Vault: Behind The Scenes: Spotlight on Jeff

Summary

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The Bert Show: Vault - Behind The Scenes: Spotlight on Jeff

Air Date: June 4, 2026
Hosts: Bert, Jeff, Jen, Jessica, Wendy, Tracy, and callers

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Episode Overview

This episode goes behind the scenes at The Bert Show, focusing on Jeff’s much-anticipated return after a prolonged and publicly fraught contract negotiation. The cast opens up about the emotional toll the situation took on both themselves and their listeners, the support they received, and the tricky dynamics of fan reactions and online commentary. The tone is candid, occasionally tense, but ultimately grateful and celebratory.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Emotional Toll of Jeff’s Contract Negotiations

• Bert opens the show with a sense of relief and exhaustion now that Jeff’s “fight is over.”

  “The fight is over. It feels weird in studio this morning. I gotta tell you … I thought it would be celebratory. … I think I’m exhausted.” — Bert [01:02]

• Jeff describes his own mix of relief and anticlimax after months of stressful negotiation:

  “Once it was done and I put it on my scanner and sent it to my agent, I was like, huh, well, let me see what emails I gotta get under. … Because it was just finally. But I hope I don’t want that to take away from the happiness that I feel … that I’m here, that I’m back.” — Jeff [01:27]

• This ordeal took from July to just now, with the last 30 days being particularly intense.

2. Listener and Team Support

• Jeff admits surprise at the overwhelming listener support, referencing a joking “Save Ferris campaign” and feeling humbled:

  “I really am humbled and embarrassed and surprised at the response from all the listeners. … I was surprised. And that was really, really humbling.” — Jeff [03:12]

• Both Bert and Jeff reflect on outpourings of support within the show’s team and from fans, even while some fans went to extremes, including boycotting.

3. Impact of Public Perception and Online Commentary

• The cast openly discusses how certain members, notably Wendy and producer Tracy, were unfairly targeted:

  “For whatever reason, she had the target on her back. … I hated the fact that people call up and go, I’m boycotting the show.” — Jeff [05:01] “She got really vicious emails from people … like it was her fault.” — Jeff, about Tracy [06:07]

• Jen acknowledges the toll on newer members like Wendy:

  “I think with Wendy being the … it was like, you know, going after the weakest dog in the pack or something.” — Jen [14:05] “At this stage in my time with the Bert show, it rolls off my back. But I feel like because you’re newer, that it affects you more and it hurts your feelings more because you don’t have that thick skin yet.” — Jen [14:19]

• Jessica: “Trust me, that hurts my feelings enough. I know [negative posts] exist, but no, I didn’t go to read them. So don’t worry. You’re wasting your time if you’re writing it, because I’m not reading them.” [15:11]

4. Decision Points and Near Departure

• Several turning points nearly ended Jeff’s time on the show:
  • Removal from the website was seen as a major indicator by the team the situation was “real” and potentially final.

    “For me, it was when they took me off the website.” — Jeff [09:38] “That was it for me too. … when I was on the Disney cruise and I got the text messages saying that Jeff was taken off the website. … My first thought was that, well, this thing must be done … and my second thought was, if it’s not done and they’ve done this, then I seriously have to consider going back to Atlanta and saying to Jeff, look, do you really want to be part of the show?” — Bert [09:41, 09:59]

• Bert:

  “My feeling was I didn’t want him walking through that studio door with so much animosity built up for corporate that he couldn’t be fun Jeff anymore…” [10:55]

• Jen describes her emotional reaction to Jeff’s absence:

  “I lost it. I was like, in here, like a sniveling, crying mess.” [09:20]

5. The Cast’s Reflections on Group Dynamics and Returning to Normal

• Jeff gives a humorous take on the benefits of his “forced” vacation:

  “I had 20 consecutive days with no alarm, which is the longest since 2000.” — Jeff [07:32] “It’s ridiculous. It’s so awesome.” — Jeff [07:42]

• The crew jokes and discusses possible contract perks, e.g., arriving late or getting a raise.

  “What would you guys hate me for more in my contract, if I got double my salary or they allowed me to come in late just one or two days later?” — Jeff [07:18] “Take the money, it would divide the team.” — Bert [07:28]

• The team discusses how they'd mentally set an end date, after which “we had to move on.”

  “The finish line for everybody, I think, was Friday. If it wasn’t done by Friday, then mentally we had to move on.” — Bert [08:05]

6. Candid Honesty and Transparency with Listeners

• A caller commends the show’s transparency, prompting Bert to reflect on when and why they were honest about the ordeal:

  “The honesty that you guys have provided your listeners with is incomparable. I don’t know of any other station … that would be this honest.” — Caller [12:09] “Once Jeff was taken off of the website, I was forced to have to talk about it on the air. … Had he not been taken off … I don’t know that I would have talked about it.” — Bert [12:35]

• Both hosts and listeners agree that support for Jeff should not mean attacking other cast members.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “For me, it was when they took me off the website.” — Jeff [09:38]
• “I really am humbled and embarrassed and surprised at the response from all the listeners.” — Jeff [03:12]
• “There was definitely an end date there, but it would have been extended had you said we’re still negotiating … we’d have done anything we could to get you back.” — Bert [08:15]
• “The only reason I’m in this chair now is because of the people in this room.” — Jeff [08:21]
• "If you have your heart set on your dream car ... and by the time you actually get behind the wheel, it's more of a finally and less of a yay." — Jeff [01:27]
• “At this stage in my time with The Bert Show, it rolls off my back … But I feel like because you’re newer, that it affects you more and it hurts your feelings more because you don’t have that thick skin yet.” — Jen [14:19]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:02 – Bert and Jeff describe the feeling in-studio after Jeff’s ordeal
• 03:12 – Jeff expresses gratitude for support
• 05:01 – Online drama and fan campaigns; Wendy and Tracy catching heat
• 06:07 – Tracy’s struggles with harsh listener emails
• 07:18 – Team jokes about contract perks (salary vs. arriving late)
• 09:38 – Jeff (and others) realize the situation is dire when he’s removed from the website
• 12:09 – Caller praises the show’s honesty with listeners
• 14:05 – Jen reflects on thick skin and online commentary’s impact
• 15:11 – Jessica shares her method of coping with criticism

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Conclusion

In this behind-the-scenes episode, the cast of The Bert Show lays bare the personal and professional impacts of Jeff’s contract standoff, highlighting the value of team camaraderie, authentic listener connection, and hard-learned lessons about dealing with the sometimes toxic side of fandom. Both honest and humorous, the episode serves as a sincere look at real life behind the radio mic.

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Transcript

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[Jeff]

It feels good to get good news. It feels good to Geico the bird show.

[Bert]

The fight is over. It feels weird in studio this morning. I gotta tell you, at least for me, like, it doesn't feel as celebratory as I thought it would. And I think it's just because it's been such a long, hard fight, sort of watching Jeff go through this whole thing with corporate that I think I'm exhausted. I mean, if I am, you must be totally numb to the whole thing.

[Jeff]

Yeah, I think somebody was. I was talking to a friend of mine about it, and they said something that made a lot of sense. Like, if you have your heart set on your dream car, right, and you know how much it costs, and you'd save up as much, you know, for a down payment, and you go in there and you go to get it, but then it's sold out. And so then they gotta order it. And then when it comes in, it's more expensive and you gotta get some more money. And then maybe you're gonna bank financing screws up and everything gets all screwed up. Even though it's your dream car and you're so happy to be in it and driving it that by the time you actually get behind the wheel, it's more of a finally and less of a yay. And they use that with me because I was like, once it was done, and by done, I mean signs, like ink on paper. Once that part was done, like, I expected to be like, yeah, like I seriously expected to sign it. And then, like, get up from my desk and go grab Jessica and call friends and be, you know, down at Taco Mac drinking beers all afternoon, like, you know, doing that, you know, I'd like to buy a round for the whole bar, which I would do at like 11:15 when there's only seven people there. But still, you know what I mean? Like, that's what I expected. And then what I think happened is once it was done and. And I put it on my scanner and I sent it to my agent, I was like, huh, well, let me see what emails I gotta get under. You know, what I've gotta do, work I've gotta do. Because it was just finally. But I hope I don't want that to take away from the happiness that I feel. Not only that it's over, but that I'm here, that I'm back. You know, it's a bummer that it was something that took. I mean, it was. The negotiation period for my contract started on July 1st. So this has been the way these things generally work are they move very, very slowly. And then usually the last 60 days or so, they start to speed up. And in my case, in the last 30 days, they went weird. So for the past 30 days, it's really the only thing I've been thinking about, like, four weeks. And it's weird because I was talking and two things about the whole process. One, I really am humbled and embarrassed and surprised at the response from all the listeners. And frankly, a couple of you in this room who were supportive about the whole thing, because generally I'm the guy where people, you know, people call up and go, God, why do you even have Jeff on the radio? You know what I mean? And it was once Rodney Ho from the AJC told me he was writing a blog on it. I was like, oh, man. And that didn't happen. There was more support than. I was surprised. And that was really, really humbling. And then it almost became laughable when it. I call it the Save Ferris campaign. But I think that's really, really cool. That was the first thing. And the second thing that upsets me so much is I am independent and private and just like to take care of business and keep my head down. And I'm having phone conversations with Burt while he's on a Disney cruise ship with his kids.

[Bert]

It was a nice escape, I was

[Jeff]

gonna say, from Disney. Now some of those phone calls were Burt just calling, going, hey, what are you doing? And I'm like, ah, nothing. I'm just about to go out with Jesse. He's like, oh, that's cool.

[Bert]

Please don't hang up.

[Jeff]

And he would call me and we wouldn't even really talk about anything, work but that. And then there was some drama with Wendy because people on the blogs, and not only Wendy, for whatever reason, she had the target on her back. But people said stuff about all of y'.

[Caller]

All.

[Jeff]

And I hated. Burt brought it up earlier, but I hated the fact that people call up and go, I'm boycotting the show. Because I would tell you if I wasn't part of this show, don't boycott it. You know what I mean? It's not worth it. You still listen to all these guys. So I felt bad that there was, you know, people saying that I'm the

[Bert]

reason it was so out of control. We felt so out of control too. Cause everybody in here wanted Jeff back. So to see the one or two posts from people saying, I'm boycotting the show until they bring him back. We all wanted him here. So it's like you were punishing us for fighting for him. And we've been fighting for him.

[Jeff]

Of course, Tracy told me because when we refer to her on the air, we often say producer Tracy. And then I think we've all alluded to the fact that Tracy runs the show. She said that she got really, really vicious emails from people going, why aren't you bringing Jeff back?

[Jen]

Like it was her fault.

[Jeff]

Yes. And she, she copied me on one of them. And it started out, she's like, I have nothing to do with it. Please don't hate me. So, I mean, I, like Bert said, I'm thrilled to be back. I'm happy. I feel bad that I'm not more enthusiastic about it and I'm not here with bottles of champagne for everybody. To be totally honest with you. I think that's probably going to happen.

[Bert]

Oh yeah, I got some boots.

[Jessica]

Bert's always got these in the studio.

[Jen]

Nice.

[Jeff]

Nicely done.

[Jen]

You did bring some.

[Jeff]

Very cool.

[Jen]

So that's awesome.

[Jeff]

Yeah. But I have a feeling that, you know, tomorrow's gonna be, you know, today's gonna be getting organized. Cause my agent said I was not allowed to work for whatever legal, whatever reasons. Like I couldn't even respond to a work related email because that could cloud things or whatever legal crap. So I have to play catch up today and probably tomorrow. And then I think what's going to happen is Monday morning, you know, today I came in at what, 7 o' clock or 7:30 whenever y' all talked about it. Which by the way, that's in my contract that on Fridays I don't come in till 7:30. That's cool, right?

[Jen]

You want to put that Champagne away.

[Jeff]

Take that back. What would you guys hate me for more in my contract, if I got double my salary or they allowed me to come in late just one or

[Bert]

two days later, take the money, it

[Jeff]

would divide the team.

[Jessica]

Sleep is more valuable.

[Jeff]

I actually thought that it would get to the point because I had 20 consecutive days with no alarm, which is the longest since 2000.

[Jessica]

What does it feel like?

[Jeff]

It's ridiculous. It's so awesome.

[Jessica]

God, I want that feeling.

[Jeff]

And I actually thought, when's your contract?

[Jessica]

When is this segment over there?

[Jen]

Because this is starting to rub it in.

[Sherwin Williams Announcer]

Thanks.

[Jen]

Guess what? We've been working all week once.

[Jeff]

Welcome back. I thought that if this stretched into anything longer than this week, you guys would start to have hatred for me for that.

[Jen]

Oh, it was close.

[Bert]

I think we all just knew that. I mean, sort of the finish line for everybody, I think, was Friday. If it wasn't done by Friday, then mentally we had to move on, you know.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Bert]

So there was definitely an end date there, but it would have been extended had you said we're still negotiating. Would have been extended till Monday. We'd have done anything we could to get you back.

[Jeff]

Right. And I appreciate that. And I said this earlier, and 1000% of the reason that I'm in this chair now is because of the people in this room. Like, I remember telling you guys before. Before Christmas. Right. Like a week before. You know, Bert knew a couple weeks before that that it was starting to get hairy. It had gone. It had gotten weird a couple points, but then, like, it really started to get hairy. So I kind of started to fill Bert in. And then there was really a point where I'm like, I think the. You know, I was off the whole week of Christmas vacation and. And Friday before I. There were indications that that would have been my last show.

[Bert]

It wasn't believable, though. Like, I know you and I had talked about it, but I didn't believe it. Like, when Jessica did. Jessica shops for the last time. Like, on a Thursday, I think, right

[Jeff]

before the break or something before the break.

[Bert]

And you and I discussed that that could have been her last one. They were words, but I didn't really believe it.

[Jeff]

Right.

[Jessica]

It never sunk in for me.

[Bert]

So, I mean, I get.

[Jessica]

You know, I'm so glad you're back, but I never. I don't know if I ever really truly thought you wouldn't be.

[Jen]

You took me Monday the second time we about it, because we talked about it Monday morning when you weren't here the first time at 7:30. Bert addressed it and I was like, Melissa. I was, like, not even feeling it. We repeated the conversation and talked about it again a separate time at like, 9:30. And I, like, lost it. I was like, in here, like a sniveling, crying mess.

[Jeff]

For me, it was when they took me off the website.

[Bert]

For me too, I thought you were.

[Jeff]

Which, by the way, for the record, this had been obviously planned for like 90 days because nothing happens on our website without, like, somebody. Somebody had to have submitted that request in early September.

[Bert]

I don't know. There might have been a lot of. Might have been a lot of motivation there.

[Jeff]

Depends on where the call comes from.

[Bert]

But that was it for me too. The same day, when I was on the Disney cruise and I got the text messages saying that Jeff was taken off the website, which I didn't know anything about until I got the texts. I had two thoughts. My first thought was that, well, this thing must be done, and I just haven't heard about it yet. And my second thought was, if it's not done and they've done this, then I seriously have to consider going back to Atlanta and saying to Jeff, look, do you really want to be part of the show?

[Jeff]

And you told me on the phone. And I didn't realize this at the time, but told me on the phone Monday or Tuesday when we had a longer conversation. Bert told me that at one point he was going to call. He was going to tell me that he would understand if I had to go in a different direction, which was really. Yeah. Obviously would have been very important to me. But up until that point, he had said over and over, it's gonna work out. It's gonna work. It's gonna be a pain in the ass, but it's gonna work out.

[Bert]

My feeling was I didn't want him walking through that studio door with so much animosity built up for corporate that he couldn't be fun Jeff anymore, that we lost that Jeff. So I was planning on coming back and saying, I understand the negotiations went horribly, and you can't possibly continue this relationship even though we're family. You can't live in the.

[Jeff]

And you said that you sent that as a text or something that I never got. Had I got that I might not be here.

[Bert]

Destiny, dude.

[Jeff]

Yep.

[Jen]

That is totally destiny.

[Jeff]

Maybe fate. Give it a few months.

[Jen]

On the day that website thing happened, we all did think that there was a hot pocket of joy down the hall, maybe.

[Jeff]

Oh, without a doubt.

[Bert]

And I just realized he's never worked that fast.

[Jeff]

I just Got an email. Like, if we see him with like a splint on one of his fingers, it's from typing, it's from hitting the delete key so fast. And then I got an email last night.

[Jen]

You want me to come back from my vacation early?

[Jeff]

Ok.

[Bert]

It's because I have to take Jeff off the website. I'll be right there.

[Jeff]

I'll do it from home. Actually, you know what? I've had, for about a year and a half, I've had a version of the website with him. Not on it. Just go to my computer and Hit upload file two.

[Bert]

Here's Juliana. Good morning. You're on Q100. Hi.

[Caller]

Hey, Bert show. How are you guys?

[Jeff]

Okay.

[Bert]

How are you?

[Caller]

First of all, I wanted to say that you guys are fantastic. And second of all, Jeff, I'm really glad you're back. And I just. The honesty that you guys have provided your listeners with is incomparable. I don't know of any other station, any other DJs, any other people in almost any business that would be this honest with their listeners, their customers, their guests, whoever. And I think that that says a lot for you guys.

[Bert]

Well, thank you.

[Caller]

And it also says a lot for how you feel about your listeners.

[Bert]

Well, let me be honest about your honesty comment, because once Jeff was taken off of the website, I was forced to have to talk about it on the air. Had he not been taken off that website and the negotiations were still going on this week, if I had to be 100% honest with you, I don't know that I would have talked about it.

[Jeff]

Just say I was on vacation for an extra week. Nobody.

[Bert]

I think everybody would have just implied that you were. You were taking one more week of vacation. But since they sort of forced that, then I thought it was important to tell you guys exactly what was going on.

[Caller]

And I also wanted to say one thing. If there were listeners out there that wanted to bad mouth any of you guys and boycott any of you guys, I say let them go. It's their loss. Let him go. Listen to somebody else.

[Bert]

Yeah, I've got a lot of thoughts about that too. I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of this stuff.

[Caller]

But thank you so much for being honest. And Jeff, I'm really glad you're back.

[Jeff]

Thank you. I'm glad to be back.

[Jen]

That was a really good call.

[Bert]

For some reason, some people thought that a message of support for Jeff had to include a shot at another member of the show or the show itself. And it doesn't have to be that way. Like, on one hand, I'm very happy, and I take a lot of pride that you guys are so passionate about this show. But to some. Some of the people that put on Facebook that were hammering away on Wendy or hammering away on the show or saying that they were gonna boycott was just so out of hand. Like, we all love Jeff. There's no reason to love. Because you love Jeff doesn't mean you don't have to like Jen, you know?

[Jen]

Right.

[Jeff]

Yeah.

[Jen]

And I think. I think the four of us have a thicker skin with all of that because we've been doing it for longer. And I think with Wendy being the. It was like. It was like, you know, going after the weakest dog in the pack or something. Like, you know, people are angry about that.

[Sherwin Williams Announcer]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Like, people, like, sort of, like, attacking her. I don't know. I mean, I've got a thicker skin. And just because we've been doing it for longer, we've been receiving that kind of criticism for longer. Trust me. I get the emails of people who count my ums in an entertainment buzz, and I'm like, sorry, I was really upset last night and cried myself to sleep. So I didn't have a whole lot of sleep or whatever it is that made me not great on the air. People still would attack me that day. And it's been going on for a long, long time. So I'm kind of used to it. And I kind of just either delete those emails, don't read those website posts, or whatever. And it really. At this stage in my time with the Birch show, it rolls off my back. But I feel like because you're newer, that it affects you more and it hurts your feelings more because you don't have that thick skin yet. And that really infuriates me about people. I mean, really get a life. If all you can do is sit behind a keyboard and write nasty things about other people, go get a life.

[Jeff]

That's good, Jen. There was only four ums.

[Jen]

Thank you.

[Jeff]

You're welcome.

[Jessica]

I mean, it definitely hurts my feelings. I haven't read any of your posts. I know they're. I know they exist. Trust me, that hurts my feelings enough. I know they exist, but no, I didn't go to read them. So don't worry. You're wasting your time if you're writing it, because I'm not reading them.

[Bert]

And I'll just say this, you know, that I said this morning also, there haven't been a whole bunch of emails that have been fun to read. The last couple of days, even if you thought that you were emailing and you were being complimentary by saying that you know the show will go on without Jeff and it's been fine the last couple of days and you don't like Jeff, that to me, that's insulting to me and to us also. So there wasn't any comfort in those. The emails that we got that said that you weren't listening to the show anymore, there certainly wasn't any comfort in those either. So it just hasn't been a lot of fun the last couple of days. And I'll tell you this, I am taking a break from email for the rest of the week. I just can't do it anymore, man. I really can't.

[Jeff]

I'm just saying I did because I know Bert, you said you didn't pull, so I just randomly selected some blog posts, you know, so in case you guys missed him. Like this one from Bert Hater.

[Bert]

No, I'm good, thanks.

[Jeff]

What about the one from Cooter Burger? Guy's name's Cooterburger?

[Bert]

No, not so much.

[Jessica]

Is that his first and last name?

[Jeff]

Yeah, no, Cooter, I think is his first name.

[Bert]

Because if you start reading those, I'll start reading something that I got about you this week. So if you're ready, then I'm ready.

[Jeff]

And then I got ones about me, too. Jeff is brilliant. And the only reason I listen to the show. I pulled that one. I was totally. I didn't just pull them about you guys.

[Bert]

It's the vert show.

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