12-22-25 - Brady's Say Anything Thanksgiving - Influencer Angry Someone Sent Her Chubby Kid A Health Shake - Nov/Jan 2024 - BO

Summary

Episode Overview

This episode of Holmberg's Morning Sickness (December 22, 2025) mixes holiday humor, social commentary, and absurd real-life stories in the signature irreverent style of John Holmberg and the crew. The main themes include awkward family holiday traditions, debates over cultural authenticity and performative inclusiveness at events, the pitfalls of social media oversharing—especially “influencer parenting”—and laugh-out-loud moments of classic misunderstanding.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brady's Say Anything Thanksgiving (01:14 – 03:12)

• The crew riffs on Brady's imagined tradition of showing up at family homes uninvited, holding a Bluetooth speaker boombox like a scene out of Say Anything but tailored for Thanksgiving.

• Holmberg jokes about using the tactic to score leftovers, poking fun at the awkwardness and desperation of holiday drop-ins.

• Relatable banter about being picky with family gatherings: “...what’s on the menu? We’re not going to be able to... green beans and tofu turkey.”

• Memorable scenario: If Brady did that to Holmberg’s house, he'd be left waiting outside while being watched through the window.

  “If Brady did that to my house, he’d be standing outside for hours, and be looking at me in the window. ‘You gonna open the door?’ ‘No.’ Song’s only five minutes, I want to see what you do when it gets quiet.”
  — John Holmberg [03:00]

---

2. Cultural Authenticity & “El Valle Night” at the Suns Game (03:13 – 07:03)

• John describes attending a Suns game during “El Valle Night” (Hispanic-themed), observing that the presentation felt forced rather than authentic.

• Discussion veers into discomfort with over-targeted cultural nights in sports, comparing it to hypothetical “Asian night” stereotypes.

• The tone is skeptical and sarcastic, reflecting frustration with performative diversity vs. genuine celebration.

  “It just seems so heavy-handed and unnecessarily, ‘Don’t you think we’re great?’ ... If they did Asian night and had like Benihana chef contests ... because that’s essentially what they do for El Valle.”
  — John Holmberg [05:18]

---

3. Influencer Family & the “Chubby Kid Health Shake” Controversy (07:04 – 12:19)

• Story about an influencer family whose overweight daughter received “Slim Tea” as a Christmas gift from a fan, sparking massive backlash online.

• The crew debates double standards: unhealthy gifts (candy, mac & cheese) are celebrated, but a health-oriented gift causes outrage.

• Holmberg argues the true issue is parents documenting and neglecting their kid on social media, and the hypocrisy of public shaming.

• Jokes about what would be considered “acceptable” gifts and Internet double standards.

  “That’s the most appropriate gift that girl got ... Last thing she needs is fat shaming—yeah, it isn’t fat shaming. ... If somebody sent her tons and tons of candy, that’s an inappropriate gift, but we’ll accept that.”
  — John Holmberg [07:27]

  “Insulin. Probably not a great stocking stuffer, but she should get used to it because that’s what she’s gonna need ... soon.”
  — John Holmberg [11:07]

  “It’s a child. It’s not her fault she’s overweight ... How is Slim Tea bullying? What if it tastes great? What if the kid was really into Slim Tea?”
  — John Holmberg [11:45]

• Side quip from Brett Vesely:

  “It was probably some other pig that wrote that.”
  — Brett Vesely [12:04]

---

4. Megan 911 Moments: Everyday Absurdities (13:53 – 16:26)

• Series of “Megan 911” stories where Holmberg recounts real-life episodes of baffling questions or misconceptions (usually involving his wife).

• Zombie Walk Costume Crisis: Megan asks, “What’s that thing that hangs around doctors’ necks?”—she meant stethoscope, but guessed “telescope.”

  • The group erupts with jokes about astronomy and medicine.

    “Let’s just take a look here—into deep space for that heartbeat.”
    — John Holmberg [14:23]

• Lightning Shower Myth: Megan questions the safety of showering during a storm, worried about lightning through water pipes—a myth Holmberg unpacks with dry humor.

  • “Don’t shower with a one-iron.” [15:05]

• Making Bears from Bread: After tossing bread outside in Show Low, Megan asks if that will “make bears” (attract them), resulting in hilarious banter about “bear seeds.”

  • “Bread and ground and water don’t make bears.”
    — John Holmberg [16:09]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|-------------------|-------| | 03:00 | John Holmberg | “If Brady did that to my house, he’d be standing outside for hours… ‘You gonna open the door?’ ‘No.’ Song’s only five minutes, I want to see what you do when it gets quiet.” | | 05:18 | John Holmberg | “It just seems so heavy-handed and unnecessarily, ‘Don’t you think we’re great?’… If they did Asian night and had like Benihana chef contests…” | | 07:27 | John Holmberg | “That’s the most appropriate gift that girl got… Last thing she needs is fat shaming—yeah, it isn’t fat shaming.” | | 11:07 | John Holmberg | “Insulin. Probably not a great stocking stuffer, but she should get used to it because that’s what she’s gonna need… soon.” | | 12:04 | Brett Vesely | “It was probably some other pig that wrote that.” | | 14:23 | John Holmberg | “Let’s just take a look here—into deep space for that heartbeat.” | | 16:09 | John Holmberg | “Bread and ground and water don’t make bears.” |

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• Brady’s Thanksgiving Boom Box Gag: 01:14 – 03:12
• ‘El Valle Night’ Sports Culture Rant: 03:13 – 07:03
• Influencer, Chubby Kid, and the Slim Tea Debacle: 07:04 – 12:19
• Megan 911 Moments (Telescope, Lightning, Bear Seed): 13:53 – 16:26

---

Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode is witty, irreverent, and rooted in the hosts’ skeptical, biting humor. The crew pivots from pointed (sometimes controversial) cultural critiques to lovingly roasting each other’s odd moments and mocking the absurdities of daily life. It’s classic HMS: unfiltered, topical, briskly-paced, and always ready to “question and disturb.”

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the HMS podcast brought to you by MMP Guns.com, your most trusted online marketplace for firearms, ammunition and accessories.

[B]

Get ready for the most wonderful time of the year. The exciting Red Tag savings has arrived at your Valley Chevy dealers. Wrap up a 2026 Chevy Equinox just in time for the holidays or conquer that holiday to do list in a brand new Chevy truck. Now is the time to get Red Tag savings on the powerful 2026 Silverado or the adventure ready Colorado. This holiday season. It all comes together in a Chevrolet savings today at your Valley Chevy dealers. Red Tag sales event going on now.

[A]

Hey, it's Brett Vesely, and I'm here with Byron from MMP Guns. Look, Byron, I have a friend wanting to sell some guns he inherited. What's the best way for him to do that?

[C]

Brett, the last thing you want to do is sell the gun to someone who can't legally own one. Tell him not to put himself at risk and come into M and P Guns where he'll get a fair offer and he can rest easy knowing it's not getting into the wrong hands.

[A]

Okay, but what if he lives out of state?

[C]

Easy legalgunbuyer.com and he can do it all online. It's really that simple.

[A]

There you have it. MMP Guns or Legal Gun. The safe and legal way to sell your firearms.

[D]

The rest of homework's morning sickness. This is the big red radio.

[E]

And by the way, there's a. There's a sound around Thanksgiving and Christmas that you need if you hear this at all outside your house. Evidently, Brady's trying to get in for a turkey. This is how Brady announces to places he hasn't been invited, that the family's outside waiting to get in. Oh, God damn it.

[D]

Got a raincoat on in a boombox.

[E]

Who's the dude with the Bluetooth speaker? He said in and out.

[D]

Do we let him in?

[E]

He looks pathetic. Turkey love. I get so lost in your turkey salad. Oh, I want some food.

[F]

Let us in.

[E]

Wait a minute. It's raining. So if you hear this outside your house, Brady has invited himself over. Pull the blinds. Turn the lights off. The lights on the lights. They must have a power failure. Like they wouldn't have done that. I better knock on the door, make sure everybody's okay. Just gets louder as he goes. Come on, turn it down.

[F]

You must not be able to hear me. I'm out here.

[E]

It's 2 in the morning. I know you've got leftovers.

[F]

All my instincts, they return. Come On.

[E]

All right, let's go. So what other relatives haven't called us in a couple of days Is that standing out there with that boom box waiting for his. His little turkey plate? That's toads of Dorbs. Do you hear that? Do you hear that out there? Something going on outside. And the neighbor's been. No, it's my wife's goddamn husband. Or my cousin's goddamn husband. That would be you. Oh, it's that little fountain. Yeah, he did this last year, didn't he? That's for green bean casserole. Come on.

[F]

Did you see green beans?

[E]

Get in the car, Kirby. We people.

[A]

These guys.

[E]

Is this your cousin's house?

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

They haven't called us in years. See if they open the door. I like that a lot. Anyway, that's why we didn't stop over, cuz I'm like, what. What's on the menu? We're not going to be able to. Green beans and tofu turkey. And turn this off real quick. We. We'll see you next year. What do you want? You fire up the menu for Christmas. We'll. Let us. Let us know. Yeah, I would. If Brady did that to my house, he'd be standing outside for hours and be looking at me in the window. You gonna open the door? No. Song's only five minutes. I want to see what you do when it gets quiet. Is that a pot belly sandwich? Yep. Another thing I saw yesterday that I thought was great. Last night, the two guys sitting behind us at the Suns game, it was El Vallier night again. And then they did that lowrider thing. And I'm like, man, this is. I just don't understand how.

[A]

You gotta film it.

[E]

I'll film.

[A]

I want to see these out there doing it.

[E]

And the guy behind me goes. I don't even feel like they're like, we're supposed to be here anymore. And I'm like, oh, here we go. And I couldn't. I'd never turned around and looked at him, but I just heard him say that. And his friends, like, it was that little kid, his friend's next words, all this goddamn trans stuff. And I'm like, I don't even know where that came from. But, yeah, he's mad about the trans. Everybody's frustrated by, like, what's going on? I can't. I can't go to the game. It was. It was. Everything last night was in Spanish. And it's like, okay. It feels like it's targeting an audience that isn't you on purpose. And it isn't, it isn't authentic. It isn't like based in some sort of a. Isn't this great? It's this targeted, like, we have to do this. Yes. It feels like they feel like they have to do it. And again, I go back to the idea that if Utawatanabe, the Japanese player standing in front of a lowrider with his name in Old English doing a gang sign is how they introduce him in the beginning of the thing, it's like, all right, this is not an authentic. Everybody buys in feeling. It's. We have to involve ourselves. Fine, whatever. But the guy behind me was frustrated by it. I'm like, it's the second of the last three games where they've done El Valle night and everything's in Spanish and they do the lowrider thing and all that. And I started laughing because I was like, everybody's frustrated. No, everybody feels like, like they're being told you're wrong just for being like, oh, I don't understand what's going. Like, just not being, not getting it. It doesn't mean you hate it. It just means you're like, what's going on? If you didn't know El Valle night last night and you just showed up, you'd be like, oh, Phoenix is mostly Hispanic. Like, they even speak Spanish in the arena most of the time or play almost all exclusively Spanish songs and it's fine, but it's an. It just seems so heavy handed and unnecessarily. Don't you think? We're great. So everybody's kind of frustrated. So this whole year to me is going to be the year of just calling out the, the inauthentic bs. Cover your ass. We love you. Race, but not that race. But if we could do the, if, if they did Asian night and had like Benihana chef contests and things like. Because that's essentially what they do for El Valle. It's dojo night. Yeah, dojo night. You know, you have guys at halftime doing karate. It would be awful. So my favorite thing is when it blows up in someone's face. So this Instagram family filmed every single second of their kids birth or Christmas opening presents and their little fat daughter, somebody, one of the people who. Because when you put your life on display, you run the risk of having this happen. Their little fat daughter cracked open a gift and it was slim T. Somebody had sent her some, some. Let's calm this whole thing down a little bit. You're getting fat. A little girl thing. And the Internet went nuts. Oh my God, you're. This little girl is what an inappropriate gift for a little girl? I'm like, that's the most appropriate gift that girl got. Like the last thing she needs is fat shaming. Yeah, it isn't fat shaming. It's basically. No, that's there.

[A]

Why they.

[E]

Right, but here's some slim tea. You're going down the bad path here. If somebody sent her tons and tons of candy, that's an inappropriate gift, but we'll accept that. That's like, you know, she's heading towards the road to diabetes, but everybody be like, that's great. Good for. That's kids. Kids are supposed to do that. But somebody said, here's some Slim tea, you might want to think about this. And they lost their minds. Well, they thought the parents did it like these. And they're talking about the parents need to get these kids off Instagram. Like there's their first thing the parents didn't. It was one of the people who watches one of their videos that said, you know what your family needs to do is start paying attention to the fat one a little bit more. Start getting her on track. Little girl opens up the tea. Her face is worth it because she looks and she. I don't think she knows what it is. She's looking like tea. She didn't care that it was slim tea or chamomile or Earl Grey or whatever. She's just like, I got tea. This is a terrible gift. I think that's a great gift for a kid that the parents are just letting it balloon. They would have gotten litten up the other way too if it was like Mac and cheese in a bottle. No, they wouldn't have. No, they wouldn't have. You don't get in trouble. Oh my gosh. You don't get in trouble for that.

[D]

Parents aren't being responsible.

[E]

Absolutely. Do not get in trouble for that. Not at all. All I see is parents feeding their kids ranch covered chicken tenders and Mac and cheese and all that. That's all kids eat.

[A]

It shuts them up. That's why they do it.

[E]

Exactly. And if the big fat kid opened up Mac and cheese and started getting excited, it would be an Internet sensation. The other way no one would ever be mad. You have a big kid Slim tea. The parents almost lost her. They were like calling CPS and like, how dare you shame her. She's going, she's too big for four. She's. You can't have a roly poly four year old. Your other kids are okay. How come she's not up and about? It's a stage. Maybe not. The stage is she's eating too much ranch dressing. Why is that a bad present if the parents got it Spoiled kid got a peloton, right? If you got a kid a peloton who's a little bit fat and the other kids got Mac and cheese, you'd be like, well, the other kids needed the Mac and cheese. We all know it, but the Internet makes it so you have to say the right things. Little fat kid got slim teeth. Other kids got all sorts of good stuff. That's a good present. I think if. And they were mad at the parents. I was upset when I found out it wasn't the parents that gave it to me, because that would have shown that the parents actually cared about her. Like, look, I'm worried. You're pre diabetic at age four. That's a bad road. The kid's got to be 115 pounds. Tiny, little short kid, but was round, little slim Te. You know, maybe some wilderness athlete, lean life. Get a little of that in there. What's this? Oh, we both know what this is. Look at you. Maybe not a stocking stuffer, you know, per se, but the parents shouldn't. So I got upset because the parents weren't the one. They put out a press release. We didn't give it to her. It was one of the people who watches it. When you put your life up on the Internet, expect somebody to go, you know, I'm seeing things you're not paying attention to. Your kid's a beast. If your kid had horrific skin acne top to bottom, and you, you know, we're filming them and putting them on Instagram every day, you could probably expect somebody firing over a little Accutane as a gift for Christmas. Probably like, you know what, let's help this kid out. I don't see you.

[B]

That's kind of your point of putting it out there, isn't it?

[E]

That's the whole thing. If you're gonna make it a big public display, somebody's gonna go, I'm noticing something, but I disagree. If you gave that kid Mac and cheese and ice cream and all, it.

[F]

Would be a yay.

[E]

It's the happiest kid in the world. And then somebody might say, you know why? She's a little bit over. How dare you. You can't say it the other way. Insulin. Probably not a great stocking stuffer, but she should get used to it because that's what she's gonna need.

[A]

Soon.

[E]

But the parents were very quick to say, we didn't do this. Okay? They had their thing. So the family posted a second video of the little girl saying, despite what the Internet might think, we're not the ones who gave her slim tea. It was a supporter of our video page. All right, well, then tip of the cap to the supporter of the video page who said, I'm going to send that fat kid slim tea. These parents aren't. They don't care. It says the other kids recognize that the gift was inappropriate. The dad behind the camera seems undeterred as he urges his other child to be grateful for the gift that was given. This one says, it's a child. It's not her fault that she's overweight in the first place. She's not deciding what she's doing. This is disgusting. Bullying her. How? Slim tea Bullying. What if it tastes great? What if the kid was really into slim tea?

[A]

It's probably some other pig that wrote that.

[E]

Oh, yeah, no, it's. That's exactly right. It didn't work. That's true. That's exactly it. Brett just says it all so clearly. Another pig probably did that.

[D]

Merry effing holidays. From the big red radio p. D.

[E]

It's John holmberg here, and it's time to talk about TVs Doug Hopkins of my home group and doughotkins.com I got a call from Doug the other day thanking me for leading so many of you guys his direction. He told me a story of a listener who had been through quite an ordeal and had a house they absolutely had to sell to feel like they were getting back to a normal place in life. You just never know when simple business transactions can actually change someone's life. So you want to deal with somebody great. TV's Doug Hopkins. That's your guy. So if you want to sell your house, start the process right now online@doug hopkins.com or grab that phone and sing Hopkins 1-800-channel now.

[D]

All right, HMS podcast time again. It'll let you know where to go for some great comedy in the valley this week. All right, as you probably already know, we've got the big holmberg after dark show this Friday, December 12th. An amazing list of guests will be a part of it all. You're not going to want to miss this one, but you better get those tickets fast because this one sells out. Holmberg after dark Friday, December 12th at Stand up live for the complete lineups and for today tickets go to standuplive.com desertridgeimprov.com and tempeimprov.com Holmberg's Morning Sickness.

[A]

This segment is brought to you guys by Action Ride Shop. Now if you're thinking about heading up north to hit the slopes for some skiing, some boarding, or if you're just gonna stay down here in the valley and do some mountain biking, Action Ride Shop is your place to be. They got all the gear and all the knowledge you're gonna need, so check them out [e-mail] or better yet, just go visit them over there on Gilbert Road and Southern. It's Action Ride Shop.

[E]

We had a Megan 911 moment last night with Reggie and we're eating. Nobody believes it until they happen in front of him. Reggie was like, I seen one live. Megan was trying to organize her costume for the zombie walk this weekend, right? Hers is going to be some type of medical professional zombie. She's got scrubs like her and her friend Dr. Zombies, right? So she's texting with her mom and.

[F]

She goes, guys, can I ask you a question?

[E]

What does it mean?

[F]

What's the thing that hangs around the doctors that he checks your heart? That's a telescope.

[E]

Yep, that's exactly it. Alright, let's just take a look here. Into deep space for that heartbeat. Reggie's like, oh my God, we had one.

[F]

I knew it wasn't right. That's why I asked.

[E]

A stethoscope.

[F]

Oh God. Don't say anything.

[E]

Look.

[D]

Land ho.

[E]

Alright, let's take a look here at your heart.

[F]

Wow.

[E]

I see Uranus. I'm kidding. I'm using the wrong thing.

[F]

Get on that telescope and tell me how my heart's doing.

[E]

I don't understand what you're saying. This guy just emailed me this. He says, Omega911. He said, I couldn't wait to send you this this morning. I got home from work last night during the thunderstorm, jumped in the shower and my fiance walks in the bathroom five minutes after.

[F]

What are you doing?

[E]

I said, what the hell does it look like I'm doing? Taking a shower.

[F]

Really? Are you sure you want to shower right now when there's lightning?

[E]

Are you serious? I said back, you never know. I said, I know one thing for sure. I'm telling John Holmberg about this first thing in the morning to ruin your life. Apparently in her mind, the house is not impervious to a lightning strike. The pipes and everything else not in her defense, I've heard of this, but I think it's garbage now. Don't go outside and do the outdoor shower stand in a puddle thing. That's dumb. With a one iron. Don't shower with a one iron. I guess that's how many times you've been told that. And you just don't lift. I do it every time there's lightning. Oh, yeah, you're praying to get out of it. Bring it, God.

[F]

Bring it.

[E]

What you got me to Lisa. That's all you have. We had a great moment this week. Another mega 911 occurred up in show low. Went up there with Megan's brother hanging out up there, and I had some bread. We ate up on the deck. Throw the bread out. Let the birds eat.

[F]

And Megan goes, oh, no, don't do it. Why won't that make bears?

[E]

And I said, let me tell you something about that. First off, that sentence. When. When two bears love each other very much. Two bears love each other very much. They make bears. Bread and ground and water don't make.

[F]

Bears, but one of the bread makes bears.

[E]

I would never eat bread if that was a threat. A bear seed, man. I tell you what, that bread ain't fitting right. But it might be the greatest phrase of all time.

[F]

We better not. Won't that make bears?

[E]

I don't think so. You're gonna be in the bathroom a long time. I'm no scientist.

[D]

Arizona's most powerful rock radio station.

[E]

He said fully erect 98. It's John Holberg here from the morning sickness and it's time to about TVs Doug Hopkins of my home group and Doug Hopkins dot com. Have you ever thought to yourself, I'm going to sell my house? Of course you have. And one reason or another, you just didn't do it. Probably because it's a hassle when you try to make a real estate deal. What if I could say you can sell that house? The day after you say the words, I want to sell my house. Doug's been at this for over 25 years, and that's why he's still on top of the Hill. TVs Doug Hopkins can handle everything. Won't move the price or you get $5,000. What do you do? Start the process right now@doug hopkins.com or.

[F]

Grab the phone and sing Hopkins 1-800-sale now.

[D]

All right, HMS Podcast, time to let you know where to go for some great comedy in the valley this week. Head north to Desert Ridge to catch Chris Turner from AGT and Heather Posternach perform in Tempe at the Improv. You've got Matt Friend and local girl Jessie Jet Ski Johnson doing their sets in downtown at Stand Up Live. Enjoy the comedy of Timmy no Breaks Lunel and Jay Pharoah entertaining you this week. For the complete lineups and for Tickets, go to standuplive.com desertridgeimprov.com and tempeimprov.com.