Headlines With A Twist for 4/23/26

We jump through the week’s wildest headlines, from a childhood news icon reappearing in a heartbreaking way to holiday charity claims that look a lot less cheerful under scrutiny. We also dig into celebrity boundaries, public behavior, and why everyday consumers keep getting squeezed by fees, scams, and monopolies. 

• Baby Jessica’s arrest and what it means when a public childhood story follows you into adulthood 
• SantaCon fraud allegations and why charity trust is so fragile 
• Ice Spice’s McDonald’s confrontation and where fan access becomes harassment 
• Viral trash-dumping retaliation and the cost to neighbors and wildlife 
• Kris Jenner facelift talk and the pressure of impossible beauty standards 
• Live Nation and Ticketmaster monopoly verdict and why ticket fees feel like a bait and switch

 Please continue to support us by going to elrodtvnetwork.com to watch us and also see a lot of great other talk shows and podcasts and other things that you can watch. 

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by online drama, suspicious donation asks, or surprise ticket charges at checkout, you’ll feel seen here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves pop culture and consumer news, and leave a review telling us which topic you want us to tackle next.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Tired of surface-level inspiration? This raw, transformative documentary digs deep into turning pain into purpose. Mainstream platforms wouldn't touch these powerful stories of resilience, but you can access them now on elrodvnetwork.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Hello everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Thirsty Topics. Uh, this is a show that we talk about trending topics related to pop culture, social media, and the news. You can find us on my TV streaming channel, LrodTVNetwork.com. Or if you'd like to listen to us, you can find us on any major podcast platform. I'm Lawrence Lrod.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

And I'm Meryl Klemo, Lawrence's fearless co-host with a lot of opinions. Happy to share some this week.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Absolutely. How are you doing, Meryl?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

I'm really good. How about you?

SPEAKER_00 0:57

I'm doing fantastic. I cannot complain.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Yay, that's the good thing, is I feel like we can't complain. I do. I definitely do complain.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

But but we don't complain, but nobody really cares, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Exactly. Exactly. When other people complain,

Welcome And Show Setup

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I listen for, but it does feel good to vent with some. I feel like there's a difference in like venting and complaining.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

That's true. That is true. Well, Meryl, uh, I'm gonna let you start off this week.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Okay, great. Well, my do you remember uh in the 80s, baby Jessica who was rescued from a well? Was this part of it? Yeah, okay. So like um this happened in 1987. So not to age myself, but I was five. But for some reason I definitely remember this being on the news and like hearing about baby Jessica. Um so, so uh she was uh she yeah, I guess she was it was 50 hours, like five zero hours that she fell down a well in the 1980s. Um, now I think about if that happened, like she'd be TikToking or like, you know, someone would be live streaming. And I just feel like in some ways this would, she'd be like, she would fall down a well, and then three seconds later we would all get like some type of update on our app and everything. But um unfortunately now she's 40 and she was just arrested on assault charges after an alleged domestic disturbance at

Baby Jessica’s Arrest And Aftermath

SPEAKER_01 2:22

her home in Midland County in Texas. Um she was charged with causing bodily injury involving family violence and later released after posting bond. So as of this time, there's still more details that I'm sure will come out. But yeah, she was 18 months when she became trapped uh after falling down a deep well in her aunt's backyard. Then this dominated every TV station. And I remember back then it was the kind of world where like that was the one story that we were all talking about, and we would talk about, you know, we didn't have phones sharing a million ideas. So I remember like that being the big story of that time period. Um, and then I just kind of I'm sure we all did just forgot about her. Um at that time, President Ronald Reagan was even like weighing in on it and talking about baby Jessica. So I don't know, I I hope she gets better, and that's sad to hear that her life has kind of gone that way. And I hope that she like you know gets help and um is gets healthy and everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I agree, I agree. I mean, I remember when it happened as well, too. Um quite a bit older than you because I was actually I actually graduated in '87, son. But that's okay. That's okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

We're we're all the age of fun.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

But um, yeah, I mean, my guess is what probably happened is her name triggered someone's memory and go, oh, isn't that uh and of course, you know, it makes news after that. But I don't know. I hope things work out for her. And, you know, if there are issues that she needs to address, hopefully she gets the help she needs. And um hopefully turns this negative into a positive.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

I agree. I definitely agree. That's already a tough life. The two things I've heard about her, um, obviously that's like we don't wish that on anyone. So, and it's probably also embarrassing/slash stressful when you already are having issues like this, and then your name gets I mean, I'm doing it, I'm bringing her up, but it's also just like I'm sure people she has to relive that now, too, you know, like of having everyone re-remember what happened to her.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

That's true, that's true. We will definitely be praying for her.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Well, here's an interesting one here. Now, Merrill, being that you live in California, you've heard of SantaCon, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, I absolutely have.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Well, federal prosecutors have arrested the organizer of the New York City's controversial, SantaCon Barcraw, Wednesday after they said he allegedly kept a lot of the holiday joy for himself. So, Stefan um Hildez 50 is facing federal-wire fraud charges that accuse him of siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable funds for his own use, including for concert tickets and vacations. So, in case no one knows what this is, Santa Con is an event that's held annually in December, which thousands of attendees dress as Santa Claus and other holiday characters and travel to bars and restaurants throughout the day.

SantaCon Organizer Accused Of Fraud

SPEAKER_00 5:31

The event billed as charitable, non-political, nonsensational Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy that charges attendees tickets that cost between 10 and 20 dollars. Um, the indictment said. You know, this is so sad, Merrill, because you know, people are already a little hesitant to donate to stuff as it is right now. Yeah. This doesn't make it any better.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Doesn't it seem like so 2026, like our society that we can't even have a SantaCon, like the one figurehead that's supposed to be giving and charitable and like you know, seeming like magical and everything, and then there has to be some crazy story of uh falsehood attached to it?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Oh, exactly. And you know, when you playing with charities, you know, the government and the cities, you know, they don't play with that. I mean, you know, you're taking people's hard money that people donated, and you know, sometimes people give out the goodness of their heart, donating money they really can't afford to give. And then when they see this, that really makes them hesitate the next time about giving. And, you know, sometimes people suffer because of that.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Absolutely. I agree with you. I've I've seen, um, I think it was like there was one time that I drove past it happening and seeing like the hundreds of different Santas and like skinny Santas, woman Santas, like it was very, very silly. But I, you know, I think a lot, as you said, a lot of people are involved with this who aren't evil and aren't money grabbing, and I think that's going to make people very incensed.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

That's true, that's true. And and you know what? It's it's alleged, but if he's found guilty and there's evidence of it, he deserves everything that's coming his way. He really does because you know, you don't take take advantage of people, especially in the holiday season. That's just cruel.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Exactly. Remember, like a few years ago, the fire festival, and then there was documentaries about it, like the festival where they scammed people. They need to like link up where it's Santa Con and Fire. They need to have like a con con where it's like all the con artists get together and scam people, like a convention of just all the like Anna Delvis and people that have been scamming everyone.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Yeah, that may be going on right now, but I won't go into that.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

You want you're not gonna go into con con now.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

No, there's there's a con con going on, but not there.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Oh, that's true. It's called yeah, it's called government. Yeah, totally, it's true. I think they do go into, they all do get together. It's like every in the Washington, DC White House. Okay, so anyway, um uh well that's crazy. Yeah, I think it's I think it's uh how you said too, like I've heard things about other organizations and um even like Red Cross things, or you know, just you have to make sure your money is going to where they say it is and not just someone like conning people or using it to buy houses or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Yeah, I would say for people, don't let that damper the spirit of giving. Um, obviously do the best you can as far as making sure it's a legit organization that you donate to, and don't let one person damper your spirits.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

No, I always too, like I just think the more local the better. And like people that, you know, for me I love animals, so like donating to a local horse rescue or like where you can actually go and see the people or like food banks that you can actually see. Um I just think more the more local the better when you're giving money and then you can like work up from there. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Good point. Great point.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yay. Um, okay. Well, this is crazy. I thought this was insane. Uh, Ice Spice got into a physical altercation at a McDonald's in Hollywood in the early hours of uh of last week after a woman approached her table, and according to the reports, based on footage, the interaction interaction quickly escalated into the woman slapping her. Um, articles reported that Ice Spice was just sitting with the friend when the woman came over, tried to speak with her, and then struck her after a brief exchange. Um then the situation didn't end inside the restaurant. It said that like uh the confrontation continued outside, and I don't know, the whole thing maybe was an unprovoked attack. Um Icepice just joked that this wouldn't happen at Wendy's, and of course, like this made news all around TMZ and uh yeah, like just crazy. Now, being in, you know, this kind of stuff, like whether you're Ice Spice

Ice Spice Slapped At McDonald’s

SPEAKER_01 10:00

or not, like Hollywood is just such a weird, kind of like dark energy place sometimes, and it's like, you know, unhoused people or whatever people like are it's it's just known that it's kind of like if you're just out and about at Hollywood at like 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., like weird stuff happens. So I don't know how much of this was because it's like Ice Spice in general, and just because it's like a weird 4 a.m. or whatever in at a McDonald's in Hollywood, it's just like a weird scene there. You don't want to be like walking around at night by yourself there. Um, but yeah, I thought this was crazy and obviously very scary, I'm sure, and no one wants to be physically assaulted.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yeah, I mean, I saw the video as well, and the whole thing actually is kind of weird when it started off. Um, you know, to approach someone while they're eating, I think is kind of rude.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

You know, even if you're a true fan or whatever like that, I just think that there's certain points where it's like, okay, it's okay to admire from afar. Um but then you know, to go in there and like I said, I don't know all the details like you were saying, and I I just don't don't believe that you know you should approach someone, and let's say a person's having a bad day, maybe they don't want to be bothered. People are human and they keep forgetting that these celebrities are human beings, they have their great days, they have their bad days, just like everyone else. And if you see that they're not having such a great day, just leave them alone. That's all, you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Exactly. And today, in today's age, too, it's not it's not ideal, but I feel like you do have every right to like if you just had a bad encounter with ice space, you have every right to then go home on your own TikTok and like make a video saying I just met IceSpace, like she's a bitch, you know, whatever. You you could it's not great, but you can at least do that. But what you can't do is like hurt the person or slap them or do anything that like because you're you're the one getting in their space.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

That's true, that's true. And you know, the thing is too, is that you kind of open yourself up to internet trolls because let's face it, Ice Bice does have a lot of fans.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

So Yeah, yeah. And like like the other day too, I really do feel like big cities like LA and New York like make you a little bit crazy after like your fifth encounter in a day. Like the other day, I I parked, I was parking in downtown LA, and I was just like pulled to the side trying to text my friend about where to meet up. And it was just like there was someone outside, and of course, like I feel bad for this man. Clearly, he was like going through some stuff, but it's like he's like up to my car window and just like signaling to me and talking and you know, just like look, I don't know what he was looking for or wanting to do. But in that moment, that had been like the third weird encounter in like LA, and I was just trying to text a friend, and of course, like I wasn't outright mean to him, but I kind of like waved him off, like move along, get out of my space, you know. So I think I'm not saying what Ice by whatever she said, like may have been unwarranted, but it's like if if you're like constantly just going through stuff like that, whether it's getting approached at like a gas station or having someone like come up to your car, or like there's only so much you can take before you just get a little rude. So I I wonder if it was a situation like that, too.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Yeah, I mean, the we we don't know what was said. It's all alleged because you can't really hear you see the video, but you can't hear what they're saying.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

And on the one side, you know, if if the person was rude towards Ice Spice, you know, shame on her for approaching her, just being arrogant. But there are some stars and some celebrities that could be an a-hole.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Yeah, exactly. Totally.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Which here's the thing if you're a celebrity, a great example. When Michael B. Jordan uh went to the burger place after winning his award, okay, he didn't have an attitude or anything like that because let's face it, you're in the middle of a burger joint and you got an award sitting on the table, and all people want to come over and speak to you and say congratulations and everything. And he took it with stride. You know, you can't have it both ways where if you're struggling and you're trying to make it, you want all the publicity possible, but you feel that you got it, and I don't want the publicity. It kind of doesn't work that way.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

So interesting, interesting, interesting. But here's something that's really weird a garbage man has dropped all of the trash from his truck into someone's driveway. So a garbage truck operator um has dumped trash into the driveway um in cases of a payment dispute. Oh man, or in rare, less common scenarios, potentially due to severe weather safety issues. The actions um are often a response to unpaid fees. In some cases, the driver was ordered by authorities to clean up afterward. Now, I actually see the video of this, and allegedly the people who ordered the it was one of these dumpsters that that comes off of a roll-off truck. So it's 7 driveway, you fill it up, they come, pick it up, take it away. So allegedly they owed $700,

Trash Dumped Over Payment Dispute

SPEAKER_00 15:17

and they refused to pay for it. So what the driver did was load load the dumpster onto the back of the truck, tilt it up, and dump all that trash right in the driveway. Oh my gosh. And it was filled to the rim. Oh completely covered the driveway, uh, as well as the sidewalk. So police came over, they told the driver you had to clean that up. Now, what's interesting, they didn't tell him he had to take it away. So the driver did was just get it off the sidewalk and just push it back into the driveway. So, I mean, two things come to mind. I guess these are allegedly renters, not an owner of the homes. Like, how how much stuff did you accumulate? What did you do to kill all the stuff? And I'm just wondering, do you think the driver was right, Merle, and you know, dumping the trash and driving away?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

No, remember like a few weeks ago or last week we did a story about a disgruntled employee that like set the paper company on fire. Yeah, I feel like this is like a baby cousin of this, where I understand, but like to me, you're I hate the thought of I hate littering so much, and I hate like when there's trash on the floor too, you know, like birds are gonna come try to eat it, and you're just like, there's probably animals that are gonna like get sick from trying to eat this garbage, and like it's just kind of gross and disgusting to do to like a neighborhood in general. Like, think about how those people's neighbor neighbors feel. So, like, I understand I understand this person feeling upset, and that's very annoying that they're not paying. But to me, like you can leave the dumpster there, like leave it, but dumping it all around is like really disgusting and not nice, and it affects way more than just those two people. Um, so I'm not a big fan of that. And I just think once again, it's a really like immature, stupid thing to do, and doesn't really it's not gonna get you paid, it's probably gonna get you fired, and it's just like not very um thoughtful. But I do understand like that sucks that they're not paying and there should be some consequence. But I just think having like having like garbage all over the floor in in your neighborhood is just like a terrible thing for you know, people beyond those two people.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Yeah, that's true. I mean, I guess for me, I have a little bit of a different spent on it because those dumpsters to that business probably cost a lot of money, so they're not gonna leave the dumpster behind. That's true, that's true. It does cost money to to try and take them to court, way more than that 700 that they own. So I could kind of see where they're going with okay, you know what? Here's here's the thing: you don't want to pay us for the garbage, we're gonna leave your garbage there and we're gonna take our dumpster with us. So it was a happy medium. And you know, the police actually to me was interesting that they didn't make him reload it, they just say just get off the sidewalk.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Yeah, exactly, exactly. And I feel like there's such power in like like how the energy companies do they like cutting off your service, you know, like the phone. If you don't pay your T-Mobile or something, like guess what, you're cut off. And same thing with like water or power. And I just think like cutting off people is just as good where it's like, okay, as of today, like you have no options to get rid of your garbage anymore besides like physically taking it somewhere. Um, I just think of like if you just dump it on the ground, a lot of it might blow away. Like it's it you're just kind of creating stuff. And I don't even care about those two people. I just care about like now like birds and squirrels are gonna come eat it and like get sick, and you know, so I just I hate the thing that it creates.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Yeah, I think the other thing that it's gonna create is embarrassment because you know you can have your stuff cut off and no one ever knows. True. Versus having trash dumped in your driveway.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's gross, but it's a it's definitely a very like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, just doesn't make you look good in your community.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

That's true. I would love to find out from the people who watch and listen to us. Do you think that the trash man was right in what he did, or do you think he was wrong? I would love to hear that conversation. Well, read that conversation rather.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Me too. And if if you were the garbage person, if that would you do stuff like how would you get back at those people? Um, or or would you just be like they're loser customers, they don't pay, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

That's true. That's true. Well, I think it's safe to say that that particular company, uh, they don't have to worry about calling them anymore.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Exactly. I feel like if I was them, I would get creative and I would hire a local artist to make a mural on their driveway of like, don't pay. Like, I would I would spray paint their dumpsters and everything. I would take $15 of my own money and just like spray paint the dumpsters, but I would not put trash out just because, like, yeah, some of it to me is gonna it's gonna end up being like litter down the neighborhood. And I absolutely I think there should be bigger fines for people like littering and throwing away like chip bags in in a lake and stuff. Like, I think there should be like really big fines for that.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

That's a good point. That's a really good point.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

That's where I believe in capital punishment where we should cut off people's hands, eye for an eye.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Alrighty now.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

That's but anyway. Um, okay, well, my last one. Um this is just just I don't I don't know, something silly, but uh Chris Jenner, you know, Kardashian mom, Momager, uh, is going viral after reports claim that she may be unhappy with the results of a fate slip that she publicly confirmed last year. The newer story spread across tabloids and social media, saying she's considering a re revision because the results are allegedly slipping, but those claims have not been confirmed by Jenner herself. Um people online immediately turned it into a conversation about aging, cosmetic surgery, and impossible standards. Um, which is so funny because for years upon years, the Kardashians have been kind of setting a lot of those standards just by very filtered pictures and lip kits and then selling, you know, lip things with getting injected. Um, I mean, I I like Chris Jenner, like I don't have any ill feelings towards her, but it is just kind of like enough is enough with just getting. I I hate the whole like beyond Botox look in Hollywood, and it just gets to a point where if you're getting like hundred thousand dollar facelifts, like I don't know, it just seems like you need to stop somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah, that's true. I mean, to me, everyone wants youth, everyone wants to stay on forever. That's that's normal. Yeah. No, I think I'm not a big fan of unnecessary surgery. Um to me, you go you you do surgery where okay, it's life-threatening, life-altering, uh, something major. Um because you don't like the way you look, I don't know. Some people may look at it as, well, you know what, it's my money, I do whatever I want, which is true. And for some people, it could be uh low self-esteem. But, you know, that's really surface because yeah, you can change your

Kris Jenner Facelift And Aging Talk

SPEAKER_00 22:30

looks and everything like that, but if you're not changing what's inside your heart, to me, it doesn't really matter.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

Exactly. And I'm sure we could all think of women, I mean men too, but it is especially with like kind of the Beverly Hills trope where it's like you're 70 or 80, and you can tell they've had like facelifts and this and that, and it you don't even you know, you're not fooling anyone that you're like in your 30s, you just look like someone that's aging that has had like a ton of work done. But I thought this might be good because like if anything, it could be a cautionary tale of kind of okay, well, this person has had like a hundred thousand dollars worth of stuff, and they you know, nothing's perfect. So it's like maybe that would even talk someone out of spending that much money and doing other things instead.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

That's true. I mean, if you have that kind of money to, you know, get those kind of surgeries and stuff like that, and there's people that spend way more than that on surgeries, you know, help become a man out, maybe do a donation. Yeah, you know, maybe start a charity or something. I mean, there's so many ways that you can really help people with that kind of money. To me, when you have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in surgeries, there are some people who, you know, I don't know what they do for a living, they get surgeries all the time.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

That's so weird to me. I just like everyone could do whatever they want to feel good, but like that's just I I feel like to me, like, what are you looking for deep down inside? Like, you know, which is a bigger conversation. And some people are just like, Well, I want my calves to look better, so I'm gonna get calf implants in my legs, and that's good, that's fine for them, you know. Like, everyone could do what they want, but um, it's just when it's shoved down our faces, like, and I think a lot of us feel this way in movies where we're kind of sick of seeing people on the screen and TV and movies like get looking like each other and Botoxed, and like I like seeing people with wrinkles in their real faces, like I really don't mind.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah, I agree. And you know, there's nothing wrong with aging. You know, a lot of people gr uh age gracefully, and there is a such thing as having too much surgery, too. Yeah, start looking like a plastic doll.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

For real, exactly. There's some actresses that are like not aging and not both not osempicking very gracefully, and it's like it like I feel like it's hurting their brand a little bit more than if they just were aging nicely, you know.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Yeah, and I think to me, if you're gonna do it, you should really plan it out and kind of think because not all surgeons are created equal. Let's just be so we we've heard the horror stories of people who've had um surgeries and and they end up looking 10 times worse than they did before they went.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Exactly. But I mean, I'm sure whoever the the Chris Jenner goes to is like the best of the absolute best. And it's like, but if she's spending a hundred thousand dollars, it's like if you're investing in a whole new roof and solar system and all that kind of stuff for your house, you know, translating it into um into face speak, it's like you would you would hope that the results last at least like 20 years.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Yeah. Well, being that she's not happy with it, I will not be surprised if she goes on a knife again to try and correct it.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

I know, which is very sad because like I I feel like just like most people, she's naturally beautiful and she's also 70s and like wealthy, and we all know she's a mom, and you know, so it's like what I don't know. You you already have what you're looking for to me.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

That is true, that is true. Well, my last topic um could be a great one, depending on what side of the coin you're on. But a jury finds Live Nation and Ticket uh Master operated as a monopoly and overcharge fans. Uh-oh. Now, this is a hot one because a lot of people have been angry about Ticketmaster for the last few years, especially when big big X come on board. Yeah. So a jury found uh Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as a monopoly in its dominance of the live events and ticketing industry, validating complaints that the industry giant was stiffing competition, I'm sorry, stifling competition and driving up fees for fans. But fans won't see ticket prices or fees tacked onto their bills drop anytime soon. Uh Judge Ern, uh Supermanian will now hold second trial to decide what remedies are warranted, including whether to grant states, request to break up the company, or make other structural changes, such as ordering the sale of the business. What do you think about this, Meryl?

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Um, well, it's funny because actually one of my best friends in the whole world works for Live Nation and is like a good person too. So, you know, like of course I don't want to see anything bad happen to my friend or have, but speaking of it as a whole, I I agree, and obviously it is such a big monopoly. Like the whole thing with the tick with Taylor Swift, remember where it's like, you know, and all of us have probably, if you tried to buy a ticket for an event in the last four or five years, it's like next to impossible. It sells out, then it's like I mean, the prices at this point are just insane. And I think that's a lot of scalping and ticketmaster holding back sales.

Ticketmaster Monopoly Verdict And Fees

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Um, so yeah, I think I think it's gotten way out of control, and I'm glad that some legal action is taken. Um, if that's the case, which it is.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Yeah, I would love to see real pricing. And what I mean by that is if you advertise $25 for a ticket, which okay, we know tickets aren't $25, but you know, you go on there, you make your purchase, it ends up being about $35, $40. That's a problem. You know, yeah, totally. I mean, if you're gonna have these fees, just put it up front. You know, don't do the bait and switch thing. That kind of pisses people off, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 28:24

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

Yeah, I I I think that um this is a good thing because I I've you know, me and my wife, you know, we want to go to concerts too, but you know, we also look at these prices like we really gonna pay five to six hundred dollars to see this person per ticket.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

I know. Remember, like we we would I feel like the normal price should be like $25 to $30 to like go see a concert. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah, and remember when Taylor Swiss was doing was doing her uh her tour, and people were literally flying to other countries to see her because it was cheaper to fly from another country to watch her versus just stay here and pay for a ticket.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Exactly. That's it really is, yeah. And then now with like payment plans, I feel like it makes it even worse because it's like, okay, go see this artist, and you'll pay like $50 for the next two years, you know.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Exactly, exactly. So um, obviously, I know that the industry is probably gonna fight this, yeah. But I do commend the the the courts for for speaking up and doing something about this. So I hope there's some changes. Um, I think it's a little too early to know what those changes will be, if any. But do you want to see them broken up or sold off?

SPEAKER_01 29:42

Um whatever helps my friend that I care about, not lose her job. That's really what I care about. Uh, but um yeah, I think I think obviously I think as much fairness as we can have for the consumer, I think is always a good idea. So yeah, I think that would be a good thing. And I definitely think they should be looking into the fees that Ticketmaster charges of like $20 convenience fees, $11 service fees, you know. Like I think sometimes the cost of the concert ticket, like the fees alone could be almost quadruple the price.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

So exactly. And you know, here's the thing, and some people will argue, some business people argue, well, it's their right to set fee, set the the chart, the the the price of the tickets, then just tell us what the real price of the tickets is. Yeah, it's nickel and diamond stuff, you know, because again, that does put a bad taste in people's mouth. Just if it's gonna be a $50 or a $500 ticket, just put whatever the real price is, let the consumer decide. And then another thing, too, um, and I don't think this will change, stop selling off so many tickets to third-party brokers.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Yeah, that alone too. Because I feel like, like obviously the Taylor Swifts and the Beyonce and the there's some people that no matter what, they're going to sell, and everyone will like lose their minds and go to it. But I feel like this does also stop people from going to like just more concerts of the like, you know, if the eighth person on your list is there, but it's gonna cost $150. Like, I'll probably be like, oh no, I'm not gonna go see them, you know, I'm gonna save all my money for like the one person. But I feel like it really affects artists too, just because not getting people out if they're not like the main, main people.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

Oh, yeah. And you know, the other thing too, and you brought up an excellent point, is for certain artists like a Taylor Swift, like a Beyoncé, you don't need third party because those things you 100% don't need that to me, and it's just my personal opinion, to me, I think it's greed. Because again, you know, for a smaller artist, you know, it could be an argument, you could make an argument there, but not for a big headliner. You absolutely do not need third party to sell those tickets.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Exactly. I even feel that with like, I mean, the sporting events too. It's like we like to go to baseball games, but it's gotten so out of control of just like like you know, you look on like Seat Heek or something, and then it's like $600 for like a stupid baseball ticket, you know, it's it's gotten so out of control.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Oh, yeah, that's true. So I think this is a good thing. Um, as far as how it's gonna end up, I think it remains to be seen, but we will be watching.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Well, talk about watching something interesting. Meryl, what do you have coming up?

SPEAKER_01 32:27

Woo! Um, I'm plugging my Minneapolis date, which I'm very excited for. Um, I will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 18th, um, at a festival called Loons on the Lake, which is very silly. So uh myself and some of my other comedian friends are going out there and it should be very fun.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

That sounds like a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 32:48

Yeah, I'm very excited. It'll be my first Minneapolis time, so I'm so excited to see. I just know I'm gonna love that city.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Very nice. Well, if you're in Minneapolis, make sure you come out and show some support for Meryl. She would love to see you.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

I would love that. Um the tickets are not three million dollars on Ticketmaster.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

That is definitely good to hear. Good. Well, everyone, we had so much fun. Uh, talked a lot of great about a lot of great topics. Please continue to support us by going to lrodtvnetwork.com to watch us and also see a lot of great other talk shows and podcasts and other things that you can watch. Or if you're a podcast person, you can listen to us on all the major podcasts and streaming platforms, which include Apple. Um, it also includes uh Spotify, iHeart, and a bunch of others as well. I'm Lauren Telra. I'm Meryl Klamo. Take care, everyone.