- 6 hours ago
From plagiarism and hate speech to infidelity and misinformation, the podcast world has seen its share of jaw-dropping controversies. Join us as we count down the most explosive scandals to ever rock the podcasting industry! Which scandal shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Transcript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're discussing some of the most explosive controversies in the podcast industry.
00:07Ned Fulmer is no longer working with the Try Guys.
00:12Plagiarism Allegations, Crime Junkie.
00:15When it comes to true crime media, Crime Junkie is one of the top podcasts in the genre.
00:21They ask Andy if he has washed his hands recently.
00:24And the investigative records say that he first says no, then he says EMTs did wash his hands for him,
00:31though.
00:32I'm sorry, what?
00:33But in August 2019, hosts Ashley Flowers and Britt Prewatt came under fire when they were accused of plagiarism and
00:40not properly citing references.
00:42When you listen to a Crime Junkie episode, I want you to know that you don't have to go out
00:46and do your own research afterwards because we have covered the depths of the internet for you.
00:51Reporter Kathy Fry alleged her Arkansas Democrat Gazette articles on Casey Woody were used for an episode about the case
00:58with no credit given to her.
00:59Casey was known for keeping all the lights on in her house, so her window from the inside looking out
01:05was just like a black picture framed in her room.
01:09Others later came forward with more claims that Flowers copied material from Reddit posts, other podcasts, and programs on the
01:15Investigation Discovery channel.
01:17Flowers responded in a statement to Variety, defending the show's research process and source citing practices.
01:24Toxic Work Environment, Reply All.
01:27In 2021, Gimlet Media's tech and human interest podcast, Reply All, launched The Test Kitchen, hosted by senior reporter Sruti
01:36Penamanani.
01:37The four-part miniseries centered on employees' allegations of a toxic and racist workplace culture at Bon Appetit magazine.
01:45It was a story that we've grown used to hearing, the story of a bad workplace, told over the internet.
01:50After the first episodes were released, former staffer Eric Eddings called out Penamanani and Reply All co-creator PJ Vogt
01:58in a viral thread on X.
02:00He alleged that they fostered a similarly hostile work environment.
02:03These accounts prompted a reckoning on our team about the work culture at Reply All.
02:08And they also left us asking whether we could continue to air this story without interrogating ourselves and what has
02:14unfolded at Gimlet.
02:15Penamanani invoked both apologized and left Reply All, and the podcast officially ended in June 2022.
02:23We plan to find a way to get to the bottom of what went wrong here, both with the series
02:27and with our show.
02:28And once we fully understand it ourselves, we also want to tell you, as best we can, what happened.
02:34As we contend with everything, we are placing the show on pause.
02:38Just a hoax. Caliphate.
02:40The New York Times Caliphate, hosted by reporter Rukmini Kalamachi, told the story of a Canadian man who claimed that
02:47he joined the Islamic State ISIS in Syria.
02:50What are we going to call him? The Canadian?
02:52He wants us to call him Abu Houssaifa.
02:55This is his code name that he's chosen?
02:57Right, this is his nom de guerre.
02:58The 2018 podcast detailed the cruel acts he allegedly carried out as an executioner, but it all turned out to
03:05be a lie.
03:05We put him up on a cross.
03:07Canadian officials investigated the claims made by Shirozi Chowdhury, who went by the pseudonym Abu Houssaifa Al-Khanadi, and determined
03:16they were false.
03:17In 2020, they arrested him and charged him for the hoax.
03:21The NYT later retracted the parts of the podcast that centered on Chowdhury.
03:26His tone has become somewhat cocky at this point. I've told him this myself.
03:30They also returned the Peabody Award they received in 2019, and Kalamachi's status as a Pulitzer Prize finalist was rescinded.
03:43On a 2014 episode of the raunchy podcast, DVD-ASA, artist and actor David Cho told a graphic story in
03:51which he described an alleged incident with a massage therapist.
03:54His co-host, adult film star Asa Akira, called him out for his disturbing behavior, which she noted sounded like
04:01sexual assault.
04:02Cho later apologized and claimed that the tale was fabricated.
04:06The clip resurfaced nearly a decade later after the release of Netflix's Beef, in which Cho played the character Isaac.
04:13Isaac, you want some orange juice?
04:15Ooh, Sonny D. D for Danny.
04:17He reiterated that it wasn't true and issued another apology.
04:20He apologized shortly after, saying that the comments were satirical and an extension of his art.
04:26Executive producers of the hit series shared their condemnation of the story, but showed support for Cho's growth as a
04:32person who's learned from his past mistakes.
04:35For more breakdowns of compelling, scandalous stories, scan the QR code on screen to join WatchMojo's 24-7 live stream.
04:43You hate listen to her podcast.
04:46Wait, what?
04:48Abuse allegations.
04:50The last podcast on the left.
04:52In September 2023, the last podcast on the left announced that co-founder and co-host Ben Kissel would be
05:00taking a break.
05:00Ben, if every woman...
05:03There's some terribly mean women.
05:04Yes.
05:05But if every single woman...
05:07Yes, there are some terrible women...
05:09You know what you gotta do is you gotta get a gimmick.
05:10This came after his ex-partner Taylor Moon made public claims of severe mistreatment, though she never explicitly named him.
05:18A month later, the LPOTL team took to Instagram to say that Kissel wouldn't be a part of the last
05:23podcast network going forward.
05:25Shortly after, Rolling Stone published an exposé with multiple women accusing him of past verbal and physical abuse.
05:33As LPN faced here an opportunity for making a definitive turn towards growth and accountability and transparency,
05:42I watched each successive and lagging misstep with so much dismay.
05:48While Kissel denied the allegations, he acknowledged his substance use disorder, stating he was working on his mental health in
05:55therapy.
05:56There was a riff.
05:57He can't get too much into it.
05:59There was like, when you have three partners, things happen.
06:02Yeah, whatever.
06:03I can't really get into that.
06:04Racist Remarks.
06:06Matt and Shane's secret podcast.
06:08On September 12, 2019, Saturday Night Live announced stand-up comedian Shane Gillis would be one of the show's new
06:16cast members.
06:16That same day, clips from a 2018 episode of Matt and Shane's secret podcast resurfaced,
06:23where Gillis used an anti-Asian slur when talking about Chinatown in New York.
06:28Chinatown's f***ing nuts.
06:29It's crazy, dude.
06:30It is full f***ing China.
06:31There were also clips of the host using homophobic slurs.
06:35Gillis was subsequently fired from the show before he even started.
06:39He defended himself by saying his comedy often pushes boundaries.
06:43Gillis issued an initial statement saying,
06:45I'm happy to apologize to anyone who's actually offended by anything I said.
06:50I am trying to be the best comedian I can be.
06:53And sometimes that requires risks.
06:56Gillis has since hosted SNL three times and continues to spark controversy.
07:01Also, I haven't been to the gym in so long, I didn't know women just dress like f***s now.
07:06Look, I'm sorry.
07:07There's no other way to describe.
07:09Have you seen it?
07:10I've seen it.
07:11The shorts.
07:12Sexual misconduct accusations.
07:15Jensen and Holes, the murder squad.
07:18Investigative journalist Billy Jensen is a well-known figure in the world of true crime.
07:22He co-hosted Jensen and Holes, the murder squad, with retired detective Paul Holes, where the two would discuss unsolved
07:29cases.
07:29When he started to leave, he said he threatened to come back and shoot the employees.
07:33The employees, of course, reported him to the police.
07:38Law enforcement tracked him down, and once they had him, they pulled his background and realized there was a 14
07:43-year-old fugitive warrant.
07:44In May 2022, the beloved podcast was abruptly canceled, but fans wouldn't know why, until later.
07:51The following month, podcaster Jen Tisdale came forward accusing Jensen of physical assault.
07:57And in July, Rolling Stone published an article detailing an alleged history of inappropriate touching and violent behavior towards multiple
08:04women.
08:05Jensen denied some accusations and apologized for others.
08:09So, um, so that happened, and then I lost my book.
08:12He also admitted to an issue with heavy drinking, for which he was seeking help.
08:16All right, so, um, my name is Billy Jensen. I'm an alcoholic.
08:19Ethan Klein's Infidelity, H3 Podcast.
08:23On October 22nd, 2026, H3 Podcast fans were shocked when host Ethan Klein announced an indefinite hiatus.
08:31Welcome, everybody, back to another H3BOD, coming at you, another EXP.
08:37Soon after, his wife and co-host Hila made an Instagram post saying that she was living in a nightmare.
08:43She revealed there were lies and infidelity in their marriage, alleging that Ethan had been having an extramarital affair for
08:49over six months.
08:50I could sense something was wrong. I tried to ask him questions, but I was met with dismissive answers and
08:56no action.
08:56The H3 Podcast crew released a joint statement in full support of Hila and condemning Ethan's actions.
09:03Ethan also stated he would relinquish his financial stakes and ownership in their joint ventures, including the podcast.
09:10Hila filed for divorce on November 2nd.
09:12The former couple shares three children.
09:15And did Ethan jinx himself last spring with this tattoo?
09:18It's a portrait of Hila in the words,
09:20The greatest thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother.
09:23COVID-19 Misinformation, The Joe Rogan Experience.
09:27Joe Rogan is no stranger to controversy.
09:30His popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, makes headlines for everything from his past use of racially insensitive language to
09:38the guests he interviews.
09:39It was promoted that if you took the jab and you had this symptom, then it would kick your immune
09:45system up.
09:46In 2021, Rogan was in hot water when he began spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, like saying ivermectin was
09:55a viable treatment for the virus.
09:57If you're a healthy person and you're exercising all the time and you're young and you're eating well, like, I
10:02don't think you need to worry about this.
10:04In 2022, an open letter penned by thousands of medical and scientific experts pushed Spotify to better enforce its misinformation
10:12policy.
10:13The platform did not remove any episodes or the podcast itself.
10:17Instead, they added content advisory labels that directed listeners to a dedicated COVID-19 information page.
10:24Spotify now find themselves in a similar position to the big social media platforms have done in recent years where
10:30they're constantly trying to deny that they should have any responsibility because they don't want to be regulated like a
10:35publisher.
10:36Hate speech and defamation.
10:38The Alex Jones Show.
10:40Conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones is known for being contentious, to say the least.
10:46The evil's growing.
10:47It's coming.
10:47What you asked for is now at the door, scratching.
10:51So open the door and prepare to meet your destiny.
10:55In 2018, Spotify took down his podcast for violating its policy on hate content.
11:00And Facebook, Apple, and YouTube followed suit.
11:03In a statement, Facebook said,
11:05We have taken it down for glorifying violence and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslim, and
11:13immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies.
11:15For years, Jones claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was all a hoax, even accusing the grieving parents
11:23of being paid actors.
11:24These false claims led to multiple defamation lawsuits from the victims' families.
11:29Alex started this fight, and I'll finish this fight.
11:34Courts in both Texas and Connecticut ordered Jones to pay a total of almost $1.5 billion in damages.
11:41Which scandal shocked you the most?
11:44Let us know in the comments below.