HATE TO BREAK IT TO YA with Jamie Kennedy

Fauci's Secret Diary Is Finally Public — Here's What It Reveals | Ep 269 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya, I dive into the release of Anthony Fauci's personal diary and why I think it's one of the most overlooked stories of the year. I walk through the entries that caught my attention, the Congressional testimony that followed, the debate surrounding his pardon, and why so many people still have no interest in revisiting what happened during the pandemic. From there I revisit some of the moments that changed the way I looked at everything—from the Pineapple Hill protests to restaurants enforcing different rules for different people—and why I think those years permanently reshaped public trust. Then things take an unexpected turn. We get into a California robotics company unveiling a goat-headed chainsaw centaur, Meta's newest smart glasses campaign that looks like it came straight out of They Live, and why I think we're moving into a future that deserves a lot more skepticism than it's getting. Whether you agree with me or not, this episode is really about one question: what happens when people stop questioning the people they're told to trust? ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Intro: Best Golf Round of My Life00:01:19 – The Pandemic Was a Three-and-a-Half-Year War00:03:28 – Two Types of People: Telephone vs. Banana00:06:06 – The Cult of Closed-Mindedness00:07:06 – Fauci Takes the Fifth — 111 Times00:20:00 – Reading Fauci's Diary00:25:03 – Fame, Money, and Public Perception00:27:44 – Looking Back at Pandemic Policies00:28:52 – Gain of Function and the Lab Leak Debate00:35:52 – RFK Jr. and Questioning the Experts00:44:46 – Why I Almost Quit: My SNL Audition Story00:51:09 – The Fauci Diary Finally Goes Public00:55:15 – The Goat-Head Chainsaw Robot00:58:45 – Meta Glasses, They Live, and the Future01:01:04 – Patreon, Tour Dates & Final Thoughts ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Los Angeles Is Actually Falling Apart... And Why I'm Talking About It | Ep 268 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya, I just got back from Galaxy Con, and I'm feeling the effects. I talk about what it's really like working conventions, the fans who make it all worthwhile, the emotional drain that comes with being "on" all weekend, and why I'm starting to rethink how often I do them. Then I get into something that's been happening right outside my front door in West Hollywood. In just a couple of weeks, multiple major water main breaks have hit the Los Angeles area, flooding streets, shutting down neighborhoods, and even causing water pressure issues miles away. I walk through what I've been seeing, give credit where it's due when repairs happen quickly, and ask the question that's been on my mind: are we simply watching decades-old infrastructure reach its breaking point, or is something bigger going on? I also revisit the golf cart story and why taking responsibility still matters, even when it's uncomfortable. Somewhere along the way, I accidentally became the guy talking about local news—and honestly, I'm just reporting what I'm seeing. 00:00:00 – Intro: Just Back From Galaxy Con00:01:23 – The Emotional Reality of Working Conventions00:03:35 – Fan Types: The Good, the Sweet, and the Drive-Bys00:06:03 – No Break, No Hiding, No Time to Recharge00:09:28 – My Ideal Convention Schedule00:15:25 – Upcoming Shows and Maybe Slowing Down00:16:22 – The Hole in My Driveway and Where This Started00:17:53 – Water Main Break #1: Sunset Blvd Floods at 5 A.M.00:21:07 – Giving LADWP Credit for a Fast Repair00:25:03 – More Water Main Breaks Across Los Angeles00:30:02 – Anaheim Water Problems and Disneyland Disruptions00:33:37 – Old Infrastructure or Something More?00:34:05 – How Did I Become a Local News Podcast?00:42:30 – The Golf Cart Story and Taking Accountability 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy Timestamps:Support the Pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shannon Beador Gets Real: 12 Years of RHOC, the DUI, and Why She's Happy Alone Ep 267 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Shannon Beador — twelve-year veteran of The Real Housewives of Orange County, one of Bravo's most recognizable faces, and a woman who has lived more on camera than most people do in a lifetime — and she did not hold back. We met through our mutual friend Jeff Lewis, and from the first time I saw her handle a room full of big personalities I knew she was the real deal. This conversation confirmed it. We go deep on how Shannon ended up on RHOC in the first place — a casting number she found in a drawer, a closet with no windows, and an iPhone camera — and what twelve seasons of reality television actually does to a person. She walks me through the affair that unfolded the day after her very first day of filming, why she and her then-husband made the decision to talk about it openly on camera, and what it felt like to watch it all back six months later while the internet weighed in. We also get into the DUI — the real story, what was going on in her life that night, how she broke her nose and her arm, what she did the next morning, and why she chose a mental health facility over a traditional rehab. Then there's the $300,000 defamation lawsuit she won but still lost, the Quiet Woman restaurant drama that Kelly Dodd turned into a press cycle, the Heather McDonald video that got under Shannon's skin more than she wants to admit, and the full story of the golf cart incident at Kelly's Fourth of July party — including what Jamie thinks actually happened and why nobody is saying the obvious thing out loud. Shannon is one of those people who is much funnier and much more self-aware than the villain edit would have you believe. She's been through a divorce, a DUI, a lawsuit, public humiliation, and a company that cost her everything — and she's sitting in a duplex in Corona Del Mar, single, happy, and genuinely at peace with herself for the first time. That's not nothing. That's actually the whole story. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Shannon Beador: Shannon Storms Beador is a main cast member of The Real Housewives of Orange County, which she joined in Season 9 in 2014 and has appeared on for twelve consecutive seasons, currently airing Season 20 on Bravo. She also starred in Bravo's spin-off series Love Hotel. A Southern California native, Shannon attended USC and raised three daughters — Sophie, Stella, and Adeline — in Orange County. She previously founded and ran a supplements company and is known for her candid, unfiltered approach to filming her real life, including her divorce, her 2023 DUI, and her ongoing journey as a single woman navigating life after a long marriage. Follow Shannon Beador Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonbeador/ X: https://x.com/ShannonBeador TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shannonbeador ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Open: Reality TV and Appearances 00:01:39 – RHOC Season 20 and 12 Years on the Show 00:05:46 – How Bravo Gatekeeps (and Why It's Outdated) 00:06:46 – How Shannon Got Cast: The Drawer, the Closet, the iPhone 00:08:13 – The Affair: What Happened and Why She Talked About It 00:14:04 – Live Shows with Vicki and How the Show Has Changed 00:20:29 – The DUI: The Real Story, the Crash, and the Aftermath 00:23:41 – Accountability, Mental Health, and Learning to Be Alone 00:29:31 – The Quiet Woman Restaurant Controversy 00:41:26 – The Golf Cart Incident at Kelly's Fourth of July Party 00:56:49 – The Johnny Carson Rule and Jeff Lewis Loyalty 01:00:26 – Kelly Dodd: The Hot-and-Cold Friendship 01:03:15 – The Heather McDonald Video and the $300K Defamation Suit 01:09:49 – Shannon's Storyline This Season and Life in Corona Del Mar 01:14:09 – Dating at 62, Being a Sapiosexual, and the Kissing Bandit 01:19:13 – The Mercedes Fight and Jamie's Apology 01:24:30 – Where to Watch RHOC Season 20 ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Shannon Beador, Real Housewives of Orange County, RHOC Season 20, Hate To Break It To Ya, Jamie Kennedy podcast, Shannon Beador DUI, Shannon Beador interview 2026, Bravo podcast, Jeff Lewis, Kelly Dodd, Heather McDonald, RHOC cast interview Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI Will Kill Your Job, Hollywood Pays to Play, and Celebrity Meltdown Over Autograph | Ep 266 HTBITY

In this solo episode of Hate To Break It To Ya, I get into the AI and automation wave that is coming for your job whether you're ready or not. By 2030, half the positions that exist today are gone — middle management, drivers, all of it — and if you're still going to baseball games and barbecues like it's 2015, you are going to get hit in the face by reality. I lay out exactly what I think you should be doing right now: investing, building a personal brand, and seriously looking at owning a self-driving vehicle that earns money while you sleep. I also talk about where I'm at personally — the hospital stay, getting my health and finances dialed in, the upcoming cons, and why I'm done waiting on Hollywood to hand me anything. From there I get into the state of the pod itself. I'm honest about the views, the clips that pop off, the guests who rock with me immediately versus the ones who give me the Hollywood runaround. I've reached out to big liberal voices in comedy and media and the silence is deafening — which tells you everything about how "inclusive" that side of the aisle actually is. I also react to the disgusting social media behavior I saw after Lindsey Graham's passing, and I make the case that you cannot call yourself open-minded and loving while wishing harm on people you disagree with politically. Then I react to a viral clip of a young actor — six episodes into his career — grabbing a fan's autograph and trying to light it on fire. I tell a Courtney Cox story from the Scream set in 1996 that changed how I think about fame, I break down what Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, and even the wrestlers get right about dealing with the public, and I explain exactly where this kid crossed the line from "setting a boundary" into something genuinely psychotic. I close out reacting to the Messi and Lamine Yamal prophecy photo, a manifesting breakdown that I think is real science, and a wild GTA-level scene I witnessed outside a coffee shop in LA that you have to hear to believe. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Open: State of the Pod 00:01:42 – Why I Started HTBITY and the Guest Booking Reality 00:04:38 – Fox News, CNN, and Who Actually Returns Calls 00:07:47 – Upcoming Cons and What's Next for Jamie 00:09:02 – The 2030 Warning: AI Is Coming for Your Job 00:12:50 – The Left's Inclusivity Problem and Lindsey Graham Tweets 00:19:27 – Hollywood Pays to Play: How Bad Movies Get Made 00:26:19 – LA Is GTA: Coffee Shop Story 00:31:37 – Robocar and the Self-Driving Taxi Opportunity 00:37:50 – Reacting to the Hudson Williams Autograph Meltdown 00:38:13 – Courtney Cox at the Mall: A Scream Set Story 00:44:22 – What Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Wrestlers Get Right 00:49:37 – Six Apps Deep: Where the Line Was Crossed 00:52:34 – Manifesting, The Simulation, and The Secret Is Real 00:56:47 – The Messi and Lamine Yamal Prophecy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stu Stone on the New Hollywood Hustle and the Rolling with Saget Years| Ep 265 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Stu Stone — actor, filmmaker, rapper, podcast pioneer, and one of my oldest friends in this business — for a conversation that was 25 years in the making. Stu has been on this couch more than anyone else, which tells you everything you need to know about the quality of what he brings. We went deep on the era that defined both of our careers, the hustle that got us there, and the economy that's keeping us alive today. We covered a lot of ground. We got into how the convention circuit has quietly become one of the most reliable income streams in Hollywood — Eli Roth called it "the new residuals" and he is not wrong. We talked about Tremors 5 selling 863,000 DVDs, residual checks from Enemy of the State, and why getting on Netflix might actually be the worst financial move you can make. Then we went back to the origin story of "Rolling with Saget" — the song that started as a demo recorded in a porn warehouse in the Valley for $40 an hour, almost starred Jeff Goldblum, got passed on by every rapper in the game (including Akon, which we will always regret), and then went to number one on MySpace overnight. We watched footage from the MTV show Blowing Up, including a clip of Bob Saget rapping in the Hummer on Sunset, and we talked about the meeting at Warner Brothers where we had to explain the concept to the chairman of the label by singing "Boogie in Your Butt." We also got into how I created a fake manager named Marty Power — a cross between Robbie Benson and James Woods — to get my first auditions, and how selling sandwiches to Barry from Barry's Boot Camp was the beginning of learning how to sell myself. Stu is one of the few people who has been there for every version of me — Lexus Jamie, Hummer Jamie, Bentley Jamie, pandemic Jamie — and watching these old clips together reminded me how much we actually built from nothing. This one goes long and it earns every minute. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Stu Stone: Stu Stone (born Stuart Eisenstein) is a Canadian actor, filmmaker, rapper, and producer who has been working in the entertainment industry since age two. He is best known for playing Ronald Fisher in Donnie Darko, voicing Ralphie Tennelli on The Magic School Bus, and co-starring with Jamie Kennedy in the 2006 MTV reality series Blowin' Up. He is a director and co-founder of 5'7 Films, whose horror feature The Haunted House on Kirby Road won Best Horror Feature at the Toronto Independent Film Festival. His current projects include the film Don't Mess with Ghosts, a re-release of Faking a Murderer, and Dark Side of the Ring Season 7. Follow Stu Stone Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stustone/ X: https://x.com/stustone ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Welcome Back, Hall of Famer 00:05:12 – Tom Green, Podcasting and the Early Internet 00:13:03 – Fame Then vs. Fame Now 00:19:07 – The Convention Circuit and Hollywood's New Residuals 00:29:02 – Convention Horror Stories 00:34:18 – Why Hollywood Doesn't Work Like It Used To 00:44:34 – The Death of the Movie Star 00:50:05 – Jamie's Early Hustle 00:56:57 – The SNL Audition 01:00:51 – Chasing a Record Deal 01:02:15 – How Rolling with Saget Was Born 01:09:01 – Going Number One on MySpace 01:10:37 – Convincing Warner Bros. to Make It 01:15:04 – Blowin' Up Turns 20 01:25:18 – T-Pain, Bow Wow and MTV Memories 01:29:03 – Wrapping Up ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices