker 2: researching stories. You've got people calling in and giving you tips.
6:45
Speaker 2: You've got a little bit of everything, but I think
6:47
Speaker 2: that's kind of how every major news source works.
6:51
Speaker 1: And how do you guys think you got to the point?
6:53
Speaker 1: I mean, I remember that, first of all, you guys
6:56
Speaker 1: were like, people were refreshing your page and you guys
6:59
Speaker 1: had a new news story or an updated story. I mean,
7:02
Speaker 1: you guys had so much stuff and you guys became
7:05
Speaker 1: like the people that had, you guys were like AP News.
7:09
Speaker 1: You guys had the first, foremost, like you guys were
7:12
Speaker 1: the fastest, the first, the foremost news all the time.
7:16
Speaker 1: How did you guys do that?
7:18
Speaker 2: Well, I will say that my respect level for the
7:22
Speaker 2: TMZ crew was off the charts. It was literally the
7:25
Speaker 2: hardest working newsroom in the industry. Like we were working
7:29
Speaker 2: crazy hours nonstop, because, you know, it was a passion.
7:34
Speaker 2: Like when I got it, when I was at TMZ, again,
7:36
Speaker 2: I was young, I was driven, I was excited to
7:39
Speaker 2: be there. So I would dedicate endless hours to working
7:43
Speaker 2: and breaking stories and being a part of that. And
7:45
Speaker 2: it was really a fun place to be because it
7:49
Speaker 2: was getting so much notoriety. And, you know, I've said
7:53
Speaker 2: it to this day, Harvey is the hardest working person
7:54
Speaker 2: in Hollywood. I mean, he works harder than even anyone
7:57
Speaker 2: in that staff. And it paid off because, you When
8:02
Speaker 2: you work that hard, you're going to be the ones
8:03
Speaker 2: that people think about when the news is breaking. You know,
8:06
Speaker 2: if you're going to send a tip in, oh, well,
8:08
Speaker 2: TMZ is the one that's breaking all the news. So
8:10
Speaker 2: let me call them and give them the tip first. Right.
8:13
Speaker 1: So it is true that let's forget about a scandal
8:16
Speaker 1: for a second. They really became known as having the
8:20
Speaker 1: news first in a lot of circumstances. And I would
8:23
Speaker 1: see the news there first before even CNN sometimes. And
8:28
Speaker 1: it would be crazy because they would really have it.
8:31
Speaker 2: That's why I think, you know, we had done years
8:35
Speaker 2: of reporting, but it was really the Michael Jackson story
8:38
Speaker 2: that I think gave even more credibility to TMZ when
8:41
Speaker 2: Michael Jackson passed away and no one else could confirm
8:46
Speaker 2: his death. And we were hours ahead of everyone. And
8:48
Speaker 2: I think that was like a big turning point for
8:51
Speaker 2: TMZ when people were like, oh, damn, they know what
8:54
Speaker 2: they're talking about. And again, I'm not saying that we
8:56
Speaker 2: weren't that before, but I think there was certain people
8:59
Speaker 2: where that changed their mind because- credibility and integrity was
9:03
Speaker 2: such a huge part of the foundation of TMZ. Even
9:06
Speaker 2: though there's going to be people out there that are like, nope,
9:08
Speaker 2: it's just gossip and trash. That's not the case. We
9:11
Speaker 2: worked really hard on breaking good stories. Right.
9:15
Speaker 1: So you built up to that. So let's pull back
9:17
Speaker 1: though to the days that, you know, we're talking back
9:20
Speaker 1: in 2009 now for a a scandal. You know, you
9:29
Speaker 1: guys were really known for chasing scandals. And no one
9:33
Speaker 1: knows how to narrate a scandal better than you. So
9:37
Speaker 1: my first question is, what makes a story worth telling?
9:41
Speaker 1: You know, how do you get those pieces? And because
9:43
Speaker 1: you guys are really good at building that story. What
9:46
Speaker 1: are you looking for? I mean, there's got to be,
9:49
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes people are looking for an ad.
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10:11
Speaker 1: Athlete, a mistress, you know, what are you guys looking
10:14
Speaker 1: for in that?
10:15
Speaker 2: Well, Rachel, I think it really just came down to
10:17
Speaker 2: public interest. Like it wasn't necessarily... what I think is interesting,
10:21
Speaker 2: but what the world finds interesting. You know what I'm saying?
10:24
Speaker 2: Like if, if there's a story that, you know, it,
10:29
Speaker 2: I feel like is small and it's by, you know, two,
10:32
Speaker 2: two people on a TV show getting together and I've
10:35
Speaker 2: never heard the TV show. If suddenly the world starts
10:38
Speaker 2: talking about it, then I'm going to find interest in it. Let, let,
10:41
Speaker 2: you know, right now with all the Vanderpump rules stuff,
10:44
Speaker 2: you know, you've got Tim, Tom Sandoval and, and this
10:46
Speaker 2: whole cheating drama. I've never watched the show. Like I'm
10:50
Speaker 2: not a big Vanderpump rules fan, but because everyone's talking
10:53
Speaker 2: about it now, I'm suddenly interested in it. You know
10:55
Speaker 2: what I'm saying? So it, it fuels that fire, but
10:58
Speaker 2: then the bigger star that's involved in it, obviously the
11:02
Speaker 2: more people care about it. Cause now it's not to
11:04
Speaker 2: no names. Oh, you know, a huge athlete. Now it's
11:07
Speaker 2: even more interesting because it's international. So there's just levels
11:10
Speaker 2: of what makes something interesting. Right.
11:12
Speaker 1: So, but why do you think that that story is,
11:16
Speaker 1: has become so big. I mean, doesn't it seem crazy
11:18
Speaker 1: that that story has permeated the news for almost a
11:22
Speaker 1: week now and it's a Bravo TV show and the
11:25
Speaker 1: way people are talking about it has become something on
11:28
Speaker 1: a level of Clinton, Lewinsky, Tiger, me. I mean, it's
11:33
Speaker 1: been a story that has gotten incredibly huge for a
11:38
Speaker 1: reality TV scandal.
11:40
Speaker 2: People love scandals. I mean, that's what it comes down to.
11:44
Speaker 2: People love scandals in this and they love scandals with rich,
11:48
Speaker 2: famous celebrities, because it's making them look like normal people
11:54
Speaker 2: or taking them off their pedestal, you know, and I'm
11:56
Speaker 2: not saying it's just there's a curiosity within the United
12:00
Speaker 2: States or in the world that people want to see
12:02
Speaker 2: other people fail.
12:03
Speaker 1: Right, exactly.
12:05
Speaker 2: Exactly.
12:06
Speaker 1: All right, so let's go back to 2009. I want
12:08
Speaker 1: to talk specifically about when the, well, let's specifically talk
12:15
Speaker 1: about Thanksgiving 2009.
12:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, my Thanksgiving got ruined thanks to you guys.
12:23
Speaker 1: So do you want to walk me through your Thanksgiving
12:27
Speaker 1: in 2009?
12:28
Speaker 2: I can walk you through Thanksgiving. I remember, so I
12:30
Speaker 2: was at Thanksgiving dinner over at my mom's house. We
12:33
Speaker 2: had like driven all the way out to Redlands and
12:36
Speaker 2: we were sitting there getting ready to like sit down
12:38
Speaker 2: at the table. And I remember getting a call and
12:40
Speaker 2: being like, Hey, you need to license these photos. I
12:44
Speaker 2: was like, okay, what are, what are they up? And like,
12:46
Speaker 2: do I have to do it right now? It's Thanksgiving. Like,
12:49
Speaker 2: come on. And they're like, no, it's, it's photos of
12:52
Speaker 2: tiger woods is car crash inside his, like his compound
12:57
Speaker 2: or his community. And I'm like, wait, what, what's, what
13:01
Speaker 2: do you mean inside of his community? And they're like, yeah,
13:02
Speaker 2: he crashed into a tree. It's pictures of the SUV.
13:05
Speaker 2: It's got broken out windows. It's like a whole thing.
13:07
Speaker 2: We're trying to figure out what the story is because
13:09
Speaker 2: all this news was breaking. We're trying to figure out
13:11
Speaker 2: if he was under the influence. Like, no one really
13:14
Speaker 2: knew what had happened at that point. The National Enquirer
13:18
Speaker 2: stories had come out a couple days before talking about
13:21
Speaker 2: there being some potential infidelity in the relationship. But, like,
13:26
Speaker 2: nothing had really materialized. We're just now car crash photos.
13:29
Speaker 2: Just nothing made sense. So I remember... spending like hours
13:34
Speaker 2: on the phone that day, totally not having Thanksgiving dinner
13:38
Speaker 2: with my family, but buying these photos so that we
13:42
Speaker 2: could put up on the website to go along with
13:44
Speaker 2: the story of the car accident because it became instantly
13:47
Speaker 2: the biggest story in the United States. And these car
13:50
Speaker 2: crash photos were huge. I mean, I remember just everyone
13:55
Speaker 2: around the world was talking about these photos.
13:58
Speaker 1: Right, like mangled photos.
14:00
Speaker 2: Car. Mangled car, smashed up windows. Then the stories got
14:04
Speaker 2: to be like, oh, you know, I think it started,
14:07
Speaker 2: if I remember correctly, it started off like, oh, Elon
14:09
Speaker 2: was trying to rescue him out of the car, smashing
14:11
Speaker 2: the photos to get him out because he was stuck
14:13
Speaker 2: in the car. Then it changed, the narrative changed so
14:15
Speaker 2: quickly to, no, no, no, there was all these stories
14:18
Speaker 2: from the National Enquirer. Okay, she smashed because she was
14:21
Speaker 2: going after him with golf clubs. So it was like
14:24
Speaker 2: rumors started going around so quickly as to what really
14:27
Speaker 2: happened inside his community that morning. Right.
14:31
Speaker 1: And next thing I know, I'm living on 14th Street
14:36
Speaker 1: in Manhattan. And next thing I know, I get a
14:40
Speaker 1: phone call and lo and behold, I don't know how
14:44
Speaker 1: my number, you know, became public, but it's Harvey Levin.
14:49
Speaker 1: And he says, I just want you to know that
14:54
Speaker 1: a sea of paparazzi is going to be descending on
14:56
Speaker 1: your house shortly. And if you have anything to say,
15:00
Speaker 1: You should say it to me.
15:01
Speaker 2: Yeah.
15:01
Speaker 1: So that was the first time that I was ever
15:03
Speaker 1: followed by paparazzi and saw what that was like. And,
15:07
Speaker 1: you know, those sort of, I mean, I don't want
15:10
Speaker 1: to say iconic, but iconic photos that, you know, are
15:13
Speaker 1: showed all the time of me getting into the car,
15:17
Speaker 1: going to the airport, then getting out of the plane,
15:22
Speaker 1: basically being in that carousel area in LA, meeting with
15:27
Speaker 1: Gloria and those are all TMZ photos. I mean, they're,
15:30
Speaker 1: you know, whatever run by TMZ all the time. And
15:34
Speaker 1: then being followed into Gloria's office. I mean, all that
15:38
Speaker 1: stuff is like all run by TMZ, but that was
15:41
Speaker 1: really incredible and crazy.
15:43
Speaker 2: Let's be real. Cause you teamed up with the biggest
15:47
Speaker 2: celebrity fame monger attorney on the planet. So like, of
15:53
Speaker 2: course there's going to be photos of everything that like that's,
15:57
Speaker 2: That's Gloria's stick. You know, she she likes the press.
16:00
Speaker 2: She likes the publicity. So involve her plus you. Of course,
16:04
Speaker 2: that's going to be every step you make is going
16:06
Speaker 2: to be documented.
16:08
Speaker 1: Right. Well, at the time, I didn't know that. I mean,
16:11
Speaker 1: I knew who she was. But, you know, in my defense,
16:14
Speaker 1: I really I had picked her because I was a
16:17
Speaker 1: Nancy Grace fan and I had watched her on Nancy Grace.
16:21
Speaker 1: And I called I just called a bunch of lawyers
16:24
Speaker 1: and she was the one that answered the quickest.
16:27
Speaker 2: So, I mean, it was, I'm actually surprised that you
16:30
Speaker 2: called her and she didn't call you.
16:33
Speaker 1: Well, I'm, I was quick and, you know, she did,
16:36
Speaker 1: you know, that's what happened. So, um, but I do
16:40
Speaker 1: remember one scenario when I got to LA, she took
16:43
Speaker 1: me to Spago for dinner, which I didn't know that restaurant.
16:48
Speaker 1: And apparently that's like a celebrity hangout. And I remember
16:53
Speaker 1: going to the bathroom and her ordering a plate of cookies.
16:57
Speaker 1: And when I came back from the bathroom, she was
16:58
Speaker 1: outside giving cookies to paparazzi for like a photo shoot.
17:04
Speaker 1: And then wanted to make sure, I guess, that they
17:06
Speaker 1: were ready for when we came out so that she
17:09
Speaker 1: could get us going into the car and waiting for
17:13
Speaker 1: the car. at valet. So I thought that was pretty crazy.
17:17
Speaker 1: So I started to see how this was all arranged.
17:20
Speaker 1: This was the first time like that I was coming
17:24
Speaker 1: to be accustomed to how this worked. So I had never.
17:28
Speaker 2: People don't realize that there is a very much a
17:31
Speaker 2: give and take relationship between celebrities and paparazzi. And, you know,
17:37
Speaker 2: to give someone the idea, like, Spago back then is
17:41
Speaker 2: what Craig's is now in regards to if you want
17:44
Speaker 2: to be seen, that's where you go, because there is
17:47
Speaker 2: always going to be photographers sitting outside waiting for people
17:52
Speaker 2: to come and go because, you know, for a lot
17:54
Speaker 2: of celebs, they in between projects, they need to stay relevant.
17:58
Speaker 2: How do you stay relevant? You get your photo taken,
18:00
Speaker 2: you get it into the magazines on the websites, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
18:03
Speaker 2: because your name staying out there in the public is
18:05
Speaker 2: good for your image. And so you go to Craig's
18:08
Speaker 2: because you're like, hey, you know, yes, the chicken parm
18:10
Speaker 2: is great, but I also want to be seen that night.
18:12
Speaker 2: And so I'm going to dress nice. That was Spago
18:14
Speaker 2: back then. Right.
18:17
Speaker 1: So what I wanted to get into here is, you know,
18:19
Speaker 1: at this point, the media is creating a narrative of
18:23
Speaker 1: who I was.
18:25
Speaker 2: Right.
18:25
Speaker 1: I mean, that was pretty evident. I mean, people don't
18:27
Speaker 1: remember this was a very long time ago, but for me,
18:29
Speaker 1: it was quite evident. I wasn't speaking. And if you remember,
18:33
Speaker 1: the narrative was not very good of me. And that
18:37
Speaker 1: was really hard for me to deal with. And, you know, now,
18:40
Speaker 1: I mean, I see it created very quickly by, you know,
18:45
Speaker 1: the media. And as you just brought up, it's based
18:50
Speaker 1: on what the public is aching for, right? I mean,
18:55
Speaker 1: it's the public consumption and what they want, and then
18:58
Speaker 1: it's what the media is putting out. So that's like
19:02
Speaker 1: what you're talking about with this Tom Sandoval scandal.
19:05
Speaker 2: Itching.
19:06
Speaker 3: Burning soreness when you know it's thrush you want it
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19:25
Speaker 1: But it's what they're asking for and then what the
19:27
Speaker 1: what the media is is giving but i think that
19:30
Speaker 1: the narrative that is put out is completely different a
19:34
Speaker 1: lot from what the person is. And that makes it
19:38
Speaker 1: really hard for the person that's involved. I mean, what
19:41
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on that?
19:42
Speaker 2: Well, I also got to think like, I guess I
19:45
Speaker 2: don't know what other narrative necessarily you would have expected
19:51
Speaker 2: because all the public is hearing is this is the
19:55
Speaker 2: other woman. You know what I'm saying? Like that's all
19:57
Speaker 2: they know. They don't have any other narrative other than
20:01
Speaker 2: this is the other woman. And in their minds that
20:03
Speaker 2: ruined a marriage. And so they create the rest of
20:07
Speaker 2: that void with the dialogue that they want. And that's
20:12
Speaker 2: all the facts that you really have at that point,
20:14
Speaker 2: because you weren't like going out there speaking, saying your
20:17
Speaker 2: side of the story. So all we have is this
20:19
Speaker 2: is the other woman that broke up a marriage. So
20:20
Speaker 2: people are going to come to that conclusion by themselves. Right.
20:24
Speaker 1: But you guys definitely have an angle, right? I mean,
20:27
Speaker 1: the media has an angle that they want to go
20:29
Speaker 1: with it. Like, as we were saying, like, Perez Hilton
20:32
Speaker 1: had an angle or a tone. You guys... tend to
20:35
Speaker 1: have a tone with the way that you speak. I mean,
20:38
Speaker 1: don't you think? I mean, TMZ had a tone with
20:40
Speaker 1: how they talk.
20:41
Speaker 2: I mean, I can tell you, me personally, in the
20:44
Speaker 2: photos and videos that I would see, because there was
20:47
Speaker 2: such a curiosity around the Tiger story, around you, around Elin,
20:53
Speaker 2: around everything, it didn't even matter what... I like, if
20:58
Speaker 2: I saw a picture of you, I'd pitch it out
21:00
Speaker 2: immediately because that's what the world craved at that moment,
21:03
Speaker 2: just to see what everyone was out doing. So you
21:06
Speaker 2: didn't like, yeah, you, you were the extra woman. I
21:09
Speaker 2: like that. That's really what it comes down to. So
21:11
Speaker 2: it'd be like tiger. And then to this day, it's funny,
21:14
Speaker 2: but it would be like, it's always been Rachel. You
21:17
Speaker 2: could tell Tiger Woods, number one mistress. And I bet
21:20
Speaker 2: that's weird for you to acknowledge or hear over and
21:23
Speaker 2: over again, because your name is constantly linked to him.
21:27
Speaker 2: But that's really what it was. Rachel, you could tell.
21:29
Speaker 2: Tiger Woods, number one mistress. Over and over and over again.
21:31
Speaker 2: I guess that was our narrative is that you were
21:34
Speaker 2: just the other woman. Right.
21:37
Speaker 1: I mean, no, I get it. I mean, but it
21:39
Speaker 1: has permeated my life, right? And it's stuck with me.
21:44
Speaker 1: And what's interesting is my daughter is 10. She wasn't
21:47
Speaker 1: alive during that scandal. And that's what she's grown up hearing,
21:52
Speaker 1: knowing as well, which is really interesting, right?
21:55
Speaker 2: So- You know, so how do you navigate that as
21:59
Speaker 2: a mother and being involved in one of probably the
22:05
Speaker 2: biggest scandals of all time? Let's be realistic as least
22:08
Speaker 2: sports scandals of all time. How do you navigate that
22:11
Speaker 2: with her so that she feels protected or that so
22:14
Speaker 2: she feels like she knows what's going on? She doesn't
22:16
Speaker 2: hear from people at school.
22:18
Speaker 1: So it's interesting. I've never had to have a real
22:21
Speaker 1: conversation with her because there's so much out there in
22:24
Speaker 1: social media or TV stuff, or she's never really asked
22:28
Speaker 1: me any questions, but I feel like she has so
22:36
Speaker 1: much access to all the stuff that's out there. And
22:39
Speaker 1: she sees stuff on the TV and she's like, oh, mom,
22:43
Speaker 1: there's your ex. I mean, it's almost something like she's
22:46
Speaker 1: grown up knowing Um, she's definitely, you know, you know,
22:52
Speaker 1: it's really difficult cause I don't want to bring it
22:54
Speaker 1: up to her, but it's not something she doesn't know.
22:57
Speaker 1: Just like she's grown up knowing I had a fiance
22:59
Speaker 1: that died in September 11th and she knows all about that,
23:03
Speaker 1: but she's never asked me specific questions about it. So
23:06
Speaker 1: it's something that's like something that she knows, but she's
23:09
Speaker 1: never gonna, she, she just doesn't feel comfortable asking me
23:12
Speaker 1: direct questions about it. Um, So, you know, I don't know.
23:17
Speaker 1: I don't know how to address it with her because
23:19
Speaker 1: it's something she doesn't want to talk to me about.
23:21
Speaker 1: But she's 10. She goes through social media like more
23:27
Speaker 1: than I do. And so it's really hard for me. But,
23:30
Speaker 1: you know, it's been really tough for me because like
23:32
Speaker 1: we haven't gotten into certain private schools because people have
23:35
Speaker 1: like banned me. You know, I haven't been able to
23:39
Speaker 1: get certain jobs. I've had a really difficult time in
23:43
Speaker 1: my life. because I've been associated with that scandal. And
23:47
Speaker 1: people have literally shunned me. I have, I've stopped talking
23:50
Speaker 1: to family members. I've stopped being in certain social circles
23:53
Speaker 1: because I haven't been able to get rid of that
23:55
Speaker 1: scarlet letter. I've been fighting in court battles with these
23:59
Speaker 1: people still. I mean, I've had issues throughout my, you know,
24:03
Speaker 1: life with these people still. So I've, you know, and
24:06
Speaker 1: I've been dealing with that in silence and that's taken
24:08
Speaker 1: a toll on me, you know, mentally, physically, emotionally. And
24:13
Speaker 1: so that's really been a big part of what I've
24:16
Speaker 1: struggled with in the last 10 years, so to speak.
24:18
Speaker 1: And I feel like I've needed to get that out.
24:21
Speaker 1: And it's not something I'm going to share with my daughter.
24:23
Speaker 1: You know what I mean? But that scandal affected my
24:26
Speaker 1: life in such a way because I wasn't able to talk.
24:29
Speaker 1: So being branded by the media was something that it
24:33
Speaker 1: was like I had post-traumatic stress disorder from that. like honestly,
24:37
Speaker 1: because I couldn't share what happened. I couldn't share the
24:40
Speaker 1: emotional stress, the physical stress, people wanting to talk about
24:44
Speaker 1: that situation, but me not being able to talk about
24:47
Speaker 1: that situation was so tough on me. Um, not being
24:50
Speaker 1: able to correct people, not just being able to not
24:53
Speaker 1: just say like, stop talking about that. I'm not that person.
24:57
Speaker 1: You're so misinformed about who I am was really tough
25:01
Speaker 1: on me. It's you know, it really has affected my
25:07
Speaker 1: life for years, you know, for a decade, for over
25:12
Speaker 1: a decade.
25:13
Speaker 2: Honestly, I've thought about this in other circumstances with people
25:17
Speaker 2: who like, like Mike Lewinsky, you know, like obviously one
25:20
Speaker 2: of the biggest names wrapped up with a scandal or
25:24
Speaker 2: Tonya Harding or Kato Kaelin. Like, I just always wonder, like,
25:27
Speaker 2: what do you do for a living after something like this?
25:31
Speaker 2: To be honest, I have no idea what you've done
25:33
Speaker 2: for work in the last 10 years. It's not something
25:37
Speaker 2: that's necessarily crossed my mind, but you still have to provide.
25:40
Speaker 2: You still have to be a mom and have a
25:42
Speaker 2: house over your kids, their heads. So what have you
25:46
Speaker 2: done for work? How do you get a job?
25:48
Speaker 1: You can't really. So I used to be a credible person, right?
25:54
Speaker 1: Like I used to run, I used to work at
25:57
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Television. I couldn't go back into journalism because I
26:01
Speaker 1: was the story, right? So I opened up a high-end
26:06
Speaker 1: children's boutique. I had my own children's line. But I'll
26:09
Speaker 1: never forget people coming in and almost having a problem
26:13
Speaker 1: with the fact of who I was. I'll never forget
26:17
Speaker 1: getting a text message by accident from one of the
26:20
Speaker 1: customers in the store saying, who came in to buy
26:22
Speaker 1: Michael Buble, his son or something, his kid, a bomber jacket.
26:30
Speaker 1: And they texted me and said, oh, I just bought
26:33
Speaker 1: Michael Buble's kid clothes from Tiger Woods' mistress and starting
26:41
Speaker 1: to talk about me. But they sent me the text
26:43
Speaker 1: message instead of whoever they meant to. And I just
26:45
Speaker 1: remember thinking, I cannot get away from this.
26:48
Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
26:49
Speaker 1: And people would come into my store and see my
26:51
Speaker 1: business card name and be like, Rachel, you could tell,
26:53
Speaker 1: I know that name. Oh, you're not the same Rachel
26:56
Speaker 1: as blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they would just
26:58
Speaker 1: go on and on and on. And it was just
26:59
Speaker 1: too difficult for me to feel like I was getting
27:02
Speaker 1: away from it. And it just would never leave no
27:04
Speaker 1: matter what I tried to do. And, um, I, you know,
27:08
Speaker 1: I just felt like, like you said, it's always Rachel,
27:10
Speaker 1: you could tell comma Tiger Woods mistress, no matter what
27:13
Speaker 1: I tried to do. I tried to go into reality TV.
27:15
Speaker 1: I tried to go into A children's boutique. I tried
27:18
Speaker 1: to literally do anything else, but it still stuck with me.
27:22
Speaker 1: And yeah.
27:24
Speaker 2: When you were with Tiger before all the news broke,
27:30
Speaker 2: was there anything in your mind that said, like, if
27:32
Speaker 2: this news gets out, this will be the biggest story ever? Like,
27:37
Speaker 2: did you know the consequences of that story leaking at
27:41
Speaker 2: that time? Because I got to imagine you probably wouldn't
27:43
Speaker 2: have got into it if you knew what was going
27:45
Speaker 2: to happen, but... knowing that that would be a huge
27:48
Speaker 2: news story that could have potentially affected your life as
27:51
Speaker 2: it has over the last, I don't know, 15 years
27:55
Speaker 2: or whatever it was?
27:57
Speaker 1: Well, my job when I worked in nightclubs, I was
28:01
Speaker 1: the director of VIP operations in Las Vegas and New
28:04
Speaker 1: York and the Hamptons and St. Barts, was to take
28:08
Speaker 1: care of celebrities and high net worth individuals and to
28:13
Speaker 1: be their wingman, so to speak. So I really... never
28:16
Speaker 1: crossed the line with them ever.
28:18
Speaker 3: Really? I mean, I had some celebrity people that I
28:21
Speaker 3: dated and.
28:43
Speaker 1: But I usually would never cross the line. So very rarely.
28:49
Speaker 1: And no, I mean, I did not think, oh, you know,
28:54
Speaker 1: is this going to go somewhere? Is this going to
28:55
Speaker 1: get out? Because that was never my intention. And my
28:58
Speaker 1: intention was not to be involved in some scandal. And
29:01
Speaker 1: my intention was never to hurt anyone. And I really,
29:04
Speaker 1: you know, anyone I was ever with, I really cared
29:06
Speaker 1: about them. I was monogamous with them. Like this was not,
29:10
Speaker 1: there was no bad intent in any of this. And
29:13
Speaker 1: my innate job was always to protect the person I
29:18
Speaker 1: was with, you know, always. So no, like, you know,
29:22
Speaker 1: I was always taking care of people. So that just
29:25
Speaker 1: never crossed my mind. You know, I never thought that
29:29
Speaker 1: that would get out. I was shocked when I saw
29:31
Speaker 1: the footage from the National Enquirer that they followed me
29:35
Speaker 1: all the way to Australia on that documentary, if you
29:38
Speaker 1: saw it. I mean, I was literally shocked that they
29:42
Speaker 1: had been trailing me for so long. But that's also
29:44
Speaker 1: because they had been trailing him for so long, you know. So, yeah. But,
29:50
Speaker 1: you know, when I saw how the media kind of
29:55
Speaker 1: follows different people and can– you know, really get into
29:59
Speaker 1: someone's life. I mean, I became a recluse after what happened.
30:04
Speaker 1: So it became really, really hard for me. And then
30:07
Speaker 1: to see, you know, well, not to see, but to
30:10
Speaker 1: feel how that happened to me. I mean, I really,
30:12
Speaker 1: I mean, I ended up going, I checked myself into
30:15
Speaker 1: the Meadows. I mean, it was kind of recently, you know,
30:20
Speaker 1: right before COVID, like maybe in 2020. And just to
30:25
Speaker 1: get away and deal with like the loss of my
30:28
Speaker 1: fiance from September 11th. Um, and, and honestly to deal
30:33
Speaker 1: with what it's like to have been shamed for so
30:37
Speaker 1: long by other people. And obviously to deal with like
30:40
Speaker 1: the mistakes I've made in my life, but then to
30:43
Speaker 1: be shamed by like the world about them, like that's
30:46
Speaker 1: a really hard thing. Like imagine if you made a mistake,
30:48
Speaker 1: but then to have the whole world, like come down
30:50
Speaker 1: on you for it, not just for 15 minutes, but
30:53
Speaker 1: like for a decade. That was really, really hard for me.
30:58
Speaker 1: So I really had to take some time because I
31:02
Speaker 1: really had some post-traumatic stress disorder over feeling so awful
31:09
Speaker 1: about that and how to get over people hating me
31:15
Speaker 1: so much and making almost like their triggers about what
31:21
Speaker 1: they were so angry about in their lives about me
31:24
Speaker 1: and having to learn that a lot of the anger
31:27
Speaker 1: people had at me was kind of about them and
31:31
Speaker 1: what they were so angry in their own lives about.
31:34
Speaker 1: So that's what I, you know, had to sort of
31:37
Speaker 1: grapple with and realize that a lot of that really
31:40
Speaker 1: wasn't about me.
31:41
Speaker 2: No, and I think there's a level of like, I
31:44
Speaker 2: know it sounds silly, but because Tiger was this like beloved, squeaky, clean,
31:51
Speaker 2: athlete that the world was cheering on this was the
31:54
Speaker 2: thing that like took him off that pedestal and i
31:57
Speaker 2: think what people look for is they look for the
32:01
Speaker 2: uh you know the villain and i think you became
32:04
Speaker 2: the villain in the tiger story in the tiger saga
32:08
Speaker 2: rather than people necessarily just blaming tiger it was like
32:10
Speaker 2: oh she's also the villain in this story you know
32:13
Speaker 2: what i'm saying so i think that that became your
32:15
Speaker 2: narrative uh whether you wanted it or not that became
32:18
Speaker 2: the narrative about it And, you know, unfortunately with Tiger,
32:23
Speaker 2: he he can start winning again and people start to
32:26
Speaker 2: forget and move on. You don't have that same luxury.
32:30
Speaker 1: Right, right.
32:31
Speaker 2: Yeah.
32:31
Speaker 1: I mean, they definitely needed a monster to blame instead
32:35
Speaker 1: of maybe the person in that story that might have
32:37
Speaker 1: had their own issues. I mean, I think that for
32:40
Speaker 1: a while that person had been driving towards a cliff
32:44
Speaker 1: and I happened to be the passenger in that seat,
32:46
Speaker 1: you know, and I just went over the cliff with them.
32:49
Speaker 1: And I got famous because of that. So that was
32:51
Speaker 1: what was really unfortunate to me. So anyways, all right.
32:55
Speaker 1: So I have a couple of questions for you. So
32:57
Speaker 1: at working at TMZ, was there any story that you
32:59
Speaker 1: would not post about or any people that maybe you were,
33:04
Speaker 1: you know, you were like had some preferential treatment towards
33:07
Speaker 1: that you wouldn't post about?
33:09
Speaker 2: Did we have boundaries and stuff? Yeah.
33:12
Speaker 3: Yeah.
33:12
Speaker 2: No, there was a lot of boundaries. And, you know,
33:16
Speaker 2: I remember even when you had come on TMZ live,
33:19
Speaker 2: there was a set of, uh, what was it like
33:22
Speaker 2: text messages between you and David Boreanaz that they weren't
33:25
Speaker 2: going to put out. So I think that was an
33:26
Speaker 2: example of like, Hey, there's certain items that are maybe
33:30
Speaker 2: a little too personal for the world to get a
33:33
Speaker 2: glimpse of. And, you know, I know it sounds crazy,
33:37
Speaker 2: but I think that there's like certain things that that's
33:41
Speaker 2: not their job. Um, we didn't really cover a lot
33:44
Speaker 2: of like funeral stuff. Um, Because that also was kind
33:48
Speaker 2: of like a weird moment where people are trying to grieve.
33:51
Speaker 2: But outing, we never outed anyone at TMZ in regards
33:55
Speaker 2: to that needs to be a choice that they make
33:58
Speaker 2: as their sexual preference.
34:00
Speaker 1: Right. Would people be surprised how many sources are actually
34:05
Speaker 1: the person the story is about or their PR team? Oh, yeah.
34:09
Speaker 2: I mean, let's be realistic. It's Hollywood. I literally... on
34:13
Speaker 2: my podcast, Hollywood Raw, that's what we talk about. We
34:16
Speaker 2: are revealing the fourth wall of Hollywood, and that's what
34:18
Speaker 2: it is. Yes, there is the publicist calling different media outlets,
34:25
Speaker 2: letting them know where their client's going to be, their
34:28
Speaker 2: stylist saying, hey, my client's going to be showing up
34:31
Speaker 2: to my building. Make sure you get photos of them
34:33
Speaker 2: in their outfit, and the outfit is done by this designer,
34:36
Speaker 2: this designer. It is all a factory. Hollywood is a
34:41
Speaker 2: factory of you know, keeping people relevant, pushing people to
34:45
Speaker 2: the top, pushing other people to the bottom. Like that's
34:47
Speaker 2: just what it is. And so all the time there's
34:50
Speaker 2: people tipping off paparazzi to where they're going to be
34:53
Speaker 2: or someone in their camp tipping off paparazzi. That's just
34:55
Speaker 2: how it works.
34:57
Speaker 1: Right. Is there a story that you did not break
35:01
Speaker 1: that you wish that you did?
35:03
Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question. I've never been asked that. Shoot.
35:10
Speaker 2: I don't say I wish I broke it. But I
35:14
Speaker 2: found it so unbelievable that I didn't believe it. And
35:17
Speaker 2: that was the whole Caitlyn Jenner, Bruce Jenner stuff. And
35:22
Speaker 2: I remember that was also, I want to say like
35:25
Speaker 2: a National Enquirer star or something. And seeing a story
35:30
Speaker 2: headline that came across that said like Bruce Jenner has
35:32
Speaker 2: a closet full of dresses. And I literally made fun
35:34
Speaker 2: of it. I was like, there is no way that
35:37
Speaker 2: this is accurate. Like this is such a bullshit story.
35:42
Speaker 2: There's no way. And then it came out. So I'm
35:45
Speaker 2: not saying I wish I would have broke it. I just,
35:47
Speaker 2: I remember it coming across the desk and thinking it
35:50
Speaker 2: could not possibly be true. And then it ended up
35:54
Speaker 2: being absolutely true.
35:56
Speaker 1: Okay. What is the craziest thing you did to get
36:00
Speaker 1: an exclusive story?
36:04
Speaker 2: Let's see. Well, I would say something that I did
36:07
Speaker 2: that wasn't necessarily that crazy. It just happened to be
36:11
Speaker 2: a crazy situation where I had a gymnastics incident and
36:17
Speaker 2: I dislocated both of my ankles at the same time
36:20
Speaker 2: and ended up being in two boots on crutches on
36:25
Speaker 2: a red carpet. And I was at the very end
36:29
Speaker 2: of the line and everyone came up to talk to me.
36:33
Speaker 2: Because normally for anyone that doesn't know kind of like
36:35
Speaker 2: how a red carpet works, A red carpet, you know,
36:38
Speaker 2: you've got everyone doing photos down the red carpet, and
36:40
Speaker 2: then you've got all the media lined up down the side.
36:42
Speaker 2: And it starts with like, let's say, Entertainment Tonight and
36:44
Speaker 2: Access and E. And then it kind of, as you
36:47
Speaker 2: go down, you're ranked. And the further down the line
36:49
Speaker 2: you get, the less important you are in the atmosphere
36:54
Speaker 2: of celebrity culture. And I was at the very, very end.
36:58
Speaker 2: No one knew at that time, like what TMZ was.
37:01
Speaker 2: And everyone came up to talk to me because I
37:04
Speaker 2: looked so like, gimped up and injured that everyone came
37:09
Speaker 2: to talk to me and i got all kinds of
37:11
Speaker 2: exclusive interviews with people because i looked so sad and pathetic.
37:16
Speaker 1: Oh god okay.
37:20
Speaker 2: And then i thought after that after i was injured
37:22
Speaker 2: i was like i should just start doing this more
37:24
Speaker 2: often just go to a red carpet and have boots
37:26
Speaker 2: on double feet and crutches everyone will talk to.
37:29
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37:52
Speaker 1: What story are you most proud of?
37:55
Speaker 2: Ah, let's see. Most proud of. I mean, I helped
37:58
Speaker 2: break the Jen Aniston secret wedding. That was kind of...
38:02
Speaker 2: interesting story to be a part of just because it
38:04
Speaker 2: was such big news when her and Justin got married
38:08
Speaker 2: and basically were playing it off as a birthday party,
38:12
Speaker 2: but they really were inviting all their friends to surprise
38:15
Speaker 2: them and get married. So that one was kind of
38:17
Speaker 2: a fun one.
38:18
Speaker 1: How did you get the scoop on that?
38:22
Speaker 2: Just had some sources that had basically said, I think
38:26
Speaker 2: something's going on here. You guys should look into it.
38:30
Speaker 2: And so then it took a lot of digging and, um,
38:34
Speaker 2: contacts and to, to really figure it out. And what
38:36
Speaker 2: really kind of solidified it was there ended up getting a,
38:40
Speaker 2: a photo of the, the pastor basically walking out the
38:43
Speaker 2: back door with the Bible in hand. And that was
38:46
Speaker 2: like the, wow, this is actually true. Um, but let's see,
38:51
Speaker 2: I think, okay, I'm going to say this one. I don't,
38:54
Speaker 2: I'm not going to say proud of, I'm going to
38:56
Speaker 2: say that it was just such a big news story that, um,
39:01
Speaker 2: you know, as a turning point would be Michael Jackson's
39:04
Speaker 2: death and getting the initial tip and working on that
39:09
Speaker 2: story and being one of the people that got a
39:12
Speaker 2: confirmation of him passing and just being involved in such
39:17
Speaker 2: a huge news story that like rocked the world. And,
39:21
Speaker 2: but I wouldn't say proud of it. I would just
39:23
Speaker 2: say it was interesting to be a part of it.
39:26
Speaker 1: Were you there um for the kobe death uh no.
39:31
Speaker 2: I was not i had already left tmz at that
39:34
Speaker 2: point i remember sitting in my car and got the
39:37
Speaker 2: tmz news alert on my phone that said he had
39:39
Speaker 2: passed away and just sitting there stunned not knowing like
39:43
Speaker 2: how is this possibly real.
39:45
Speaker 1: Yeah that was crazy um Were you around during the
39:50
Speaker 1: Donald Sterling scandal? Do you remember that whole thing?
39:54
Speaker 2: I remember that. That was crazy. I didn't really have
39:57
Speaker 2: any part in that one. My beat was definitely not sports,
40:02
Speaker 2: but I remember how big that story was and how, again,
40:06
Speaker 2: that was another one that I would say rocked the world,
40:09
Speaker 2: or at least sports world here in the U.S.
40:13
Speaker 1: But that was another one that TMZ did break. Mike Walters.
40:17
Speaker 2: Yep, Mike Walters on that. I mean, there's so many.
40:20
Speaker 2: I mean, you think back to Michael Richards' rant. You
40:23
Speaker 2: think about Mel Gibson and his crazy, like, arrest in
40:28
Speaker 2: Malibu and, like, all the crazy stuff that he said
40:31
Speaker 2: to the cops that day and how they tried to
40:32
Speaker 2: cover it up and bury it. I mean, it literally
40:35
Speaker 2: was a part of some of the biggest news stories
40:37
Speaker 2: in the world because from, you know, 2005 to 2010,
40:42
Speaker 2: those are, like, I remember those so vividly with Britney
40:45
Speaker 2: and Lindsay and Paris and, like, the 2007 era. And, uh,
40:49
Speaker 2: you know, I, it was a wild time to be
40:52
Speaker 2: a journalist in Hollywood. Right.
40:56
Speaker 1: And speaking of that, what was the transition like from
40:58
Speaker 1: being just a website to becoming a TV show? And
41:01
Speaker 1: all of a sudden you guys were kind of, you
41:04
Speaker 1: guys were becoming celebrities yourselves a little bit. People were
41:08
Speaker 1: recognizing you and, uh, what was that like?
41:11
Speaker 2: You know, it's funny because inside the office, nothing really changed.
41:15
Speaker 2: So the, those pitch meetings that you see to this
41:20
Speaker 2: day at TMZ, that's really how it started off. We
41:22
Speaker 2: were in this tiny little room out in Burbank and
41:27
Speaker 2: it was, you know, and I think at a time
41:29
Speaker 2: maybe 20 of us, but we would sit around and
41:32
Speaker 2: kind of like a little semi-circle in our cubicles and
41:34
Speaker 2: Harvey would sit at the front and his whiteboard and
41:37
Speaker 2: go on the room. What do you have? What do
41:38
Speaker 2: you have? What do you think is going to be good?
41:40
Speaker 2: What do you think is a great news story? And
41:43
Speaker 2: after a couple months of that, it was like, they,
41:45
Speaker 2: they saw potential in this and brought in and brought
41:47
Speaker 2: in cameras, did the same thing, just filmed us doing
41:52
Speaker 2: our normal morning meeting. And that's really what we did
41:56
Speaker 2: every day for the next 11 years of my career there.
41:59
Speaker 2: And so nothing changed inside, but yes, the outside, that
42:03
Speaker 2: was a weird transition for me to, you know, I
42:07
Speaker 2: remember the first time I got recognized was like a bed,
42:09
Speaker 2: bath and beyond, you know, just, in the aisle and
42:12
Speaker 2: some lady walked up to me, I think the show
42:14
Speaker 2: had only been on for like two days. And she
42:15
Speaker 2: was like, I know who you are. Can I take
42:17
Speaker 2: a picture with you? And I'm like, this is weird. Why,
42:20
Speaker 2: why wouldn't you? And I just remember being like, this
42:22
Speaker 2: is crazy. And then, you know, it didn't stop after that.
42:25
Speaker 2: TMZ became a phenomenon on television and people loved it.
42:29
Speaker 2: And it was a guilty pleasure for a lot of people. And,
42:31
Speaker 2: you know, I think it hit a demographic that wasn't
42:34
Speaker 2: just a female audience tuning in. You got a lot
42:37
Speaker 2: of a male audience too, because there was a lot
42:39
Speaker 2: of again, scandals covered or women in bikinis or whatever.
42:44
Speaker 2: And it brought in a different audience than all the
42:46
Speaker 2: other TV shows. And it allowed couples to sit down
42:49
Speaker 2: and watch television together and get into entertainment news.
42:53
Speaker 1: Right. Take us through what happens from getting a story
42:57
Speaker 1: tip to posting an article for people that are not familiar.
43:01
Speaker 2: So, well, there's two levels. So if it's literally just hey,
43:07
Speaker 2: this is a great video of someone because there's a
43:09
Speaker 2: paparazzi that caught so-and-so tripping and falling in the street,
43:14
Speaker 2: that takes a couple minutes, right? There's no, you don't
43:17
Speaker 2: have to really dig into that too much. You can
43:19
Speaker 2: throw a video up, put some text around it, and
43:21
Speaker 2: that's a story. If it is a massive news story,
43:25
Speaker 2: then it takes the whole newsroom to stop down, start
43:30
Speaker 2: picking up the phones, calling, and confirming whether or not
43:33
Speaker 2: a story is is real and so those stories could
43:37
Speaker 2: take 10 minutes if you you get enough people to
43:40
Speaker 2: confirm it or it could take you know two months
43:44
Speaker 2: to make sure that the the story is accurate so
43:47
Speaker 2: but it you know with tmz it was such a
43:49
Speaker 2: it's like a family it was like a family thing
43:51
Speaker 2: that everyone would jump in to help someone else out
43:54
Speaker 2: to to confirm if their story's real or not because
43:56
Speaker 2: you also it's competitive you also want to beat cnn
44:00
Speaker 2: and snbc and all the other outlets to a story
44:03
Speaker 2: if you know that they also have been tipped off
44:05
Speaker 2: at the same time.
44:07
Speaker 1: So now you host your own podcast. What made you
44:10
Speaker 1: finally leave TMZ?
44:13
Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. It's because I started there so
44:15
Speaker 2: young and it was really the only job I had
44:17
Speaker 2: ever known. My life had transitioned a lot. I had
44:22
Speaker 2: gone from being a single college kid to being married
44:26
Speaker 2: and having kids and, you know, I was doing this
44:29
Speaker 2: crazy drive every day from Orange County to LA. And
44:32
Speaker 2: I got to the point where I'm like, I just
44:34
Speaker 2: need something different. And one of the big things I
44:37
Speaker 2: always thought about was like, I've every day, I've always
44:40
Speaker 2: talked about celebrities and I kind of want to start
44:42
Speaker 2: talking to celebrities myself. And so that's where I was like, okay,
44:47
Speaker 2: I want to, I want to leave, but like, what
44:48
Speaker 2: am I going to do? And I worked for, you know,
44:51
Speaker 2: doing like little gigs for access Hollywood for a while.
44:53
Speaker 2: I auditioned to be, uh, the coast with, uh, with
44:57
Speaker 2: Kelly Ripa, uh, And none of the, nothing really panned out.
45:00
Speaker 2: And so I'm like, what am I doing here? And
45:02
Speaker 2: ended up starting up my podcast, Hollywood Raw with my buddy, Adam,
45:07
Speaker 2: who is also a former TMZ photographer. He actually works
45:12
Speaker 2: out in New York. He is a paparazzi in the
45:14
Speaker 2: streets of New York. One of the most well-respected camera
45:17
Speaker 2: guys out there though. Like he's not, you know, when
45:20
Speaker 2: people say the word paparazzi, there's like the stigma to it,
45:22
Speaker 2: but he's a, he's a really good guy. And as upper, like,
45:26
Speaker 2: good questions and always wants to make celebrities look good.
45:29
Speaker 2: And so like, he's one of those people that Oprah
45:32
Speaker 2: walks out and she's like, Hey, Adam, come over and
45:34
Speaker 2: let me have a conversation with you. You know, like
45:36
Speaker 2: he's one of those kinds of guys. So we decided
45:38
Speaker 2: to join forces, start up Hollywood Raw and, and talk
45:41
Speaker 2: about what it's really like in Hollywood. There's the Hollywood
45:44
Speaker 2: that is the PR press side that is glamorous and amazing.
45:48
Speaker 2: And then there's this other side that, you know, is
45:51
Speaker 2: really like what's really going on? Like what you asked
45:54
Speaker 2: me are celebs calling paparazzi? Yes. And we'll talk about it.
45:58
Speaker 2: And we'll name names and talk about celebs that will
46:01
Speaker 2: do it. And we've had quite a few celebs come
46:03
Speaker 2: on a podcast and admit to it and say, I
46:05
Speaker 2: absolutely have like we had Brian Austin Green on, I
46:09
Speaker 2: think it was like two, three years ago. And he
46:11
Speaker 2: came on and he was like, yeah, Megan and I
46:14
Speaker 2: used to do that. But it was because it benefited us.
46:16
Speaker 2: We would go to Hawaii and And we would call
46:19
Speaker 2: them up and say, please come take the photos so
46:22
Speaker 2: that you will leave us alone for the rest of
46:23
Speaker 2: the trip. And I just thought it was such an
46:26
Speaker 2: honest look at this couple that was so famous and
46:29
Speaker 2: all over the place. And they would say, yeah, we
46:32
Speaker 2: did it, but because of this, this, and this, and
46:34
Speaker 2: it's not a bad thing and it's not shameful to
46:36
Speaker 2: call the paparazzi and it's a game. So Hollywood Raw
46:39
Speaker 2: has just kind of been our, our go-to place. We
46:41
Speaker 2: talked to publicists. We talked to you like fixers, like
46:45
Speaker 2: people that are behind the scandals. We've had a, a,
46:48
Speaker 2: crisis pr specialist on recently and private uh private jet
46:53
Speaker 2: attendance like all kinds of stuff just to get what
46:56
Speaker 2: it's really like in hollywood along with celebrities so.
47:01
Speaker 1: Yeah i would love it so who do you think
47:03
Speaker 1: is the most misunderstood person in hollywood right.
47:06
Speaker 2: Now oh um most misunderstood person in hollywood shoot um
47:15
Speaker 2: man that's a it's a loaded question right there um
47:20
Speaker 2: I honestly, I don't know. I feel like, I feel
47:22
Speaker 2: like there's some people that get a really bad rap. Um,
47:26
Speaker 2: I don't know if that's necessarily misunderstood, but I think like,
47:30
Speaker 2: I've always thought about what I'm, it's going to sound silly,
47:33
Speaker 2: but what a really genuinely nice person Paris Hilton is
47:36
Speaker 2: or Kim Kardashian. And all they do is get shit
47:39
Speaker 2: on every single day of their lives by every media
47:43
Speaker 2: outlet out there by everyone. They just love to hate
47:46
Speaker 2: on them, but they're like, underneath it, they're really nice,
47:50
Speaker 2: kind women. And I've met both of them and hung
47:53
Speaker 2: out with both and they're super nice. So I'd say
47:56
Speaker 2: a little misunderstood.
47:58
Speaker 1: Okay, that's a good answer. I saw you just had
48:01
Speaker 1: Tara Reid on.
48:03
Speaker 2: She was wonderful. I love Tara. And you know what?
48:05
Speaker 2: She's a good answer for being someone that is misunderstood.
48:10
Speaker 2: And when we had her on, we just, you know,
48:13
Speaker 2: We wanted to get her perspective because she has been
48:15
Speaker 2: a focal point of the media for a long time.
48:17
Speaker 2: And she has been the butt of a lot of jokes. And,
48:21
Speaker 2: you know, she was one of those people that we've
48:22
Speaker 2: been dying to have on because we've covered her so
48:25
Speaker 2: much over the years. And she said, look, the one
48:28
Speaker 2: thing that wasn't fair was that no one ever covered
48:33
Speaker 2: the side of her where she was never late to set.
48:37
Speaker 2: She never messed up her... Didn't know her lines. She never...
48:42
Speaker 2: partied so hard that she was bad at work. You
48:44
Speaker 2: know what I'm saying? She's like, I, she said, I
48:46
Speaker 2: partied and I would go out and have a good time,
48:49
Speaker 2: but I was professional when I needed to be professional.
48:52
Speaker 2: And she goes, that was the part that I was
48:54
Speaker 2: misunderstood about. And I think Tara Reed definitely got dealt
48:58
Speaker 2: the bad hand because we make, we glorify a lot
49:02
Speaker 2: of reality stars for the behavior that she had at
49:05
Speaker 2: that time, but she got trashed at that time for,
49:10
Speaker 2: or just having a really fun young youth. So she's
49:14
Speaker 2: a good person. Tara Reid is probably a good person
49:17
Speaker 2: to say she's misunderstood. Yeah. Yeah.
49:20
Speaker 1: You're, um, that's what I saw from your interview with her.
49:24
Speaker 2: Um, okay.
49:24
Speaker 1: Tell me about trophy smack. You did a six figure
49:27
Speaker 1: deal with Mark Cuban on shark tank.
49:29
Speaker 2: I did. What a weird transition, right? Going from like
49:32
Speaker 2: celebrity entertainment reporter to hawking fantasy football trophies. Yeah.
49:37
Speaker 1: But were you really on shark tank?
49:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, we did shoot tank. Um, so right after I
49:43
Speaker 2: had left TMZ, again, I was searching for like, what,
49:46
Speaker 2: what the hell am I going to do now that
49:47
Speaker 2: I'm not on TV every single day and I don't
49:49
Speaker 2: have a steady paycheck. And, you know, are people going
49:52
Speaker 2: to look at me as like, Oh, just that TMZ guy.
49:54
Speaker 2: Cause I also felt like when I left, there's a
49:56
Speaker 2: certain stigma to TMZ, right? Like it's, it's different leaving
50:00
Speaker 2: entertainment tonight than it is leaving TMZ, right? Like we
50:03
Speaker 2: can acknowledge that there's a different level of respect there
50:05
Speaker 2: in the entertainment industry. And, um, my buddy and I
50:09
Speaker 2: were talking and this was probably two months after TMZ.
50:12
Speaker 2: And he was like, Hey, you know, we're in the
50:14
Speaker 2: fantasy football dad group together. And he was like, I,
50:17
Speaker 2: you know, I can't find a good trophy out there.
50:20
Speaker 2: What do you think? Should we make these? And I
50:22
Speaker 2: was like, hell yeah, let's do it. And that little
50:24
Speaker 2: idea started in my garage, um, building trophies at night
50:29
Speaker 2: over the weekends and selling them online. And And within
50:33
Speaker 2: the first year, I think we had $ 800, 000 in sales.
50:36
Speaker 2: And then it was literally out of my garage. Just me,
50:39
Speaker 2: my wife would help me. We'd be sweating and a
50:41
Speaker 2: hundred degree weather in Southern California. And then, you know,
50:46
Speaker 2: we just kept building it and building it. And then
50:49
Speaker 2: Shark Tank had always kind of been something we'd wanted
50:51
Speaker 2: to do. And so we were like, all right, well,
50:54
Speaker 2: let's try. I still have contacts in the industry that
50:57
Speaker 2: can like help out. And we got, you know, an
50:59
Speaker 2: email put in on our behalf and they called us
51:01
Speaker 2: back and It took a year and a half to
51:03
Speaker 2: get on Shark Tank, but it was the coolest thing
51:07
Speaker 2: to be a part of. And it was, it happened
51:08
Speaker 2: right in the middle of COVID. So we had to
51:10
Speaker 2: go out to Las Vegas and be in their big
51:14
Speaker 2: quarantine bubble for, you know, for like a week. And,
51:18
Speaker 2: and yeah, we ended up locking down Mark Cuban as
51:20
Speaker 2: a business partner and he invested $ 600, 000 into the business.
51:24
Speaker 2: And he's been a great business partner with us and
51:27
Speaker 2: building the brand and, We're now we've gotten the official
51:31
Speaker 2: ESPN trophy. We work with Yahoo. We've, you know, we're
51:35
Speaker 2: doing all these things that I pinch myself all the time.
51:37
Speaker 2: I'm like, how did I, and I'm not a sports guy.
51:40
Speaker 2: How did we get into this world where my daily,
51:44
Speaker 2: my daily life is surrounded by trophies and sports and
51:47
Speaker 2: all of this. And it's been really, really fun. We
51:50
Speaker 2: make championship belts and bling chains and it's, it's wild.
51:54
Speaker 1: Oh my God, that's amazing. That's so fun. All right.
51:57
Speaker 1: So my last question is, what do you see as
51:59
Speaker 1: the biggest story in the news right now that you're
52:01
Speaker 1: covering this week that you're following or something we should
52:04
Speaker 1: all be watching?
52:05
Speaker 2: Well, I know that this is going to come out after,
52:08
Speaker 2: but I would say obviously the Oscars are a big
52:11
Speaker 2: deal right now. I think everyone wants to know about
52:15
Speaker 2: Will Smith, Chris Rock. Now we're hitting the one year
52:18
Speaker 2: anniversary and Chris is doing all his comedy shows talking
52:21
Speaker 2: about his first time kind of responding to it. I
52:25
Speaker 2: think the Vanderpump Rules drama will probably be going on
52:29
Speaker 2: for a little bit just because everyone likes a good
52:31
Speaker 2: cheating story. But I would say those have been kind
52:35
Speaker 2: of the biggest stories as of right now. But again,
52:40
Speaker 2: tomorrow something will happen. It'll dominate the news and the
52:44
Speaker 2: Vanderpump Rules stuff will fade into non-existence. Right.
52:48
Speaker 1: And isn't that interesting how the news, everything just the
52:52
Speaker 1: tables will turn and somebody else will get in trouble.
52:55
Speaker 1: And that's how a good scandal goes.
52:58
Speaker 2: And honestly, I think that is one of the reasons
53:01
Speaker 2: that may have bit you in the butt was because
53:04
Speaker 2: there were so many women that had come forward that
53:06
Speaker 2: it never allowed another news story to dominate the headlines
53:10
Speaker 2: for like months. Right.
53:13
Speaker 1: Because the story kept going and going and going.
53:17
Speaker 2: Right. When it would die down, someone else would come
53:19
Speaker 2: forward and it would bring it back up. And of course,
53:21
Speaker 2: They're going to bring me up with a new woman
53:24
Speaker 2: in the headline. They're going to mention you, right? So
53:27
Speaker 2: it's just, it fed itself for so long that I
53:32
Speaker 2: almost felt like you couldn't get out of the Bermuda
53:35
Speaker 2: Triangle of news coverage. Yeah.
53:38
Speaker 1: Well, the interesting thing is yesterday I was on the
53:40
Speaker 1: cover of the Post again, but 14 years later, I
53:46
Speaker 1: just think it's because he's one of the most famous
53:48
Speaker 1: people in the world, right? So the scandal sort of
53:50
Speaker 1: just never... goes away when it has to do with
53:53
Speaker 1: a similar topic. And I think, unfortunately, I will always
53:57
Speaker 1: be associated with that. And I just, I've learned to
54:02
Speaker 1: go along with it. And I think the challenge is
54:04
Speaker 1: figuring out how to deal with it. And as long
54:08
Speaker 1: as I can figure out how to get people's perception
54:11
Speaker 1: of me to change. And that's what I'm trying to
54:14
Speaker 1: do here with my podcast, realize that I've been misunderstood
54:17
Speaker 1: for many years. And it takes, you know, people really trying...
54:21
Speaker 1: understanding who I am besides that, you know, because there's
54:26
Speaker 1: all sorts of parts to me that don't have to
54:27
Speaker 1: do with just that one headline sort of. So thank
54:32
Speaker 1: you for joining me. And I appreciate you. And I'm
54:37
Speaker 1: glad that we are in this circumstance now. And I'm not,
54:41
Speaker 1: you know, yelling at you to leave me alone anymore.
54:44
Speaker 1: So now at least I can call you and laugh
54:48
Speaker 1: with you instead of basically telling you to. get lost.
54:51
Speaker 2: So thank you for having me on. I always like
54:54
Speaker 2: having a genuine, honest conversation, especially with someone that I
54:58
Speaker 2: have covered many, many times. I was, it was funny
55:02
Speaker 2: right before this interview or this chat, like I was
55:06
Speaker 2: Googling and it was like my videos of you, like
55:09
Speaker 2: me pitching out, talking about you was coming up left
55:12
Speaker 2: and right. And I was like, Oh my God, I
55:14
Speaker 2: really have talked a lot about her over the years. Yeah.
55:17
Speaker 1: So it's funny to now Yeah, to now see you
55:21
Speaker 1: 10 years later, 14 years later, and know that we
55:23
Speaker 1: can laugh about it, I guess.
55:25
Speaker 2: So thank you for having me on. I appreciate it.
55:27
Speaker 1: Of course. Take care.
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