← The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
CNN's JFK Jr. Puff Piece, Howard Stern's Impending Ending, and AJLT's Storyline Distractions
01:29:17
Maureen dissects the empty interviews that were collected in CNN's desperate effort to get anyone who knew JFK Jr. to participate in their newly released docu series "American Prince," pointing to the lack of connection and information in each discussion. She also rips into Howard Stern's treatment of his staff, his delusional power trips and his inability to accept his radio show's looming curtain call. Then Maureen speaks with industry makeup artist, Tim MacKay, who shares his thoughts on AJLT's latest season and offers some behind-the-scenes intel on a D-list offender. Watch Dr. Layke's step-by-step video free and uninterrupted at BHMD1.com/Nerve Get up to 35% Off with code NERVE at ShopBeam.com/NERVE Go to FarmFresh222.com & get your first $39 bottle free
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- [00:00]
Maureen Callahan
Lumify. Wow. Incredible. Amazing. Lumify Redness reliever. Eye drops really work.
- [00:07]
Tim McKay
They dramatically reduce redness in one minute.
- [00:10]
Maureen Callahan
I love how my eyes look whiter and brighter and it lasts for up to eight hours.
- [00:15]
Tim McKay
They make my eyes look refreshed.
- [00:17]
Maureen Callahan
Lumify. It's kind of amazing. It was love at first sight with Lumify. Try it for yourself. Learn more@lumify eyes.com we all have that piece. You know the one, the thing that's so you. You've basically become known for it. And if you don't have yours yet, you'll find it on ebay. Let me put you on fashionistas. Ebay is where you'll find those. One of a kind. Can't stop researching. Stay up dreaming about pieces again and again. I'm talking that Miu Miu off the Runway red leather bomber, the Custo Barcelona top with the cowboy on it or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway. All these finds are on ebay and they even offer millions of main character pieces backed by authenticity guarantee. Ebay is the place for pre loved and vintage fashion. EBay, things people love. Hey everyone, welcome to the Nerve. We have got a packed juicy ready to go show for you today. I mean we always are ready to go, but this one just like wrote itself first. As promised, we are going to discuss the new JFK Jr. Documentary on CNN. But we are not doing a recap. We are coming at it nerve style. We're going to pick apart what they're selling us versus what they're giving us. Then we are going in on your reaction to the mini over the weekend, the Tracy Ellis Ross solo traveling takedown and wow, did you guys have a lot to say about that. A lot. We are all of like minds here, by the way. No surprise. But it's all in the details. Then we're going to vivisect her a little bit more because she just announced she was crowing online all weekend long social media. She got a season two, which I personally think is season one, part B a la Meghan Markle. But in any event, if Tracee Ellis Ross is going to continue to assault the culture with her inanity and incuriosity, the Nerve is here to push back. Then we've got the latest news on. This was a bombshell announced last week. Howard Stern's reported cancellation and his unhinged. Just my opinion reaction to what was a long time just it's, it's, it's way too long coming. And we've also Got some updates on Sarah Jessica Parker. You know, I'm sure his pal out here in the Hamptons. There's a lot of similarities going on between these two which we will will luxuriate in. And we've also got a first time nerve guest who I'm very excited to introduce you guys to. He's going to spill lots of good stuff and so let's get to it. For years we've been told wrinkle creams are the key to looking younger. But according to Dr. John Lakey, a Beverly Hills beauty expert, that is outdated advice. He claims that most wrinkle products are just glorified moisturizers that barely improve appearance and some may even harm your skin. So Dr. Lakey has shifted his focus from traditional cosmetic procedures to a new anti aging method that some experts say could disrupt the beauty industry. His clients call it the age Rewinder method, a do it yourself technique that can visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles in under two minutes. To share this breakthrough, Dr. Lakey released a free step by step video explaining how to use the method at home. This video has gone viral with over 2.3 million views and thousands of positive comments. One viewer wrote, Best results of anything I've used. I cannot believe how well this works and I will never stop using this. To watch the video go to bhmd1.com nerve or click the link in the description box below. And Dr. Lakey asks just one thing. If this video helps you look or feel younger than, please share it with others. Together more people can discover this simple at home solution. Visit bhmd1.com nerv now that troublemakers, we did a soft launch last week, but today is the official opening, the ribbon cutting, if you will, of the Kennedy wing. The Kennedy wing of the woodshed. And this could not be better timed because on Sunday night CNN premiered. It's very important. I'll do my like very serious Oprah voice. Very important, very serious. Part one of their three part documentary imaginatively titled American Prince JFK Jr. Now I will give my notes on that episode in a moment. Not a recap, just critiques. But first, before it aired, I believe that morning Marlena, our producer caught this. I didn't catch it. And she texted me immediately and she was like, have you seen this? CNN held a little roundtable discussion as a teaser. Now this brain trust consists of Stephen, Gillian or Gillon. I think if I'm pronouncing his name correctly, I have his book right here somewhere. Anyway, he is the adoring JFK Jr. Waterboy slash historian. We have Lisa De Paolo, who is a writer who once worked at John's magazine. George Carol Radziwill, the Kennedy adjacent in law, who as I noted previously will someday be found dead having huffed Kennedy fumes in a borrowed Hampton's garage. And a CNN talking head named Leah Wright. Rigueur, if I'm saying her name correctly, I had never heard of her before. I've never seen her before. She also appears in this documentary. I don't know that she is a Kennedy scholar, a historian, a biographer or an expert. And yet she has earned a place at this table to explain to all of us the importance and consequence of JFK Jr and why it's worth CNN doing this three part documentary series to revisit his short life. Now, now as Leah talks. And again if you're listening, I've got to, I've got to implore you. Watch this part of the show on YouTube because you gotta keep your eyes on the expressions of the guys in the split screen as LE is talking. Okay, let's go. So the first thing is America doesn't have royalty, but we do have royalty. And John F. Kennedy Jr. Was royalty. He was America's prince.
- [07:22]
Tim McKay
His father was at one point, you.
- [07:24]
Maureen Callahan
Know, we don't have kings in this country, but was really the kind of epitome of a political dynasty. And so he is, he was the heir apparent. Steve Gillen, who's the second guy you see, he's like taking in a breath and like his face twitches. He's like, he's like holding himself back from talking. I mean, are you kidding me? This, this is, this again, this is really, this is disgusting. This is just like bottom of the bar. Like this is not a Brilliant Mind, okay? And neither, I'm gonna say Lisa De Paolo, once a well respected journalist in New York City. I haven't seen her byline in forever. Now here she is talking about John Jr. She went to work for him at George. Here she is Talking about John Jr. As an editor in chief and as a boss. Let's do it.
- [08:19]
Tim McKay
How important was he? Imagine how important was George to him?
- [08:24]
Maureen Callahan
It was, it was, it was him, it was, you know, it was his baby. He loved it and he was there all the time and he was involved in everything. He had such great instincts. He knew what a great story was, he knew what a great headline is, what a good cover was. And Carolyn by the way, was very instrumental in that too. She had good taste. Okay, first of all, JFK Jr. Was there all the time. That's the job. He sold this magazine. He pitched it all around town. He sold it to the only person who was willing to make a bid because his pitches were so terrible. It's all an ask, not so. Oh, so give him a gold star. He was there all the time. Which, by the way, he was not. He was not. He was always off. He could barely sit still. The guy had adhd, okay? He could barely sit still. So there are reports everywhere that he would literally. He would be holding a meeting, and he'd be like, you know what we should do, guys? Let's go play touch football in the park. Let's go bowling. Like he wasn't there all the time. Okay, number one. Number two, he knew what a good story was. No, he did not. So he famously went to interview Fidel Castro, and he, you know, Bay of Pigs, his father's big debacle as president, you know, Cuban missile crisis nearly brought the world to World War three. Nuclear annihilation of the entire eastern seaboard of the United States of America. He goes and he interviews Fidel, and then he never files a story. Oh, and the Clinton Lewinsky scandal exploded, and this was the only story going. And you want to talk. The moment politics and pop culture bled together, never to ever be torn apart again, it was Clinton Lewinsky. And John Jr. Refused to cover it on any level. His editors were like, you've got. We've got to cover it. We are a magazine about politics and pop culture. Junior said, no, absolutely not. My father went through hell in the White House while he was statutorily raping young interns on his wife's bed while she was away. You know, so, yeah, John, what an. What a. What a journalist. What a new What. What a What a What. What would you call them? Like, the, you know, whatever. Nose for news. Okay, now, among the talking heads in this documentary, proper episode one Sunday night, is Tabitha Soren. Now, Tabitha Soren was an MTV News correspondent back in the early to mid-90s. I worked there as a baby. Okay? I was a baby intern, and then I became a production assistant. And so I remember her vividly. Her office was right outside my cubicle. And she was supposed to be, like, the smart one. She wasn't, like, the cool one, but, like, she was the smart one. And she started covering politics. And I remember her throwing a fit one day. She kept her office door open, and she was, like, throwing a fit, and she was like. It was basically like, do you know how hard it is to be me and to be this famous at a young age. And, like, I can't tell who my real friends are because everybody's always jockeying to be my plus one at like this rock show or this, like, big awards ceremony. I was like, get over yourself. Get over yourself. She didn't last very long anyway. She's in this documentary. Why she is, I have no idea. None. She didn't know John. She says as much in the documentary. She had no ties to his circle. She hasn't been working in media for over 30 years, as far as I can tell. So this tells us that cnn, their producers, were scraping just to find people willing to play ball for this thing. And by play ball, I mean adhere to the script. And often this is like a little nugget that they don't tell you. But I've done enough of these things. Like behind the scenes, the producers will, like, try to spoon feed you lines. They'll say, like, okay, could you just say, that was good, but could you just say, John really knew. He knew what a great story was. Like, they'll say, would you just say it? And then like, it's up to you to say, like, no, I'm not going to say it because I don't think it's true. You know, again, I didn't get a phone call. And we know why. We know why. Now Kurt Anderson shows up. Kurt Anderson, another legendary magazine editor of the 80s 90s. He was out of New York magazine by the mid-90s. They fired him. He was really, really good at what he did. And he hired me at New York magazine again. I was a very. I was a cub reporter. I was cubby, cub, cub. And he hired me and I was so excited to work there and I learned so much. And then we see Grade and Carter. So Kurt says in this documentary that he didn't really have a relationship with John Jr. Either. But John Jr. When he had this brainstorm for George, called Kurt and said, would you have lunch with me? And Kurt said, sure, because he's not going to go to lunch with JFK Jr. And Kurt in this documentary says, he struck me as very smart. And I think he's being polite. I do. Then we go over to Graydon Carter, you know, again from Spy magazine, Graydon. And then turned, you know, took over VF From Tina Brown. Kept VF in sterling condition. Now Graydon Carter, as far as I can tell, he's the only person talking sense here. Only person talking sense. He says, JFK Jr. What he should have done instead of selling this magazine around town and installing himself as the editor in chief and the guy in charge. What he should have done was go work at magazines and sort of work his way up and learn the ropes. And then he would have known what to do and how to manage people and how to come at things with a point of view and like how to differentiate George in the marketplace. But you know, he thought he knew everything, so, so much for that. Now John Jr. Says to a friend, a friend who is qu says this in the doc, literally that after his mother died that he's that John Jr. I mean was quote, too young to be an orphan. He was 39 years old when his mother died. Like that is an arrested person. If you are firmly in middle age, you are about to 40 and you consider yourself an orphan. That is an arrested, arrested person. And then, you know, there's, they sort of gloss over, oh, he was with Carolyn and then he went back to his girlfriend, Daryl Hannah. But that was just for the press so they would leave him alone. It's a very tortured explanation and none of it rings true. First of all, they don't even mention that Daryl Hannah broke up with him after he took her dog out for a walk and got so distracted with his own crap that the dog got run over car and died. Okay. She was like, I'm out of here. You're a loser. And you know his dealings with women, he was not great to women. He was always cheating on them and two timing them. And you know, he goes to Carolyn, he kind of made her life hell for a while. That's all glossed over here. And now in comes Carol Radzwill. Carol Radzwill has been making the rounds, appearing on a number of podcasts. I have not yet seen her on morning television on network morning television, which as we all know, keeps the door open and unlocked for dwarf minds. Now everywhere she goes, she is sure to be. And again, like they, they, they will ask you if you're doing an appearance like this or you say to them, here's how I would like you to introduce me. These are my credentials. So she is sure to be introduced here as an Emmy winning reporter for ABC News. That is a title that she's digging out of the mothballs. It's like decades old. She has not worked in news for decades. And then she is also sure to be introduced as a former Real Housewife of New York as the if this is a Laurel, like this is a Laurel. And it reminded me of her final inglorious season on New York. She showed up for the reunion, and it was really her versus Bethany. And Carol sat there. I mean, this is when you knew she had gone full. She had had the Kool Aid. She was bathing in the Kool Aid. She wasn't just drinking it. You know, she came onto the show and she was like, I'm cool. I'm a Kennedy. She wasn't a Kennedy, but she's like, I'm a Kennedy. I knew, you know, John was my cousin. Do you know John? I just refer to him by his first name. And I'm too cool for you guys. And then she sort of went. She just went over the other way. And she sat there on the sofa and said to Andy that she was far too smart for the show and for her fellow housewives because she had recently had an MRI done. I couldn't make this up. I could not make this up. This is literally what she said. I tried to find the clip. It's not there. She said, I had an MRI done recently, Andy. And it turns out, I believe I'm quoting verbatim, that I have a ginormous hippocampus, which means I'm a genius. Okay, so first, Carol told Us Weekly last week that she was dumbfounded. That's her word, dumbfounded. To learn that Ryan Murphy was doing a TV series about John and Carolyn. What was she expecting? A personal phone call? A request for the permission of the great Carol Radziwill? Listen, Ryan Murphy, only one vulture is going to continue feasting on those two carcasses, and that's one Carol Radziwill. So here's what she told Us Weekly. In a piece dated Friday, August 8, 2025, the Real Housewives of New York City alum explained that she had gone on a, quote, bunch of dates in 2020 with the friend who auditioned to play Anthony. Who? Her late husband, who died of cancer six days after his 40th birthday in 1999. Her friend's call about the audition was the first time. Really? She moves around in Hollywood circles, but she's claiming this is the first time she had heard about American Love Story. And I quote from Carol, I was so dumbfounded. I remember I was driving my 1998 little red Jeep around town. She's a cool girl, you guys see, she has to get in the make model in year 1998, little red Jeep around town. So I had to pull over. Even now, I'm like, I panic about it. She said she's in panic mode. So she is in such a panic that she went on a podcast I never heard of. This podcast is called We Met at Acme, which is an old hotspot in New York that doesn't exist anymore. It's like a 90s thing. Okay, so already this is like an exclusionary podcast. Like, who is this for? So here's Carol on why she thinks the world still needs to hear her warmed over, boilerplate, non insightful takes on John and Carolyn. Because I think so much of the time she gets cast as just this like fashion girl. And she really, I know this could sound crazy, but she really wasn't. She wasn't caught up in fashion. In fact, if you look at a lot of the photos, a lot of she's just wearing jeans and a good shoe and a button down. And she was very simple. And it was the minimalist 90s. But also she didn't give that much thought to it. At night, she would pretty much wear one Designer Yoshi Yamamoto. She was so much more than fashion. So if I can speak to that, I'm going to take that opportunity. And John, of course, was so much more than, you know, the tabloid trashy version of, you know, who he dated and being the hunk. And what he did at George Magazine, I think was truly revolutionary. I think it was so ahead of its time. I remember at the time when he was explaining it to Anthony and I. Oh my God. Okay, let's go to town on this. When he was explaining it to Anthony and I. It's Anthony and me. Okay? She, she likes to call herself a writer, a New York Times bestselling author. When he was explaining it to Anthony. Here's a pro tip, Carol. If you're not sure which pronoun to use, remove the name of the other person and say, would you say when John was explaining it to I or when John was explaining it to me? Secondly, Carolyn was not really a fashion person. She was one of Calvin Klein's top right hand people. She was the very definition of a fashion person. And she cared a lot about how she looked. And when she met John and she was intent on landing this big fish, she began remaking herself to look not like the downtown hipster who hung out at Save the Robots that she was, but she wanted to reinvent herself to be a future first lady. So she like, she started like losing weight at a rapid. Cocaine helped rate. She began bleaching her hair super, super white. She became super minimalist. She tried everything thirdly, thirdly, thirdly, like, they need Carol. So Carol comes in and she says, you know, the world just thinks that Carolyn wasn't anything more than, like, a fashion girl who was kind of superficial. And, you know, that John was just, like, this tabloid hunk who hadn't really accomplished. All true. All true, she said. So what did they accomplish, Carol? Just tell us. But she can't, because it was nothing, you know, after they died. So Camilla Paglia, our beloved cultural critic, we talked about her incredible interview that she gave days after, I believe it was to Salon. And she basically said, you know, what did these two do with all of their wealth and privilege and access? Like, nothing. And if anything, Carolyn diminished. Her life force diminished when she married him. And then Maureen Dowd at the New York Times, back when she was actually trying to put some kind of effort into her column after they died, she wrote kind of a very similar column, which was like, Carolyn Bessette did nothing with her platform. She didn't had any charity. She wasn't involved in philanthropy. She wasn't taking on causes to bring them into the mainstream. She was shopping all day and doing coke at night. Get out. Get out. Okay, now here is Carol Radziwill. I love these kinds of, like, I'm too cool for school. So here she is. And mind you, I read her memoir. I read it more than once when I was working on my book, and I read it before I ever thought about doing my book. In her memoir, she's like, yeah, like, I kind of grew up like a hick in upstate New York. Like, I didn't come for money. So she's gonna sit here and tell us that she was totally, thoroughly unimpressed to marry John F. Kennedy Jr. S cousin. Now, I'm gonna just. This is my own supposition. I think she wanted to be Carolyn Bessette. I think she was more in love with Carolyn than she was with her own husband. And I do think, for, of course, like a Meghan Markle. And there's a Meghan Markle adjacency here. She much would have just died. Died to be the one John Jr. Took a look at and was like, you're the one. You're the future queen of Camelot. Just like Megan would have wanted William over Harry in a heartbeat. Okay, let's listen to Carol talk about how she was just. He was. He. He. I'm not even gonna go. Just listen. Here we go. He was probably one of the most famous men in the world. Like, knowing him the way. It's funny to say that, because, you know, he was, you know, John, you know, Anthony's Cousin and a really close friend. And like. But like, zooming back out like, he was very, very famous. Whoa. Again, he was very, very famous. Carol, you knew who the guy was. And anybody. I. We all knew who he was. And she's like, wow, he was really famous. But, like, to me, he was just John. He was just Anthony's cousin. Like, like, just like Meghan Markle was like, harry, I've met grandmothers before. It's just your grandmother. No, it's the fucking Queen of England. Fuck wit. Okay, next we're over at on with Kara Swisher, the insufferable Kara Swisher, who does not make a media appearance without letting us know that she knows Elon Musk's psyche because she knew him back 20 years ago. And I don't think he takes her calls anymore. I don't. Now, I could be wrong, but I don't. Okay, so anyway, Carol's being very serious on Cara's show because Cara's smart, so Carol's got to up her game. But before Carol weighs in, we hear from John's college buddy and colleague, Gary Ginsberg, who is also a producer on the CNN documentary. And he's telling us what a visionary John was and how again, he was totally prepared to run this magazine. Here we go. But it still was a tough sell. And they ended up partnering with David Pecker, who was then CEO of Hachette. Not the greatest figure in the world. Like, not the top level, drop drawer figure that John was. For example, Pecker would then go on to buy the National Enquirer, where we'd, quote, catch and kill unflattering sources for Donald Trump. So talk about the funding and why that was difficult at the time. And what was it like working with Pecker and why was it so hard to fund the concept? Well, because political magazines back then are actually any magazine. And John learned this when he went to magazine school. Oh, my God. Okay, first of all, it was hard to fund. I could tell you why. As I reported, he went into every pitch meeting asking these titans of industry for tens of millions of dollars. And his pitch was for shit. They all said. He walked in and he was like, I'm JFK Jr. You're so lucky to be hosting me. You know who else was like that, too? The brass at NBC. You know, they gave Chelsea Clinton, like, an on air gig for like, a very short time, and she flamed out and they just canned her. They said Chelsea was like that, too. She was like, I'm Chelsea Clinton. You're lucky I allowed you to take this meeting with me even though I want you to pay me millions of dollars to be an on air personality. And I lack utter charisma or work ethic. Just my opinion. So also the magazine school that Gary references, this is so good. There is no such thing as a magazine school. No such thing as a magazine school. There's journalism school and then there's working in magazines, but there's no such thing. So magazine school as again, I wrote about. Others have written about Steve, jfk junior's great friend. Steve wrote about JFK junior took a two day course in, at like the Learning Annex in New York. And it was called how to start your own magazine. Two days, how to start your own magazine. And he came out of that ready to go. He had his diploma. Okay, finally, here is Carol telling Kara why it was totally cool for John to be angry with the very media. Again, this is all like very Harry and Meghan. They are their direct descendants. The direct descendants of JFK Jr. And Carolyn. So Carol is explaining again, a former member of the media, a former journalist. Totally cool for John to be angry with the very media that he had joined for exploiting his lineage and his name while he also used the media. Sorry, I'm getting confused. It's so circular. While he also exploited his own lineage to sell his magazine as it failed precipitously, as it began dropping off a cliff like the Roadrunner. Okay. Culturally, politically irrelevant, let's go. But then Drew Barrymore as Marilyn Monroe. I think as that cover was a little bit more controversial, but, you know, that's what you had to do. And it was a great cover. And you know, and John was. That was the Happy Birthday, Mr. President cover. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But like John wasn't above, you know, I think partly he'd been used so much by his. Which, you know, in the, in the. He's the use. And Basset was pushing up against that. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So like he was probably taking ownership, you know, of some of these narratives and these stories about his family. And he was going to use it to his benefit. Carol. It just. It takes a far greater mind than yours, a way more sophisticated intellect to try to sell this load of horseshit. Okay. That was one of the most cynical covers ever produced, I'm gonna say, in American journalism. So he had Drew Barrymore dress up as Marilyn Monroe. By the way, John had asked his one time hookup Madonna to do it and Madonna said no. Madonna, who did the sex book had the good taste to say, you know, What? That's a bridge too far. Your mother wouldn't love it. So Drew Barrymore dressed up as Marilyn Monroe on the night that she took the stage at Madison Square Garden and saying, Happy Birthday, Mr. President, in a dress that was practically see through to President Kennedy, basically announcing to the world that they were having a very, very hot sexual affair. And it was perhaps the greatest public humiliation. There were other private ones that I would say were worse, but that's how often the President humiliated Jackie Kennedy, John's mother. So what did John do but take probably that most, not probably, definitely that most painful, painful moment in his mother's life, but use it to sell copies of his magazine? Okay, so you can fuck off. John's changing a narrative. You saved that for the housewives couch. That's your narrative. This is mine. You're an idiot. Okay, Then these two go on to blame the magazine's failure, George's failure, on people wanting it to fail. Who are these people? What is this cabal? What is this conspiracy? Because everybody was rooting this guy on, okay? And that it was everyone else's fault that it failed, except for John's. And that's, you know, I'm gonna. I'm gonna pound this. I'm gonna pound this version of the story into dust. I'm going to pound it into dust. Now. We will be back, of course, next week with part two of the Junior Chronicles. I'd call it that. I'd call it the Junior Chronicles because everything is just. You know, I don't know if we're going to get in part two or we're going to save it for part three. As to how he recklessly killed his wife, her sister and himself. And you know, it was everyone else's fault. That's what we're going to get. Coming up, more, more on the mini from last week. Your feedback on Tracee Ellis Ross and what she is doing to the culture with her dry brush. Back in a minute. Let's talk about a subject that often gets overlooked. Our hormones. When they're balanced, you feel great. But when they're off, everything's out of sync. Fatigue, mood swings. Sound familiar? But what if one product could fill in the gaps and keep you feeling your best? Would you give it a shot? That's where Glow by Beam comes in. A once daily hormone balancing blend for women that can make a big difference. It's packed with 18 active ingredients like vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes. It works together to support metabolism, immune function and hydration. Just combine One scoop with water, mix it up and you're set. It tastes great and it's the simplest way to achieve hormone support and feel your best. Over 40,000 women have trusted Glow by beam to support their hormone health. And now it's your turn. GLOW is here to help bring you back to balance. Because balance isn't a luxury, it is essential for a limited time. Beam is offering my listeners up to 35% off Glow. Just visit shopbeam.com nerve and use code nerve at checkout. That's shop b e a m.com nerve and don't forget to use Code Nerve for your exclusive discount. When work gets crazy, I like to stop by the bar after, have a few cold ones. I don't drink at all until 4 o'. Clock.
- [34:02]
Tim McKay
We limit ourselves to one bottle of wine a night.
- [34:05]
Maureen Callahan
Excessive drinking has a way of sneaking up on us. A few drinks, a few nights a.
- [34:09]
Tim McKay
Week, it can add up.
- [34:11]
Maureen Callahan
And suddenly we're at greater risk for long term problems like heart disease, cancer and depression.
- [34:16]
Tim McKay
Reason enough to rethink the Drink. More@rethinktodrink.com NoHE Initiative.
- [34:25]
Maureen Callahan
We are back. Now, the reaction that you guys had to the Mini was unprecedented. I think in the entire. Whether it's a Mini or a full Nerve, I don't think we, I don't think we had received an onslaught of feedback whether it was comments on the YouTube channel or emails or DMS like you guys, you were as outraged and like gobsmacked as we all were over here on Team Nerve. Now, Tracy Ellis Ross again, as one of you pointed out, and I was very, I took myself to the witch at a little bit because I should have thought of this. As one of you pointed out, has Tracy been to space? I've been to space. So again, I don't know why I don't have a travel show, but this, this idiot's got a travel show. Tracee Ellis Ross, who added the name Ross out of necessity as we, as we can see. Just my opinion now. She was all over social media crowing about her show, her shitty show being renewed and I actually don't think it was renewed. Renewed. I think this again is very like Megan Marle Roku only released three episodes of this show. Three. I think they got a look at it. I think they were like, this thing is a steaming pile of crap. They probably contractually had to air it. They, they probably hoped it would disappear. But Tracy got eyeballs. And you know why? Because she's treated seriously by the likes of the, the intelligentsia over at New York, the New York Times, New York Magazine, Conde N.S. traveler, Travel and leisure, you know, so people, people think, oh, she must be an important person. She must be adding. Just be a value add to the culture. Right? She is not. So she announced that her show had been renewed. And I believe this is just season one. The other episodes, they were just gonna burn in a bunker somewhere, but now they gotta air them. And so she took to social media like a tweenager. And she's crowing and she's showing images, like weird images of herself, like in a hazmat suit. Like why, like she only ever like strolls the grounds of her five star resorts in foreign countries. She doesn't really go anywhere. And then she doubled down with this, like video of her prep for. For flying in in a first class cabin, doubling down on the dry brushing of her body, which is hygienically repulsive. It is disgusting. Dry brush your skin in the privacy of your own bathroom. Do not ever do it on a public place, let alone a contained public place with circulated air. Okay? Tracee Ellis Ross, you are disgusting. You are not a sophisticate. You are not a sophisticated traveler. You are a scourge. And I am looking at all those celebrities. Reese Witherspoon, you popped up in my feed as having liked that video. Shame on you. Shame. Now, we went back and revisited. This is always a great excuse to revisit anyone's appearance on morning American morning television, which I would like to see destroyed. I would like to be the asteroid that destroys American morning television. Now, she went on the Today show a few weeks ago to promote this show called of hers and she was supposed to be interviewed by Jenna Bush Hager. We will get to her. Don't worry. She's on the funeral pyre. But Jenna was being. Her subs that day were Willie Geist and I would give an organ to someone who could explain him to me. And he's there with Savannah Guthrie, who reportedly allegedly is head mean girl over at the Today show. So here are these two attempting to engage Tracy Ellis Ross in conversation. Here we go. If Jenna were here, because Jenna's my friend that I'm always fighting about. We go on trips together. She wants everything to be carried on and out of here. Yes. And then she'll be like, oh, I forgot sneakers. Can I borrow? And I'm like, see, I checked and.
- [38:48]
Tim McKay
I brought it up.
- [38:51]
Maureen Callahan
Savannah hates Jenna. Savannah thinks Jenna is a talentless nepo baby who is used to having the help pack and unpack for her. And when she forgets to pack something crucial like sneakers so she can walk around comfortably while she's on assignment. And she says to Savannah, do you have a pair? And again, where's the personal hygiene? Who wants to wear somebody else out? Okay. Anyway, back to Tracy. Back to Tracy. My whole thing is I ha. I buy beautiful things. I have beautiful things. I don't go on vacations and away to shop. Yes. I go to experience culture. I go to eat. I go to lay around. I go to get a lymphatic drainage massage. I go to try. I go to try playing tennis again, which I was good at when I was young, I get pretty cocktails. Like, I don't drink at home. Yeah, I don't drink when I'm working, but when I'm on vacation, you can do all those things. So I put on my pretty clothes and I enjoy the environment and I look at the environment and I talk to people. Not always, that's true. She doesn't talk to anybody who's not driving her from point A to point B, who's not her personal butler at a five star resort, or who's not upselling her some piece of shit rug that they're telling her has magical properties to war, ward off evil. Oh, my God. And then she. She's the gall to say, I don't travel to shop. That's all the only thing we see her do when she's forced off of hotel property by her overlords at Roku, who have clearly called the skeleton crew and said, get her out into the town. This is a travel show. She says she doesn't drink. I think Tracy tipples quite a bit. I think she tipples quite a bit. She's wet brainy to me. Wet brainy. She thinks everything she has to say is adorable. And then she says she's there to see the sights. Remember, everyone? Trees. Did you see the trees? Like, she's on a major highway, which they're typically like buttressed by trees. I see it on the lie all the time. I don't need to go to Spain. Do you see the trees? What an idiot. What a. Okay, now on to your feedback. A lot of it came from our YouTube channel. There was an email in there, though, and I'm gonna pointed out the top comment since it went up on YouTube. I believe it's been up there for days now. I love this. My beloved late mother used to work as a hotel housekeeper at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. She cleaned the rooms of many Famous people and even presidents. One day she was called to go clean the room of Diana Ross. Tracy opened the door and cruelly scolded and yelled at my mother. My mother again. This is a self report. It's alleged. It tracks to me. My mother never forgot how small this Tracy woman made her feel. Some people do very little in life and get to stay in lavish luxury hotels. Yet individuals such as this Tracey Ross pretend to be so quirky and sweet, when in truth, they very much are not. My mother came to the United States from Haiti and lived a remarkable life. Her experience with this Tracy has made me never want to watch anything. She is in another. I know someone who worked at Barney's and waited on Diana Ross who was buying something. He went on to say, Ms. Ross, I just want to say. And Tracy interrupted him, allegedly, and said, there'll be none of that today. What a nasty person to interrupt someone who just wanted to express their admiration respectfully. This guy was gay. And back then, these people. Oh, no. Now sorry, excuse me. People like Tracy will rage over gay rights, but treat people like him like dirt. Because in Tracy's mind, he's the help. This I believe came via email. Oh my God, did I love this. I doubled over. It was too good. I am a clinical psychologist and I taught measurement of IQ as a professor. I didn't know there was such a. Like a course. Measurement of IQ. Remember I said that she was maybe at 100. Like 80 would be dull. Clinically dull. He's this person. I'm sorry, I can't gender you. I don't know if you're male or female. This person says an IQ of 100 is being generous. All caps. Generous. He thinks Tracy. He or she thinks Tracy is below a 100 IQ and then goes on to say. Let me explain regression toward the mean. Bet she can't sing a note either. As we saw in her unwrapping of her shoe. Okay, my pitch for season two of solo traveling with this asshole producers at Roku. Please listen to me. It should be akin to the Simple Life with Paris and Nicole. You have to make Tracy fly coach. Standby. She's to fly coach standby. She's not allowed to check a single bag. She has to pay to. Yeah, she has to pay all of her extras. And then she has to be forced to rent a mid size vehicle like a Hyundai or a Kia. And she's got to travel to Middle Earth. Middle America. She can't go. She's got to go. She's got to go somewhere Like Cleveland, Ohio. Well, I mean, that's a big city, but like, she's got to go to middle America and then she has to stay in an Econolodge or a Motel 6 and she has to shop in a Walmart and then dine at like a chain restaurant, like an Olive Garden. Okay, that's season two. And she can only talk to average people. That's it. I mean, that's a show for you. That is a show. As always. Great stuff, troublemakers. Great stuff. Stuff. Please keep it coming and remember to like, subscribe and spread the word about the Nerf. The faster we grow, the faster we bring you more original content and all the other outside stuff we're working on. You can also, you know, you can email me@maureen devilmaycare media.com or you can DM me on Instagram, Maureen Callahan, writer or at the Nerf show. Up next, we have two cultural offenders who are not getting the memo that they're out. They're out. And we have a special guest. See you in a minute. Do you love olive oil? If so, have you ever tasted it farm fresh? 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And so this was an amazing report in the Daily Mail that he learned that. So this is the, this is the headline, Howard Stern. This is dated August 6, 2025. The reporters are Christine Rendon and Eve Buckland. Headline, Howard Stern suffered brutal double humiliation when he discovered his show was, quote, doomed, including a call from best bud Jimmy Kimmel. Now, the synopsis of this story. Howard Stern's 95 strong staff had only one goal in mind when they gathered for a team building bash in Manhattan. This was last Tuesday. So only one week ago. They're on summer break, which is another part of the reason Howard's irrelevant. He never used to take summer breaks before. Lately, of the past five years, I'm going to say he's been doing so they were all at Manhattan Spin Bar. I've never heard of it. It means it's lame. Not because I've never heard of it, but you know what I mean. It's in Midtown. Whatever. A Top Howard producer gave a speech saying that they were looking to book bigger, better guests for the forthcoming season and that they were going to be performing the, quote, best radio we can do. Now, a few hours later, they've scattered. A news alert comes from flashes on all of their phones. The show's done. Sirius XM has had enough. Thank you kindly. And the staff then frantically tried reaching longtime executive producer of the Stern show, Gary Dellibate, and he would not reply, which means he was caught off guard and he's trying to talk to Howard or somebody like top, top at Sirius XM Stern, according to this report in the Daily Mail. This exclusive got the news also on his phone, from a news alert while walking on the beach in Southampton outside his beachfront manor. That is a you for the ages. Okay, that is, that is them saying you. We're gonna play like we're gonna offer you some sort of renewal, but it's going to be such a low ball number that you're not going to want to take it so. But make no mistake, we're shiving you like we're shiving you hardcore. This is a humiliation. You need to go now. Again, this report his celebrity pals Jimmy Fallon and Ali Wentworth, who is best known for being the wife of ABC News's George Stephanopoulos. I cringe when I say that the. Stern sent those calls to voicemail. He only picked up for his celebrity bff, Jimmy Kimmel. And he was. Stern reportedly was stunned and he said to Kimmel, when Kimmel said in some substance, what's going on? Howard said, quote, first I'm hearing of it. Now, back in April 2021, when I was still at the New York Post, I wrote this lengthy column about Stern's show just being dead. Like it had been dead for a long time. Covid killed it off. Now, as I wrote back then, he was 67 back then, so he's 70 something now. I can't do the math in my head. It's. It's really simple math, and I can't do it in my head. I'm just being honest with you guys. I'm being vulnerable. Okay. So he renewed his contract with Sirius XM December of 2020. So he had signed for five years. So this is the contract that's coming up now. Okay. These numbers are just five years at a reported 120 million per year, which I found incredible at the time. I said he works three days a week, three out of five business days, Monday through Wednesday, he broadcast maybe three hours per day. He did about 112 shows per year. That means 253 days off, which equated to a salary of over $1 million per show. A show that he was phoning in. Okay. I just took a look on Reddit to see what he's been up to lately, because I haven't listened to the show in years. And that's a heartbreak to say because I was a commuter kid. Like, I commuted to school and like, I would be on buses and trains. And his show would keep me going in the mornings when I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. And he would have me laughing so hard, I would be in tears. And by the time I got to where I was going, I was, like, energized. And now this is what he's been doing. He's taking guitar lessons and he's been boring his audience with his progress on the guitar and talking to his guitar instructor. I mean, are you fucking kidding me? And the other thing they did, which really, they killed the news with Robin, which was always the end of the show. It was like the last half hour to hour. Robin would go through the top stories of the day and Howard would give his hot takes. And it was a cheap, easy hit part of the show. Cheap and easy to produce. The fans loved it and they just killed it. They just pulled it. I couldn't even tell you when because they never gave a warning, they never announced it, they never gave an explanation. It just disappeared. Now, if it's Monday, this is what I wrote at the time. If it's Monday. On the Stern show, you would typically get a wrap up of how Howard spent his weekend. And that typically involved how many peloton classes he took, like in his own home, like he never left the house. Updates on this is actually factual. If you look at the, at the show, what he would talk about his lifelong disordered eating habits, we would also get updates. I'm not, I'm not exaggerating. This is what he would talk about his current blood levels. Then he would rant about why the 1 percenters who live near him in the Hamptons post vaccine weren't wearing masks all the time. And that included outside. If his much younger model, second wife Beth, came up, it would be to discuss how efficiently she cleaned the house now that the maids were gone. Because he couldn't have the maids in the house. Her eating habits, her blood levels, and the hundreds of rescue cats that cycle in and out of that house. And if the bachelor or the bachelorette was on, we would get a disposition on that for about 45 minutes. So now, now this is all to set the table in 2013. This is how long his staff has hated him. Howard held a top secret crisis staff meeting called Revolution 2013. And at least one staffer recorded the whole thing and leaked it. And it has lived online ever since. And for those of you who have not had the chance to indulge. So he, he holds this meeting in this amphitheater. He's on stage. It's this big presentation, Revolution 2013. It's a big audio visual presentation. And then underneath that on the screen, it says where we are going, how we are getting there. Let's look at Howard telling his disloyal staff he doesn't know it, but we know it. What's up?
- [55:52]
Tim McKay
Leverage.
- [55:53]
Maureen Callahan
Friends of the court.
- [55:53]
Tim McKay
What do I mean by Friends of the Court? Whitney Cummings was doing jack shit when we found her. She was in clubs. She was going nowhere fast.
- [56:06]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, my God. So he does not have the foresight, you know, as they say, Never put anything in writing that you would never want the whole world to see. He does not have the foresight to realize that his entire staff, many of whom, again, loathe him, work in media. They work in radio. They work in satellite radio. They understand how to record things for audio and video. So there's Howard Stern saying, Whitney Cummings was doing Jack when we found her. He says she was going nowhere fast. Why isn't she coming back on our show? I don't know. Maybe this kind of disloyalty, Howard, is the reason why. Maybe she hears what you have to say about her behind closed doors. Okay, let's listen and watch him going in on Jerry Seinfeld and John Stewart.
- [56:57]
Tim McKay
Jerry Seinfeld had a show called the Seinfeld Chronicles that was about to go off the air. He used our show. This woman was nowhere when she did our show. Jon Stewart used to come on when the Daily show started, and he'd be a regular guest. What happened to this guy? I haven't even fucking seen him years.
- [57:16]
Maureen Callahan
Okay? That woman was Kathy Griffin, and he just bypassed her. He's a misogynist. And. And then he goes to John Stewart and he goes, what happened to him? I haven't seen him in years. Do you want to know something? I can tell you a little something, but it's about John Bon Jovi. Okay? He. He was a guest, an in studio guest on Howard Stern show twice. Jon Bon Jovi showed up in the lobby of the Sirius XM building, which I know well because it was right across the street and is right across the street from my old office. And I've been in that building. And typically, what happens is someone comes to pick you up from the show and escort you upstairs. And Jon Bon Jovi, if he's still flying the way he did when I would see him at the MTV studios, he doesn't come with an entourage. He doesn't even come with an assistant. He just comes by himself. He said to Howard, I've. I've come to do your show not once, but twice scheduled appearances, and nobody came to get me. And so I just left. Here's Howard railing on two other famous male celebrities who he can't understand, remain elusive on his show.
- [58:23]
Tim McKay
Adam Levine owes us, man. When he was coming in and doing the show, nobody was looking for him before the Voice and David Letterman. I've done his show I don't know how many times, probably 27 times. And he's only been on our show twice.
- [58:39]
Maureen Callahan
Again. I think that should tell you something. Howard and I think you should look within. I don't think these people like you. Now, Howard went on this amazing rant about why Brad Pitt has never been on his show and how they got a book Brad Pitt and how the person who's going to do it is a staffer. Very inelegant, uncouth, very. A kind of guy who is off putting, named Richard Christie, who Howard used to just torment and berate and humiliate on air. And here's Howard telling Richard in front of the entire staff how Richard is going to book Brad Pitt.
- [59:30]
Tim McKay
So you fucking love Brad Pitt. Big deal.
- [59:33]
Maureen Callahan
What good is that doing?
- [59:35]
Tim McKay
You've said it on the air. Why don't you write him a letter? But of course you're going to hand it into this core group of people, the strategists. But you're going to be major in getting me Brad Pitt on the air. And talk about how inspired you were when you were sitting in Kansas and you saw a guy from Kansas make it that you were ridiculed because you had posters of Brad Pitt on your wall.
- [60:01]
Maureen Callahan
He's basically saying to Richard two things. He says, you're a kid from Kansas and you loved Brad Pitt. And you're going to talk about how encouraging it was to see someone else from Kansas, namely Brad Pitt, make it. Brad Pitt is from Missouri. Everyone knows this. Everyone in media knows it. Secondly, not everyone in real life. I mean, what do you guys care, you know, but you know what I'm saying. Secondly, he says, you know, you're going to talk about how you got made fun of because as a kid you had pictures of Brad Pitt up on your wall. He's basically calling the guy gay lovely. You know, he's trying to humiliate him. You know, he's trying to just humiliate the guy. And Howard should talk because all he talks about on his show, he's got a fixation with penises, ejaculation and ejaculate. He does. So, you know, just saying. Now you know who Howard has a lot in common with. One Sarah Jessica Parker. They are both around the same. Well, they're both definitely Social Security age adjacent. If not, Howard's definitely like, he's in his 70s. How Sarah's like 60 something. They're New York City fixtures. They think more highly of themselves than the rest of us do. And they've been culturally irrelevant and grossly overpaid for years and years now. And they're both totally effing to lulu. They cannot believe that the culture and the c Suites are showing them the door now. The latest on Sarah is that she is going nuts. And she is making her showrunner Michael Patrick King look like the liar he is. Just my opinion. By leaking that it wasn't. I think this is Sarah leaking it. I do. That it wasn't a voluntary artistic decision made by the two of them to end. And just like that, no, HBO fired them. And they did so ingloriously. And she's fuming. She is fuming. And just like Howard, Sarah is trying to shop around yet another iteration of something nobody wants. Nobody listens to Howard, and nobody wants to watch Sarah as Carrie Bradshaw. So this reminded me of an episode of Sarah Jessica Parker. This was seven years ago, but I doubt anything has changed. Because if you're like this, you are like this. I've known skin flints my life, my whole life. I stay away from them. If I see somebody who is a terrible tipper, I'm out of there now. So Jerry had Sarah Jessica again. They're great pals out here in the Hamptons on his show. And when they finished their coffee and whatever they were eating, it's time to pay the bill and watch what Sarah says is an appropriate tip.
- [63:02]
Tim McKay
Okay, the check is $37.
- [63:03]
Maureen Callahan
How much tip would you leave? 10.
- [63:08]
Tim McKay
You go to hell.
- [63:09]
Maureen Callahan
That's not enough. No, wait, you moved the decimals. It was a $40 check. You would leave $8 would be 20%. No. Am I. Russell, would you help me? I'll help you because everyone's gonna ask her.
- [63:24]
Tim McKay
Oh, my God.
- [63:24]
Maureen Callahan
You waited on Jerry. Sarah Jessica Barker. How much did they tip you? How much did feature? What do you want her to say, 20 bucks? Yeah. Is that what you want to say? 10.
- [63:33]
Tim McKay
She just moved the decimal point.
- [63:34]
Maureen Callahan
Okay, wait, you're going to leave. Wow. Big shot. Big shot. Unbelievable. Gross. Disgusting.
- [63:41]
Tim McKay
Garish.
- [63:42]
Maureen Callahan
Vulgar. No, it's lovely. I'm a total. But for real. Like, I know all joking is real. What is real? What is real? You tell me what real is, is, and we'll have really gotten something out of this. Really glad we are not married. Okay, so Jerry does the thing he always does on that show, which is just like double over in laughter like Jimmy Fallon does on the Tonight Show. It's really embarrassing. However, this is a very important cultural artifact because it shows us Sarah Jessica Parker says in that clip, it had to be bleeped out. Like, I'm a real. And she is. You're a multi, multi millionaire. She was getting paid, reportedly, and I think this is lowball. A million dollars. Per episode for ingest like that. Okay, so 10 episodes this season. Eight, you know, conservatively, she made between 25 and $30 million just for that alone. And she says she's gonna give $8 on a tip to a hard working service person. That's one of the hardest jobs you can do. And I always feel I worked retail as a kid. I feel very grateful. I never did worked in the service industry because I think that is the hardest job, one of the hardest jobs there is. And she's sitting there going, okay, maybe I'll give 20 bucks. And Jerry's like trying to appeal to her ego. Just like saying, like, hey, like she's gonna, she's gonna be asked, like, what did she tip? When she's saying like, I waited on Jerry, which is true. And Sarah, which is true. And she's like, I don't really care. She's an asshole. Okay, now, oh, my God. I, I put it together while I was writing the show, Sarah. Okay, so Carol Radziwill has modeled herself on Carrie Bradshaw and Sarah Jessica Parker. Remember on Roni, Carol showed up as a sprightly, another sprightly 900 year old woman. She was dating a much younger man who she allowed to move into her apartment. And she purchased a lot expensive items and clothes for this guy. And she would ride around the city perched on the handlebars of his bicycle, no helmet, wearing pigtails. And she was just a whimsical girl. Just a whimsical girl. And she also stored her shoes, her designer shoes in her oven. And when she went to renovate her place, she told the contractor to just take the oven out entirely because she never cooked. And the contractor was like, we're not doing that. Anyway, now, now to discuss all of this and more, I'm so excited to introduce to you guys my friend Tim McKay. He is a professional makeup artist who has worked with many of these people and he has war stories and observations for days. Welcome to the nerve. Tim McKay. Hi, Tim.
- [66:39]
Tim McKay
Hi, Maureen. Thank you so much for having me on here. I just want to say that I've been a fan of yours since you were on Megyn Kelly. And I remember, like, leaving comments on her show saying Maureen needs to have her own show, like, since day one, because you were just so funny. And so that's why as soon as you got your own show, I reached out to you immediately because I was like, I love Maureen. You're made for this. And just congratulations on the success of the show.
- [67:02]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, Tim, thank you. I didn't know that. That's so lovely. Yep. So. So what I love about you, Tim, is that you have an eagle eye, you've got a sharp funny tongue, but you are mush inside. You know, it's very, it's very nerve. It's very nerve.
- [67:19]
Tim McKay
I'm a Leo. I'm a Leo. I mean.
- [67:20]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, there you go.
- [67:22]
Tim McKay
Yeah.
- [67:24]
Maureen Callahan
So you, you know, we were talking a bit about and just like that and I wanted to ask you for your. You're all caught up, as am I. What are your takeaways as to this season three as it reaches is it's inelegant denouement?
- [67:45]
Tim McKay
Well, I think personally, even though it's being canceled, I think that Michael Patrick King should go back and change the name of the show to and just distract. Because that's pretty much all they do on that show is just distract the audience with as many like crazy clown outfits and like bangles and hair and makeup. And it's, you know, that's the number one rule. The number one rule of TV and film, hair, makeup, wardrobe is to not distract from what you're trying to tell the audience. You know, you want the audience to pay attention to the character's words, the emotions, what's going on. And I remember in season one, Lisa having this like vampy dark purple lipstick and I'm like, that's a fashion lipstick. But that's not something that you wear on tv. Like you're going to get close ups. You don't like, you know how startling that is. Like so great. We're just going to stare at her lips the entire time she talks and not really know what she's talking about. And the same goes for hair. You know, I don't know if it's in Sarah Jessica Parker's contract to enter every episode, especially season three, when she enters every single episode, the teased out hair from a coast to coast, she's just all doughy eyed. She just comes in, she's like, oh, I don't know. Oh. And I just can't, you know, she does those mannerisms that were popular in the early 2000s, like that you can't get away with anymore. Like those like, oh, and I'm just like those were popular in the 2000s. You can't do those anymore. Like nowadays people don't act like that. And the way that they dress. No one dresses like that. I've lived in New York City for 15 years, Maureen, and they're dressing like 2012, like these huge belts and these huge gaudy outfits that Distract the audience so we have no idea. We don't even care what they're talking about.
- [69:20]
Maureen Callahan
Yes. Yes. First of all, I noticed that with the Lisa Todd Wexler character, who is constantly dressed in these very loud colors and classic patterns and has no real storyline. Yes.
- [69:32]
Tim McKay
Yes.
- [69:33]
Maureen Callahan
What was Dryer ball. The dryer ball Necklace.
- [69:37]
Tim McKay
Oh, my God. Yeah. I don't know if it was like, it looked like. I heard there were anal beads. I've heard, like, so many jokes about that necklace. That freaking necklace. But it's. That's all I could look at. The entire episode was just that huge necklace. And I don't even know what the episode was about. I mean, I know she was upset about wanted to cheat on her husband, blah, blah, blah, but it went nowhere. And I just think that they really did. It should. They should just change the name to. And just distract. Because there wasn't much to it. Like. And just, like, what? Really? Because there wasn't much to it.
- [70:04]
Maureen Callahan
I know, and you're so right about SJP's, like, her tics, like, the. Like. But it's. It's more than just, like, sort of outdated gestures. Exactly. It's like, I'm just a co. Cat. I'm just a cat.
- [70:17]
Tim McKay
And. And also, I wanted to say this about her hair is because I think it's beautiful. I'm not talking crap about her hairstylist. I think it's beautiful. But the thing about hair in TV and film is, like, you have to pretend that those characters did it themselves. So in the original show, Sarah Jessica Parker had big curly hair, Carrie had big curly hair and this. And we all assumed that that was natural. Like, that was Carrie's natural hair, the big curls. Because the hairstylist smartly used a big curling iron, a medium, and a small to give different dimension to the hair. So it didn't look like, fake. So it looked like real curls. Now every episode, it's just big and teased, and it looks like she spent 45 minutes in the bathroom, like, teasing it, teasing it, teasing it. Because then one episode that came after that, she had it in a little tiny ponytail, and it looked like there was, like, like six hairs. So it's just. It's. It's not balancing. Right.
- [71:06]
Maureen Callahan
It's so distracting to me to see a woman of her age with, like, 90 pounds of hair extensions on, you know, so many. I feel like, yeah, it should be. It should be proportionate to what a woman her age would potentially look like, you know? So also tell me your thoughts as to the way the whole winding down of the show has been playing out in the media, I think it's pretty.
- [71:32]
Tim McKay
Funny, especially because of that huge lie that you talked about. Like, I love how companies still try to lie to the audience and save their own butts and say, like, oh, no, this is what we planned all along. And it's like, really? Because you guys introduced a lot of new things and new characters in this season that I feel like you'd want to explore a little bit more rather than just cut it off. But. But no, it came to light that that was a lie and that it was canceled. I've heard different things. Maureen, actually. Oh, my God. Just remembered.
- [71:59]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [72:00]
Tim McKay
I don't know if this is true, but a source tells me that it was because of Cynthia Nixon and a lot of her, like, personal stuff that she's doing, like, on the. In on her Instagram and the things that she posts and everything like that. I don't know if that's true, but I've heard that that might have had something to do with it. I don't know.
- [72:18]
Maureen Callahan
Well, I've heard that they were none too happy over at HBO Corporate when she posted herself in the make abortion great again hat.
- [72:27]
Tim McKay
Yeah, exactly. That's. Yes. I couldn't remember what the hat said, but that's exactly what I'm thinking about because that's never something to celebrate and.
- [72:35]
Maureen Callahan
Right.
- [72:36]
Tim McKay
It's actually kind of demonic when you think about it. Yeah. So I don't like that. And I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but actually, speaking of distracting, what's funny is I love how in season one that she wanted so badly to have gray hair and America said no. They were like, absolutely not. We're gonna have to have you have the red hair back because none of us want to see you, especially if you're gonna have sex and be naked every other episode. We don't want to see the, you know, rose old woman from Titanic having sex. Like, we, you know, at least put the red hair back on so she.
- [73:07]
Maureen Callahan
So we know that Cynthia will compromise her artistic ethos for money and to keep her job. Which says to me, HBO Max should have pushed back a lot harder. Two points this season, Tim. Your hot takes number one, in bed with Rosie o' Donnell as a virgin nun.
- [73:27]
Tim McKay
Oh, okay. It was a jump scare, and I'm someone who loves horror movies, but watching that, I had to kind of fast forward a little bit. I got the gist. I saw them in bed together. I. Awkward. She obviously wants Rosie o' Donnell to be this like, humiliated, like, sad character that she can just kind of make fun of. And so it was painful to watch anything with Rosie o' Donnell on that show. I just felt bad for her. The whole time seeing them in bed together, though, I was like, absolutely not fast forward. I don't care what they're talking about.
- [73:53]
Maureen Callahan
Just, I. I literally put my hands in front of my eyes. Like, yeah, nobody wants to see it. Like, don't, don't, don't. Okay, sorry. Another. Another one before I get to.
- [74:05]
Tim McKay
Yes.
- [74:06]
Maureen Callahan
Aiden in the pickup truck, licking his hand, jamming it down his jeans, and then telling Carrie he was so turned on that he sharted.
- [74:20]
Tim McKay
I. I didn't have words for that, Maureen. I. He freaks me out in general. Just like the character of Aiden, he just seems like this needy. Like Carrie. I just. It was just a lot. And. And then. So for that jerk off. That masturbation scene. Sorry, that masturbation scene in the car, it was, it was. Again, it was almost like watching family members that, you know, like, have phone sex. Like, I feel like I was watching my uncle and aunt have phone sex and I just wanted to throw up. I had to fast forward through that too. I don't do well with these mature sex scenes. I don't know.
- [74:55]
Maureen Callahan
I don't think I. I really almost feel like they're. It's the kind of. It's like provocative. I mean, there were provocative artists, but yeah, it's just shocky. It's just. It's just for shock value. Like, and the last one. And then we'll leave sex in the city where it belongs or. And just like that for the moment anyway, because we have another episode to get through. Cynthia Nixon, full frontal, wearing old man ankle socks again.
- [75:20]
Tim McKay
Does she like that? I think that that's what she wants because again, don't want to see it when. I love that you're proud of your body. I think that you can be sexy at any age. I'm not saying that anything about that, but we don't really need to see it. And especially it seems like she really loves it. Like, she loves to be naked on camera and think that. I don't know if it's supposed to be funny. Are we supposed to laugh at the fact that she's naked all the time? I don't really know. But yeah, I don't enjoy it. That's. And plus, I don't think she has a sense. I definitely don't enjoy it.
- [75:46]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, I don't think she has a Sense of humor. I think she's like, you know what, America? You're going to look at myself, saggy stomach and my pasty body, and you're gonna like it.
- [75:56]
Tim McKay
This is me kind of thing.
- [75:57]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, exactly.
- [75:58]
Tim McKay
Yeah.
- [76:00]
Maureen Callahan
Okay, on to Howard Stern. Now, you have lived in New York for 15 years, so he has been a presence, I would imagine, in your life as mine. What do you make of this again? Like, it's a very messy, messy beginning of parting of ways.
- [76:15]
Tim McKay
Well, I've always thought he was an asshole. I've. I've seen only probably when I would watch interviews of actors that I really like, and I would watch them on his show, and he would always, like, kind of like, it's funny sometimes, but sometimes he would, like, embarrass them. And. And I like that to a limit, but whatever. I think that when you're loved by an audience and you're hated by an audience, that's great. Like, that's, you know, people are going to tune in to see what you said. Same with. And just like that. But then once you become. Once you become, you know, we all became kind of. We don't give, we don't care. Indifferent. I think indifference is the worst thing you could possibly have towards a show, because then you have nothing to talk about. It's like, okay, it wasn't. Did you hear what he said? Like, no one really cares what he said anymore. So it's kind of just like, oh, let him be grandpa in the corner. Just like, talking to himself from now on.
- [77:04]
Maureen Callahan
It's so true. It's so true. I wanted to also get your initial thoughts. You know, we're going to be talking a lot about. The plan is for Thursday or Friday show rather to talk about reality tv. And right now I am obsessed with what is going on over on Bravo and the Valley because they have had Jax Taylor on that reunion couch for every episode, and he is admitting to episodes of domestic violence and hardcore drug use that are terrifying. And Andy sort of sitting there trying to give a glide path to keep Jax on the show. But Bravo had to cave to public outrage and fire him. I do think Andy would. Would love to have him back at some point, but I'm curious as to. You know, you've done a lot of Housewives. You've worked with a lot of Housewives. What is your sense of the. Like, what would you put Bravo on in terms of the darkness scale?
- [78:11]
Tim McKay
In terms of the darkness scale, I would say in nine out of 10, maybe like a 90%, because there are people There that are, like, Luann, who I met, who I loved, and she was so sweet, she made sure to even use my name, which something as small as that goes a long way in the service.
- [78:29]
Maureen Callahan
Means a lot. A lot of them don't. A lot of the celebrities, you're just, like, interchangeable to them, even though your job is to make them look the best they can possibly look.
- [78:38]
Tim McKay
Yeah, exactly. And so Luann, she. I hadn't done her actual full makeup. She was coming into People magazine, and I was doing the touch ups. So she just came over to me and was so respectful and asked me how my day was going. And then you also have people like Ramona or Sonia, who. It's the complete opposite. And I had such crazy experiences with them. Complete opposite. Very rude.
- [79:00]
Maureen Callahan
What's like, your craziest Ramona story?
- [79:04]
Tim McKay
All right, well, I'm gonna say this now for the first time.
- [79:08]
Maureen Callahan
A Nerve exclusive.
- [79:09]
Tim McKay
Yeah, A Nerve exclusive is that Ramona came in, she sat in my chair. She's talking a lot with Dorinda. They're talking about. I think it was like something setting someone up with her doctor. She. It was something like that was pointless. That had nothing to do with whatever they were going on camera to talk about. So they're just there. She gives me her lipstick, her lip liner, her gloss, and she just kind of chucks them in my hand. She's like, do my lips. So I'm doing Ramona's lipstick, her lip liner while she's talking. I'm trying to, like, you know, excuse me, excuse me. I'm, like, trying to get in there. I'm trying to ask her questions, like, did you want me to do anything else? Like, she. She'll look at me and then continue talking to Dorinda. So I'm like, I'm trying to, like, that's my job here, to make you look good. And you're making it very hard for me. And then finally, when it was all done, I finished her lipstick. She says, I want apple slices. I need apple slices. So the producer runs over with apple slices. She shoves them in her mouth, completely messing up what I just did. Chewing them, chewing them, spitting them in the cup. And then she puts them down by my makeup, like, on the. On my makeup station. And so I walked out of the room. I was like, I'm not helping you anymore. Like, I was just. She was ignoring me. She was talking over me. She was rude. And then as I was walking away, I heard her say, he didn't even do my lips.
- [80:14]
Maureen Callahan
He didn't even do it.
- [80:15]
Tim McKay
I'm like, that's all I was trying to do for the past 25 minutes. So, yeah, so that was probably the craziest story. And in the meantime, Sonia's in the background banging on a door, the bathroom, saying, talent needs the bathroom. Talent needs the bathroom. Get out, whoever's in there.
- [80:30]
Maureen Callahan
Talent needs the bathroom.
- [80:32]
Tim McKay
Talent needs the bathroom. And so I just feel like that that's the kind of. And, you know, normal celebrities don't act like that. I've met Mandy Moore, where I came out of a bathroom and almost tackled her by accident, and she said sorry to me. She's like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I was like, okay, Mandy Moore. Like, that's.
- [80:47]
Maureen Callahan
And you're a tall guy, Tim.
- [80:49]
Tim McKay
Oh, yeah.
- [80:50]
Maureen Callahan
You're like a big guy.
- [80:51]
Tim McKay
I'm a big guy. I have a deep voice. And I almost literally tackled this little Mandy Moore, and she was so sweet about it. And I feel like it's the celebrities who want to be what they think a big celebrity is when they, like, they think that that's how they're supposed to act. And it's kind of like, no, that. That is what the D List actors act like. That's not how the bigger actors act. They act with respect. I've worked with lots of actors. They're very respectful most of the time.
- [81:15]
Maureen Callahan
So who was your. Who would you say of the. Of the really big people you've done was somebody who just bold you over with, like, being kind or respectful?
- [81:27]
Tim McKay
Well, my clients. I have a lot of great clients, so it's kind of hard to pick one. I guess it was more of an experience I had. She's not a client of mine, but Paris Hilton I met in 2020, right before the world shut down. I was at People magazine, and I had met Paris Hilton when I was 18 years old at a toy store in Vegas. It was at Caesars palace before Caesars closed. And this was in 2009. And so I was in there shopping with my friend, and we saw Paris Hilton, like, bolt through us in her, like, black, juicy couture velour tracksuit. And so she was very sweet. She said that she would take a photo with us. She was like, oh, come to the club. I was like, I can't. I'm only 18. She was like, oh, that's not hot. But she was, like, so cute about it. And she was actually really sweet. And then. So then, fast forward now, 12 years later, I'm at People magazine, or however many years later 11 years later, and she sits down in my chair, and I'm doing her makeup, and I'm just like. I don't know if you remember this, but do you remember, like, a really tall boy that you met at a toy store in Vegas? And she stood up and she was like, caesars. And I was like, yeah. And she literally just embraced me, like, full arms around my neck. Like, I was just like, oh. Like, literally. It was just the most amazing. It meant a lot to me. Even if she didn't remember me, actually, it just meant a lot to me. Me that she was so sweet and that she pretended to remember me. So that was.
- [82:49]
Maureen Callahan
Perhaps she did. I mean, you are, like a kind of. You are a very, you know, impressive guy. And visually, you are. You are hard to forget, you know.
- [82:58]
Tim McKay
Thank you.
- [82:59]
Maureen Callahan
But that is a lovely story. You know, I just. The contrast between that and the likes of somebody who. It's not even just trying to talk through you, trying to literally do her lips, but then to take her discarded remains of what she did and didn't eat and put it at your makeup station is such an f. You like your makeup station.
- [83:22]
Tim McKay
Chew them up, spit them out, and then put them at the makeup station. Like, did you want the flavor? Like, why did you need to do that? That was so weird. I don't know.
- [83:33]
Maureen Callahan
Have you ever been to the clubhouse? To the Bravo clubhouse?
- [83:36]
Tim McKay
Oh, yeah.
- [83:37]
Maureen Callahan
What's it like back there?
- [83:39]
Tim McKay
Oh, it's actually so much fun. They get you very drunk. I'm sober now, so the past few times I've been. I have not drank, but when I did drink, they are like, here's another drink. Here's another drink. They. So they're just awesome.
- [83:51]
Maureen Callahan
They're just constant. That's. Yes. Okay.
- [83:53]
Tim McKay
It's funny.
- [83:54]
Maureen Callahan
Up their guests.
- [83:55]
Tim McKay
They are loosening. Oh, the goose. The guests are very loosened up by the time they go on camera. And he's funny. He's nice back there. It's. It's busy. It's very small. It's a very small set. The audience is very, very tiny. But it's very laid back. It's really cool. I. I know his makeup artist well, and she actually had me fill in for her one time to do his makeup at his apartment once. And that was a funny experience.
- [84:22]
Maureen Callahan
What was that like? How so?
- [84:24]
Tim McKay
Well, I was nervous. I will admit that. I was nervous because I was going to his apartment, and I was like, oh, my God. So I get there. It's like 6am I forget. He was guest hosting for Wendy Williams. Show at the time. So. So I got there, and I'm, like, in the lobby. I had to wait over an hour before I was able to go up and see him.
- [84:44]
Maureen Callahan
Whoa.
- [84:45]
Tim McKay
Yeah, okay. But, you know, I go up there. He opens the door. He's fully dressed. Like, he's ready to walk out the door. I'm like, oh, how much time do we have? Also nice to meet you. But, like, how much time do we have?
- [84:56]
Maureen Callahan
He.
- [84:56]
Tim McKay
And he's just like, five minutes. And I was like, oh, okay. So I had no time to set up my ring light. No time to, like. I'm already nervous as it is. I had just moved into a new apartment, too, so I. I wasn't happy about that. I hadn't had a lot of sleep. Upstairs there are these little kids that kept banging, banging, banging every time I would try to sleep. So I had that freshly on my mind. And as I'm setting up at his apartment, I hear bang, bang, bang. So I'm like, oh, perfect. Let me relate to him really quick. And I'm just like, oh, so annoying. Right? Like, so annoying, the noise. And he doesn't say anything. I look over to the left, and there's a staircase, and his son comes running down the stairs. And I'm like, oh, that was your son? Oh, my God.
- [85:36]
Maureen Callahan
Hey.
- [85:37]
Tim McKay
Hi, cutie. I love kids. Yeah, so that was embarrassing. He didn't say a word after that. I was just like, no. Yeah, I do his makeup.
- [85:47]
Maureen Callahan
Did he say a word to you after that?
- [85:48]
Tim McKay
No, he wasn't mad. He wasn't mad about it. I don't even know if he'd remember this. But I just, like. It was just a very, you know, let's just go. Let's just move on. Okay, great. Never mind. That's your son. Sorry about that. I do his makeup in the dark, and I forgot a can of hairspray there. So I think the next time I went to his show with a guest, with an actress client of mine, he was like, you left your hairspray. I was like. I rushed out of there. Like, I was just like, oh, my God.
- [86:11]
Maureen Callahan
You were like, tim, don't play Tim. You were like, andy, I was hoping you would call charming. I was just. I was hoping perhaps we could, you know, take this to a more private location to hand it back to me.
- [86:23]
Tim McKay
At a restaurant or something like that. Yeah. No, but he was like, it's basically empty. And I was like, you can just keep it.
- [86:29]
Maureen Callahan
And he was like, okay, well, really, before we. We are running out of time. But I gotta get your thoughts on who. I hope. I don't know if you did her makeup or not. Like, you don't have to say anything, but a recent guest, Tracy Ellis Ross on Watch what Happens Live, who has this bonkers travel show. Have you seen it? And if so, what are your thoughts?
- [86:52]
Tim McKay
So I saw clips of it, and I watched your Weekend Nerve where you talked about it, and I just think it's the wrong show for her. I've never done her makeup.
- [87:02]
Maureen Callahan
Okay.
- [87:02]
Tim McKay
I didn't. I did meet her once. I went to an Entertainment Weekly party back in 2015 or 2016 with an actress client of mine, and she ran up to introduce herself to the actress client, and I never met her. It's okay. It happened.
- [87:16]
Maureen Callahan
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. If this. If you're saying what I think you're saying, you're there with your actress client, the two of you together, just the two of us, right? And she runs up to the actress and greets her effusively and begins a conversation and does not acknowledge your presence.
- [87:32]
Tim McKay
No, just. I just.
- [87:34]
Maureen Callahan
How long did that go on for?
- [87:36]
Tim McKay
A good. Probably five minutes. It wasn't. I mean, or at least it felt like five minutes.
- [87:39]
Maureen Callahan
That is egregious.
- [87:41]
Tim McKay
And I was so nervous. I was 24. This was like 10 years ago now, so I was, like, 24 years old, and I was just like. Like, do I say hi? Like, I don't know to do in that situation. So I just. Just stood there like.
- [87:53]
Maureen Callahan
But that is egregious. I. I have been. I have been on the receiving end of that stuff, and it still happens to me sometimes. And my favorite thing to do. This is my favorite thing to do when it happens to me is so the person who is refusing to acknowledge that I'm standing right there and was part of this conversation, I will just stand there and stare at them. Like, I will bore into the side of their head until, like, I get some sort of a risk just to, like, fuck with them. Because it's so. It's such a petty, weird, insecure thing to do. Like, what it would have taken her to say, like, oh, hi. Like, who's this? Like, nice to meet you.
- [88:32]
Tim McKay
Like, you know, totally. So there was that, but that was my only experience with her. But watching your show. I don't think she should have a travel show. Oh, actually, no, that's not true.
- [88:44]
Maureen Callahan
I think.
- [88:44]
Tim McKay
No, I actually. Listen to this, Maureen. What if she was just authentic and she said, this is how the 1% travels. These are the resorts that we go to, like this is like a fun like rich five class, five star resort. And you just show us the resorts you go to and like show us the first class traveling. Show us the first class of every different plane that you go on. I don't care, like, I don't know. But don't pretend that you're going backpacking through a hostel and you're by yourself like roughing it and tumbling it and like saying how like quirky she is. I'm like, yeah, you might be the funny friend with your friend group, but like that's not enough to carry the show. And you're. The most cultural exploration you're doing is the like the gift shop by the check in counter at the hotel resort. So I don't know, I think she's.
- [89:27]
Maureen Callahan
The wrong, funny, quirky friend. Tim, she's not. You don't think so? No. This is what they tell her to like get her to just be like, you know, just keep her happy over there somewhere. I think the problem with the show for the true 1%. The true 1%. Just my supposition, and I'm not saying Tracy's involved in any of this whatsoever. With the true 1%, you have to show the barely legal sex slaves that are kept on the lower, lower deck of the yachts and the drug dealers who show up and the arms dealers who show up and all of the dark arts that go into becoming and maintaining yourself at that level. That's just my, my, yeah, 100%.
- [90:09]
Tim McKay
They might leave that part out, but I mean, I think you're right. You should.
- [90:14]
Maureen Callahan
I think so too. Yeah. Well, Tim, I gotta thank you so much for coming on the Nerve with your takes on SJP and Howard and all the behind the scenes stuff at Bravo. And I hope you will come back and help us eulogize the final episode of and just like that on our wrap up next week.
- [90:34]
Tim McKay
I would love to. I will be here anytime you ask. Maureen, thank you so much for having me.
- [90:39]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, thanks for coming on, Tim. It was great to see you. I'll see you soon.
- [90:43]
Tim McKay
See you soon.
- [90:44]
Maureen Callahan
Bye. And that does it for our Tuesday edition of the Nerve. That was a lot. That was great. That was great. I love those behind the scenes stories. I love that like, like a seemingly small thing, like a Tracee Ellis Ross, like ignoring this young guy who's just coming up in his industry, working in that industry tells you. It tells you a lot. Tells you a lot. Anyway, we are already, we're already piling up the stories for Friday's edition of the Nerve. So we'll see all of you troublemakers over there. Or over here, I should say, where? You'll never guess what we're about to say next. America is built on hard work and powered by American energy. Chevron has spent $44 billion with local businesses across all 50 states since 2022, fueling infrastructure and communities, all while strengthening local economies. Last year, Chevron increased U.S. production nearly 20%, powering communities and businesses from the heartlands to the coast. Hosts we're helping to fuel America's energy advantage, building a brighter future right here at home. Visit chevron.comamera to discover more.