← The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
The Nerve with Maureen Callahan
Timothy Busfield Shock Arrest, Sarah Jessica Parker's Shameless Self-Promo, & Troublemakers Weigh In
01:13:37
Maureen Callahan is joined by criminal defense attorney Arthur Aidala to give a breakdown of the latest details unfolding in the Timothy Busfield case, including why it took him several days to surrender to the New Mexico authorities, why he is being held without bail and what, if anything, does his wife Melissa Gilbert know about the allegations against him. Then Maureen rips into Sarah Jessica Parker's most recent NYC media rounds at NBC, making a stop at 'Today' with Jenna and Sheinelle before heading to the local affiliate to hawk a new documentary about librarians (a real nail-biter!) and to promote a new eye drop pharmaceutical on the market. Arthur Aidala: https://aidalalaw.com/ Cowboy Colostrum: Get 25% Off Cowboy Colostrum with code MAUREEN at https://www.cowboycolostrum.com/MAUREEN Masa Chips: Ready to give MASA a try? Get 25% off your first order by going to http://masachips.com/MAUREEN and using code Maureen. CovePure: Start the new year right—discover why clean wate...
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- [00:01]
Arthur Aidala
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Maureen Callahan
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Arthur Aidala
Level up your drink at Starbucks.
- [00:16]
Maureen Callahan
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- [00:19]
Arthur Aidala
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- [00:28]
Maureen Callahan
That is terrifying. It's exciting. It means we're alive. No, it means we're alive, about to be dead.
- [00:33]
Arthur Aidala
Starring Amelia Clark and Haley Lou Richardson. To the kgb. I'm a person of interest. But you two are ponies.
- [00:39]
Maureen Callahan
Ponies Persons of no interest.
- [00:41]
Arthur Aidala
Ponies streaming now only on Peacock.
- [00:48]
Maureen Callahan
Hello and welcome to your Friday edition of the Nerve. I am your host, Maureen Callahan and we have an incredible show for you today. First, we are going all in deep dive on the Timothy Busfield story. The arrest, what looked like to me a flight from law enforcement, a resurfacing in New Mexico. He was. He went before a judge on Wednesday evening in New Mexico and she ordered him held without bail. While his wife was. Melissa Gilbert, who is most well known from her role as Half Pint on Little House on the Prairie, is quote, standing by her husband. I do not think this is going to go well for her. Okay. Joining us to discuss this story as it's unfolding, criminal defense attorney extraordinaire. First time on the Nerve, an MK true crime crossover, the legendary Arthur Idalla. Then we're going to get into all of your amazing feedback. We've got some art. We've got a very special troublemaker writing in. Very exciting. We're all going to be so excited. And then later in the show, our favorite 900 year old Sprightly Heroine is back doing a media tour. She was just at the Golden Globes. It's going to be good. It's going to be good. Okay, troublemakers, are you ready? Are you ready? Let's go. Today's show is sponsored by Cowboy Colostrum. Colostrum is the first milk that babies receive from their mothers after birth. Cow babies. It is often referred to as liquid gold because it is packed with proteins, natural growth factors and antimicrobials. Three things that can enhance your immune response, reduce inflammation, reduce repair and balance gut lining and reduce bloating. They can even make your skin and hair look amazing. Cowboy Colostrum offers the highest quality cow colostrum in the US they don't over Process or strip their colostrum, leaving it whole with full fat and high protein for ultimate nutrient density. It is sourced from 100% grass fed cows here in the US with all natural ingredients and no artificial flavors. You can add Cowboy Colostrum to your coffee or smoothie. It's simple and easy to drink. For a limited time, our listeners get up to 25% off their entire order. Just head to cowboycolostrum.com Maureen and use code MAUREEN at checkout. That's 25% off when you use code MAUREEN@cowboycolostrum.com Maureen after you purchase, they're going to ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show. Tell them you're a troublemaker and that the Nerve sent you. Joining me for the first time on the Nerve is criminal defense attorney Arthur Aidala. He is no stranger to high profile cases. He is also a regular contributor here at MK Media. He is one of the legendary hosts. But I mean, Arthur's just another level. He really is on Megyn Kelly's MK True Crime. Now, before we bring Arthur in, we just wanna get everybody up to speed in case you haven't had the time to follow it as closely as we here at the Nerve are paid to do. Okay, so Timothy Busfield, who is most well known for his roles on the west wing and 30something and who has a bit of a history with accusations of child sexual abuse finally emerged in New Mexico on Wednesday. The arrest warrant was issued on Friday. Where he was for days was unknown. And I would love to know if his wife, Melissa Gilbert knew where he was because in that case, I believe she was aiding and abetting a fugitive. Okay, so first we're going to take a look at. Before he surrendered himself, Timothy did a little video and he gave it to tmz. And let's all take a look at that and we're gonna discuss it with Arthur. Here we go. Hi everybody, it's Tim. I'm sure most of you know that are watching this that I was ordered to come to Albuquerque. I'm here now. I got the call Friday night. I had to get a lawyer. Saturday, I got in a car which drove 2,000 miles to Albuquerque. I'm going to confront these lies. They're horrible. They're all lies. And I did not do anything to those little boys. And I'm, I'm going to fight it. I'm going to fight it with a great team and I'm going to be exonerated. I know I am because this is all so wrong. And all lies. So hang in there. And hopefully I'm out real soon and back to work. And I love everybody for supporting me. Thank you. I've got stuff to say about that video. We will. We will talk to Arthur about it. In the meantime, Melissa Gilbert sparked backlash, Daily Mail reporting, by sharing an Instagram tour of her refrigerator as her husband faces child sex charges, Twin boys accusing him. I have the affidavit. Here. It is. It is. This thing is so detailed and it is so. Just my opinion, so highly credible. And these two. First of all, she's gotta be kidding. She's gotta be kidding. This says to me that she does not take this seriously. Okay, I'm just gonna read a little bit from the affidavit. We will. We will revisit it as we continue to cover this case. But I just wanna give you a sense of how serious and detailed it is.
- [06:49]
Arthur Aidala
So.
- [06:50]
Maureen Callahan
One of the boys who is only identified as Sl. Excuse me. In this affidavit, disclosed both to his therapist and his pediatrician, both of whom are named here, that Timothy Busfield touched both his genitalia and his bottom. His therapist diagnosed SL with post traumatic stress disorder. Sleep. Told the interviewer on 1031 25. So a little over two months ago, the first time. I'm reading directly from the affidavit, the first time that Tim touched him was when he was seven years old. He described it as his parents no longer having an iPad to watch the set. They will give the parents iPads so the parents can have eyes on their children throughout filming. Parents no longer had them. When the director, who was Tim, said cut. Tim would come into the bedroom on the movie set and touch Sl's quote, private areas. SL provided a drawing to the interviewer showing how he was alone with Tim in this room. SL said that Tim would grab his waist with both hands while SL was lying on his back in the bed of the movie set. Tim would then touch all over SL's body, including his, quote, private area, where SL described his private area as where he poops and pees. Keys. Timothy Busfield is interviewed over speakerphone by authorities. His wife is there. Tim said. My wife is there. Tim. Timothy said, his wife is there. Don't fall for this hey, everybody, it's Tim bullshit. I did ask Timothy, reading from the affidavit, if he ever had any physical contact with these boys and if he ever picked them up and tickled them. Timothy said it was highly likely that he would have. Why you are talk touching children? I have no idea. Children who are not your own. Timothy said it was a playful environment, like he wanted. However, Timothy said that the dad, Ronald, would make SL and vl, that's the other brother, hug him. And he really didn't want them to. I did ask Timothy what the protocol was for touching children and picking them up and touching them. I also asked if that was allowed. Timothy initially said, it's not allowed at all. There is no. There is no protocol. So it's either allowed or not allowed, but there's no protocol. But you would only need a protocol if it were allowed, Correct? Moving on. I mean, I'm always around people, right? What that has to do with anything, I have no fucking idea. It would be. It would be, you know, in front of the parents. There would never be a weird moment about it. I don't really remember picking those boys up. I remember picking up the boy who followed them. I'd pick him up and he'd be giggling and that would sort of get him ready to act. Now Timothy changes his story. In the affidavit, Timothy then stated, I don't remember those boys. No, I don't. I don't actually. I don't remember it if it happened. I don't remember overtly tickling the boys ever. But it wouldn't be uncommon for me. Arthur. Arthur. Excuse me. I'm so worked up. Welcome to the Nerve. And tell me what you make of that deposition.
- [10:11]
Arthur Aidala
Well, the part that seems a little hard to believe from my understanding of the facts, is that he doesn't remember those boys when apparently there's going to be some evidence that he and his bride Melissa took the boys out to dinner. At least on one occasion. I don't know how many times you're taking out little kids who are strangers to dinner, but I think it would stand out in your memory that you know who they are and what this is all about. I really want to go back and focus on his video. That's a kind of a unique thing. I will tell you what, what he described, like he found out Friday they wanted him and Saturday he went and hired a lawyer and then Sunday he got there. That's not so atypical. I mean, I had that situation recently. Now, what we don't know is, you know, what I did was I called the prosecutor's office that wanted my client to surrender. I said, look, it's Friday at 6 o'. Clock. I'm not surrendering her now, you know, she's gonna stay in over the week. I'm not doing that. But on Monday morning at 9 o' clock or 8 o', clock, whatever time, you know, I'll surrender. And during that 48 hours, you get to know your client, you get to figure out some of the facts, you get to get to be blunt, you get to get paid as, as the lawyer. You get to put together what's called a bail package. You know, if I go in front of the judge and I ask for bail, what do we have? Do we have a house, do we have stock options and bonds and you know, what can we secure things with? So the fact that there was a delay in his surrender is not so out of the realm of normalcy.
- [11:38]
Maureen Callahan
But is it the fact that he's.
- [11:39]
Arthur Aidala
Making a video, the fact that he's making the video, that's a little odd.
- [11:42]
Maureen Callahan
Isn't it weird for such a high profile case, a celebrity married to another celebrity who is being charged with one of the absolute worst things you could be charged with goes not. He doesn't even seem to have a lawyer who can say to the media he's planning to turn himself in on this date and we will be appearing. And I know exactly where my client is and so does law enforcement.
- [12:07]
Arthur Aidala
You know, these are hard decisions to make. I would agree that she should be telling that to the authorities. Right? So you should stop wasting resources and having people out there looking for him. You say, look, he'll be in at 8 o' clock in the morning. Let's face it, this is a 68 year old guy with no criminal record, no criminal background at that particular point. Is he a tremendous danger to the community? Probably not. So again, you call law enforcement, you call the DA's office or the U.S. attorney's office or wherever you say, look, we'll be there Monday morning. Chill. I don't know if it's a tough call. I would probably leave it in the client's hands under those circumstances. Whether I went out to the press and had a conversation. I've represented some interesting characters. So Harvey Weinstein likes to produce things and direct things. He would tell me one thing, Lawrence Taylor, the NFL great of the New York Giants, you know, he would say, Arthur, you know, you the lawyer, I'm the football player, we're gonna do whatever you tell me to do. So it kind of depends on who your client is and what they're telling you to do. Again, the one thing that seems not credible from all of the information you just put out there, and I've read a lot of this as well, is that he's saying now he doesn't know the children. There's a big. There's a lot of real estate between. I don't even know who these people are, or I never. I never tickled them, or if I did tickle them, you know, they have to prove that whatever the touching that took place, it was for sexual gratification. I mean, you know, I don't have a recollection of me tickling strangers, but I do have a knee. I mean, I have three children, but I have a niece. I have a nephew. I have. You know, I mean, you horse around.
- [13:46]
Maureen Callahan
Those are children you're related to. And so I think as a child who was tickled by a distant relative who we all knew was fucked up and who liked tickling me because I was a ticklish kid, it's sadistic, and there can be a sexual element to it, and it's a way of breaking down a boundary with a child. It's about power and control, because the child is laughing, but the child is actually in agony. And. And the adult is bigger, and the adult can keep going as long as they want. And I find it extremely creepy that this guy is touching children. He says it's not allowed. He says it's not allowed. And I don't understand. I actually would disagree with you a little bit at the top there, where I think a guy who is charged with sex crimes against children is a danger to the community. I don't think he should be out out for days where nobody knows where he is if that's the case. Well, you got a history of this stuff.
- [14:43]
Arthur Aidala
You know, my other clientele list, you know, includes gang members. And, you know, and there are members out there of organized crime who, you know, are carrying guns and knives and they're still robbing people and they're still breaking into homes. And, you know, when you get a guy in this. Look, I've been in these situations when something this public happens, you go in this, like, the client and his family, they go in this, like, protective little community of shock. First and foremost, it's like shock. And then secondly, it's like, oh, my God, how do we deal with this? I don't see him with the cops looking for him, with all the media looking for him, of him going and molesting another child. I just don't think that part of it is really part of the equation.
- [15:29]
Maureen Callahan
Well, he does have a history with this. We have since Learned that in 1996, Busfield was ordered to pay $150,000 to the law firm that he defamed. This law firm was representing another accuser of his. And he said they defamed him by accusing him of a sexual violation of a minor. And a judge ordered him to pay what it cost the law firm to fight those claims in court. And then on Wednesday we got the news broke. The Daily Mail reported there is a new third accuser, a 16 year old girl. The victim's father filed on Wednesday saying that when Timothy Busfield was auditioning this girl for a theater company he co founded in California, he kissed this girl, he shoved his hands down her pants. I'll stop there. But it went on from there. And that when the father confronted him, Busfield begged, begged the family not to file charges and said he would go into therapy. And the father, a therapist himself, said he thought that would perhaps be the best way. But Arthur, as we know, there is no therapizing or rehabilitating a child predator. I'm not saying he is one, I'm just saying it sounds like in my opinion he is one.
- [16:49]
Arthur Aidala
So you just touched on something that was about to lead into, let's see what the next couple of weeks, you know that who else pops up? So this happened in Puff Daddy's case, P. Diddy's case, where the initial thing came out and then other people, it happens all the time. It's, it's not so uncommon that when one of these celebrities comes out and it's one person, usually it's a woman, you know, and then there's another one and another one and another one. What I was about to say was let's see what the next couple of weeks hold and are there different parents or adults going to a lawyer's office right now and saying, look, you know, five years ago he did this to me. Ten years ago he did this to me. So that's really where we're going to find out the veracity of all of this going forward is, is how, you know, how many other people are going to say this happened. And if it's no one else and it's just these two boys, well then, you know what I mean. Look, if it's the truth, I have an 8, 9 year old boy of a 19 year old boy. I mean it's, I agree with you, it's horrific to think about. But you have to let the justice system then play out, right? There's evidence, there's witnesses, there's judges, there's juries. And you know, he's, I'm sure he's in for the fight of his life. And I feel bad for these little kids because if he does take it all the way to trial and they have to go into a courtroom and testify, and they will. Everyone should understand what the law is from the Supreme Court of the United States. They can't testify on video. They can't be in another room with a monitor. The confrontation clause of the United States of America, the Supreme Court has ruled, means confrontation face to face. So they have to be in a courtroom with the jurors, with the judge, with the court officers, with the prosecutors, with the defense attorneys, and with the person who they're accusing of doing this to. That is so traumatic for, For a young, for anyone. I don't care if you're 100 years old or you're 10 years old. That is a traumatic experience. And I really hope somehow or another this case winds up where those young boys do not have to do that. Because if they think they got PTSD now going through that and telling the world, and in this case, it will be the world what happened, and because of the Internet, it'll be on them for the rest of their lives. I mean, they will try to protect their identity. But as you know, Maureen, in these cases of this magnitude of publicity, it's very, very hard to keep your eye.
- [19:07]
Maureen Callahan
It's very, very hard. I agree with you, Arthur, but I think that sort of the onus is on the media and society to begin reframing this stuff that like the only person who should really feel shame in a courtroom and is the credibly accused and not those victims who will be forced to, as you said, confront their accuser face to face in a courtroom. Let's. Let's talk to the. Let's speak to the video, the TMZ video that piqued your interest as it did mine. I found it very. I do not think this is helping this guy's case, and I'll tell you why. Hey, everybody, it's Tim, your friendly, neighborhood credibly accused child molester. And I know you're all rooting for me. Just hang in there. Hang in there, there. What is this guy? The presumptuousness of this.
- [19:52]
Arthur Aidala
Well, we just listen, we just live in this virtual screen society. In the past, you're either the client or the lawyer, on behalf of the client would have a written three sentence statement, you know, of the essence of what he said. You know, I understand these charges are very serious. I vehemently deny them and I will fight with every bone in my body to prove my innocence. Thank you, you. But that's that. Those are written words.
- [20:17]
Maureen Callahan
He needs a lawyer of your caliber, Arthur. Seriously. Because I don't recall Harvey Weinstein, who made movies for a living, putting his face in front of a camera and giving a statement like that. Diddy did it and it didn't work out well for him either.
- [20:32]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah, it's, it's, it's a lose, lose situation. You're never going to get garner sympathy. I, I don't. Look, here's the bottom line. When you get accused of something this serious, Hollywood is gone. The screen is gone, Your life is basically gone. And you know, I alluded to Lawrence Taylor, who's the New York Giant. It's a big deal because.
- [20:55]
Maureen Callahan
Would you remind us what he was, what he was tried for?
- [20:58]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah. Rape. Lawrence Taylor is the NFL. Just the, the NFL just did the hundred greatest players of all time. He was voted the next number one greatest defensive football player of all time and a woman accused him of rape. And he got a misdemeanor and community service on one case. And then when Gloria Allredge sued him, it took the jury 10 minutes to come back and say he didn't do anything wrong. And he was fully cleared of all of that. But I will tell you, as a client, he was. And this guy is physically, he's a giant. His team was the Giants and in the world of sports, he's a giant. He was so deferential to me and he was one of the most helpful clients I ever had in terms of strategy and how to relate to a jury. But he just said, you're in charge, you're in charge. And it's the lawyer, it's the clients that come in and think they know more than the lawyers do, where they get themselves in trouble. And this video, do I think it's gonna make him more guilty? No. Do I think it helped him? No.
- [22:01]
Maureen Callahan
I think it, I personally think it does make him seem a little bit more guilty because his affect is so flip. It's so, it does not meet the moment.
- [22:12]
Arthur Aidala
It does not make him seem less sympathetic. You're 100% correct. It is not like he should be on there being. Look, folks, I am absolutely devastated. I am a 68 year old man. I have these children, I have my wife. I have this beautiful life. I'm so blessed to have and to be accused of something so horrific. I would never hurt a child. That's insane. It breaks my heart that even these accusations and if something, you know, and then along those lines, not like, hey, look where I am, I'm Here I am, I'm in. I'm in lovely New Mexico.
- [22:42]
Maureen Callahan
And he's. He's on a balcony, like a Marriott. Like all of it looks low rent. And I, My mind goes, you are a low life. You are a low rent person. Like, you rented a car and drove. Okay? He said he couldn't. He couldn't fly. He had to drive because the warrant that was out for his arrest prohibited him from flying. To which I would say, and I'm a layperson, Arthur, of course it did, because law enforcement doesn't want you leaving the country and going somewhere where you can't be extradited. So stop. Stop trying to make it sound like you had no choice.
- [23:18]
Arthur Aidala
So let me just think about what we were just talking about, how people react to these things. I also represent Alan Dershowitz, or did, right when those accusations by Virginia Giuffre came out that she had sex. Now, she wasn't underage. She was young, but she wasn't underage. It wasn't a crime that she had sex with Alan Dershowitz against her will six times in six different locations. When I say against her will because Jeffrey Epstein forced her to. Alan Dershowitz was so despondent, and I use that word, seriously despondent, that I got on a plane from New York to Florida where he was, because I was concerned for his health. And he made a decision unlike some others in the Epstein saga. He fought it with every bone in his body until we deposed Virginia Giuffre and she admitted, I may have made a mistake when I said it was Alan Dershowitz who I had sex with six times in six places. And she basically took it back. She reversed her accusation. It took us almost a decade to get to that point. And it took a hunk out of Alan's health. And a lot of people say, oh, you know, you protested too much, Alan, when you say so strong, it wasn't me, it wasn't me, it makes it seem like you're covering up. But the truth was he never did meet that woman. And the only time he was on Jeffrey Epstein's island was with his wife and his 12 year old daughter. So for Alan, it ultimately worked out. And his public image took a tremendous hit. But the New York Times headline, and Megyn Kelly was a big part of this. He gave her the first. She gave Allen spoke to Megan right after it came out, and she, you know, when she admitted, okay, yeah, it wasn't Alan who. I was wrong when I accused Alan, you know, that's. That's a very different way to go about things than making a TMZ video the way Timothy did.
- [25:04]
Maureen Callahan
What do you make of the. So the affidavit has a claim in here that it was. I'm gonna read directly from it. Timothy and his wife Melissa did tell me, the interviewing officer, that before this, they did have a relationship with the twin boys, S.L. and V.L. and their family outside of work. They advised that they did buy the two boys Christmas gifts and were together on several social functions. Now, some of the analysis since then has been that Melissa could be on the hook for what they call grooming. Not just grooming the boys and breaking down these boundaries, but grooming the parents into making them feel that Timothy and Melissa were trustworthy people that could be alone with their children.
- [25:57]
Arthur Aidala
I don't. I don't know the prosecutors in New Mexico, but I could tell you, whether it's LA or New York or Chicago, I don't think the prosecutors on those jurisdictions that are very busy would be. Would be trying to take that on. It's just. Unless there's real, direct proof, if there's emails or texts between Timothy and Melissa, that really shows there's a conspiracy there. And they both have the mindset to do this. I think that's just a bridge too far. I am curious about them not having the iPads on set to see what the boys are doing. And there's also.
- [26:34]
Maureen Callahan
Sets are enormous, by the way, for people who don't. Who haven't been on a set. They're so huge that. That the boys, the parents could technically be on set with the kids, but the kids could be hundreds of yards away in a separate room with a door closed.
- [26:49]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah. And the other thing is, in part of this, these accusations, there's testimony from people who worked on the set. Okay. Who had. They don't have any skin in the game. They're not on Timothy's side and they're not on. On the. The little boy's side. Who said that? One of them, when they started filming was this happy, joyful, energetic kid. And as time went on, he became more quiet, more sad, more withdrawn. You know, these are people who don't really have any motivation to lie that we know of at this point. So that says a lot. Because if the studies show that that is a byproduct of children getting molested, they become more introverted, they become more quiet, they become more insecure. That's a piece of evidence that can be very, very damaging.
- [27:43]
Maureen Callahan
I would add to that. Not only do those People, those witnesses have no reason to lie. They have every reason to try to cover for their boss. Because in Hollywood, you know, you want to secure the next job, you don't want to be known as the person who's causing problems on a set for a director, for a crew. So I think that lends them more credence. I want to talk to you too about the U.S. marshals going into the house upstate where Timothy. It's their retreat, and Timothy and Melissa's. And the New York Times profiled this house and this lovely couple a few years back. And what was striking to me about the house was not only is it really a dump, I'm just going to be crude. It's a dump. But. But they have this wall in the living room where photos of people, Polaroids, hard copies of photos are just taped to the wall. And, you know, if this guy is guilty, and I'm just going to say my opinion, I think he's guilty. Okay? If he is. You know, it's very common for offenders to keep what they call trophies. And I wonder if on that wall there are photos of any of the. Of the children that may have had the unfortunate happenstance to be in Timothy Busfield's purview.
- [29:02]
Arthur Aidala
What do you think?
- [29:03]
Maureen Callahan
Am I crazy?
- [29:05]
Arthur Aidala
Well, I don't know. I'm not gonna go. I'm not gonna say you're crazy. What I'm gonna say is a good law enforcement officer, a good. Or journalists like yourself, he's going to look at every one of those pictures, try to identify every one of those people, and then go and speak to every one of those people. I mean, that's their job, right? Is to your point? And let's see, what were your experiences? Like, where was he with you? But. And a lot of people bury these things, right? A lot of people don't. You know, they repress something happening. So you need real professionals who know how to talk to people, especially if they're younger people, to pull out these horrible memories. But I kind of like that idea. You know, I have a little house somewhere. I kind of like the idea of everyone walking in, me taking a Polaroid and sticking it on the wall. I think it would kind of look cool.
- [29:50]
Maureen Callahan
Of course, you should take a look at this house. Even the Times was like, you know, their house. It's more World of Interiors than Architectural Digest. I mean, there were such snobs about it.
- [30:02]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah, well, I think my wife has done a pretty good job making our house very comfortable. That's what we're Told it's so warm and welcoming in here. And that's exactly when you're an Italian American who likes to have a lot of company over. That's what you want to hear?
- [30:14]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah. No, this house, it looks more akin to when the feds are not with the Fed. The Jodie Foster character on her own initially goes into Buffalo Bill's house. It's got that vibe.
- [30:25]
Arthur Aidala
Yikes.
- [30:26]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah. Yeah. So what do you think? Do you think that Melissa Gilbert's going to be called in for questioning? I mean, those of us who's like, you know, NBC pulled the square svu, the Law and Order that Busfield was on. It was supposed to. It's supposed to air on Thursday the 15th, and they pulled it and they replaced it. But when you watch an svu, like, you know, you see them, like, interrogating the shit out of everybody. They don't f around how I would think Melissa Gilbert would be hauled in for questioning as to what did you know, when did you know it? And if. If her husband was indeed on the lam, were you helping him?
- [31:04]
Arthur Aidala
So here's how. So let me play that out. And again, expert in New Mexican law. So that's. Although I learned a little bit with Alec Baldwin. She'll obviously have a lawyer. She'll tell them, I'm not. My client's not coming in to talk to you. You know, unless somehow or another they piece together some, like, incontrovertible evidence. But it's got to be something to the degree of. They said it happened on Valentine's Day of 2017. 20. And Melissa's got the plane tickets of the passport, that, you know, they were in Israel. And that on that date, short of something that dramatic, she's not going to go in and talk. Now they have the option of giving her immunity. So she's going to take the fifth, right? She's going to say, I'm not coming in. Then they're going to subpoena her. She's like, okay, I'm not coming in. I'm taking that. My client's taking the Fifth. And then they could give her immunity. They could say, okay, well, you can't take the Fifth. And against your right, against self incrimination because we're now guaranteeing you, we're not charging you with anything related to this crime. She can't go in and say, yeah, I'm the one who shot John Kennedy. You know that she would get. She would get prosecuted for that. But if she comes in and says, yes, I knew he was doing this And I told him to stop. And one day I even gave him the keys to the room, and he went in and did it. They're telling her if they gave her immunity because they want to hear what she's got to say, that they're not going to prosecute her. But it takes a prosecutor a lot to do that, because now they're saying, all right, no matter what comes out, we're giving her immunity, which means we can't come after her. So unless they think she really holds some valuable evidence, of course they would like to talk to her. They'll try to talk to her. But any lawyer who's been a lawyer for more than 15 minutes knows, like, okay, no, no, we're not going in to speak with them. And there's also the privilege between a husband and a wife.
- [32:55]
Maureen Callahan
I was gonna ask you. The spousal privilege.
- [32:57]
Arthur Aidala
Right, right. So if he confessed everything to her, they can't even start asking her about it because it's a privilege. The same way if the priest came in there, they can't even start asking her about it. So. And even if. I mean, there's a lot of legalities to it, if they found it another way. Text messages between husband and wife.
- [33:13]
Maureen Callahan
This is my question. This is my question, really. If the prosecutor. If prosecutors subpoena phone records, email records between Melissa and Timothy. I'm talking about the actual days in which he went missing where nobody knew where he was. And she's helping him, and she's staving off law enforcement because I think the feds tossed that house as an fu. Because he. They didn't know where he was for three or four days. That's what I think.
- [33:42]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah. You may not be. I'm not saying you're wrong. And I don't know who these lawyers are. And that's why I started in the beginning of the show saying, like, the first thing. I was in a very similar situation. A story that was on the COVID of the New York Times. You know, as soon as the client came in with her parents, you know, the first thing I did was I reached out to law enforcement, said, okay, slow down. We'll be there. Like, you don't have to break down anyone's door. You don't have to show up in force. Don't waste any time and effort. We'll be there. And just to sound like a jerk, like, I have enough credibility that they know I'm not going to lie to them. They know I'm not playing any games. But if, first of all, they should not be looking at privileged communications. Okay? We still live in the United States of America where there's still certain rights. A lawyer, client privilege, priest or rabbi, individual privilege, and a husband, wife privilege. So they're not even supposed to be looking at that stuff. I just don't think that they're really going to be looking to go grab Melissa on this sex crimes kind of case. They got enough juice. They got. I mean, his name is big enough. The crimes are horrific enough. The. The individuals who are victims or potential victims are sympathetic enough. I don't think if they're smart, they shouldn't complicate their case. If they really believe they have a real bad guy on their hands, they should focus on the bad guy, charge him appropriately, don't do what they did in the P. Diddy case and overcharge. Don't do what they did in the state court in the Luigi Mangioni case and overcharge so that the judge is dismissing charges. Because that's just a bad look for a prosecutor. It doesn't look like you're fair and impartial. Because a prosecutor is supposed to be fair and impartial. They're supposed to do the right thing. Defense attorney is supposed to zealously represent their client. A prosecutor has a quasi judicial role. They're supposed to do what they believe is right, not what's going to make them win. So if I'm the lead prosecutor, unless there's something blaring glaring that Melissa did, I'm going to more or less leave her alone and say, look, we got these kids. We got this affidavit. We have all of this evidence. We got these very serious charges. We got the guy in jail. Let's prosecute the defendant we have in front of us for the crimes that we think he committed, put our best prosecutors on it and work our tails off to get a conviction.
- [35:54]
Maureen Callahan
Spoken like a true defense attorney. I just, I gotta say, like, the Melissa Gilbert stuff, as a woman, it drives me nuts because she has been out there saying that she was somewhat of a victim. I'm paraphrasing because when she was a teenage actress on Little House, they made her, quote, unquote, fall in love on screen and kiss a grown man. She was in a period piece, and I'm sure she was. Well, she's never said she was a victim of sexual abuse in Hollywood, ever. And here she is, much like her husband, who posts this very flip video, which. And he. He determines the best person to put it to. To give it to, is Harvey Levin over at T, you know, she goes on Instagram and she's like, why don't you look inside my filthy refrigerator in my filthy upstate house that's falling apart? And it just all feels tonally effing off it. I don't like either one of them. And I do feel if she's helping him on the run instead of going, oh, my God, have I married a monster? Have I married a guy who could do this to small children? The mind reels, Arthur. I mean, you're with the media. You understand. Understand this stuff.
- [37:03]
Arthur Aidala
No, and you. You just made a point that even alluded. That eluded me also, that he. No disrespect to Harvey and tmz, but, like, if it's something this serious and this heartfelt and this. And you're so devastated. I mean, I know I. You know, I alluded to. To Dershowitz. We were only talking to the New York Times. There's a little bit of a difference between TMZ and the New York Times.
- [37:26]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah.
- [37:26]
Arthur Aidala
You know, in terms of seriousness. I mean, TMZ's got a role to play, and they play it well. But you made the point that I'll be talking about that later on MK True Crime.
- [37:37]
Maureen Callahan
Yeah, it really does. The way you frame it for public consumption, the outlets you place your stuff to, it all matters. And from a public relations standpoint, I think so far, Timothy is not advocating well for himself. Arthur, thank you so much for joining us on the Nerve.
- [37:57]
Arthur Aidala
This was such a fascinating talk. I saw the name of the show, and I was like, am I going to be nervous to go on the Nerve? But you made it so, so easy and so welcoming, and your crew is so great. Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. And I got, like, flowers growing out of my head. I love it.
- [38:11]
Maureen Callahan
This is such a compliment because you are just. I listen to you all the time on MK True Crime and before that on Megan's show. And I love listening to you. You have such a fascinating mind and such a great way of articulating things and getting your point across and being confrontational in ways that just feel really intellectually stimulating. And we just loved having you and hope to see you again soon.
- [38:37]
Arthur Aidala
My mother will make sure she sends you the check for saying all those nice things.
- [38:41]
Maureen Callahan
You know, I take Venmo.
- [38:44]
Arthur Aidala
Okay. Okay.
- [38:45]
Maureen Callahan
See you soon. Thanks so much, Arthur. That is it. That is it. And that is a story that we will be following very closely, and we will continue to report on it. And it's just. It's it's just mind blowing. It's just mind blowing. Okay, up next, we're going to lighten it up a little bit with your feedback and a very special troublemaker reemerges. We are back in a minute. If you're looking to eat cleaner in 2026, toss the chemical laden snacks and switch to Masa Chips. Masa's tortilla chips are made with just three healthy ingredients. Organic corn, sea salt, grass fed beef, tallow, no seed oils, no mystery junk and they are delicious, crunchy and flavorful. Plus, Masa chips will leave you feeling satisfied and light. No bloating, no sluggishness. My favorite is the original. I also just tried the lime the other night and those are incredible too. They've got a full variety of flavors. You can try their sister line of potato chips as well if you like the Masa Tortilla chips. Vandy Crisps with Vandy I'm partial to the classic original. If you are ready to give Masa a try, go to masachips.com maureen and use code MAUREEN for 25% off your first order. Or simply click the link in the video description or scan the QR code to claim this delicious offer. And if you don't feel like ordering online, Masa is now available nationwide at your local Sprouts supermarket. So stop by and pick up a couple of bags before they're gone.
- [40:28]
Arthur Aidala
Protein is now at Starbucks and it's never tasted so good. Try our all new Caramel protein lattes with up to 31 grams of protein and options with no added sugar. Level up.
- [40:38]
Maureen Callahan
Level up. Level up. Level up. Level up.
- [40:40]
Arthur Aidala
Level up. Your drink at Starbucks.
- [40:43]
Maureen Callahan
Ah, DSW Earth. Place of the humble. Brag here. The shoes are so good no one would ever know how little you paid if you didn't go telling everyone that is. And with never ending options for every style, mood and occasion, all at really great prices, they'll definitely give you something to brag about. So go ahead, stock up on fresh sneakers from your favorite brands or try those boots you always secretly knew you could pull off. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores or@dsw.com Let us surprise you. We are back and now it is time for for troublemaker art and email. First up we put out the call I'm going to say a week or two ago and he answered. And I see you guys have been asking for him as well in the YouTube comments, DMs to me, emails to me, where's Armando, Unlike Steadman, Armando actually answered our call. The header, my darling. I had a health problem. That slowed me down a bit. Armando, we are glad. It sounds like you are on the mend. Armando continues. I am still watching assiduously. Love that word. And I am loving the Stedman coverage. Thanks. No worries. I will still send you a rant when the inspiration strikes. Armando, we are all waiting with bated breath. Now, Armando has a suggestion for a segment, and this could be really fun. Like, Bill from Brooklyn could take the sports angle, and then we could talk to somebody else about the media angle, the music angle. With the super bowl coming up, I thought it might be fun if you were to cover the bad bunny controversy and the quote unquote, alternate super bowl halftime show. Lots of angles there. Is it racist to demand an alternate halftime show? Or is it just awesome that our country is so huge and diverse and grand, eloquent. Amazing word, Armando, that we actually need two halftime shows? I mean, great point. There actually is a puppy Bowl. You know, nobody says that's racist. Anyhow, still plenty of lead time on that one. Armando continues, I get very moved when I read these words. Still love you too much. Love the new glasses. Also, my darling, you always look nicer and cuddlier in the lighter earth tones, especially in a sweater. I, uh. Well, Armando, I hope today's seafoam green, you know, you find it not too. Not too uncuddly. I mean, that's not really a word, but you know what I'm saying. And then Armando signs off again with I love you too, too much. And lest we forget, Armando's sign off is Sportsman Rancon tour and shameless lounge. About Armando, we love you, and we are so happy that we are all back in touch. Moving on. Dear Maureen, can't wait for your next travel show with Belinda. Neither can we. Belinda was on the Nerve at Night, Our most recent Nerve. And we were talking about where we're gonna go. The Troublemakers voted and would also love nervy traveler merch. This is troublemaker Erin. She writes in quite a bit. Maybe a mini dry brush? Why not? I kind of like it. Just finished watching the Nerve at Night. Troublemaker P. Oh, sorry. Tim left me. Tim doesn't just leave me a lipstick in case I need to touch up. Tim left me an Hermes lipstick. He is the best. Marlena, you do a phenomenal fricking job as the Nerve producer. Keep it going. I could not agree more. Whoa. That came right back to me. Okay, Dear Maureen, okay, this. This troublemaker has Two bits of great gossip. And we're going to break it up. And for today's show, I'm only able to read one because it's got some detail and some color in it. So I really need to read the whole thing for you guys, you know, on the. The Nerve. Tuesday's Nerve, in which Rob Shooter and I were forensically breaking apart all the bullshit at the Golden Globes. And how that director, Chloe Zhao, stood up when her film was called and just stood there immobile with her hands. Oh, my God, you mean an award I actually actively campaigned for and got dressed up and drove all the way over here for. And they called my name and I won. I simply don't know what to do with myself. I've only directed, like, at least three major motion pictures, you know. Stop, stop. Anyway, this troublemaker has some direct intel, which sounds legit to me. Again, just this troublemaker's report. Okay. Having gone to school with Chloe Zhao. Zhao pronounced like the J in Zhivago. Thank you, Chloe Zhao. I just wanted to note that she's always been really good at making things about herself. You don't say. Though she was always quite a talent, as were most of her classmates and schoolmates, myself included. Her claim to fame during grad school was her uncanny. Is it grad school or grade school? I think it's grad school. Was her uncanny ability. Oh, this is so savage, you guys. To get guys who were eights and nines. Despite herself being known as a butter face. Look the phrase up. Those of us who were raised on Howard Stern know what it is. She was always a bit pretentious and spoiled. But it wasn't until after she had a brief troublemaker. How do you have a brief semi long affair? It's gotta be either a semi long affair or brief. I will take you gently to task for that oxymoron with the strikingly handsome son, our classmate of a now retired MSNBC host who shall remain nameless. She led this guy on for far too long, dangling him around the halls hopelessly, even after breaking his heart. That was when we all realized that she was a piece of work who somehow knew how to get into a person's head and make them unjustifiably obsessed with her. We can only imagine how insidious her charms are with the Hollywood execs who keep green lighting everything she wants, despite her heavy tongue and accent and better than thou effect. And also, as discussed, mediocre director. Just my opinion. Okay, holding the second bit of celebrity scandalous intel for next week. Okay, Troublemaker. Xenia, this is, I think, the second email we're reading from you regarding Timothy Shamalama. Ding dong ping pong. The nerve of this little weasel to put us in the unenviable position of feeling sorry for Kylie Jenner and then posting this and this. This was posted by an account called Rocket St. George. So I don't know that Timothy did it himself, but shades of Bill Clinton in a blue dress and heels in Jeffrey Epstein's townhouse. Now, I'm not saying anything remotely like that. I'm not. But when you look at this mock up, it's Timothy. It's a riff on the very famous morning after portrait of Faye Dunaway. Having won her Oscar for I believe it was network seated poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel. And this is just genius. I love it. I love it. I'm sure he fucking hates it, which makes me love it all the more. Hi, Maureen. A topic that I love that you guys touch on at the Nerve is grammar. Thanks. Us too. One of our biggest pet peeves is misuse and overuse of words like one Sarah Jessica Parker. And we've got our wrecking ball is coming right at her in the next segment for this very, very thing. I can't stand it. God, she's all over American morning television right now. We're going in. It's both SJP and American morning television. You know, again, as. As stated, I would love to be the asteroid that destroys it. Okay, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the list below. My pleasure. Adding right at the end of sentences. Meghan Markle does this and many others. It comes off as condescending. Condescending. Excuse me. And as a filler word for people who want to sound smart but clearly are not. Sorry. I'm racing through this because it's so good. I also, troublemaker, would say adding right as Meghan Markle does to the end of a sentence is a way of communicating to the person you're speaking with. I'm not interested in debate. I don't really care if you have a different opinion. I just want you to ratify everything I say because I'm the only person in this conversation who really matters. Okay. You know where it does not belong. Caroline Kennedy is the worst. I can barely listen to her speak. Another one of mine. Oh, she's got it here. I'll wait. SJP does the same thing all the time. Literally. And super. Need I say more? Agreed. Often literally is used incorrectly. It's. It's not literally. And if it is literally, you kind of don't need to say it. Okay. Sort of. I hate this. I hate this. Something either is or it isn't. It isn't. Sort of. Too many speakers are adding this filler phrase into their sentences. Lesson number one in speech class, a dying art, a dying form of instruction was, quote, become comfortable with pauses and don't speak too fast. Sort of has become the new. And it's driving me crazy that people who are paid to speak to the masses for a living are speaking like this. I couldn't agree more. This is troublemaker Heather in Colorado. What I also, and I know you guys sometimes are like, Maureen, you say. You say like, I get it. I am speaking extemporaneous. Extemporaneously. However, so I do ask for a little bit of forgiveness on this. Just a little bit. Okay. I'm trying to get better. Unique. People often say something is really unique or kind of unique. The definition of unique is it is a thing that is set apart, that is unlike something else. So something can't be kind of unique or very unique or really unique. It's just unique. Hi, Maureen. A juicy scoop from Rob Shooter's Substack to start this year with a banger just dropped in the mailbox after that dreadful Carol Burnett award given to the insufferable sjp. There is more to come for this one reading from Rob's exclusive. Sarah Jessica Parker nervous she'll be exposed as the next mean Ellen. She's terrified, A former crew member tells me she knows the dam is about to break. Everyone has stories. We bet. We bet. And we will be watching that space very closely, assiduously, as Armando might say. Keep your feedback coming. Email me at maureenvilmakeremedia.com or DM me on Instagram at Maureen Callahan, writer, or at the Nerve Show. And remember, subscribe to the Nerves Substack, which is our weekly email newsletter full of original content, bonus content, stuff you can't get on the show. We've got answers to your questions. Tim is going to talk about the makeup he's been using on me this week. You guys have a lot of questions about that. So that is at go to thenerveshow.com, go to our website, thenerveshow.com and you will see a prompt to sign up for the sub stack. You just put your email in and there you go. You've got more Nerve stuff coming your way at the end of any given week. Also, the Nerve is looking for our next intern and we also have an open aiding for a coordinating producer. Those of you who have emailed and DM'd and said, does that mean Marlena's leaving? Marlena. Excuse me. Sorry, Marlena is leaving. No, I would sooner lock Marlena in the woodshed than allow her to leave. Okay. Marlena is never leaving. Coordinating producer is to work under Marlena. You can find that info and how to apply over on the nerves Instagram page at the Nerve Show. If you are interested, please email dm. Let us know coming up. And just like that, Sarah Jessica Parker is at it again. We will see you in a minute. After the holidays, many people tend to dive into supplements or a new diet. But there is a tendency to ignore the ultimate basic water. Even mild dehydration tanks your energy focus and metabolism. And with all the contaminants in tap water, you already might be behind. But Cove Pure is a water filtration system that will fix that instantly. Their Clearwave technology is certified to remove up to 99.9% of contaminants. PFAS, microplastics, fluoride, everything. It's the purest water possible. I have one and I love it. And what I love most about Covp Pure is instant, hot, cold or warm water. And their size presets make hitting your daily water intake goal effortless. The taste is fresh and clean, set up as a breeze and there is no plumbing required. You are just putting it on your countertop. Cove Pure makes it so easy to get pure water with the push of a button. So this year improve your health with clean water. Right now you can get $200 off for a limited time if you use the code covpure.com nerve that's C-O-V-E-P-U-R-E.com nerve to start the new year right. Ah DSW Earth. Place of the humble brag here. The shoes are so good. No one would ever know how little you paid if you didn't go telling everyone that is. And with never ending options for every style, mood and occasion, all at really great prices, they'll definitely give you something to brag about. So go ahead, stock up on fresh sneakers from your favorite brands or try those boots you always secretly knew you could pull off. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores or@dsw.com let us surprise you. We are back. Now our favorite spritely 900 year old heroine is taking yet another victory lap because she was awarded the Carol Burnett prize at a pre Golden Globes ceremony. And like so many of you pointed out, and I wish it had occurred to me during the Globes livestream that the nerve did that award. Bought and paid for. Clearly bought and paid for. As Rob Shooter is reporting, she's apparently reportedly terrified the cast and crew are going to come out and tell real stories about what a bitch she is. Kim Cattrall basically confirmed it. Chris Noth went on Instagram and basically confirmed it. And yeah, she's so instead of just taking her award and going home, she's taking a victory lap. She's still hawking this line that, you know, she and Michael Patrick King decided to end and just like that for artistic and creative reasons of integrity, not because HBO threw it in the trash can where it belonged. And she says so she's out promoting ostensibly a documentary that she did about librarians. And of course she sounds as precious and insufferable as ever. And you know, this relates to what we were talking about in our email segment where she uses a lot of words to say nothing, okay, Nothing. And she's always searching like she's a 60 something year old woman who has been in the public eye since she was a child and she can't articulate a single thought. It is insufferable. And so she's on. So first. So this was a last minute decision. On Wednesday morning, as usual, I leave morning television on in the background just so I can keep an eye on what all these offenders are up to. The garbage they're pumping into the cultural bloodstream, our water supply and the air that we breathe. And who is on Jenna and okay, so Chanel Jones has been named officially Jenna's co host. And I got a lot to say about this. A lot. But we know it's official now because her name has been affixed to the stupid effing table that they sit at. It reads Jenna and Chenille. And you know, Marlena loves a pun. And then she was joking about how it makes her think of Laverne and Shirley Schlamiel. Schlamazel. And I said it makes me think of the Captain and Tenille and that if Marlena were producing that show she would have it renamed the Captain. The Captain being Jenna and Chanel Chenille. We'd have to pronounce it Chenille anyway, so but Marlena's in my ear and she's saying no, but it's Chanel. But I know, but I would say sister, you got to let us play around a little bit with the Pronunciation. Anyway, SJP is on the show and she's introduced by the highly mediocre Nepo baby, Jenna Bush Hager. And first we're gonna watch, they're gonna replay for us part of her insufferable speech at the Globes getting the Burnett Award. And you know, she's. Tim and I were talking about this. She's always got her hands, her 900-year-old hands over her decrepit womb. Because this, this, this shows that we're really, really fucking genuine with what we're coming from our gut. It's coming from the place where we birth people. Here we go.
- [58:32]
Sarah Jessica Parker
Who birthed my love of acting and provided a path to my 50 year, 52 year old career.
- [58:40]
Maureen Callahan
Just an absolute congratulations, Sarah Jessica Parker. We're so happy you're here. I watched that over and over again. It was one of the most beautifully written speeches I've ever heard. Yeah, it's right up there with the Gettysburg Address. Oh, it's one of the most beautiful speeches I've ever heard. I've watched it over and over and over again. That is bullshit. There is no effing way she watched that speech over and over again. I'm sorry. At Sarah Jessica Parker with our highly rehearsed speech going in my nearly 50 years of 52. You know, now Sarah Jessica Parker is gonna kiss the ring of this. I'm just gonna say it. I'm gonna say what polite media will not say and what the People magazines of the world, whose job it is to push, like the agendas of NBC so that they can all have access to NBC stars and NBC can have access to People magazine to get soft focus, fluff pieces planted. This is the story. Chanel is a diversity hire and she is a dude. She is a dummy. She has zero insight. She has nothing to offer. She has zero charisma. And the only reason she's in that chair is that NBC did not want to add another salary to the payroll to replace Hoda, who's back at 30 Rock. Okay? She's covering the Olympics, you guys. Okay? And I'm going to save it. I'm going to save it. I don't want to give too much away about this weekend's mini, but we're very, very excited about it. And listen to Sarah Jessica Parker kiss Chanel's ring. But trip herself up and stop herself from saying Chanel's name to her face in full because Sarah Jessica Parker realizes she doesn't even fucking know how to pronounce it. Here we go.
- [60:29]
Sarah Jessica Parker
So Happy to be here, and welcome home.
- [60:30]
Maureen Callahan
Thank you.
- [60:31]
Sarah Jessica Parker
Everybody is so happy. Everybody, like, when it came to the building, they were like, you know, Chanel, you've created such a. A lovely spirit around this partnership, and it just couldn't be better.
- [60:47]
Maureen Callahan
What does that mean? You've created such a lovely spirit around this partnership. What does that mean? Like, I couldn't nail that to the wall if I tried. Okay, now let's go. So, you know, we're not. If we're. If we're not talking to Sarah Jessica Parker about Sex and the City and Carrie Bradshaw, and in Just like that, we're not talking to Sarah Jessica Parker. You know why? She's got nothing else to say. She's got nothing else to offer. You know, as. As Rob was saying on the. On the Globes livestream, she had a. A line of wine that's done. She had these shoes. These lines of shoes and shoe stores, and those are done. And she can't get hired for any other roles because she has melded her entire identity into Carrie Bradshaw. Okay, so let's listen to Chanel offer her nuanced original thoughts as to why she admires Sarah Jessica Parker. And if you're telling me that NBC execs think that this hire was a great idea, I fucking defy you to prove it. Okay, here we go.
- [61:58]
Sarah Jessica Parker
Yeah.
- [61:58]
Maureen Callahan
What I admire is your range. Right?
- [62:00]
Arthur Aidala
So I want.
- [62:01]
Maureen Callahan
First of all, I want to talk about that documentary. We're gonna get to that in a moment because it is so good. But then we also have Sex and the City, and people are. You know, I know that the latest one just like that ended in August, but I mean, you know, this. It was a phenomenon. I mean, it made all this, for sure. I remember not being old enough to be able to picture myself, and then now I'm in New York, and I still try to. Now I'm on the other end of it. I'm like, dang, I missed the window. But for you, when you look back at that whirlwind, or I don't even know how you wrap your mind around it and what it meant to us. How do you make sense of it?
- [62:31]
Sarah Jessica Parker
I'm not certain I'm actually capable of making sense of it. Only because she's not. You know, it feels recent that we decided to stop doing it. And I think been very comfortable just sort of ignoring the realities of not being with those people, that crew, that cast, that woman, those streets of New York. So I think it's simply easier for me to recognize that there was this extraordinary association in my professional career that is consequential.
- [63:05]
Maureen Callahan
It made me proud to be a woman, and it made me proud to embrace who I am and friendship. It didn't matter whether you were black or white or. We just saw friendship and we wanted it. And so I just hope one day you give yourself a moment to know how you made us all feel. Oh, like Sarah Jessica Parker needs to hear that from Chanel. I just hope you give yourself a moment to recognize how, like, her whole life has been Sex in the City. Okay? She can't let it go. It's very Norma Desmond. It's very creepy. And Chanel's like, you know what Sex and the City really was? It made me proud to be a woman. Really? Really? What does that even mean? How. Why? I mean, they were all just, like, sleeping all over New York. Nobody ever caught an std. You know, like, get out. Okay? It made me proud to be a woman. And as discussed, I think Sex in the City was terrible messaging for women. Terrible messaging for women. And the main message that was coming through SJP's character Carrie was if you just continue to have sex with a guy and be on call for him who treats you like shit, and you just take it for years, eventually you'll wind up married to him. Wow, that sounds like a great eventuality. Are you kidding me? And then Sarah's sitting there, and she's. Oh. And Chanel's like. And it just made us want friendship. Like, she's such a moron. She's such a moron. And then when SJP takes a compliment, it's almost like she gets hit, like, by, like, it. Like. Like an air bullet. She's always like, you know, oh, Oh, I just can't. I can't take that in. It's such. Such a great compliment. And then we're always searching and searching and searching, and it's like, I just miss being with those people in those streets of New York. The streets of New York haven't gone anywhere, sister. They're still here. And we know you love nothing more than strolling down memory lane because you can't let it fucking go. Just go to whatever street corner your character was slinging her bullshit on. Okay? Now the real reason SJP is here and to my question, my same question regarding Jennifer Aniston. How much money do these people need? How much money? Because she is really there. And they're dressing it up. They're gussying it up in a lot of, like, flowery language. And oh, you just happen to have this, like, piece of medical advice you want to share? She's not a doctor. She's getting paid to shill eyedrops, prescription eye drops. And I'm not taking medical advice from this bitch. Okay. I'm not. Here we go. We have to get to one of the reasons you're here. You have this partnership when it comes to vision. And by the way, you probably don't know this, but Sarah Jessica Parker reads more than anybody.
- [65:48]
Sarah Jessica Parker
I know.
- [65:48]
Maureen Callahan
More than you. Yeah.
- [65:50]
Arthur Aidala
Yeah.
- [65:50]
Maureen Callahan
Well, we're close.
- [65:51]
Sarah Jessica Parker
Maybe now we're back. Because I was judging a literary word.
- [65:54]
Maureen Callahan
She's judging a literary word.
- [65:55]
Sarah Jessica Parker
So she's sort of on adrenaline. We read about the math.
- [65:59]
Maureen Callahan
Really.
- [65:59]
Sarah Jessica Parker
I think comes back out to, like 172 books, but that's rereading long and short list.
- [66:05]
Arthur Aidala
Wow.
- [66:05]
Maureen Callahan
And also reading along with it. But anyway, so as you were reading.
- [66:09]
Sarah Jessica Parker
So. Well, this started a while ago, and I'm not going to make any large declarations, but typically speaking, people over the age of 40 might experience. Might experience blurring your vision, which I did.
- [66:24]
Maureen Callahan
She can't even admit, like, that she's over 40. You're well over 40. You're 900 years old. So then Sarah took her. Wears her prescription eye drops, which I don't even know if these things are FDA approved. She's saying that you take these eye drops and they basically obliterate the need for readers. Like, so that you can go like 10 or hours a day without using readers. But who developed these? When? In what lab? Are they safe? Has the FDA approved them? What are the potential side effects? Everything has side effects. Everything. I was listening to a really, really interesting doctor say the other day. You know, the culture that we live in and we see these ads for pharmaceuticals all the time, it just pushes the idea that if you take a pill for something, and trust me, we're going to get to Oprah and her bullshit later show, if you take a pill for something, that you can just solve a problem, that you can just eradicate a malady. And this doctor said the. The problem with that is in medicine, whenever you use a medication to solve a problem, you create another one. And that's fucking true. Okay, so Sarah went over to an awful show that airs here in New York. It's called New York Live. And the host, her name is Sarah Gore, she was off this day. But she's, like, really, really hard to watch and listen to. And I'm not trying to be mean, but, like, if you're doing that for A living. If you're like on network news, you should have a voice that is easy to listen to. You should have like a personal presentation that doesn't jump through my screen. Made up like the, the clown from Stephen King's It. Okay, it should be especially morning television, softer to look at, softer to listen to. It's never that with Sarah Gore. Okay, anyway, a fill in host was there and SJP is over here in a costume change. It's the same day she like went to the green room, changed her clothes, her glam team, judged her up, and then she went over to the far less esteemed New York Live, which also plays on a loop in taxi cabs here in New York. And like any native New Yorker knows you're. The minute you get in that cab and New York Live comes on, you're like, shut it off. Shut it the fuck. Like it's, it's, it never shuts off. You to do it like five times. Oh my God, it's a bane. It's like an Achilles heel for every native New Yorker. Okay, anyway, here's Sarah talking about her eye drops. Here we go.
- [69:02]
Sarah Jessica Parker
You know, it became rather clear to me, so to speak, that I had what is commonly and affectionately referred to as, you know, later in life, you know, blurry near vision.
- [69:16]
Maureen Callahan
Right.
- [69:17]
Sarah Jessica Parker
Age related.
- [69:19]
Maureen Callahan
She can't admit it. And as she's talking there, it's a side by side of her like looking much more. Because there's like a real filter and there's real lighting for the shooting of this ad in which, you know, she's just a star who just, you know, she's just a star who happens to be walking by this billboard for this new prescription eye drop. And the company is called Viz, which to me is a little too adjacent to Jizz. And for someone who starred in a show that contributed the phrase funky spunk to the lexicon, I would think Sarah Jessica Parker would be a little bit more careful about what she lends her name, her likeness, her image, her branding to. But I guess Viz cut a really fat fucking check. Okay, let's listen to Sarah pompously go on about like, like most normal people would be like, you know what? I take these eye drops and like, I don't have to worry about readers all day and it frees me up and it works for like 10 hours. It's great. That's what most people would say. Most people, thankfully aren't Sarah Jessica Parker. Here we go.
- [70:36]
Sarah Jessica Parker
And, and then I heard about a prescription eye drop called Viz that would Be, you know, a drop a day basically. And it would clear up my vision for 10 hours. And it seemed miraculous and perhaps not possible. And I went to my neighborhood eye doctor and he was actually had been excited about this product before I had asked him about it. And he said, no, you're a great candidate. This is great, please let me know. I'm excited for my patients. And I tried it and it's just changed the sort of practical parts of my day.
- [71:10]
Maureen Callahan
It's just changed the sort of practical parts of my day. It helps you see better. That's what it does. It helps you see. Yeah, of course. It changes the practical parts of your day. And I love how she's like, you know, I came across these eye drops. Here's what happened. The execs at Viz and the ad agency are like, what celebrity can we partner with? I know, I've been watching the Nerve. And they talk about this sprightly 900 year old heroine floating through the streets of New York. We should call her. Who better than someone who's 900 years old and still has some vision, right? And then she goes, then I asked my neighborhood eye doctor about it. Trust me when I tell you that Sarah Jessica Parker is going to the top eye specialist in New York City. And most of those top, top docs are midtown and uptown. Okay, but no, she just has to be your friendly neighborhood you. Get out. Get out now. Sarah ended it by shilling something else. She's got another book coming out. This one is not written by like a non binary queer dwarf missing a limb that she found in Pakistan. No, no, no, no, no. This one seems like it was written by a westerner, maybe even an American. And she's gonna describe this book and again, see if she can sell her own book. Her own book. And the idiot, by the way, the idiot interviewing her goes, she says something like, your new literary label. Like, this is the imbecility of what's coming up here. It's called a publishing imprint, you fucking moron. You're working in an a city, you're working in a major market, you're working in New York fucking city. You should know the difference between a record label, that's what you call a record label, and a. And a publishing imprint. It's not a literary label. Why do I bother? Here we go.
- [73:07]
Sarah Jessica Parker
We have a book publishing on the 20th this month that's a really an unusual book for us. It's called Room 706. And it's this debut novel by a journalist act actually called Ellie Levinson. And it's this thriller that takes place in a hotel room in contemporary London. And it's really quite something and very surprising. She's meeting her long time paramore. She's a married woman with small children, has had this ongoing relationship outside her marriage. And you know, at some point during their afternoon together, they look at a television and their phones and discover their hotel has been taken hostage by terrorists. And it's a really sort of, you know, as you can well imagine, thriller. And there they are. And she has to sort of reflect on her life and the ending is.
- [73:52]
Maureen Callahan
Something sort of, sort of reflect on her life. That book was written about 30 years ago. It was called Bel Canto. And the author was Ann Patchett and Sarah Jessica Parker. She's like, oh, you know, and then like their hotel gets taken hostage by terrorists. Like the way you sell that line is then, then terrorists storm the hotel and everybody's a hostage. And you know what? She, she sort of reflects on her life in this very calm way. You shit a fucking brick. That's it. That is it for our Friday edition of the Nerve. Come back please and see us tomorrow for the Mini. And I, you know, I'm really happy with this Mini because I know that the Nerve is like what, nine months old now? January, we're nine months old. But I was saying to Marlena, this one feels like kind of old school. It's like lo fi. It's cozy. It's the nerves world. It's like if you're going to be like in a Nerve little snow globe that's going to drop on YouTube on Saturday at 10am Eastern if you haven't already. Again, check out our substack@thenerveshow.com Be sure to subscribe plus nerve merch. Go grab something for yourself or pick up something for a few fellow troublemaker atshopthe nerve.com you can also listen to the Nerve on Megan's podcast Playlist every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9am Eastern on Sirius XM channel 111, the Megan Kelly Channel. We will see you back here tomorrow for the Mini and then again next week right here at the Nerve where you will never guess what we're about to say next.