The Big Flop - Listen Now: Scamfluencers

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

To anyone who grew up in the 2000s, Martha Stewart is probably more famous for going to jail than for her pumpkin pie. But there’s so much more to her story. And her saga lets us crack into the value of women’s work, the shifting nature of celebrity over the 2000s, and the most American scam of all: obscene wealth. Scamfluencers is a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what’s left once the facade falls away.This is just a preview of Scamfluencers. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at wondery.fm/scamfluencers-marthastewart. For more deep dive and daily business content listen to Wondery – the destination for business podcasts. With shows like How I Built This, Business Wars, The Best One Yet, Business Movers and many more, Wondery Means Business.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Scammers are best known for living the high life, globetrotting on private jets, dining at five-star restaurants, and driving six-figure sports cars. That is, until they're forced to trade it all in for handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit once they're finally caught. Scamfluencers is a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what's left once the facade falls away. To anyone who grew up in the 2000s, Martha Stewart is probably more famous for going to jail than for her pumpkin pie.

But there's so much more to her story. And her saga lets us crack into the value of women's work, the shifting nature of celebrity over the 2000s, and the most American scam of all, obscene wealth. You're about to hear a preview of Scamfluencers. While you're listening, follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Sarah, hello. Hey, Sachi.

Okay, so a lot of times the people we cover on this show are not household names. But the subject of today's episode absolutely is, I think she might be one of the most famous people on the planet. Sarah, what are your thoughts on Martha Stewart? It's complicated because I do think she has some of the best recipes and like they're always gonna be good. But also I have a feeling she's a little bit evil.

Okay, you know what, that's a good assessment. Well, you might think you know everything about the reigning domestic queen, and I happen to know that you have eaten at her restaurant in Vegas. You talk about it all the time. But trust me when I tell you, there are so many strange and surprising details in this story, and so many things I didn't know about the saga of her insider trading scandal,

including three people who are central to it. A power broker, his lowly assistant and New York's original Pharma Bro. It's June 25th, 2002, and Martha Stewart stands behind a kitchen counter on the set of CBS's The Early Show. She's 60 years old and dressed in her preppiest pink button-up. Her trademark blonde bob is smooth to waspy perfection, and she looks serene and controlled. The bundle of ingredients in front of her is ready for chopping. On today's menu, potluck salads made with chicken and cabbage.

Martha's acting like this is one of her normal weekly appearances on the show, but there's nothing normal about what happens next. CBS host Jane Claisen joins her on set, and as Martha gets to work on the chicken salad, Jane addresses the elephant in the room. She says, quote, "'Our good friend Martha Stewart has been in the headlines lately.'

By the look on Martha's face, she does not want to engage. She deflects by telling Jane about the salad they're gonna make. But Jane isn't gonna let her change the subject so easily. So Martha explains what's been going on. She says she's involved in an investigation centering on a pharmaceutical company called ImClone. Translation, she is at the center

of an insider trading scandal. But after that, Martha makes it clear that she's done talking about the scandal that has become a source of comedy and fascination for seemingly everyone in America. She picks up her knife and starts chopping her cabbage telling Jane quote, I'm just not at liberty at this time to make comments whatsoever and I certainly hope the matter is resolved in the very near future. That's exactly how human beings talk when making a chicken salad. Yeah, it makes her look kind of silly and unprepared for this media appearance.

At one point, she tells Jane that she's confident that she'll be, quote, exonerated of any ridiculousness. Jane keeps pressing until Martha reaches a breaking point. And through a forced smile, she says, quote, my employees and I are hard at work in making our company the best omnimedia company in the world, Jane. And I want to focus on my salad

because that's why we're here. Oh my God. Well, Martha, live in reality for a second here. No one's focusing on your salad. No one can even register you're making a salad right now. Okay? Unsurprisingly, she will be mocked for that phrase for months to come. The New York Post runs the headline, Martha's salad days. The Washington Post says, Stewart gets sliced up. Newsweek describes the situation in two words, more ridiculousness. And the public takes

it and runs with it. I Just Wanna Focus on My Salad basically becomes a meme before memes are even a thing. It's open season on Martha Stewart. For more deep dive and daily business content, listen on Wondery, the destination for business podcasts. With shows like How I Built This, The Best One Yet, Business Wars, and many more, Wondery means business.