← The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
Meghan Markle's Rejection, Jeff Bezos' Met Gala Control, and Olivia Nuzzi's Mounting Scandal
01:14:03
IIn this LA edition of The Nerve at Night, Maureen Callahan partners with celebrity reporter Rob Shuter to break down all the latest drama unfolding in every corner of Meghan Markle's shrinking world, including why the Kardashians are backing off Meghan in the wake of Kris Jenner's party pic debacle. Maureen and Rob also examine the overly touchy dynamic between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on their' Wicked' press tour, Ariana's relationship status with Ethan Slater and the implications of Jeff Bezos sponsoring next year's Met Gala. Then Maureen switches gears to talk about the growing scandal surrounding RFK Jr.'s reported mistress Olivia Nuzzi in the days leading up to the release of her new memoir and how Maureen was injected into the story. Then she is joined by producer Marlaina to opine on the roster of dirty characters in this love/sex quadrangle and why Cheryl Hines keeps hanging in there. Rob Shuter - https://robshuter.substack.com/ Honeylove: Get 20% OFF @honeylov...
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- [00:00]
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Maureen Callahan
Hello and welcome. Welcome to the Nerve at Night. I am your host Maureen Callahan and this is our second day coming to you from la. Second day, first time for the Nerve to be coming to you from Los Angeles. West coast bureau established to kick it off celebrity gossip and reporter extraordinaire Rob Shooter is back with us and he's got some intel on the latest breaking Meghan Markle drama. He's got some exclusive exclusive material he is sharing with all of the troublemakers at the Nerve. Then we are going to get into what is going on with this wicked press tour. The creepiness going on with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Then we've got troublemaker feedback. And then we are going to go deep on a scandal into which your faithful troublemaker in chief was brought into over the weekend. And so now it's on. We're getting into it. Okay, Olivia newsi her upcoming memoir, the latest on her quote unquote affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Who is still married to Cheryl Hines. And now Olivia's ex fiance Ryan Lizza has a launched a substack which he's talking all manner of trash about Olivia. And then Olivia's other ex boyfriend Keith Olberman just went to town on his podcast and you know who's here to weave it all together for you. And then Marlena is going to come in and talk about it some more because we both have these theories that are so much fun. Marlena and I have been talking about it like all weekend long. Okay. The Olivia newsy Love quadrangle. It's Maha. It's celebrity, it's media, it's gossip, it's sex. It's a new kind of. It's an existing sexual act that none of us have ever heard of. And we're all completely Grossed out by it. None of us here at the Nerve or prudes by a mile. Trust me, we live to expand. You know, the life experience of all of us really here. But this one's going to blow your mind. Okay? This is a show, my friends, like no other. So are you ready? Are you ready? Let's go. If you like. Most of us are fed up with shapewear that rolls down and bras that never quite fit right. I used to think it was just me that, like, I couldn't find a bra that would fit perfectly. No, it's like. It's a. It's a feature, not a bug. I'm gonna tell you about honeylove. Their bras are a total game changer. I like the Cloud Embrace bra, which is wireless but still supportive. I hate wire. I hate it. So it's perfect for if you're. Especially now, right when you're going on a long holiday flight or a road trip. Plus, honeylove is an independent female founded brand made to move with you, not against you. So you can just enjoy your day. Do not spend this season tugging at uncomfortable bras or shapewear. Whether you are dressing up or lounging in a cozy sweater, you will feel comfortable and supported, and that's all that matters. It's the kind of gift I would give myself and recommend for my own friends. So treat yourself or someone you love to Honey Love this holiday season. Right now, you can save 20%@honeylove.com nerve just use our exclusive link honeylove.com nerve to grab your discounts. Now, after you order, they're going to ask where. Where you heard about Honey Love. So please support our show and tell them you're a troublemaker and the Nerve sets you celebrate the season feeling confident and comfortable with Honey Love. Joining me now is one of yours and my favorites, celebrity reporter extraordinaire, Rob Shooter. If you haven't yet, go subscribe to Rob's incredible substack naughty but Nice. And we will also be leading up to the. We're all very excited for the publication of Rob's debut novel. We're gonna be talking all about that. Welcome back, Rob.
- [05:29]
Rob Shooter
Hello, my friend. How are you? Good to see you.
- [05:32]
Maureen Callahan
I'm well. How are you doing?
- [05:35]
Rob Shooter
I have the nicest life. I get paid to gossip about Meghan Markle, Kim Kardashian's bottom, all your major food groups, everything I love. And so it's a good life.
- [05:45]
Maureen Callahan
Well, you know, don't, you know, cut yourself short there? I mean, you work really hard at It. I was paying attention over the weekend to all of your latest updates. And first off the bat, I mean, I know we did this with Kinsey, but I have got to talk to you about the celebrity angle of Meghan Markle and what she's been up to this past week. Now, your latest reporting. Forgive me if there's even more that's coming hot off the wire is that the Kardashians are done with Meghan. Is this true?
- [06:13]
Rob Shooter
Absolutely. They're really annoyed about it. This goes back to that big birthday party. It was Chris's 70th birthday party. If you followed the Kardashians, or even if you didn't, you do know that they don't like to share the spotlight. This was meant to be Chris's night. This was her James Bond theme night thrown by Jeff Bezos. Big stars there. And Megan's nonsense with Harry where they said that they didn't want their pictures taken. And then they said maybe they did. And then there was some excuse to People magazine and that they didn't want to sign the release documents. Now we know that release document never existed. It never was given to anybody. And so the Kardashians are just annoyed with them. And when the Kardashians get annoyed, they move on. So it's another big celebrity in Hollywood, a big, big famous name that Meghan and Harry have somehow managed to annoy you.
- [07:09]
Maureen Callahan
So they were just. We're just saying, allegedly, reportedly lying about the existence of release forms, that every A Lister who entered that building knew the cost of doing business was. You're being photographed.
- [07:23]
Rob Shooter
Yeah, I spoke to three different A Listers at the party. None of them had seen this document. So it just didn't exist. You know, my work year's working for JLO and Diddy and Alicia Keys. I would go to some of these parties in the Hollywood Hills. I would. Guilty. Not once did anybody sign one of these documents. You sign these documents when you enter a TV studio, you give permission for your likeness. But at these parties, you do not sign it. You're a VIP if you've got to make people sign documents. You don't get into Jeff Bezos, his house. This was someone's home. It was at a very, very private place. It just was ridiculous. Oprah didn't sign a document. Beyonce didn't sign a document. There was no documents there. So Meghan and Harry leaking that they didn't say on record. So technically you could say it was their friends that said it. Although when it appears in People magazine, I see You, Maureen, rolling your eyes.
- [08:20]
Maureen Callahan
Do they have friends?
- [08:22]
Rob Shooter
They have paid friends, they have staffers. And so it just annoyed the Kardashians. And, you know, I, we, we can give her a lot of drama. And it's fun to talk about them, the Kardashians, but in my experience, being around them, even in working with them a few times, they're on time. They're professionals. They're no nonsense. You don't get to run $1 billion company. Even if we don't like what they stand for, they work there. Literally bottoms off. It's the opposite of how Meghan and Harry conduct their business.
- [08:56]
Maureen Callahan
You know, I want to get into Kim K. With you in one second, by the way, because I just saw a very recent development. But what do you make, Rob, of the reports that Netflix, depending on how Meghan's Christmas special does once it drops next week, will be severing all ties if the thing does not, like, become a blockbuster hit.
- [09:19]
Rob Shooter
Yeah, my reporting is. It's over. Even if this Christmas special does okay.
- [09:24]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, really?
- [09:24]
Rob Shooter
This is not enough. It's gotta be great. There are no plans to move forward with Meghan's series anymore. They did two seasons, and that's not exactly true either, Maureen. They did one season. They taped it all at once, and then they cut it into two parts. And so they did not pay for two seasons. They paid for one season, and then they gave us eight episodes, I think, per season. So they pretended it was the second season. This was taped months ago, potentially years ago. I spoke to people who I know in production who make their living working on the show. They wanted to come back, so they get paid. The camera people, the lighting people, the tech people, all of them are looking for new jobs. None of them think it's going to return. This is when you know shows are going to get canceled. I knew Colbert was in trouble. I knew these shows were in trouble when sand people, makeup people, camera people start calling me, asking if I know of any other word for them. So none of them, none of them are expecting the show to come back. So even if the Christmas special is a huge hit, even we have to say that carefully. I just don't think it's enough at this point. They're just too much trouble.
- [10:34]
Maureen Callahan
What did you make, Rob, of the Harper's bizarre cover story in which she's got a footman in an upper. Borrowed. Borrowed Upper east side townhouse, introducing herself, introducing her, rather, as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to a journalist who's there to interview her, and no one Else is in the house.
- [10:54]
Rob Shooter
There was nobody there. A couple of things. She did this story on purpose. She's still mad with Vanity Fair and Conde Nast for that cover they did on Wild About Harry. So Meghan did a big cover with Vanity Fair. She didn't like it. She wanted the COVID to be about her, not Harry. We do not put her on the covers unless she talks about Harry. And so she wanted, I think, here to punish Conde Nast. I know the new editor in chief, Chloe, who's taken over from Anna Winter, a Vogue magazine, part of Conde Nasty. They met with Megan to. To do this cover. And I think Megan spitefully went to their number one competitor, Harper's Bazaar. So there's always another backstory with them. So she did the Harper's Bazaar interview. It was meant to be girl power. It was meant to be woman boss. It was meant to be lady in charge. And the one line, the one line that we're all talking about is when she, in a borrowed townhouse, walked into a room with one person, one person standing there, and she was announced the Duchess of Sussex. There's my doggy, Darby. Hello, the Duchess of Sussex.
- [12:03]
Maureen Callahan
Hi.
- [12:03]
Rob Shooter
Loves your show, the Duchess of Sussex. Now, a couple of things here. It's just so silly. It's so unnecessary. It reeks of the Bravo's Real Housewives. Like Countess Luann. Makes you call her Countess Luann.
- [12:17]
Maureen Callahan
Even she outgrew it.
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Rob Shooter
Yeah, even she.
- [12:19]
Maureen Callahan
She got the memo.
- [12:20]
Rob Shooter
Even she got the. But what I do love is, in typical Meghan fashion, you'll love this, Maure. They got the protocol wrong. That is not how it works. If you remember back to 2012, the Olympics in Britain. James Bond came to see Queen Elizabeth. She had a sandwich with Paddington and James Bond walked into the palace and this is how a real royal is introduced. James Bond. Your Majesty. Majesty. You don't introduce the Queen. Everybody knows she's the Queen. You introduce the commoner to the Queen. So once again, Meghan thought she was being fancy, but her protocol was absolutely wrong. It should have been Rob Shooter. Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex. That's how she should have been introduced. She. I should have been introduced to her. Not her to me. It's just a funny technicality, but it shows you how little she knows about this. Another point I want to make too, is that it feels to me as if the trappings of being part of this family, the title being introduced, the real prestige which comes with being a royal, all of this stuff she wants, and it's ironic that in the process, she's trashing the institution that gave it to her. Make your mind up. Do you want to be in? Do you want to be out? Do you only want to be in when the rules help you? It doesn't work like that. Like every job. Our job's Maureen. We have some really great moments of our jobs. Everybody does, I hope. But I also have some really dull, boring moments. You can't just pick the good. You gotta do both. And Meghan and Harry not willing to do that.
- [14:00]
Maureen Callahan
Every Glamour job, every job that seems like from the outside, it must be front to back, fun, easy, exciting. Every job has its grueling tasks that must be attended to. That's just how it is. That is life in general. I have a couple of questions. Based on what you just said, Rob, why do you think the Vogue thing didn't work out? Obviously, I think she wanted Vogue. It's. It's a number one, as you know, as it goes. But she went over to Harper's Bazaar. I mean, do you think they gave her some kind of control that Vogue would not.
- [14:34]
Rob Shooter
I've booked these covers. So in my JLO days, I've booked Jennifer Lopez on the COVID of Harper's. I've booked her on the COVID of Vogue. These are very soft interviews. These are fashion magazines, really. You don't actually need to really do an interview. They have done covers. Beyonce did a cover of Vogue where it's just photographs. There was no interview. And so I think both of these outlets would have bent over for Megan. She does sell. She is controversial. These magazines don't care really, what you have to say or what you look like. They just want to sell magazines. And so I think either one of them would have been kind to her. I'm told she's really, really pissed. She's really, really angry with Conde Nast. They own Vogue. They own Vanity Fair. That Vanity Fair cover she was furious about. And if we know one thing from Meghan, she holds a grudge. If you upset Meghan, she doesn't forget.
- [15:27]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, she's not quite as easygoing as she would like us to believe, which is her problem in a nutshell, you know. So the other thing is, regarding Vanity Fair, over. Was it this summer or the prior summer? They did a cover story on Harry and Meghan, and the headline was American Hustlers.
- [15:44]
Rob Shooter
There's no Getting Back with Megan. And I kind of like, you know, I kind of sympathize with Megan here. If you bite me, if you come after me, you know, different people I don't do this, but sometimes reporters love to to nip at other people's reporting. And that's the story that you got this wrong. There used to be this really dull website that I'm not even going to give a shout out to, who just made a living of saying all our reporting was not right. And so I don't get down that road. But I must admit here, that cover of Vanity Fair was aggressively, aggressively truthful and hostile. And they're not going to be in business with that. So I think here the staff of Vogue are being punished because of all.
- [16:26]
Maureen Callahan
This, because Harper's Bazaar is Hearst and Vogue is Conde. Got it? Got it. Okay, I want to move on to Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande promoting Wicked Part 2. They're everywhere and they are pawing each other relentlessly. I'm reading from a Daily Mail exclusive published last week. Such is their hyper emotional closeness that Grande herself has even joked about being secretly married to Erivo. Fans have given them the relationship portmanteau Gelfi. Some think it's a calculated ploy to distract from Grande's reportedly strange relationship with her co star fiance Ethan Slater, who's nowhere to be seen. But it says that they are just merely very close friends who are like sisters. If by sisters you mean flowers in the attic, sure. What do you make of this, Rob?
- [17:26]
Rob Shooter
I was invited. I'm not sure why I got invited, but I was invited to the premiere in New York on Monday night so I could see them from where I was perched. And when the cameras weren't on, they weren't quite as friendly. Ariana is shooting a new movie, Meet the Fockers, in New York right now, so she's already moved on to her next project. This is what celebrities do when they make movies together. Who can forget Pam Anderson and Liam Neeson for each other? Really wanted us to believe that they were in love. This movie was made a long time ago. Wicked Part 1 and Part 2 were made at the same time. So it's over a year ago. Where have they been in that year if they were as close as what you think they are, or what? What, what? The PR people. What, what, what we're making them out to be. We would have spotted them out for dinner, maybe at a movie, maybe going to the theater. There are no photographs of them together at all, except on junkets for Wicked. So that's the tell there. This is a precedent. I think it's smart. It's a movie about friendship. If I was in charge of this movie, the producer, the publicist, I tell them we got to sell this movie on YouTube. Being friends. It's not really a movie about romance. It's about two, two friends. And so you two better suck it up and you two better be best friends for the next six months. And, and I think it worked. It had a massive opening weekend here. I think the strategy is smart. It's not truthful, but this has been going on as long as, as movies have been made that we, we normally, we normally fix up the leading lady with the leading man and pretend there's some romantic involvement. Nowadays, particularly their movies are more about friendship. The Sex and the City Girls, we know what a lie that was. And so I, I'm not surprised it did work and I do my reporting. Is that Ethan Slater, who, let's remember, left allegedly his pregnant wife to be with Ariana Grande. I'm told they're over. They're not together. And as soon as the movie does really well, it is already, but I would guess by Christmas they will announce it. I, I've been told that they were told they were asked to keep this under wrap. They didn't want that to be the headline until after the movie comes out.
- [19:39]
Maureen Callahan
Rob, you mean that great love story didn't work itself out? I'm shocked. I'm shocked. By the way. Explain this thinking to me. It's one thing to be like pretending like, yeah, we're best friends, blah, blah, blah. It's another thing for a movie about female friendship that is being marketed to very young girls, teenagers and younger, to be practically dry humping each other.
- [20:04]
Rob Shooter
It's a lot.
- [20:05]
Maureen Callahan
What, like in front of cameras everywhere. What is going on?
- [20:10]
Rob Shooter
This is just actors being actors. They're so emotional. They're so touchy feely. This is so Hollywood. If ever you go out for drinks with, with, with an actor, an actress, a Broadway person or a movie star, they're very touchy feely. They, they want to connect with you. This is how they, this is how they express themselves. So I have a bit of a scoop. A couple of days ago I was at the opening night of Tom Hanks's new Off Broadway play, Not so Great.
- [20:38]
Maureen Callahan
I know I do it. Nobody even knows he's doing it. Off Broadway cannot sell tickets.
- [20:43]
Rob Shooter
He can't sell tickets. But in. I sat behind Meryl Streep and Martin Short. And in the dark, they were pouring each other. His arm was. Yes, his arm was around her, touching her back. She had her head on, on his shoulder. They were whispering and then he pulled out his cell phone and showed her a picture of Donald Trump, President Trump. And they had a good, good giggle about that. I couldn't see what the actual performance was. No, no. Just before the performance, said before the performance, I got into my seat and my eyes. It was Meryl, it was Martin, it was Steve Martin, it was Martin Short. It was Steve Martin, it was Rita Wilson. I said to my friend, there's no way I'm gonna be able to watch this play. I'm just gonna stare at these all night.
- [21:29]
Maureen Callahan
How was the play, by the way? The play that nobody's going to.
- [21:32]
Rob Shooter
Awful. He wrote it himself.
- [21:34]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, my God. Are his publicists protecting him? Because I haven't seen much written about this and at all. I haven't seen Tom Hanks, like, on the front page of New York Times, like, the Arts and Leisure section, like, Tom Hanks, like, play right now. It seems like they're protecting him from himself.
- [21:51]
Rob Shooter
They know the truth, so they always know the truth. So when you know it's a turkey, when you know it's a stinker, just let it die a quiet death. If you promote something too much and then everybody goes to see it, the truth will come out. So this is going to. I think it's only there for a. For a couple of weeks, but it was fun to see Martin and Meryl. They were like teenagers. They were really giggly. But getting back to Ariana and Cynthia, it was a little like that. They were sort of pouring each other. I think it's just this silly actor's world.
- [22:20]
Maureen Callahan
Well, okay. For our final. Our final gossip bite of the week, Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos, per Page Six, have basically purchased the Met Gala 2026.
- [22:33]
Rob Shooter
Absolutely true.
- [22:35]
Maureen Callahan
What does this mean? I mean, Ann is pretty much gone. Chloe Mal seems to be just like a figurehead installed as, like a placeholder. And these two are swooping in. And by the way, this is the logical extension. I think the moment Anna Wintour put Kim and Kanye on the COVID of Vogue and then allowed all manner of Kardashians into that Met Gala, it was over. And now we've got the pneumatic, tacky, new money Bulgarians that are Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos running the Met Gala. It's dead. It's over.
- [23:08]
Rob Shooter
It's over. It really is over. It's been over for a couple of years now. That's probably why they need outside money. The big sponsors, the fashion brands are no longer turning up. It's just not worth their while. The tables, I think, are $300,000. And they had trouble selling them last time because all the advertisers historically had to buy a table if you were an advertiser in Vogue, if you wanted to be in Vogue. And to be honest, now they don't want to be in Vogue. It's very nice if it happens, but the ads have completely dried up for that magazine, so they need outside money. This is Lauren's pet, pet project. She likes fashion. She would love to be involved with Vogue. Her wedding was on the COVID of Vogue. She's always been the voom, va voom. God forbid she should have interests in, I don't know, the Metropolitan Opera or children's cancer or just like there's never going to be the Jeff Bezos Cancer Memorial Hospital. That isn't what this couple's about. It's going to be voom, voom, voom. But they bought it. They have bought it. And now I'm told that we should expect in a couple of weeks the, the chairperson, these are the people that host it will be Kim Kardashian. She's been invited. She's never hosted it. This is going to be her.
- [24:19]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, this is the beginning of the end. Lauren Sanchez wants nothing more than to be considered high fashion, high society, the pinnacle of glamor and class. She is the exact opposite incomes Kim K. Be fouling. And Meghan Markle will be stewing over in Montecito when her in her invitation is dropping in her email inbox. Right?
- [24:44]
Rob Shooter
Absolutely right. It's turned into a grotesque freak show.
- [24:48]
Maureen Callahan
And there was a point where it.
- [24:49]
Rob Shooter
Was sort of glamorous and the fashion was so outrageous. Now it's tick tock. People and Instagram followers and people we've never, never heard of. Movie stars are not clamoring to do it anymore, I'm told. And I love, I love this reporting is that after Kris Jenner's wildly successful birthday party, except for, thank you very much, Meghan Markle, that she's thinking about doing a Kardashian ball, a rival ball in la, where she's proved she can deliver the stars. And so maybe the Met will be out and the Kardashian ball will be in.
- [25:23]
Maureen Callahan
Well, you know, it actually, it makes sense and it is the complete collapse. Like a dark star like Anna Wintour brought so much dark energy to what should have been a celebration of beauty and culture and historicity. And now it's all. It's like it's a nuclear blast area. And I love it. That's the only conceivable outcome.
- [25:48]
Rob Shooter
I Went a couple of times. I went once with. I used to work for Spade, making Rest in Peace. They were really mean. They were just mean girls. And nobody ate, and everybody bickered and nobody sat down because they're so uncomfortable. And people couldn't wait to get out. And then you'd go to the bathrooms, and people were being mean in the bathrooms. It really was one of my most awful nights in New York City. We have. We have lovely nights here. We have some not great nights, too, when we're working, when we're pushed into barricades to ask questions to stars that don't want to ask them. One of my worst nights in the 30 years I've lived here was the Met Ball. Not a fun night.
- [26:24]
Maureen Callahan
It's really not. And I'm so happy you said that because that's something that we've all been told we would all do. Die to be invited to. There's, like, nothing that this beautiful, glamorous elite, sophisticated. And by the way, that reminds me, Megyn Kelly said on this show when she went, if I'm recalling correctly, the detail was she went into the ladies room to find a bunch of them hanging out in there smoking and P. Diddy and a Kardashian dry humping.
- [26:55]
Rob Shooter
She said it. She said it. Gwyneth Paltrow said it was a terrible night. Like, it's not a fun night. I was with Kate Spade, and they were so rude to her and so dismissive of her. And she. Her money, like, she paid the same as everybody else, but she got the table by the bathroom. They just treated her terribly. And I was like, what are we doing here, Katie? I think we left. I think we left and went to get burgers somewhere.
- [27:16]
Maureen Callahan
Good for you guys. Because she wasn't one of them. She wasn't high fashion enough. She was too commercial. You know what her problem was? People liked her and bought it. That's a problem in fashion.
- [27:26]
Rob Shooter
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right. Are you ever wrong? Maureen? Are you ever wrong, Rob?
- [27:33]
Maureen Callahan
Are you ever wrong?
- [27:34]
Rob Shooter
Never. Not when I'm on your show.
- [27:35]
Maureen Callahan
Why? We're so lucky we found each other, right?
- [27:39]
Rob Shooter
Are we gonna be Ariana and Cynthia when we. When we go out?
- [27:42]
Maureen Callahan
No, no, never. I won't even touch anybody where I'm recording right now. I'm fist bumping. You know what I mean? So. But nonetheless, I will love. I look forward to our drinks like no other. Rob.
- [27:55]
Rob Shooter
It's gonna be a good night.
- [27:56]
Maureen Callahan
Gonna be a great night. I will see you soon, my friend. Thanks so much.
- [27:59]
Rob Shooter
It was great to see you. Take care, everybody.
- [28:01]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, my God. Rob always delivers. He's always got the freshest, freshest, most incredible celebrity gossip going. We are so, so happy. He's become a nerve regular. Coming up, we have got. Oh my God. We've got a multi pronged, sordid, hilarious affair for the ages. I think right now we've got four players. It's not a love triangle at this point. It's a love quadrangle. And I think it may be expanding. But before we get to that, we will have your feedback. We are back in a minute. Applying your makeup can often feel like a chore. There are often too many products, too many stuff steps. And once it's on, the makeup itself can feel heavy. But Jones Road Beauty has changed all of that. Miracle bomb. The Jones Road Beauty hero product enhances your skin. Instead of covering it, it gives you a natural glow. It simplifies your routine and replaces multiple products. And now Jones Road has launched their incredible holiday collection. Five limited edition trios with new shades, products and packaging. These sets are perfect for any occasion and they make amazing gifts. Best of all, their products are actually good for your skin and they help create that effortless no makeup makeup look with no effort. This holiday season, simplify your routine with makeup that's clean, strategic and multifunctional. From now through December 1, Jones Road is doing their first first ever Black Friday sale. Go to Jones roadbeauty.com to get up to 20% off sitewide. That's Jones road beauty.com for up to 20% off your entire order. After you click out, they're going to ask, you know, click out at your checkout, they're going to ask where you heard about Jones Road Beauty. Support our show, tell them you're a troublemaker and tell them the nerve sent.
- [30:14]
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- [30:44]
Maureen Callahan
Luck is just when preparation meets opportunity. HBO Max presents a new comedy series. I love L. A. Did you guys teach the Lola's humping campaign?
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Producer Marlena
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Maureen Callahan
I can do it for other clients. You should block her. Starring Rachel Sennett. Those kind of people that want success and money and all these things. I am addicted to deals. It's gonna be epic. The HBO original season series I love LA. Sundays at 10:30pm on HBO.
- [31:14]
Ryan Lizza (quoted voice)
Max.
- [31:18]
Maureen Callahan
We are back. Now, before we get into the next juicy segment, which I have been inserted into over the weekend, I started getting text. You know how it is sometimes when like something happens and everybody wants to kind of be the first to tell you. And it was kind of like, you know, this happens in like families and stuff, good news, bad news. But I was getting these, like now you're, you've entered the chat and I was like, cool, because I really want to talk about it. So anyway, before we get into that, your feedback. First of all, we got so much incredible feedback on the Mini this past weekend, which was Jackie O versus Michelle O. As if there's even a contest, you know. But there were so many troublemakers who either emailed or DMED or in the YouTube comments said that they'd never heard Jackie Kennedy's voice before or they had never seen her tour of the White House, or they had never even known that in the weeks after the assassination she addressed the American people on television to thank them for their notes and letters of condolence. At that point, over 800,000 in all. And then we compared it to some Michelle O's latest and greatest hits about her hair and her glam squad, who she insufferably calls the trifecta. And you guys loved it. And I'm so happy because, you know, Jackie O is a saint over here at the Nerve. She wasn't a perfect person, but we adore her. Okay, anyway, Jackie O versus Michelle. Oh, dear Maureen. The Mini Nerve on Saturday was on point. My favorite Jackie O story was retold in the People magazine tribute edition by her friend Joe Armstrong, an editor. He recalled a day he went to visit Jackie on Martha's Vineyard. I believe this is the same Joe Armstrong who one of the stories he told after Jackie died was he had been a guest at her house in Martha's Vineyard and she brought him in to her library and she showed him, you know, obviously her many, many books overflowing with books. She was a voracious reader and she said to him, these are my other friends and I think every reader can relate. Anyway, he went to visit Jackie on Martha's Vineyard. They had a day long conversation while walking on the beach. One of her favorite things to do and collecting seashells. He said it was a wonderful day. When he returned home that night, he realized he'd forgotten his sunglasses at her place. Before he could contact her, Jackie had mailed back the sunglasses in an envelope with no note, just some sand and small shells sprinkled on the bottom of the envelope as a memory of their day together at the beach. Talk about elegant. If the same experience had happened to Michelle, oh, she probably would have sprinkled grumbles and complaints on the envelope. How dare you leave your glasses here. What am I, your housemaid? What is it? Are you a racist? You think because I'm black I'm going to clean up after you? That's what you would have gotten. You know it. Okay. Hi, Maureen. Look at the first clip of Michelle Obama and oh, wait a minute, I'm not sure what clip she's. Oh, maybe the clips that we played in the mini. And then look at the second clip. Just this troublemaker's opinion. She has had a rhinoplasty, AKA a nose job. This troublemaker says, I worked for a plastic surgeon for years. You can't miss it. Kern Lima, Jamie Karn. Lima has had a lot of work herself. Just thought the troublemakers would find this interesting. You know it, sister. We do this from a mo bro. Hi, Maureen. I am a 55 year old, 31 year police veteran, still working and a Marine Corps veteran. Thank you troublemaker, for your service. I current and thank you for your coming service to us troublemakers here directly. I currently work in a small Colorado town where SJP visited recently. Waitstaff told me she was very nice to them. However, she only tipped a flat 20%. I believe you have talked about that in prior episodes. I have. And when I was told this, I almost fell off my bar stool. Wow. Just wow. Anyway, checking in as another masculine, manly man troublemaker. We love you guys. Oh, and manly man, you are stuck to our final troublemaker of the day. Maureen. Meet my ancient dog, Jackie O, who loves her pearls too. We're showing her on a full screen, but I'm also including, like, this is the. This is like, it's very artsy. This is the way it printed out. And then you can see Jackie O is wearing a triple strand of pearls. She took this photo just the other day for us here at the Nerve. I also have mini dirt on Gwyneth, which I'll have to send another time. Right now, I'm walking Jackie O. Priorities. Keep your feedback coming. Email me at maureenevilmaycaremedia.com or DM me on Instagram at Maureen Callahan, writer, or at the Nerve show. Remember, go over to thenerveshow.com subscribe there to the Nerves substack where it's like our weekly newsletter where we get all the stuff we couldn't put in the show, all the behind the scenes content, extras, bonus materials from us from Team Nerve, from our guests all over there. Five bucks a month and you help the show grow. Thenerveshow.com we are back with a love triangle for Sorry Quadrangle for the Ages. See you in a minute. I don't think that doctors have Black Friday sales, but the doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition do. They just announced their Black Friday 30% off sale. The biggest sale of the year that is 30% off of lean, the doctor formulated weight loss supplement for people who want to lose meaningful weight loss without injections. 30% off of creatine Creatine designed just for women to help you look leaner and toned without extra dieting or exercise. And 30% off field of Greens, the only super fruit and vegetable drink shown in a university study to actually slow aging. Every Brick House product from better sleep to Superior collagen is 30% off. But hurry because these Black Friday deals go fast. Visit BrickHouseSale.com and save 30%. That's BrickHouseSale.com once more. BrickHouseSale.com before all the algorithm fed blah.
- [38:41]
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- [39:38]
Maureen Callahan
We are back. Now we are going to get in to the love quadrangle that continues expanding. It involves Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His third wife. We'll see for how long. We've got theories. Cheryl Hines, the actress most famous for Curb youb Enthusiasm. Olivia Nuzzi, the political journalist whose career blew up after it was revealed that she had conducted what she claims was a quote unquote digital affair, by which I believe she means online only affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Olivia's ex fiance, Ryan Lizza, who has launched a sub stack based on Olivia's disclosures, which he is pushing back against. And Olivia has a book out on Decept on December 2 called American Canto, which I've got some stuff to say about. And my own. My own. I've now become part of this story. I was. I'll tell you all about it. I'll tell you all about it now. Producer Marlena is going to be joining us in a few moments to talk about this story because she and I have just been talking on our own about how wild it is. And I was like, we just have to talk to the troublemakers on the nerve about it because Marlena has really great theories and insights as well. She's been in this world forever. And I'm going to begin with the latest news breaking just two days ago that Vanity Fair is going to publish, quote, an abstract nude portrait of Olivia next week as the scandal plagued journalist is already accused of shirking her job duties at her nude at her new job. I'm trying to keep everything together. This story is wild. Now staffers are privately griping, according to this report in the New York Post, that Olivia has failed to carry out core duties since joining the magazine. If those core duties involve sleeping with her subjects who may or may not be running for president, you gotta give a girl a little bit of time to catch up. Okay, now let's move on to how I became part of this chat. I was texted. So Friday night after. After finishing up at the Anaheim show at. At MK's Anaheim show, I was back at the hotel having a drink and I started getting text after text after text, which was basically like, oh my God, have you seen this? Have you seen this? You're in it, Ryan. Liz's substack, part two of the Olivia Chronicles. He's writing about their breakup, his discovery that she was having an affair first with a different male politician running for president. And we'll get to that. But now he's talking about then finding out about the RFK Jr. Affair. And I'm gonna put it in quotes, you know, who knows what the truth is? But Ryan's substack, part two. And I think I did have to subscribe to get behind the paywall. This is. I'm gonna quote from this directly. I can't say there weren't any signs meaning that Olivia was catting around behind Ryan's back. I resume. Ryan says, I did find it odd that Olivia was simultaneously reading Robert Greene's the Art of Seduction and Maureen Callahan's Ask not the Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed. I'll get to that in a moment. But the poem Ryan writes, the poem that Bobby wrote to her, let's call it Ryan Wright's American Canyon, and many others too explicit to print, changed everything. Thanks to Bobby, I am now aware of something called felching. Troublemakers, don't go ahead of the class, okay? Do not Google felching. Don't ruin the surprise. We're going to get to it now. This was preceded by a lengthy New York Times profile of Olivia by a journalist named Jacob Bernstein. If you do not know who Jacob is, he is the Nepo son of the late Nora Ephron and Carl Bernstein. And Jacob is really sort of like a glorified gadfly who would never have gotten his job at the New York Times were it not for his parentage. Okay? Now, this story was a very gentle, loving portrait of Olivia. And it opens if you, if you go click on it online. It opens with Olivia driving down what looks to me like Pacific Coast Highway. I've learned from Keith Olbermann, okay, that you don't use the article before Pacific Coast Highway. You don't call it the Pacific coast highway, which as a lifelong East Coaster was news to me. But whatever it looks like, that's where she is. And she's in a convertible and her newly white blonde hair is whirling around her head and you can see her Chanel sunglasses affixed just so. And she's shot as though. And she seems to have lost a lot of weight. And I say this only because she is curating a particular image of herself. She looks like she is not a political journalist who is trying to get her credibility and her life back. But she is now a movie star and she is the star of her own movie and she has remade herself in such a way. You know, her hair is white blonde now. She has dropped a ton of weight. Her eyebrows have been tweezed into nothing. She's wearing these very tiny sunglasses and she suddenly has these razor sharp cheekbones and she looks like she is deliberately trying to look like none other, in my estimation. Just my opinion. Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Now, I need to preface the rest of it by saying, like you'll be seeing and may have been hearing a lot of media coverage of Olivia's forthcoming book, because it's a big story, you know, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, I believe, has always denied that he and Olivia ever had an affair. So it's a he said, she said, right? But as someone who has extensively reported upon Bobby Kennedy Jr. And wrote all about the abhorrent way he treated his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who eventually committed suicide, I don't believe a word that comes out of this guy's mouth. I don't. I think he did it. Okay, Now, Olivia, I'm going to say this. In the aftermath of the revelation that those two had something going on, alleged, allegedly something going on. Olivia and I had several phone calls, conversations. These were all off the record, per her request. But I do not think that I am the only person that Olivia has tried to cultivate as someone who might then, in hindsight, consider themselves friendly to her or in some way loyal to her or in some way beholden to her. And, you know, in the run up to her book coming out, you know, we hadn't spoken in months. Months. I was suddenly getting messages from Olivia. First of all, she cold called me, and we're not really friends, and I found that a little bit aggressive. You know, only real friends get to cold call you. Most people will text or email beforehand and say, hey, would you have time to talk this week when might be good for you? So I didn't pick up. You know, I couldn't do it. I didn't pick up. That was followed by texts that were like, hey, I have a little something to talk about. About to you if you want. You know, to which I, at this point, I'm like, you know, you know the deal. If you want to go on the record, I'm here, but off the record, I don't understand the point. And then thirdly, it was like, do you want my book now? I didn't respond to any of these because I know how it goes with her. I feel as. And she can correct me if she thinks I'm wrong. I feel as though even for someone in this lane, in this world, she is extremely transactional, and I'm not really interested in that. I don't operate that way. She then went to someone who knows me to say, hey, I can't reach Maureen, but I really want her to get my book. Would you ask her if I could send it to her? To which I said, sure, you know, that's fine. Here's where I'm going to be on the following dates. Have it show up there. And I was told it would be there. And guess what? It wasn't there. And it's still not There Olivia not following through on something she said. So if you want to hear Olivia's song that she recorded when she was 16 on her MySpace page called Jailbait, you can go. We don't have really time to get into it here. I think it's salient only in as much as I do think that this is somebody who from a very young age was looking for fame and notoriety. And it really may not matter how you get it, just that you get it. And my theory, we'll talk about it with Marlena, but it goes to even the publishing of this book and what it's unleashed because once you start telling stories like this, the horse is out of the barn and I don't know how she's gonna work as a journalist again. I really don't. We now know that she, before Bobby had, and she was with Ryan at the time, had been profiling the governor, Mark Sanford, an older white guy who was running for president. And Ryan discovered that Olivia, while covering Mark, had been having an affair with him. So now that's two. At the time, running presidential candidates Olivia was covering that she was also having an affair with. And now we've got conflicting stories to the narrative she's putting out in this book, in this New York Times piece, Keith Olbermann, her former live in boyfriend. Now, I find the age difference disturbing. And I say this as someone who at 19 I was dating. I was like with a guy who is 30 years old. Was that smart on my part? No. Was I working out some like, psychological shit? Yes. Was I pursuing this guy? Yes. Was he a little bit really resistant because of the age difference? Yes. But Keith Olbermann was like in his 50s at the time and like Nicole, sorry. Olivia was like 19. And that's a, that's a big gap. And it makes me wonder, you know, I think there's some really, really. There's some real stuff going on in, in Olivia's psyche. But anyway, so Keith Olbermann has entered the chat he took to his podcast last week, and he's got some issues with the version of the story that Olivia is telling. Here we go.
- [51:39]
Ryan Lizza (quoted voice)
Liza writes, quote, silence was my preference. And Olivia seemed to agree. Last year, she asked to negotiate a non disclosure agreement. Earlier this year, she sent a message to me by a mutual friend. I will never talk about any of this again, and I hope you will do the same. I'm not sure if she delivered that before or after she had a publication date for her book, arranged a Vanity Fair excerpt and secured a profile in The New York Times. Either way, it wasn't true. And unfortunately, silence no longer seems advantageous, advisable, or even possible. End quote.
- [52:14]
Maureen Callahan
Now, to this, I'm going to say that tracks to me because reading Ryan Liz's, that little extract that was texted to me by multiple people, and then I went to his substack and read the thing in its entirety. My understanding, through very. On very good authority, was that Olivia had not read my book even after this entire thing blew up and the world knew that she had had some sort of unprofessional relationship with Bobby Kennedy Jr. Why lie about that? I have no idea. And when I read that Ryan said that she had been reading Ask not while conducting this florid, you know, aff there with Bobby, as far as we can tell, as far as I can see. Just my opinion, you know, I would say that book is not a how to manual. Okay? That book, if anything, is run the other way, Run. If you are a woman in their orbit, run. Okay, Now Keith is going to talk about Olivia's inability to consistently tell the same story. Here we go.
- [53:35]
Ryan Lizza (quoted voice)
Yeah, we're brothers on this, Liza. Consistency. Consistency is one politician Olivia has never met.
- [53:45]
Maureen Callahan
And then one of, I think, the worst things that someone can do, you know, we're dog lovers here at the Nerf. Our mascot, Teddy, is back on the east coast, but he's prepping for the awards. We've got several costumes in the work for him. Works for him. Rather. They shared dogs, Keith and Olivia. And he's going to explain what happened when they broke up and what he believes were seeds that she was planting in order to keep Keith tethered to her version of their breakup. My opinion. Here we go.
- [54:26]
Ryan Lizza (quoted voice)
The day we broke up, she looked at our two dogs, one of whom really adored her and would miss her. And I could see it, and then I even have some proof of it, would miss her for at least a year. And she said, I hope you mean it when you said I can come visit them maybe once a week or every other week. And she said, please keep on her about trying to arrange those visits. And also if I could please remind her that her closet in our apartment was still full of clothes. Please text, please call me, bug me about it. You know me. And when I did, both about the dogs and the clothes, she accused me of stalking her.
- [55:13]
Maureen Callahan
Shades have gone, girl. I'm not saying. But that to me, like, why Keith Olbermann would lie about that, I have no idea. It is highly specific. It is highly, highly specific. And it does seem to be part of a pattern. Ryan's version of events is that he had to help extricate Olivia from her relationship with Keith, which implies that Keith was having a very hard time letting Olivia go. His version of events go. Listen to his podcast. He goes on to say things like, you know, all the things. He was paying for her, he was paying for multiple different residences for her. He was giving her all this stuff. And then he. He walks up to disclosing something very, very sensitive about Olivia. And listen again. This horse is out of the barn. So here, let's have at it, Keith. Here we go.
- [56:12]
Ryan Lizza (quoted voice)
We found something safe and relatively cheap. And then a couple months later, Olivia did something which I'm not prepared to share the details of it with you. Maybe it will be wise for me to do that later, but not now. It was, I think this is the best phrase I've ever come up to describe this. A behavioral event, an aberration where she kind of freaked out and the end result endangered her life and her career and maybe my career. And somehow none of those things happened. She beat the odds at every stage. But the landlord at her place was not happy with what happened and they terminated her lease.
- [56:57]
Maureen Callahan
So just to set that part the top of it up, he had gotten her an apartment in the West Village and something happened in that apartment and she was asked to leave. That's New York politics for like, get the fuck out now. What Keith is saying in that sound bite sounds like a threat. That sounds like a threat. I think he's saying to Olivia, go any further with me and I'm gonna tell your worst, worst nightmare, the thing that you don't want anybody to know about. I'm gonna do it. Which tells me that everyone involved in this story, save your faithful troublemaker who's just out here as a reporter and does not wanna be dragged into this. Everyone involved in this story is terrible. I think to that point, of everyone in the story being terrible, all the main players seem like they're terrible people. So RFK Jr was either dumb enough or self destructive enough to put this poem which Ryan Lizza recounts in his substack. And Ryan, I think you need to be careful because I do think legally Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As the author, would own the copyright. I'm going to read this text and I am warning you, by which I mean I'm teasing you, but I'm warning you, it is extremely graphic. Okay. This alleged text from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To Olivia Newsy, your open mouth awaiting my harvest. I Mean to squeeze your cheeks, to force open your mouth. I'll hold your nose as you look up at me to encourage you to swallow, quote, don't spill a drop. I am a river, you are my canyon. I mean to flow through you. I mean to subdue and tame you, my love. Cheryl, pick up your pride wherever you left it. Pick up your dignity. Go to your nearest gynecologist's office, get an STD panel for the ages, and then get a shark of a lawyer and leave this guy. Okay, now, this text has led to much online discussion about a sexual practice called felching. And if you don't know what it is, please allow us at Nervecentral to give you the definition. And again, if there are kids in the room, you know, you know what to do. Felching, per the Urban Dictionary. I believe this is where it came from. A slang term for a sexual act that involves sucking or consuming semen from a partner's anus or vagina or probably mouth after unprotected sex. And apparently, there are multiple ways one could go about felching, and that could include use of a straw or maybe a utensil of some sort. I don't really know. I don't really know. I mean, maybe one of these players could elucidate for us. Marlena. Producer Marlena is going to come in to break this apart further. You're a woman of the world. You've worked in New York City media for a long time. You've been around. Had you heard of felching before?
- [60:10]
Producer Marlena
No, I have never heard of felching. And then you had asked me about it, and I looked it up, and then you said there was a more detailed Urban Dictionary description of it. So I looked it up, and you're right, there is. And I do have it in my hand right now if you'd like to hear it. If not, we can move on.
- [60:31]
Maureen Callahan
I'm on an empty stomach. But you know what? I am a troublemaker to the core, so I will gut it out. Let's hear it.
- [60:39]
Producer Marlena
Okay. Well, so it was sperm. It is sperm recently deposited in the anus, sucked back out, usually with the aid of a straw, which is what you just said. And then it is also known as yogurting when a spoon is involved.
- [60:56]
Maureen Callahan
I knew there was a tabletop utensil. I knew it. Go on.
- [61:00]
Producer Marlena
You sound very excited about that.
- [61:02]
Maureen Callahan
Well, I marvel at human ingenuity.
- [61:04]
Producer Marlena
This last one, and then we'll move on sucking out or licking one's seminal fluid from their partner's. Rectum, perhaps, along with some other tasty juices and fecal treats.
- [61:17]
Maureen Callahan
Oh, dear Lord. Oh, dear Lord.
- [61:20]
Producer Marlena
You asked, and I delivered.
- [61:23]
Maureen Callahan
I wonder. I wonder how this fits into Maha. I mean, is it considered organic? You know what?
- [61:31]
Producer Marlena
I think we should actually pose a letter to RFK about that.
- [61:36]
Maureen Callahan
Let's do it. Let's do it.
- [61:37]
Producer Marlena
That's our next mail because we still.
- [61:40]
Maureen Callahan
Have yet to hear back from Bill Maher about our request from our Department of Sanitation and Health in the woodshed. Right, right.
- [61:47]
Producer Marlena
And you know what?
- [61:48]
Rob Shooter
We.
- [61:49]
Producer Marlena
I would love to hear back from him, because instead of buying two kits, we could just buy one and he can share it with Cheryl. Right?
- [61:56]
Maureen Callahan
I mean, if there. If there are enough supplies now, given if Cheryl even wants to launch such an investigation. You and I were talking about our theory as to why Cheryl is never going to leave.
- [62:07]
Producer Marlena
Well, Cheryl comes from what people call humble beginnings, but probably even what some might call less than humble beginnings. She grew up. She's one of four children, and apparently at one point, she lived in a trailer park. And it wasn't until she was in high school that she even had her own bed. So now she has an open invitation to the Cape. Right? She is now a Kennedy. I mean, she was already a celebrity, but she took it to the next level. And I guess it's kind of hard to downshift once you get there, right?
- [62:47]
Maureen Callahan
Once you become a member of America's quote unquote royal family. A notion, again, that ask not exists to destroy. This is my theory about Kennedy men, especially alpha Kennedy men. They marry their fans, they marry their groupies. Carolyn Bessette. Contrary to what the narrative would have you believe, it's in Ask Not. She aggressively went after JFK Jr. She remade herself to become what a Kennedy wife would look like. She put up with a lot of shit, a lot. To be Mrs. JFK Jr. And I think Cheryl, too, is a fan. And it's the wives who enter the family as fans, as groupies, who will take all manner of humiliation, of sexual infidelity, of risk to their health and reputation being a Kennedy wife, to them, it's worth it.
- [63:45]
Producer Marlena
And you could also chalk it up to the old adage, first time you marry for love, and the second time, you marry for money. And apparently the third time you marry for companionship. If you get that.
- [63:56]
Maureen Callahan
Well, that's what Jackie said. That was Jackie's credo. But I think, you know, having read some of Cheryl's book, which is unreadable, don't buy it. And listen to some of her interviews, she seems head over heels for him. She seems to have believed him when he told her that Olivia was making this up, that she was a fantasist, that she was crazy, that she was a stalker. Now, had Cheryl read Ask not, she would know. This is kennedy mail playbook 101. You say that your mistress who has become inconvenient to you is crazy and a stalker and out of her mind. And that's the liar.
- [64:32]
Producer Marlena
But you're saying she seems to be really in love with him, but maybe she's just really in love with the lifestyle that comes with him. There's a difference, right? And I don't think it's go. I don't think if this was just a texting relationship or what they call a digital relationship, which has a double meaning and they should probably stop saying that. But I think that it would take more than something like that and even a full blown affair to have her flee. And plus, I mean, she blew up her life once, right? She's already divorced, although they seem to be good friends apparently, and they go on all vacations together.
- [65:08]
Maureen Callahan
That's what she says. Who knows, who knows, who knows, right?
- [65:11]
Producer Marlena
But either way, now she's going to blow up her life a second time. And God only knows what kind of, of paperwork she has signed. She might be trapped in, in a certain way that none of us know about.
- [65:26]
Maureen Callahan
Listen, I do not weep for Cheryl because she was awful to Mary Richardson Kennedy. When Mary Richardson Kennedy was decompensating, she was awful to her. So I think karma's a bitch. And I think if Cheryl were smart, she would look at it as liberating herself. And if Bobby tried to choke her off financially, which is exactly what he did to Mary. So, honey, what goes around comes around. I am sure she would be welcomed back in Hollywood with open arms if she renounced Bobby and she renounced MAGA and Trump and said I was brainwashed and look what this did to me and I'm a victim. And she would, she'd be welcome back. She'd get a podcast, she'd get another book deal. She'd get this, she'd get that. You're gonna tell me Bobby's gonna tell her that that highly specific text message, and now that, that text message being responsible for, for felching, entering the cultural lexicon and bloodstream, she's going to buy his lies. My opinion, that that's made up too. You're a. You're a dummy. You're an idiot.
- [66:26]
Producer Marlena
Okay? And by the Way the whole thing about Hollywood accepting her back.
- [66:31]
Maureen Callahan
I don't know if you saw the.
- [66:32]
Producer Marlena
Story about Tig Notaro, who, by the way, Cheryl.
- [66:36]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, she used to have a podcast with her.
- [66:38]
Producer Marlena
Right. And everybody thought it was more Tig Notaro that backed away from Cheryl. And it turns out it was the other around because obviously they have some political differences. And when Bobby was running, this came up, as it did for Larry David and some other Hollywood liberals. And I guess Cheryl had asked Tig Notaro if she would sit down and actually speak to Bobby face to face. And I guess Tig thought about it. She came back and said, you know what? I can't do it. And that, that's when Cheryl backed off of Tig Notaro and that's when the podcast ended. And so the story is told one way, but Cheryl is part of the problem of her being sort of ostracized from certain Hollywood circles.
- [67:29]
Maureen Callahan
Yes. I don't disagree with you at all, and that's a fair point. But I wanna circle back to Olivia, who is sort of the main character here who has pushed all this stuff into action. Do you think that she can ever truly work as a journalist again?
- [67:50]
Producer Marlena
I don't personally think so. I think that she's crossed over that line of ethics, like, way crossed over it. I think that she didn't play her hand properly. She kind of reminds me of Liz Gilbert. Right. Like, she has all these like, weird personality things. Like she gloms onto these, like, high profile people and then she writes a story. It's a little different. But now she writes a book that is a diary, a memoir, when she probably could have just played her cards a little bit better and written a book of fiction, given all of her different experiences. And she could have had a series. Like she could have been like the next Danielle Steele or something like that.
- [68:35]
Maureen Callahan
Right? Yeah.
- [68:36]
Producer Marlena
Right.
- [68:37]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [68:37]
Producer Marlena
And she could have played it differently, but now she's just the center of like multiple scandals.
- [68:42]
Maureen Callahan
Right.
- [68:43]
Producer Marlena
You know, that's why it's this, this story's like, tough and because it's really. It's almost a little hard to follow because you have to really go through the timeline of all these men that she hooked up with and all the, all the different dates and how this all overlaps. And all of the men, as you said, are dirty too. Like, Keith doesn't have his hands clean. Mark Sanford, forget about him. And this Lizza guy sounds like a douche.
- [69:05]
Maureen Callahan
So, yeah, he's using this to launch his substack subscribe. You know, we have to subscribe to this stuff, you know, it's only going to last, Ryan. As long as people are reading about you and Olivia and Keith Olberman and Bobby Jr. And Cheryl and whoever else is in your sexual petri dish, then we're all going to unsubscribe.
- [69:23]
Producer Marlena
That's exactly right. And for $10. What? Who are you kidding, Liza? You know, like it was 9.99amonthly prescription. Prescriptions. And I mean, this description. Oh, my God. You get what I'm saying? Subscription. And got it. But yeah. So I. I just think that I'm just grossed out by anybody who will go after fame at any price. Right? I don't. I'm not a big fan of tell alls. I'm not a big fan of speaking out of school after the fact to benefit yourself, you know, unless there was a crime, like a real crime committed, and you had to sort of blurt out some secrets that, you know, I think that's the only time you should really be divulging things that nobody else seems to know. But if this. This is just about relationships, and it's like he said, she said, a man scored, a woman scored, you all deserve whatever it is that's coming down the pike for you.
- [70:19]
Maureen Callahan
I couldn't agree with you more. I think the problem for someone like Olivia, who is so young and ambitious and does have talent, is that what she has shown. I can't imagine anyone of any substance sitting across from her and not thinking that she would sell them out in a heartbeat or try to use them in some way in furtherance of her own career. And I think that New York Times piece was a huge mistake. And I think the memoir was a huge mistake because as a journalist, you're never supposed to be the story. And she seems very comfortable, despite all protestations to the contrary since the scandal broke, she seems very comfortable being the story. And now every time she enters a room, everybody's gonna know. They're just gonna think about one thing, her sexual history. Bobby Jr. Felching, Keith Olbermann, buying, renting her multiple places of, you know, Ryan Lizza, the whole sordidness of that. And, you know, it'll be the first line of her, you know, way, way, way down the line. But like her, her obituary is not gonna be about her journalistic work and her literary contributions. It's going to be this scandal that's her legacy.
- [71:36]
Producer Marlena
And, hey, I mean, you reap what you sow. I just think that. I just think she looks very unstable. I mean, I Know, that's sort of like a master of the obvious type of observation. And I think that if she actually feels gratified in what she's doing right now, this will only escalate. I don't know if she sees a therapist, but if she has gone undiagnosed, to me, she reads as someone with a personality disorder.
- [72:09]
Maureen Callahan
Just your opinion.
- [72:10]
Producer Marlena
Just your opinion Again, to me, just my opinion. And so what's next? What's next? At this point, it's like, either she's going to. This is her 15 minutes, and she's gonna fade away. And like you said, we'll only be reminded of this in her obituary, or it's going to be this, and then there's gonna be something bigger that happens. But that story that Keith Olbermann told, that was likened to something catastrophic. And he also said something else within that podcast that you and I spoke about, where she loaded a gun and by her bedside.
- [72:49]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, yeah.
- [72:51]
Producer Marlena
You know, he's sort of telling the story without telling the story. Right?
- [72:54]
Maureen Callahan
I mean, and he's hiding behind, like, I'm being chivalrous by not, you know, anybody with two brain cells could put it together. Keith, you're being an asshole, okay? Nobody in New York media likes you either.
- [73:07]
Producer Marlena
Right? He's been ousted several times. And I've been around Keith Olbermann, and I've overheard him gossiping at a very normal level with not knowing. Knowing who was around him back when he was at Current tv. So he's a dodo, too. Whatever. It's not even worse.
- [73:23]
Maureen Callahan
He's an asshole. He's a prick. You know, like. And I. You know, his whole thing about, like, a man scorned. He was 50, she was, like, 19, 20. He was making millions of dollars. He was buying her all manner of stuff that, like, was gonna dazzle a young kid who wanted to have a career like his. And, you know, are you telling me, you know, we've. We know guys like this? You're telling me. Guys on basic cable, they're often so enamored with that little bit of fame they've got. They're all over the place with many different women. Do I believe that Olivia was his one and only? Just my opinion. I do not.
- [74:00]
Producer Marlena
I think that she was the one and only at that time, and there's something about him losing her bothered him. If she was the one who initiated it, then I could see his ego getting blown out, you know, blown away. And then he was mistaking that hurt for love. Right. But really, it was just about his own male ego, which there's no shortage of.
- [74:28]
Maureen Callahan
Well, to be continued. Because this story's not going anywhere and Olivia's gonna make sure of that. It seems like she's, my theory is she's trying to make Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pay in much the way that Keith Olbermann is trying to make her pay now. And in the same way that Keith Olbermann is trying to make Ryan Lizza hit the guy who came in. And it seems like there was some overlap pay and Ryan's trying to make Olivia pay. And you know, it's like a shootout at dawn. You know, it's like every, it's, it's, it's incredible. It's incredible reputational destruction. We are here for it. We will be covering it assiduously at the Nerve. That does it for this edition of the Nerve at night. Now we are going to be off for this Friday's Nerve because in the United States that is the day after Thanksgiving and we take a four day weekend. But, but we wouldn't leave you like that. We will have a brand new Mini for you this Saturday. Yes, Saturday, Thanksgiving weekend. And this Mini we are aiming to top ourselves. Okay? It will drop on Saturday on YouTube. That's where the minis live exclusively right now on YouTube at 10am Eastern. We cannot wait to see you there. If you haven't already, check out our substack@thenerveshow.com Be sure to subscribe. Nerve Merch is available for you, a fellow troublemaker or someone you'd like to bring over to the woodshed@shop thenerve.com merch drop 2 holiday centric is on the way. Also, the Nerve is now available on Megan's podcast Playlist every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am Eastern on Sirius XM channel 111, the Megyn Kelly channel. We'll see you at the Mini on Saturday and then we will see you back here next week on the Nerve, where you'll never guess what we're about to say next. Another negative pregnancy test. But this Black Friday, you can feel in control of your conception journey again and get pregnant 10 times faster. It's Mira's biggest sale and it could help you to stop feeling lost. Even if your cycles are long and ovulation has felt impossible to find, Mira measures four key hormones with clinical accuracy so you can finally see what your body is doing and time things right to get pregnant. Get 30% off Mira for Black Friday. Check out MiraCare.com this episode is brought.
- [77:14]
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