The JTrain Podcast Summary: "Jeff Bezos Has A Statue Of His Wife, Brooks Nader Wears A Belt A Top, and Elizabeth Hurley Gives Modeling Tips - POP CULTURE THURSDAY"

Date: January 1, 2026
Host: Jared Freid
Theme: A comedic riff on light Page Six pop culture headlines—covering the New Year’s antics of the ultra-wealthy, celebrity PR moves, and why seemingly trivial stories matter for media literacy.

Episode Overview

Jared Freid kicks off 2026 with a special "Pop Culture Thursday," dissecting and lampooning the week's jaw-dropping and bizarre tabloid stories. Although it’s a slow news week, Jared argues that’s exactly when Page Six shines, spinning scraps into sensational headlines—which gives him plenty to riff on. The tone is light, sarcastic, and self-aware, with Jared using each story to muse about celebrity culture, media literacy, and why critical thinking matters in an era of clickbait.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, and the $500M Megayacht Mermaid

(09:00 – 17:00)

• Headline: Lauren Sanchez dances on her seat while partying with husband Jeff Bezos in St. Barts.
  • Jared jokes about Page Six’s “formulaic” celebrity-in-exotic-locale coverage, predicting "Lauren Sanchez parties in various places" stories for months to come.
  • Quote:
    “This is a place story by her PR people…her New Year’s resolution is to be her own name, not Lauren Sanchez-wife-of-Jeff-Bezos.” (11:30)
• On Bezos’ yacht Koru featuring a wooden sculpture of Sanchez:
  • Jared mock-explains what a “prow” is, then builds a bit about how bizarre it is to have your wife immortalized like a mermaid on your yacht:
    Quote:
    “On the front of his ship, there’s a sculpture of her as if she’s the mermaid coming out of the front of the ship…That’s beyond sexual!” (15:54)
  • He stretches the joke to the artist’s perspective, and how money enables increasingly “batch Bach cuckoo bananas” levels of extravagance.
• Broader riff on the absurd escalation of birthday celebrations for billionaires—models on motorcycles with sparklers, and what could possibly come next.

2. Elizabeth Hurley’s “Tip” for Flattering Beach Photos

(17:01 – 20:30)

• Headline: Elizabeth Hurley, 60, spills her tip for flattering beach pic while modeling leopard print bikini.
  • Jared calls out the “fraud” of such stories, joking the only real tip is “Be Elizabeth Hurley.” Quote:
    “What can I learn from Elizabeth Hurley other than, ‘Here’s my tip: be Elizabeth Hurley’?” (17:40)
  • He reads her actual tip—use “backlighting”—and mocks its uselessness for the average person, riffing about what happens if you try to take bikini photos of your partner and justify it with Hurley’s advice.
  • Concludes this type of story only makes people angry, and is a good exercise for practicing critical thinking in consuming news.

3. Denise Richards’ “Eviction” and Media Sensationalism

(20:31 – 24:35)

• Headline: Denise Richards and her ex Aaron Phypers evicted from LA home over $84,000 in unpaid rent.
  • Jared peels back the headline, explaining these are public court documents likely spun by a landlord’s PR to pressure divorce settlement—there’s no reason to assume she’s suddenly poor or homeless.
  • Quote:
    “This makes it sound like…they’re shivering on the streets while sleeping on cardboard boxes…I don’t believe that.” (21:20)
  • Illustrates how tabloids manipulate public records for salacious effect and why it’s important to read deeper.

4. Cardi B Responds to Fans Criticizing Her Relationship

(24:36 – 28:40)

• Headline: Cardi B hits back at mean fans dragging her relationship with Stefon Diggs.
  • Jared contextualizes that engaging with haters only magnifies issues, but admires Cardi B’s directness.
    Quote, Cardi B (approx 26:40):
    “I can’t change shit. I can’t go back in time…I already had a baby, you want me to put my baby back in my—”
  • Jared praises Cardi for dealing with drama like a human, not a celebrity, and points out that fans’ online concern for super-wealthy celebrities is misplaced:
    “Cardi B has a pension of Spotify money coming in that you can’t even imagine…” (27:58)
  • Ends with the lesson that internet feedback is wildly disproportionate to real public sentiment.

5. Brooks Nader Wears a $1,200 Belt as a Top

(28:41 – 33:40)

• Headline: Brooks Nader styles a $1,200 belt as a shirt in 19-degree Aspen.
  • Jared reveals he once went on a date with Brooks Nader, providing an “insider’s” take: she’s highly driven, PR-savvy, and doesn’t do anything publicity-wise by accident.
  • Quote:
    “Her PR person said, hey, this belt company wants to show off their belt. They’re going to give you some money, put it on as a shirt...Brooks Nader does what she does best: keeps the ball in the air.” (30:30)
  • Mocks the idea that anyone would genuinely wear a belt as a shirt for warmth or comfort—another example of attention-grabbing for the celebrity PR machine.
  • Comments on inflated luxury fashion prices in the most outrageous Jared style:
    “That’s like finding out the white rice at the sushi place is like $7. That is a $6.98 markup." (31:48)

6. Nikki Bella & Eagles Cornerback Cooper DeJean—PR or Romance?

(33:41 – 36:00)

• Headline: Nikki Bella, 42, fuels dating rumors with Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean, 22, with telling outfit choice.
  • Jared is agnostic on the actual relationship, seeing the story more as “dream casting” and a Page Six staple—pairing up two celebrities in the news for clicks.
  • Quote:
    “I guess you needed to be in Page Six or, you know, you needed to hook up or you didn’t. I don’t know.” (35:24)
  • Touches on public fascination with age-gap relationships, but finds the root mostly trivial and PR-driven.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Bezos’ mermaid yacht statue:
  “That’s beyond sexual. I think it would be less weird for a couple to be like, ‘Oh yeah, that's her sex swing,’... But a wooden sculpture of my wife as if she’s a mermaid?” (16:12)

• On Elizabeth Hurley’s bikini tip:
  “If you try and take a picture without your girlfriend or wife looking at it while they’re in a bikini on the beach, just tell them Elizabeth Hurley said it’s fine because the backlighting’s good. Try and do that!” (18:51)

• On media literacy & critical thinking:
  “Maybe we should be practicing critical thinking on Page Six so you know how to handle it when the more important stories come.” (20:05)

• On Cardi B’s humor in dealing with haters:
  “Do you want me to put my baby back in my—? Quite a response. Like she’s right. What do they want from her?” (26:49)

• On luxury fashion stunts:
  “No one would wear that shirt for more than ten minutes. You would wear it and go around your apartment with a friend, ‘Look at me, I’m wearing a belt as a shirt! Look at me, I’m a fucking idiot!’” (31:36)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro, Patreon Plug, and GLP-1 Tangent: 00:00 – 09:00
• Lauren Sanchez + Bezos’ Yacht Sculpture: 09:00 – 17:00
• Elizabeth Hurley Bikini Photo "Advice": 17:01 – 20:30
• Denise Richards Rent/Eviction Story: 20:31 – 24:35
• Cardi B Relationship Backlash: 24:36 – 28:40
• Brooks Nader Wears Belt as Shirt: 28:41 – 33:40
• Nikki Bella & Cooper DeJean Rumors: 33:41 – 36:00

Final Thoughts

Jared Freid’s playful, skeptical take on fluffy celebrity news transforms banal Page Six stories into a comedic masterclass in media literacy. He unpacks the constructed nature of pop culture headlines, provides scathing (but joking!) commentary on PR stunts, and reminds listeners that most of what you see in tabloids is manufactured for viral effect. Underneath the jokes is an encouragement to engage with all "news," serious or silly, with a questioning eye.

For more hot takes, listener emails, and longform comedy, catch Jared every Monday for Mailbag, Tuesday for Ticked Off Tuesdays, and, of course, every Thursday for Pop Culture Thursday.