It's a Numbers Game: The Numbers Behind The Tony Gonzales Controversy & The Rise of AI Anxiety

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: “It's a Numbers Game — The Numbers Behind The Tony Gonzales Controversy & The Rise of AI Anxiety”

Episode Date: February 25, 2026
Podcast Host: Ryan Girdusky (Guest host, “A Numbers Game” segment)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, “A Numbers Game” hosted by Ryan Girdusky takes the lead on breaking down two major topics gripping American headlines: the unfolding scandal around Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales and the increasingly urgent conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) anxiety, revealed through fresh polling data. With characteristic candor and depth, Ryan analyzes new evidence in the Gonzales scandal, how it's rippling through Republican politics, and why AI is becoming a sleeper political issue for 2028. The show wraps with an engaging Ask Me Anything segment addressing the high-profile conservatorship of Wendy Williams.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Tony Gonzales Controversy: Numbers, Power, and Repercussions

Starts at [02:45]

Summary:
Ryan gives a comprehensive update on the Tony Gonzales scandal, recapping the tragic demise of a staffer and examining newly revealed messages that solidify allegations of an inappropriate and predatory relationship.

Main Points:

• Background Recap ([02:50]):

  • In September, Gonzales’ staffer Regina Santos Aviles died after a tragic suicide, reportedly driven by an affair gone wrong.
  • Gonzales, married with six children (“Yes, this woman named Angel gave him six children and this is how he’s chosen to treat her in public.” [03:28]), denied any affair and insisted he had nothing to do with her death.

• Leaked Texts & Escalation ([03:50]):

  • 24 Site News reveals text conversations between Gonzales and Aviles proving the relationship; Gonzales persistently solicited explicit photos and engaged in sexual conversations, despite repeated refusals.
  • Respectful of aversions, Aviles repeatedly rebuffs Gonzales:
    • “This is going too far, boss.” [05:32]
    • Gonzales continues: “He asked her at one point, do you like anal?” [05:43]
    • Aviles, pushed to discomfort, questions his sobriety: “Are you sober?” [06:00]

• Abuse of Power & Workplace Dynamics ([06:10]):

  • The conversation underscores the problematic power dynamic between Gonzales and staff, raising the alarm re: workplace harassment by elected officials.
  • Other female staffers report inappropriate late-night texts, if not outright sexual content, and favoritism towards Aviles.

• Consequences & Political Fallout ([09:30]):

  • Republican women—including Lauren Boebert, Anna Paulina Luna, Mary Miller, and Nancy Mace—are calling for Gonzales’ resignation or withdrawal.
  • GOP male figures like Brandon Gill, Tim Burchett, and Eli Crane join the chorus; the Freedom Caucus publicly backs Gonzales' opponent.
  • Speaker Johnson hesitates to drop support, citing the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House (“They can't afford to lose literally one single seat.” [12:50]).
  • The NRCC, who heavily invested in Gonzales’ previous race, is now withholding support (“This year, nothing.” [14:15])
  • Ryan’s take: “Republican voters in this district should start weeding out the worst of the political class. And Tony Gonzalez is the worst of the worst.” [15:00]

Notable Quotes:

• On power dynamics:
  “She’s reminding him continually in the conversation, you are my boss. Hint, hint, this is inappropriate. And the more she said no, the more he wanted it.” — Ryan Girdusky [06:25]
• On accountability:
  “When conversations over abuse of that power are happening, it really is of the utmost importance that people who can hold them accountable do hold them accountable.” — Ryan Girdusky [15:00]

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2. Fresh Polls Show AI Anxiety Is Becoming a Populist Time Bomb

Starts at [19:28]

Summary:
Ryan draws from a recent Echelon Insights poll to analyze how anxieties around AI are spreading across the electorate and how political parties—especially Republicans—are misreading public sentiment.

Main Points:

• Poll Insights:

  • “How concerned are you that AI will eliminate your job in the next five years?” 33% yes, 63% no. [20:15]
  • “What type of jobs are at risk?” 41% say white-collar, 13% blue-collar, 36% equally under threat. [20:30]
  • 59% believe policymakers aren’t doing enough to regulate AI; only 24% think regulation goes too far. [20:43]
  • Building a data center: 35% support, 46% oppose. However, support drops sharply if the data center is intended to train AI.

• Public Worry & Political Context:

  • AI is rapidly becoming a major concern, especially for “recent college graduates and young people worried about their future.”
  • “This is actually really, really important to everyone’s future. And it pains me to say this, Republicans for the most part are missing the moment.” [21:45]

• Partisan Divide in AI Policy:

  • Democrats are beginning to pivot, calling for more regulation and voter protection; noted 2028 presidential contenders are suddenly reversing positions to address populist fears (e.g., Pritzker, Shapiro, Wes Moore).
  • Bernie Sanders leads the call for a moratorium but now governors in swing states are echoing regulation demands.
  • “Republicans do not need to go full Bernie Sanders...but polling is very obvious. They need an answer. And the answer can’t be ‘We have to beat China.’ No one cares.” [24:20-25:02]

Notable Quotes:

• Frustration with political priorities:
  “This is the conversation we should be having... But no, they want to talk about Trump’s latest breakdown or illegal aliens or is this streamer gay, or what’s going on with the royal family? No, this is actually really really important.” — Ryan Girdusky [21:43]
• On missed opportunity for Republicans:
  “There’s a lot of gray before there’s a party consensus that we are living in right now.… They are completely asleep. Wake up, people.” — Ryan Girdusky [26:40]

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3. Ask Me Anything: The Wendy Williams Conservatorship

Starts at [31:09]

Summary:
Ryan answers a listener’s question about Wendy Williams and her conservatorship, sharing behind-the-scenes details, personal reflections, and critique of New York’s strict guardianship laws.

Main Points:

• Wendy’s history as a broadcasting pioneer, her struggles after her husband’s infidelity, public decline, and subsequent conservatorship.
• “It’s truly insane that somebody can lose their freedom... not from a family member... From a bank. A bank took this on and put her in a financial guardianship.” [33:47]
• Updates on her living situation: involuntary residency in a dementia care facility, ongoing legal battles for control over her finances, and upcoming possibilities for a jury trial.
• Ryan calls the current guardianship “extreme,” given her age and the circumstances.

Notable Quotes:

• On Wendy Williams:
  “She was one of the best people in daytime broadcasting since like Oprah Winfrey... It’s an incredibly hard job to sit in a place on a chair and talk to yourself. Talk completely alone for 30 minutes. I do it three times a week sometimes and it is very difficult.” — Ryan Girdusky [31:23]

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Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• Gonzales asks, “Do you like anal?” & staffer’s pushback: [05:43]
• Other female staffers corroborate pattern of inappropriate texts: [07:15]
• Lauren Boebert’s public call for resignation (“Resign” tweet): [10:35]
• Poll results on AI and job anxiety: [20:15]
• Ryan’s critique of both Democrats and Republicans’ approach to AI: [23:47]
• Ryan’s deep dive into the Wendy Williams story: [31:09]

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Tone & Style

Ryan Girdusky’s segment maintains a blend of incisive analysis, sharp critique, and conversational humor. He does not hesitate to call out hypocrisy and incompetence, using both empathy and exasperation to animate the stories. His language is direct, sometimes irreverent, always rooted in observable facts and political reality.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode is packed with timely analysis of two simmering issues that cut across politics and culture. First, the Tony Gonzales scandal receives a thorough fact-based breakdown, emphasizing not just personal failings but the larger questions of accountability and power abuse in American politics. The second half elevates AI anxiety from Silicon Valley chatter to a bread-and-butter voter issue, warning parties—especially Republicans—that dismissive attitudes will cost them at the ballot box. The show closes on a moving note, using Wendy Williams’ case to highlight the perils of unchecked financial guardianship and the challenges of mental health decline in the public eye.

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Transcript

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[Ryan Graduski]

welcome back to A Numbers Game with Ryan Graduski. I'm so glad you're here because I have a lot to tell you about. So on last Friday show, I told you about a controversy engulfing Congressman Representative Tony Gonzalez from Texas. Texas. He represents the district on the border. And since that episode came out, things have gotten gone from bad to worse for the Texas congressman. For those who missed the episode, which why are you missing episodes like and subscribe. Am I, am I right? But if those who missed the episode, here's a quick recap. In September, a staffer named Regina Santos Avilez died. A staff of his died from setting herself on fire. Fire after she claimed that an affair with Gonzalez had gone wrong and he ghosted her and that her entire life was destroyed. Her husband and her had broken up. He had taken the child and, and she set herself on fire, unfortunately, in front of her mother. Anyway, Gonzalez claimed that in the wake of her death that he had absolutely nothing to do with it, that, you know, he was nothing to do with it. There wasn't an affair. Now remember, Tony Gonzalez is a married man. He has a wife named angel and they have six children together. Yes, this he and angel, this woman named angel gave him six children and this is how he's chosen to treat her in public. 24 site news reported that new text messages have been revealed between Tony Gonzalez and the deceased staffer. And it's not only clear that there, yes, there was a relationship, but he was the one incentivizing the relationship. He was the one pushing the relationship. Even when she said no. Messages from May 2024 reveal that Congressman Gonzalez requested, quote, sexy pictures from the staffer and she declined not once, but four times. From the article, it says this, the message show the exchange between the beginning around midnight in May 2024. First of all, why are you texting a staffer at midnight? Unless it's I've been robbed at gunpoint, I'm in the hospital some, unless it's a literally an emergency. Why are you messaging an employee at midnight? That's first of all, with Gonzalez asking Santos Aviles to send him, quote, sexy pictures. She deflected writing that her life had been a television tele novella for the past seven days and that he didn't, quote, really want a hot picture of her. When, by the way, this is what people do when they are in positions that they feel, they feel that they need to get out of. But they don't want to be rude. So they're either making a joke or they're saying, no, you really don't want this. Trying to convince the other person. Gonzalez responded that he was just a, quote, visual person. A visual person, okay. Santos Aviles declined again saying that she didn't like to take those kinds of pictures of herself. As the conversation continued, Gonzalez asked about sexual preferences and positions. The message indicated Santos Aviel's repeatedly pushed back. This is going too far, boss. At 12:50am so they've talked for over an hour at this point, back and forth in text messages. You can imagine that one of their spouses may be laying next to them in bed, probably hers too, as they're sitting there. And she's repeatedly being asked, send me a naked photo. Send me a naked photo. She was also asked, she asked Gonzalez, did you hire me because of my appearance? How long have you, you know, did you find me attractive? For Gonzalez pressed her continuously with more sexually explicit questions. And I hope your kids are not in the room right now. What I'm going to say. He asked her at one point, do you like anal? Which at one point Santos and Ailes pushed back, never. The message were so over the top that she asked him at one point, are you sober? That is how aggressive he was to this woman who was his employee and he was an elected official. It would be bad if this was a private sector experience. There's a power dynamic here. But the fact that you are an elected official, you're elected to represent this woman. She probably voted for him and she works for him. And he is prying her with information. He is asking her explicit information. Think about the power dynamics. Think of what is probably going through her head. There's a self gratification of, oh, he thinks I'm attractive. That makes me feel good. She has had a son. A lot of people don't feel, you know, as attractive as they once did, as they get older, as they have children. But he finds me attractive. He's my boss. He's this powerful man. She's pushing back, she's pushing back. But he does not take the bait. He continues, he continued with several other questions about her and what, what he would like to do to her. Embedded. She's reminding him continually in the conversation, you are my boss. Hint, hint, this is appropriate. Hint, hint. But she said no. And the more she said no, the more he wanted it. Other female staffers have gone on background in these, in this article saying that they Also received late night text messages that they, that came off as forward. They never said that they were that, that, that they were explicitly sexual, but they made them feel comfortable from this father of six. So she the. Does those same staffers also say that Aviles Regina Vilas came to them and said, this is what's going on. You know, she came out and she said, this is what's going on. I'm having this affair. I, she said, I feel terrible. I messed everything up. But other former staffers said that he used the fact that he was the boss to give her special community projects that she was interested and special promotions to keep her in the office, things that she enjoyed. She was enticed to stay working for him because I'm sure someone's saying, why didn't she just leave? Why didn't she just leave? He's throwing benefits at her for her, for her job. Things that maybe she wanted to do for a very long time, she's getting the chance to do because he's sitting there as the boss and he knows that she's attracted. She knows that he's attracted to her. When her husband found out, he told her the only way to keep the marriage together was for her to resign from her job. That seems very obvious. She refused, saying that she wanted to finish these projects, that Tony Gonzalez was giving her the projects that she loved and wanted to do for a very long time. He was dangling them like special treats and enticing her, making her feel sexy, making her feel wanted, making her giving her professional and promotions, professional promotions and professional projects that she liked. She, he was keeping her very happy and, you know, basically love bombing her in, in many ways, Gonzalez continued to say this was a coordinated political attack. All these leaked messages, that's honestly one of the stupidest thing in the world. Now, sir, this woman was your employee and you used your position of power to lure her to you to have a sexual relationship with you. You knew that you had the power over her the entire time you were married. You knew she was married. You know, you're a father, you know, she was a mother. You didn't seem to care about anybody's life throughout this entire situation. Sir, this is not a political attack or coordinated effort. The fact that this woman is deceased after you ghosted her because her life was ruined. Now, she's not, you know, an angel. She's not, you know, she did. She laid in the bed too, or wherever it was, the desk, who knows? But she very much tells him in these messages, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. A series of times. And every time she told him no, he wanted her more. He was more aggressive with it. He was dangling more cherries at her, saying, this is an opportunity for you. He didn't care about her. He didn't care about the life he was destroying. And not only that, he was pursuing other women in his office while doing the same thing, while he was doing that to her, he was doing the same thing to other women while he was in this relationship with her, while he was married. With all this information coming out, the Congressional Republicans are finally breaking as of this taping of this episode which is being taped on Tuesday. Remember what I told you in the past, Tony Gonzalez is not just a creep, but he was not that conservative. He was allegedly attacking other Republicans who during Biden's administration wanted to crack down heavily at the border. Allegedly. He called the entire Texas delegation a bunch of racists rapidly for wanting to crack down on illegal immigration. Allegedly. Well, a flurry of House Republicans are finally calling on him to resign or drop out of the race. Lauren Boebert, who's a pretty conservative firebrand from Colorado, was the first to go public. She tweeted resign. That was followed up by women like Anna Polina Luna, Mary Miller, Nancy Mace, all Congress women from Florida, Illinois and South Carolina. But it wasn't just women. Brandon Gil came out, he's been on this podcast and I worked for him for his campaign. He called on, on Gonzalez to give up his re election bid. And that's not all. Tim Bures from Tennessee, he is known as one of the nicest men in Congress. I'll tell you a secret. Allegedly, when George Santos was having his, you know, expose being coming out one after the other and they were moving to kick him out of office. Tim Bures allegedly would go to him to check on his mental health to make sure that he wasn't in a really dark place where, you know, bad things can happen. He's known as an incredibly, incredibly nice human being. So wanted to point that out. Anyway, there's also Eli Crane, Ship Roy Thomas Massie. The Freedom Caucus is, which is the conservative caucus of the. Most of the most conservative members of the House have endorsed his opponent and they're spending money on behalf of his opponent. This is all coming at Speaker Johnson like a freight train. People are asking Speaker Johnson to revoke his endorsement of Gonzalez and he's claiming that these people are, that these are very serious allegations. But he wants to know more information that this needs to play out. That's kind of odd to say because Gonzalez is not under a criminal investigation. It's not like Gonzalez, you know, actually, you know, lit the flame himself. He didn't. But these are just private conversations. This is the kind of thing that would get you fired from a private sector business. This is, you know, absolutely a disgrace to the office. So for him to say, let's see where this goes is kind of a deflection. And here's why Johnson does not want to turn on Gonzalez immediately. If Gonzalez resigns from office before November or he retires or he switches parties. Not retires, but if he switches parties or if he just decides to become a thorn on the side, then the GOP is left with a one seat majority in the House. And that seat is Thomas Massie. And while I like Massie personally, he has not been a reliable vote for Republicans on a number of very consequential pieces of legislation. That's why you're not going to see Johnson and likely Trump turn on Gonzalez right now. Because they can't afford to lose literally one single seat. If they had a 10 seat majority, a 20 seat majority, I think things would be different, but they don't. That's also why I think you haven't seen him turn on a few other members who are doing nefarious things. Meanwhile, it looks like the nrcc, the, that's the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, they support the House Republicans. It looks like they're also pulling away from Gonzalez. Last election, 2024, they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect Gonzalez's seat. This year, nothing. And he only won by 800 votes last time. So it's a sign either A, of confidence that he can win without their support or B, that they just don't care anymore to support him, to protect him. I'm not exactly sure which I'm going to continue to reach out to my contacts over in that organization so I can hear the gossip. But one of the two was happening. They're saying he's going to win or he's going to lose no matter what we do. So we'll save the money. So what I do know is this, that in the age that we are expecting more from people who are in positions of that deserve respect and positions of power, when conversations over abuse of that power are happening, it really is of the utmost importance that people who can hold them accountable do hold them accountable. Republican voters in this district should start weeding out the worst of the political class. And Tony Gonzalez is the worst of the worst. His opponent, Brandon Herrera, has a few weeks left to bring this election home and kick this, you know, kick this, you know what to the curb. But we'll see what goes on. It's been a few more weeks of early voting, early primary voting, and then the actual primary date itself. I don't know why Texas has like six weeks of primary voting, but few more weeks left. It is Brandon Herrera's game race to lose right now and we'll see if maybe Tony Gonzalez's long standing support and his endorsement President Trump is enough to get him over the finish line. I kind of doubt it is. Okay, next up, we'll be talking about new polling data around AI and how Democrats are looking to get ahead of Republicans on this emerging political issue. Stay tuned.

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[Ryan Graduski]

Echelon Insights is an interesting polling firm and something that they really do that no one else does as well as they look at the political realignment, the fact that Republicans are becoming a party of more fiscally moderate but socially conservative working class people and Democrats becoming a party of college educated, very progressive voters. I know this seems so obvious now, but when they started tracking it, it really wasn't obvious. No one else was doing it like they were doing. They were really the first ones on this whole entire, you know, movement that, that now encompasses our politics and they caught political trends before everyone else did. So kudos to them. And I, I really need to try to get them on this podcast now that I'm thinking about it. But they have a new poll over AI and I know, I know because I've heard from people, I'm sure you're saying, ryan, enough with the AI talk. Every day is like the Terminator with this channel sometimes where you're bringing up AI like once a week. I know, I do think it will be one of those pivotal issues in 2028. I truly do. And I want to get ahead of the curb on what's trending with AI. So bear with me if you think that, that I've talked about it too much. I know from, I heard from somebody that I do. But I will, I will try and I will try to make this very short. But sit tight. It's important. Echelon Insights, in their latest polling, asked people how concerned are you that I will eliminate your job in the next five years? 33% of respondents said yes. 63% said no. 1 in 3Americans fear for their job. What type of job do you think is at risk for AI? For, for AI taking them? 41% said white collar, 13% said blue collar, and 36% said they would be equally under threat. Which scenario are you more worried about? 59% of respondents said that policymakers are not going far enough to regulate AI to prevent harm. 24% say policymakers are going too far to regulate AI and stifle innovation. Would you support or oppose a data center being built in your community? 35% say support. 46% opposed. When they asked about the purpose of the data center, it was a very different answer. If the data centers is used for digital services like searching or streaming or keeping your cloud on your phone or computer, 25% actually they'd be more supportive of building a data center. 24% said likely, less likely. Basically the data centers are less of a concern than what they're doing because when they asked what if they were to train AI, 18% said they'd be more likely to support a data center in their community. 41% said less likely. It is becoming very obvious that there is a populist underbelly in this country that is afraid of their livelihoods because of AI. They are afraid for their kids future, that AI is going to rob them of the chance for a good life. This cuts across generations. So what are policymakers doing about it? And this is what really ticks me off about the press, about the whole never Trump bulk war crowd, who I did actually just invite a member from the on the podcast. But this is what annoys me about those people is this is the conversation we should be having. We should be talking about the future, what would happen, what will happen. Is there any accountability? Is there any protection? Are there any guard rails? But no, they want to talk about Trump's latest breakdown or illegal aliens, not shouldn't have to follow the law or is this streamer gay? Or is, you know, what's going on with the royal family? No, this is actually really, really important to everyone's future. And it pains me to say this, Republicans for the most part are missing the moment. There's a few Republicans, especially in the states, who are doing things about a Ron DeSantis is the governor of Utah is Spencer Cox. But there's a lot of Republicans who are just taking cues from President Trump and he's all in on AI not supporting any, any regulation and actually trying to stop states from filling the void that the federal government is leaving behind. We should have a one federal standard when it comes to AI, but the feds won't create anything. So we're going to end up with 50 standards. And rather than having smart people get together to create a standard, we're going to have a lot of Dumb People in 50 states creating standards that it's going to make the entire industry very, very difficult. And what I fear is, is that AI is going to become a wedge issue. It isn't yet. It is not gun control or immigration where everyone takes one side or the other. There's a lot of nuance still in AI, but because a lot of Republicans are feeling the need to take cues from President Trump rather than having intellectual conversation over where a third of the public are feeling right now, we are going to make this into a partisan issue where it's blue team versus red team and no one's going to win. When that becomes the conversation right. There's a lot of gray before there's a party consensus that we are living in right now. Democrats are taking note though. Alex Thompson of Axios, he wrote, he's been on this podcast, he's a very smart reporter. He wrote that the Democratic contenders for 2028 are flip flopping on AI right now and ramping up efforts to regulate the industry. This is from Alex Thompson's reporting. Just a few months ago, potential 2028 presidential candidates, including Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Maryland Governor Wes Moore were bending over backwards to lure data centers with offers of lavish tax breaks and other goodies. The project seemed like no brainers to many politicians. They promised jobs, made big trade unions happy, took on China and police Silicon Valley. Now those Democrats are abruptly retreating and vowing to protect voters from the consequences of the AI revolution. Just six years ago, Pritzker was all in for AI in Chicago before electricity costs spiked. Josh Shapiro trumpeted a 20 billion dollar Amazon AI data center in Pennsylvania before clarifying his position and calling for more oversight. And Wes Moore went the furthest by veding legislation to study the impact of data centers, but is now calling for new state guidelines. Other Democrats like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, you know, MP Buddha Judge, the most disliked gay man to black America, to Rona, they're all calling on more regulations. And then there is Bernie Sanders. Bernie who at 84 year old, 84 years old, says he's not going to run for president but is Doing everything you would do to run for president is calling for a moratorium on all new AI data centers and maybe he won't run. He is very old. He says he's, he says his age is what's stopping him. But he's leading the party narrative. The progressive wing is taking their cues from him. But it's more than just progressives now. It's more than just AOC or Bernie or Ro Khanna. This is governors from Kentucky and Pennsylvania and politicians in must win states who are sitting there and saying, hey, I want to represent the one in three Americans who are afraid of AI taking their jobs. This is going to fuel a populist backlash if unemployment rate starts ticking up, especially for recent college graduates and young people. Republicans do not need to go full barn Bernie Sanders. They don't need to become Luddites. But polling is very obvious. They need an answer. And the answer can't be we have to be China. No one cares. They have to sit there and say, and I know I just said sit there. I thought I was going the whole episode without saying sit there. They need to say, they need to say. We support regulations to protect IPs, intellectual property, to protect children, to train people. We need information just to make sure that AI can be turned off, that these robots can't. You know, there has to be a kill switch somewhere that they can't just reroute their own entire intelligence, that they must be pro human. There's a big conversation to be had and they're missing it. They're completely asleep. Wake up people. Next is Ask me anything.

[Podcast Host]

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

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[Ryan Graduski]

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[Ryan Graduski]

Now it's time for the Ask Me Anything segment. If you want a part of the Ask Me Anything segment, email me ryan numbers game podcast.com that's ryan@plural numbersgame podcast.com. i get to all these emails. I try sometimes, guys, by the way, I've gotten emails like, you missed my email. It's just my adhd. I'll open up an email, start reading and then walk away. Or he'll ask me a very complicated question. It will take me a while to do the research for me answered on this show. So give me a little grace. But I do get to all them. I read them and I appreciate them. They make this show like I'm really communicating with you guys. I'm not just talking to a microphone by myself. It's not just me and the voices in my head. All right, this message comes from Frank. He says, hey, Ryan, since this has asked me anything, all cap locks. I've heard you make funny references to Wendy Williams before. I was a tangential fan of hers when she had her TV show. I hear now she's in a conservatorship and locked up in a senior care facility, possibly against her will. But then I listened to a more recent interview with her by Charlemagne the God and she didn't sound. She did indeed sound like she's no longer with it. As a well connected New Yorker, have you heard much about what's going on with her and were you a fan of hers as well? Thank you. I love listening to show, Frank. Thank you. I love that you listen to the show and how you doing? Yeah, I love Wendy Williams. I loved her doc show. I loved her radio show too, because I'm from New York. I think that she was one of the best people in daytime broadcasting since like Oprah Winfrey. It's an incredibly hard job to sit in a place on a chair and talk to yourself. Talk completely alone for 30 minutes. I do it three times a week sometimes and it is very difficult. Even my monologue, which is like 10 minutes long sometimes it's a. It's hard. I don't know if you guys are getting my jokes or if I'm reacting positively. At least she had an audience when she would do her her Hot Topic segments. But it's difficult and very few people do it. Well, she does it. Rush Limbaugh. There's just a handful. It's not many people who can actually just talk by themselves and hear what the audience is responding in their head without them actually talking to you. A lot of people need a guess. It doesn't make them bad. It's just a very different type of talent. And I thought she was great. Learned a lot from her. I use certain verbiage that she said in her show, like, I don't say old, I say a person of a certain age. I think it's a lot more respectable. She used to do that. And for those of you who don't know Wendy Williams, she suffered from a, a terrible addiction for decades. And when her husband Kelvin cheated on her and had a baby with another woman, she really went on an extreme downward spiral. And she was like on television allegedly looking very drunk, looking like she wasn't with it, slurring her words, belching. It was really, she was really kind of off. And she was off her show for a year before they ended it. And then around the same time that she's showing that she's less than all there. Her son used her credit card to make some very, very large purchases for his birthday, allegedly. And Wells Fargo rose though her accounts and a judge gave her a temporary financial guardian because they thought that she was being abused financially. She lost access to her $75 million fortune. This is actually just as a point of contention, truly insane that somebody can lose their freedom. Not from a family member saying, oh, you know, this person's sick, not from a friend, from a bank. A bank took this on and put her in a financial guardianship where she had very limited access to her money. And then she was placed in a long term health care facility for people with dementia. I think it's called frontal lobe dementia, which she claims she didn't have. There's been a lot of doubts that she had it. It was probably alcohol induced, but not permanent. The damage. She's definitely taking a step back from where she was as a performer. She repeats herself a little bit. However, that doesn't mean that she has dementia like it was originally claimed. It's really a terrible story. And the shocking thing is, is when this happened, and you know, it happened just a few years after the Britney Spears thing, when it happened. New York State has not changed any of their laws around guardianship. It's actually one of the strictest states in the country when it comes to guardianship. And the fact that a bank put a famous person in a guardianship because her son used her credit card too much and locked her out of her vast fortune is crazy. And I, I've heard, I don't know this, it's alleged, I've heard that she is having to spend for that health care facility that she's in and it's upwards of like 50, $15,000 a month where she doesn't even want to be and she has no choice whether she can stay there or not. It's truly crazy. The latest I heard from people that I kind of, I know people who know people around her. I don't I've never met her, but I know people who worked on her show. And actually one of the main people who worked on her show doesn't live very far from where I grew up in New York. Less I heard is you know her, her very dearly beloved father passed away. He lived a very long life. She attended his funeral in Florida. And that her lawyer, she's a powerhouse attorney is demanding a jury trial if a judge doesn't refuse to terminate the guardianship. He keeps saying that the, you know, guardianship will be over any day now, but he's been saying since December, so who knows? But they're looking for a jury trial and we'll see if that happens. But his comments it'll happen that it will end any day now as we want for two months. So we'll see. A jury trial will likely be next. I think that, I think that she probably shouldn't be from the cameras anymore because she's not performing. She used to be. However, the guardianship is extreme. She's like in a place for like 80 year olds and she's a woman that was like maybe in her early 60s. All right, that's all I have today. I hope you guys enjoy this episode. Please like and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast World, wherever you get your podcast. And I will talk to you guys

[Podcast Host]

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