The JTrain Podcast: "Why Paige Desorbo Left Summer House & Selena Gomez Wedding Details! - POP CULTURE THURSDAY"

Host: Jared Freid
Date: September 18, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Pop Culture Thursday, comedian Jared Freid takes us through the latest celebrity gossip and news as reported on Page Six. With his signature blend of sarcasm and candid humor, Jared sheds light on headlines ranging from Paige Desorbo’s Summer House departure to secrets behind Selena Gomez’s wedding, all while offering his comedic, often brutally honest, insights on fame, money, and the addictive feedback loop of reality TV and social media.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Paige Desorbo Really Left Summer House

[08:05–20:05]

• Jared's Take on Reality TV Exits:
  Jared asserts the true reason Paige left isn’t scandalous, but financial:

  "There's no gossipy reason...my dad always told me, there's nothing personal—it's just business...I make more money from podcasts and sponsored content than I do on the show..."
  — [04:20]

• Honesty (That Can’t Be Said):
  He imagines the “evil, honest version” of Paige’s statement:

  “I make too much money for these losers and I'm not doing 12 hour shoot days anymore because the money wasn’t as good as the other things I could be doing.”
  — [06:20]

• Quoting Paige's Official Reason:
  Jared reads the Page Six write-up:

  “I had an overwhelming sense that I couldn’t go back to Summer House... I would have been doing a disservice to the show. They expect a certain level of showing up and I couldn’t give them that.”
  — [09:40]

• On Leaving the Limelight:
  Jared compares losing TV feedback to losing the social media “likes” he once craved:

  "There’s a level... of 'brainwashing.' That’s not real life... you get the tweets, the DMs, the Instagrams. The comments kind of calm down when you're not on TV every week...you kind of lose the drug.”
  — [12:55]

2. Jon Cryer vs. Charlie Sheen: Two and a Half Salaries

[20:10–30:08]

• The Business of Hollywood:
  Jared explains pay differences are never personal:

  “It’s not about being a good person or a good actor—it’s who makes the money. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”
  — [21:05]

• Salary Disparity:
  Jon Cryer reveals he made less than half of Sheen’s $2M-per-episode salary, only hitting $620,000 per episode after Sheen’s departure.

• Sheen’s Wild Negotiations:
  Citing Cryer, Jared notes:

  "Sheen's contract negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart. It was like Kim Jong Il—he acted crazy and they just kept shoveling money at him."
  — [25:20]

• Reflection:

  “These are all crazy numbers. Like, unrelated. They're so big that we aren't even considering how big they are.”
  — [28:24]

3. Pete Davidson’s Admiration for Machine Gun Kelly

[32:00–37:20]

• Headline Spin:
  Jared jokes about MGK’s “dad image”:

  “Are we to believe Machine Gun Kelly is, like, sitting at home, driving the kids to school? Maybe he is…”
  — [32:52]

• Davidson’s Gushing Tribute:
  Pete, on MGK:

  "Just a couple of dads hanging out... Pound for pound, I think he's the most talented person I've ever met. He can rap, he can play guitar, he can act... and he can rock."
  — [33:50]

• Jared’s Take on Fashion Week:

  “Fashion Week is the most unrelatable thing to the everyday person... the most beautiful people in the world will look you in the eye and be like, ‘I am SO busy, Fashion Week is crazy.’”
  — [36:04]

4. Bobby Bones’ “Cheating” On Dancing with the Stars

[37:35–41:28]

• What Counts as Cheating?:
  Jared breaks down Bones’ confession:

  “He would record the session and then… rent a studio himself and train. I wouldn’t call that cheating. I would say that’s putting in the time.”
  — [39:30]

• Vote Mobilization Advantage:

  “Being on the radio, you have a direct phone line to the voters, so you can rally your audience in a way that maybe, you know, Carlton from Fresh Prince can’t.”
  — [37:55]

5. Colin Farrell Drops F-Bomb on Live TV

[41:35–46:52]

• The Viral Slip:
  Colin Farrell curses live on Today while making sandwiches for Margot Robbie:

  “Oh my God, the F word.”
  — [44:20]

• Jared’s Perspective:

  “It’s crazy... on the same TV you’re seeing crazier rhetoric, crazier things said... It doesn’t match the times."
  — [45:30]

• Fan Reaction:

  “Not expecting Swearing is poor planning on your part. This is Colin. This is what he does.”
  — [46:32]

6. Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco’s Mystery Wedding

[47:08–51:36]

• “The Cool Band” of Celebrity Weddings:
  Jared warns against comparing your own wedding to this ultra-exclusive event:

  “If you talk to me about Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s wedding, I don’t care...There’s one wedding. It’s Taylor and Travis. That’s it.”
  — [48:41]

• Details:
  Wedding set for a private estate in Santa Barbara, guests in $3,500/night hotel, all transported via secret location.

• Social Media Reality Check:

  “Let me warn you: Nobody wants to go to your mystery wedding. Your mystery wedding where you had people pay for their own rooms... is not going to be as good.”
  — [50:08]

7. Nick Cannon’s “Trauma Response” to Fatherhood

[51:40–End]

• Jared’s Satirical Take:

  “This is the end of blaming the therapist for everything. The reason I had 12 kids and didn’t wear a condom? Well, it was a trauma response to Mariah Carey ending our marriage.”
  — [52:00]

• Cannon’s Own Words:

  "If I would have done the work and the healing after getting a divorce, I probably would have took my time... For whatever reason, I thought that was the answer a lot of times, like, oh, I'm gonna figure it out over here. Now you're leaving trauma every step of the way instead of fixing it from this."
  — [53:01]

• Jared’s Parting Shot:

  “He’s just using words he’s heard before to make it sound a little better than ‘I don’t like using a condom.’”
  — [54:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reality TV Money:
  "These are business people. And this is about M O N E Y." — Jared, [04:45]

• On Social Media Likes:
  "You got to leave that feeling, because it's not really helping your career." — Jared, [13:42]

• On Wild Celebrity Salaries:
  "These are all crazy numbers...they're so big that we aren't even considering how big they are." — Jared, [28:25]

• On Wedding Trends:
  "Don’t look at Selena’s wedding and get any inspo. This will only inspire a horrific version done by you." — Jared, [51:15]

• On Nick Cannon:
  "It’s a rationalization that if you buy it, you’re out of your mind...he’s just using words that he heard before that make it sound a little bit better than 'I don’t like using a condom.'" — Jared, [54:16]

Episode Flow & Tone

• Highly conversational; full of sarcastic, quick-fire riffs
• Riffs on how money and image drive decisions in reality TV and celeb circles
• Regular comparisons between “real” reasons and PR statements
• Candid about show business realities for both “stars” and “regular people”
• Repeated warnings not to confuse celebrity experiences with one’s own life

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Paige Desorbo's Exit: 08:05–20:05
• Jon Cryer/Charlie Sheen Salaries: 20:10–30:08
• Pete Davidson/Machine Gun Kelly: 32:00–37:20
• Bobby Bones DWTS Cheating: 37:35–41:28
• Colin Farrell F-Bomb: 41:35–46:52
• Selena Gomez/Benny Blanco Wedding: 47:08–51:36
• Nick Cannon’s “Trauma Response”: 51:40–end

For listeners craving honest, comedic takes on the celebrity news cycle, Jared Freid’s Pop Culture Thursday delivers a raw, relatable roast of the week's biggest headlines.