What a CreepSeason 23, Episode 1 The Motion Pictures Association (MPA) Film Ratings System We will discuss the Motion Picture Association (MPA) film ratings system, previously known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Why? Because although it doesn’t always seem like movie ratings matter, they do. Movie ratings decide how big of an audience a movie gets. Anyone can see a PG-13, while an NC-17 movie can’t even run ads for their film; most theaters won’t show it. We talk...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 10 The Kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III In 1973, at the age of 16, John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Italy. The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of $17 million, but J. Paul Getty, the boy's grandfather and one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time, initially refused to pay. The kidnappers then sent a lock of the young Getty's hair and his severed right ear to a newspaper to pressure the family. Eventually, J. Paul Getty agreed to pay a...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 9 Keith Raniere/Nxivm (Replay)& Russell Brand Updates! Happy day after Thanksgiving to everyone in the US! Since Sonia has now watched both seasons of "The Vow," we thought it would be a good time to replay our episode on Nxivm/Keith Raniere. Additionally, we have some Russell Brand news to share, which is quite creepy. We hope you all have a relaxing holiday weekend! Sources for this episode: Albany Times Union (2012)Albany Times Union (2012)Albany...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 8 Crisis Pregnancy Centers What started as a bunch of small, locally-run crisis pregnancy centers to discourage women from getting abortions has grown into an anti-abortion movement with political clout and government funding. These centers and the organizations that run them have only grown more powerful since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year and removed abortion rights protections. If you’re against abortion and want to encourage women to...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 7 Mark Schwahn “One Tree Hill showrunner and creep! One Tree Hill was a popular CW show that had all the ingredients for success - attractive actors, dramatic storylines, a complex timeline, and was filmed in North Carolina. However, the show was marred by the inappropriate behavior of its showrunner, Mark Schwahn. His harassment and mistreatment of the cast and crew were brought to light by writer Audrey Wauchope in a series of tweets in 2017, during the...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 6 TMZ Just in case you don’t know what TMZ is: It’s a tabloid news organization. They have a website, a TV show, and a webcast. It’s known for breaking celebrity gossip like Mel Gibson's antisemitic rant during his drunk-driving arrest, the death of Heath Ledger, all the stories about Britney Spears, detailing every little thing about Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan back in the day, and the death of Michael Jackson. The biggest story that TMZ refuses to...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 5 The Salt Creek Kidnappings (Real-Life Wolf Creek) In 2016, two backpackers traveling through Australia teamed up to check out the Salt Creek region of South Australia through the Gumtree website (kind of like Craig’s List for ride shares). They didn’t know that the 6’6” man who agreed to drive them to the Coorong beach was a violent offender who preyed on women looking for adventure. This is a story about Creep Roman Heinze and the resiliency of two women...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 4 Justin Roiland from ‘Rick and Morty’ Justin Roiland is a voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty. Roiland used his success to start conversations and develop relationships with young fans, including some who were underage. This is called grooming. He’s also been credibly accused of domestic violence, and just last month, several people accused him of sexual assault. Sources...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 3 Osage Murders “The Reign of Terror”(The story real story behind "Killers of the Flower Moon") The movie "Killers of the Flower Moon," directed by Martin Scorsese and based on David Grann's book, is the story of the Osage Indigenous tribe's "Reign of Terror" in Oklahoma during the early 20th century. In this episode, we delve into one of the earliest cases investigated by the newly formed Federal Bureau of Investigations, which unfortunately did not solve...

What a Creep Season 22, Episode 2 Ashley Madison Ashley Madison is a website for people in committed relationships who are looking to have an affair. Its slogan was "Life is short. Have an affair." Obviously, this website is creepy. But on top of that, this website, in which discretion is key, didn’t keep its user data private and enlisted thousands of bots to scam customers out of their money. Sources for this episode: The Ashley Madison Affair (Hulu)BBCThe Daily BeastDen of...

What a Creep: Jann Wenner Season 22, Episode 1 Jann Wenner was the editor of Rolling Stone magazine from 1967 to 2019, covering everything from the Beatles to Woodstock to Live Aid and even Hip Hop at some point in the 1990s. He made millions as rock culture's gatekeeper and key in developing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For decades, critics derided Rolling Stone as a bastion for a white, male-centered worldview with little appreciation for women or people of color. This past week, his...

What a Creep: Russell Brand Season 21, Episode 10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brandas a part of our “Quartet of Comedy Creeps” in season eight of our show. He has managed to be exposed as an even BIGGER Creep, with several women alleging he sexually assaulted them over the years. He denies this, blaming the oligarchs in the “MSM” (mainstream media) for setting him up because he...

What a Creep: Hilaria Baldwin Special Guest: Kristen Meinzer “Daily Fail” Season 21, Episode 9 Sonia Mansfield is still in Ireland having the time of her life, but fear not cohorts--we have an excellent special guest to help us call out some Creeps! Kristen Meinzer (How To Be Fine / Daily Fail / By The Book / Movie Therapy with Rafer & Kristen Author, So You Want to Start a Podcast / How to Be Fine) discusses one of our most confounding subjects. Hilaria Baldwin was a popular yoga...

What a Creep: Special Ep “Creep or Not a Creep?” Special Guest: Alicia of Trashy Divorces Season 21, Episode 8 While cohort Sonia Mansfield invades Ireland with her combination vacation/work trip--the Creepy train keeps moving with our special guest, Alicia of the Trashy Divorces podcast, to first talk about the Joe Jonas and Steve Harvey divorces, which sent us reeling. Then, we get into our main subject--writer Truman Capote (1924-1984) and whether or not he was a Creep. From his...

What a Creep: Billy McFarland-Fyre Festival Creep Season 10, Episode 7 (2024 Replay & Update!) This week, we are taking a short break to celebrate Labor Day, a three-day long weekend dedicated to honoring the hardworking people of our country. However, we have some important news about one of the biggest scams of recent years. Believe it or not, the notorious Fyre Festival is returning; unfortunately, people are still buying into the hype. Fyre Fest is already sold out for its upcoming...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 7 The Boy Scouts of America Welcome to today's episode, which may be a topic of controversy for some listeners. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is a highly respected youth organization with a long-standing history of over 100 years. Many renowned Americans, such as Steven Spielberg, Neil Armstrong, Gerald Ford, and Mike Bloomberg, have participated in BSA programs. As a matter of fact, a son of a friend of mine achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, which is an...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 6 Shein & Temu If you scroll through your social media channels, you’ve probably seen ads and sponsored posts about Shein and Temu. Shein mainly sells fashion and clothes, and Temu offers just about everything: clothing, appliances, furniture, even power tools. Both are online retailers based in China. And they have a few other things in common, too, including accusations of violating labor laws and stealing designs. Super cool stuff! Sources for...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 5 Below Deck Down Under & The Biggest Loser Reality TV is having an awakening right now; Bethenny Frankel announced on her Instagram that she is entering the fight for reality show casts and crews to unionize. She is working with top-notch lawyers Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, who sent a letter to NBC that they are planning a class action lawsuit against the network with over 80 people signing on so far to talk about mistreatment while filming Bravo...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 4 Mark Wahlberg Can you feel it, baby? We can, too. It’s time to talk about former rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg. From Marky Mark and Calvin Klein ads to BOOGIE NIGHTS and TRANSFORMER movies, Wahlberg has done a lot, including hate crimes. Let’s talk about it. Sources for this episode: BiographyCrackedThe IndependentNicki SwiftReelRundownUpRoxxUs WeeklyVanity FairWikipedia Trigger warning: Racism and homophobia Be sure to follow us on social media. But...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 3 Beatrice Sparks (Go Ask Alice & Jay’s Journal) In the 1970s & 1980s--entertainment designed to reach teenagers (and cure them of society’s ills) fell to YA writers, TV Movies, and “After School Specials.” One of the most compelling stories was the subject of 1971’s Go Ask Alice. Based supposedly on the true story of a teen girl who delved into drugs and ultimately lost her life, it was designed to scare the audience, and the 1973 film cemented its...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 2 The AMPTP and the Hollywood Strike (Support Union Labor!) The writers' and actors’ guilds are on strike. While movie and television studios have earned record profits, the workers who make those profits possible are not getting their fair share. So, let’s talk about it. This episode will be a little different than our usual episode. We will explain who the players are, what the strike is about, and why we should be supporting it because the Alliance of...

What a Creep Season 21, Episode 1 Anthony Pellicano“Creepy Hollywood PI!” Today’s episode gives you the world of underground Hollywood creepiness of the 1980s & 19990s variety. Anthony Pellicano (Whose New York Times documentary Sin Eater is available for streaming on HULU) was a high-profile “fixer” who made life horrifying or amazing, depending on whether you were his client. (Hint--for $25,000, he will bend A LOT of rules and laws to help your cause.) Here we talk about his unusual...

What a Creep Season 14, Episode 6 (REPLAY) Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas is a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. He’s only the second African-American to serve on the Court, after Thurgood Marshall. Since 2018, Thomas has been the longest-serving member of the Court, with a tenure of 30 years. He’s also a creep with a history of sexually harassing women. Oh, and his wife, Ginni Thomas, is a creep, too. Sources for this episode: The documentary...

What a Creep Season 20, Episode 10 Russell Simmons Russell Simmons helped create hip-hop culture as we know it. From music and videos to fashion and movies, he helped create a global audience for rap music. And he got rich doing it, making more than $300 million. He’s also a creep who has allegedly sexually assaulted 18 women that we know of. What a creep!Sources for this episode The AtlanticBiographyComplexThe Daily BeastHollywood ReporterHollywood ReporterLos Angeles TimesThe New York...

What a Creep Season 20, Episode 9 Robert Kennedy Jr., Chief Misinformation Artist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running for President here in the U.S. and is the oldest son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, who was assisted while running for President in 1963. His upbringing was chaotic, and he was known as a “late bloomer” by finding meaning as an environmental activist in the late 1980s. (He had spent much of his teens and twenties having issues with drugs and alcohol.) After helping to save the...