The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Nina Parker & KevOnStage Talk 'Friday Night Vibes', TMZ Toxicity + More

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

Today on The Breakfast Club, Nina Parker & KevOnStage Talk 'Friday Night Vibes', TMZ Toxicity. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions. Did George Washington really cut down a cherry tree? Were JFK and Marilyn Monroe having an affair? And I find the answers. I'm so glad you asked me this question. This is such a ridiculous story. You can listen to American History Hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So what happened at Chappaquiddick?

Well, it really depends on who you talk to. There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. Every week, we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family.

Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the You vs. You podcast, we welcome Polo Molina, music manager to the stars. From Will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas, Ty Dolla $y, YG, and Fergie. Here's a sneak peek.

Are you so hard on yourself? That's the way I was raised. And the people that were hard on me are not here no more, so I'm hard on myself. You know, make me cry. Listen to You Versus You on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just like great shoes, great books take you places.

Through unforgettable love stories, and into conversations with characters you'll never forget. I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies. I'm Danielle Robay, and this is Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from Hello Sunshine and iHeart Podcasts, where we dive into the stories that shape us, on the page and off.

Each week, I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars, and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry, and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up. Early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning everybody, it's DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious,

Charlamagne the Guy, we are The Breakfast Club. Lauren LaRosa is here with us, and we got some special guests in the building this morning. The host of the new show Friday Night Vibes on TBS. Well, the new host of Friday Night Vibes on TBS. Dena Parker and Kev on stage. What's up, y'all? How you feeling? I brought that up because, you know,

Kev didn't talk about that last time he was here. And I saw Nina and Cans. And Nina was like, I don't know why he was up there and did not mention that we had a new host for Friday Night Vibes. I said, man be having tunnel vision. So you got all these other projects. I watched the interview.

And I was so excited. I was like, I can't wait till he mentions Friday Night Vibes, because we were in the middle of filming Friday Night Vibes. As soon as I got home I said, man, what is that? And he didn't say nothing about it. I said, man, Friday Night Vibes, Friday Night Vibes. And I had just did Terrence Hall and I was like, Kev, I mentioned you and shouted you out. They showed your picture on the back.

Wow. And I said, man. I'm being gaslit. First of all, I feel the time. I'm being gaslit. I said it first so it means it's true. Baby, that's just who you are because one of your best friends was up here. Oh, what is happening? Just right here and when we told him that you were coming, he was like, he didn't even tell me he was here in New York.

Are y'all really best friends? He was like, we were playing pool. What is friendship? And he never said, what is friendship? We saw him and we saw Tony just in the green room. I was like, what are you doing here? Tony didn't tell me he was doing the breakfast club. But men don't share details like that.

Like if it would have been me and my homegirl, we would have been like at the hotel having breakfast before we came over. I feel like y'all just see each other when you see each other. But you know Tony had a show in New York? I did know that. I got tickets to his show. Oh, you just wanna surprise him?

Yeah, I was gonna pull up on him. Yeah, sure. You bought the tickets and he gave you the tickets because he's a friend. I always buy my tickets. I don't even play that. I love that. I'm not trying to hear it.

Don't hear me. Because people, you ain't even cool with, like what's up with the tickets? Kevostage.com is what's up with them. My parents buy tickets to my show. I want to support, but then they want you to give up the tickets. No, that ain't support.

Your parents buy tickets to your show? My parents refuse to get free tickets. They're like, I believe in you and what you're doing. I'll go get tickets. They know you made it though, right? It's no more a struggle. They just want to make sure. They want to make sure they don't got like, I believe in you and what you're doing. I'll go get tickets. Of course I'll get them. They know you made it though, right? It's no more a struggle. They just wanna make sure they don't got loan,

you know money ever again. No, well, yes, exactly. They're like, you keep doing good, so I need you to make it. You know they're not just testing you, just to see if you gonna say, no, no, no, y'all done enough, I got you. No, they, I'm gonna fail that test.

You don't ever come from Ticket? No, man, watch out. He said I failed that test. They buy them, they support me, they love me. Well, now I know for the next show. I got you. But I got you. I'm on fail that test. You don't ever come from Tickets? No man, watch out. I failed that test. They buy them, they support me. Well now I know for the next show. I got you. I'm on my own. I'm on my own.

My friends I don't mind, it's people I don't know. We ain't got no relationship, you trying to get the free tickets man, nah. Oh okay. It's like a hookup, when I work in Popeyes, I give my friends a hookup, not everybody. Like you can't with some of the biscuits. You see the price?

That's true. How did this come together? You know what's crazy? We actually chem tested together. Kevin and I knew each other only on social media. Like I was a fan of his work, but we had never met. So we would, you know, exchange on social media. And then, you know, the show used to be hosted by Tiffany Haddish and Deon Cole.

They were revamping it. And so they did like a big casting call. So when we got called, and sometimes when you get to a certain level, you're like, oh, I still got a chem test. Oh, okay. I was like, so we did the chem test. And it was actually like a family reunion. It was about 20, about what? 15 women, 15 men.

And we were chem testing with our friends. So it was like a big, they actually were too loud. We got in trouble. It took all day long. It was like, you spend five minutes with this person, okay, y'all done, and this person. And when Nina and I went, it was like, this sounds cliche, but I was like,

I forgot we were even auditioning. We were just chopping it up. And they stopped us, we were like, okay, cool. I was like this, we got this. Like there's some times I feel like you get that little voice, you know, when you're in this industry, you just know when something is magic.

And we were sitting next to each other and it was so easy with him. And I've had a lot of co-hosts over the years and Kev is by far like the easiest person I've ever worked with. Like. That's the ultimate compliment by the way. It's not to him, it's to his wife, Melissa.

Hey Melissa. Cause his wife is, he knows how to, there's a dance as you guys know, and then when you have a co-host who knows how to communicate in a healthy way with a woman, it's just like, even like, he'll be like, do you need to sit? I'm like, what?

Because I'm used to people being like, get off the way. Yeah. And it's just, he's very kind, so it just makes it so easy to work with. But also, Nina, oh go ahead, Sheldra. No, I was gonna say, I tell people that all the time. When somebody says you're easy to work with, that's beautiful, and when somebody says you're a easy to work with. But also, Nina, go ahead, Sheldon. I was gonna say, I tell people that all the time, when somebody says you're easy to work with, that's beautiful, and when somebody says

you're a pleasure to work with, you can always work. Yeah, because it's a long, the work is hard. So talent is evenly distributed in LA and New York, but good people to work with is not so much. And then it's already stressful, you got early call times and all that stuff. If you're also a jerk on top of that, it's like, bro, I don't even wanna do it.

Because life be life, and as you know, so it's like, it's hard to get on it, have to like turn all of that off, you know, in filming. So when you have somebody that's, like Kev is really like my real life brother. You know, I really love him, I love his wife, like we have dinners, like, so it's just, it doesn't, it truly doesn't feel like work,

so we just be cutting up. And, you know, this show really allowed me to like be funny and like really tap into because I feel like I've done so much formal journalism This was like a different this was more vulnerable and Kev is more my coach sometimes when he's like just say it like no You know cuz I'm so trained that sometimes it's a little bit more stiff. So he's like just say they ain't okay Yeah, and me too because I had never done official TV, never worked off a prompter before. So the first day I was like, hey man, there's a lot of pressure

and you can't really mess up. It's time for you to do your job right. And he was like, oh, so good. This is how you do it. Let's run through it once. And Nina, man, let me tell you what, she big sis for real, because I don't even wanna do stuff.

She'll be like, ah, we ain't doing that, y'all. We are doing this. You can tell she's been in the game for a long time. Never rude or anything like that, but she knows how to assert herself and people respect her for that. And I'm more of like, I ain't never done this, so whatever y'all say is cool.

But also when you've done it a long time, you know when people are padding time. Like you're like, we got this, we can just roll through this. Like y'all ain't gotta baby us. Like we gonna come in, we gonna knock this out, and then we gonna go home. Everybody gonna get home on time, y'all ain't gotta play overtime. Like let's come in we gonna knock this out and we gonna go home everybody gonna get home on time y'all ain't gotta put overtime.

Is it hard for you kev being on a production that you don't control? No low-key actually it's freeing because you like this don't want to do it. Oh my god there's a certain amount of stress when you control it like the talent is just one aspect then you got to worry about the budget and the control and the edit and the delivery Friday night vibes brother when it's over. All right, y'all see y'all And it's it is or it is a welcome reprieve from having to do I don't want to have to worry about post edit deliveries time code, you know, stat S&P Leaving at the door coffee. Yes, what time is lunch? Okay, perfect. See y'all tomorrow I just come on time, do my job,

chop it up with Nina. I knew it was cool. Nina let me in her, she was getting braided down. She was like, come on, dress up. Oh, y'all real friends, man. Oh, I can't have the black man? You let me see the braids? That's real? The braids down is intimate. She was like, come here real quick, close the door. I'm getting braided down.

No, that's why I think that camaraderie and chemistry from the audition through the show, it just carries on throughout. And then that's why the show feels so natural. Our guests come on, they feel really natural with us. And it doubled the ratings. So we did the first season, we only had like 12 episodes. So it was just the first Friday of every month.

Which right now, you know, TV is very difficult. They actually doubled our episode order because they were saying that our interviews with each other and with our guests were spiking over the movies. That's a blessing. Yeah. So I mean, listen, to get a double order during this time, we feel very blessed. I was going to ask you, Nina, because for us in the journalism where you talked about working in hard journalism, I know you come from TMZ. Your career and how you've been able to diversify your resume, we all watch it

like how? Because it is hard when you're such a journalist to do things where they allow you to show your personality. What was your first lesson in like, I even want to try to diversify? Well, my first lesson was I got fired. And you know, as you know, it's like, you got fired from TMZ? Well, I got fired my first week from TMZ. I didn't know that.

So my first, you too, huh? You feel the pain? I'm gonna let her talk her story and then we'll travel behind. I got fired my first week from TMZ. How do you know that? Damn. You too, Lauren, huh? You feel the pain? I'm going to let her talk her story and then we'll travel on. So the first time I got fired was my first week in TMZ. I had just moved to LA and I was not even a PA yet. I was a runner. I didn't know anybody in LA.

I literally got the job by emailing contacts. They used to have like a contact TMZ, and I just emailed and was like, I got a degree, can I like, you know, and they were like, you've been out the game for a little bit, because I had stopped working in journalism. And so they were like, we'll make you a runner, you can get the lunches.

But this was before GPS. So I had like a Thomas guy. Oh wow. Yeah, I'm aging myself. Wow. Oh, thank you. But I was, I got lost. LA is very difficult to navigate.

You're like, why is there two Sam Basentes? I was a line guy. was, I got lost. LA is very difficult to navigate. You like, why is there two Sam Basin tapes? I was a line guy. And so I got lost. So Paris Hilton got arrested and I had to go get the tape from the paparazzi of her coming out of CNN for her first interview with Larry King. Oh, my heart just dropped for you. You got lost with that tape.

And I got lost. And if you know, CNN was on sunset and I took Highland to get back to the Valley, and Harvey was like, why would you take Highland and not Cahuenga? What's wrong with you? You're fired in front of everybody. You're taking Highland and not Cahuenga?

Oh baby, what? A street choice? A street choice. Do you understand how that is? And it's very different. They're parallel. It's like, from street to nowhere. If you live there, and you know,

this is before you could transfer digitally, you had to have the tape. So I cost them like 15, 20 minutes and they wanted it up first. So he fired me in front of the whole newsroom. And I went to the bathroom, I had only been in LA like three months, I went to the bathroom and I was crying, my ego kicked in.

It was like, F this place, go somewhere else. You don't need this place. And there was this really quiet voice with that was like, just go apologize. And I went to my managing editor and Harvey was go apologize. And I went to my managing editor, and Harvey was in his office, I went to the managing editor, and I had been staying late every day,

and I would just ask her if she needed anything. So if she needed her trash taken out, whatever, I would just stay late for hours, just helping her, not getting paid. And I said, hey, you know, I'm really sorry if I can work with you in the future. She was like, what are you talking about? And I said, oh, Harvey just fired me,

and she goes, girl, sit down. And she went in his office and yelled at him, and I heard him say, are you talking about? And I said, oh, Harvey just fired me. And she goes, girl, sit down. You do that every week. And she went in his office and yelled at him. And I heard him say, will you take her? And she came back out and offered me a year contract and was like, do you wanna be my writing PA? Oh, wow. And then that was in June of 2007. The show started in September of 2007.

And by then he had heard me just talking. I would do my stories and talk out loud. And he thought I was funny. And he was like, I want you to pitch for the show. And I was like, no, I just want to write. He was like, I'm not asking you. You gonna get on the show. And that's really how it started.

That was the first time I got fired. I was just like, I'm gonna just go for it. And I just was like, I'm not gonna allow like one person to have the keys to like drive my car. Like I gotta have these options open and I have to eat my ego a little bit. And I think our ego gets us in a lot of trouble in this industry.

There's a lot of misunderstandings that happen that you take it the wrong way. And I just learned to drop that and it's helped me. Well, what got you fired for real? I was fired from CBS. CBS, okay. They didn't renew my contract. That's not real.

Well, it's kind of fire, you know. It's like, we not having you back. I had like a two year contract and it was the most money I had ever made because now I'm an official correspondent, I'm doing the red carpets and I made all this money and I blew it. I was buying bags.

I remember I went on my first check and bought a Gucci and Louis Vuitton bag. Both. Just both. Cause I had been, I was making $4.50 a week at TMZ. Woo. Before taxes. Woo. So I wasn't making any money.

So when I was getting the CBS money, I lost my damn mind. And I had no, I had bad credit. I had no financial literacy at all. So you hate H&M too then, that's what I mean. You just had to be at Bloomin' Day. I had to be. And so when I lost the job, I was broke. Because I was, you know, even though I had money,

I was spending every check. I was, you know, I was at the brunches, spending money like a drug dealer. I was just like, come on, let's get the bottles, you know? And just ridiculous. And what I realized was I thought to myself, I had to downsize everything. I got in a car accident, I lost my car.

So I had to get a used car with the red light always on. And I had to get into a smaller apartment that was like a little bit more, you know, in a bad neighborhood. And I told myself, I was like, when I get my next thing, because I knew it was gonna come. I educated myself on how to get good credit. I fixed my credit.

I figured out what I needed to save. I was like, I need multiple income. I was talking to Kevin Frazier who was at CBS and he was kinda telling me like, you acting crazy. You know, I call him my toxic mentor because he would give me advice, but it was always like really harsh. And I was like, the next time I get it

and I got love and hip hop reunions and I just started saving everything. I started living under my means. So I was like, let me build this so that I can have two years of income so that the next time I'm not gonna let this network decide whether I eat or not. When you left, to go back a little bit,

when you left TMZ, were you senior news producer? Where were you? When I left TMZ, I did not have a job. I quit because they did not wanna pay me. Okay, because there's always been a conversation, I don't know, I did not have a job. I quit because they did not want to pay me. Okay, because there's always been a conversation. I don't know, I was told this before I went there. So not even just internally, but just in the journalism world

that you had been offered news director or something like that, but they didn't want to, like they didn't, you thought you should have news director, but they didn't want to give it to you. It wasn't news director, but what actually happened, I'm never told anybody this. I accidentally got my coworkers check. And we were sitting next to each other.

You know TMZ would have the desk where there was a divider and they set his check next to me. And I was just opening it blindly. He was making six figures. I was not. I was making well under that and I had been there and I was contributing. I was breaking stories.

I was a part of Michael Jackson's death being broken. I was a part of major stories, Bernie MacDion. I was the managing editor on weekends. So it was just me and Harvey in that office in the PA. I was in there working. I only had Wednesdays off. I gave up my weekends for three years and I was like, I put in the work.

It was my life. I didn't have a boyfriend. I didn't have friends. I wasn't going to the club and I felt like I was owed this money. I think I was maybe making like $50,000. And I just wanted what he was making. He was a white male, I'm sure.

Yes, he was. And they were like, no. And I was on every show. And I was just like, y'all not going to pay me? And we went into a little negotiation and I think maybe they offered me like 10 more percent. I did not have another job, I did not have an agent. And I was like, I quit.

I didn't have nothing. But I knew people liked me. And I reached out to a woman who used to be at TelePictures and she had just got an SVP job at CBS. And I was like, she was like, hey, we have the insider. Why don't you come test for the insider? And so I went and tested for that and I got the insider. But I didn't have anything when I left TMZ.

I didn't know what I was going to do. And the good thing about being young is, because I was still in my 20s at the time, you look crazy. So, you know, had I been this age, I might have been like, let me just figure something out. But now, you know, because I got bills and have big bills. But back then I was like, there ain't nothing for me to pack up this studio apartment.

I'll get on the couch. I don't care. That Bay Area came out. That Bay Area was like, you ain't gonna trap me. And it was the best decision I could have made. I mean, I left really at the Pinnacle. Van had just started. It was really a good time to be there.

And everybody told me not to quit. Everybody, socially, TMZ was really hot. Because this is the Paris Hilton Britney Spears era So people were like you're crazy to leave But I was just like this is not serving me and they not only that like this was before pay disparity was really a thing So it was just accepted that the women take less and I was like I work harder than all these people up in here And I'm a black woman and I mean when you guys started the Breakfast Club We that's how we met we were starting email emailing like, it was like, I got this new show.

I was like, we're going to put you on this show. And I made a lot of contacts because I would reach out to black media and be like, get on our blog roll. Let me send you the breaking news. Like, I really cultivated. I still have all those relationships. Because I really was like, I can't prevent them from putting this story out about black people,

but I can at least give our side. And if you call me, I'm going to give you your side out there. Because they didn't care. They would just put it up. this story out about black people, but I can at least give our side. And if you call me, I'm gonna give your side out there, because they didn't care. They would just put it up. And so that was really, for me, like my time. So I was like, you're not gonna pay me? Yeah, when you think about it,

there hasn't been too many faces of TMZ, right? Like, of course Harvey. But then when I think about it, maybe, I don't know, maybe because I'm black, I think of you, I think of Van. I think of Van, yeah. And that's historically. Was it toxic though? Was it toxic working there?

Envy. What? I mean listen, this is, I've heard it's not like that anymore, I don't know. And this is one of the reasons you and I haven't talked because I checked out of All Things TMZ. I never watched the show again when I stopped. Like I didn't, I stopped,

I didn't even, I'm not communicating with people I knew, but anything like I just kind of shut that part of my brain off because I had a lot of PTSD. And it was, you have to think about it. This was like the birth of new age media. There were no rules. So we would work like 14 hours a day. You would get in trouble for taking a lunch.

You couldn't leave like your desk. You had to answer your phone at four in the morning. It was you were American history is full of wise people Well women said something like no 99.99 percent of war is diarrhea and 1% is Glory those founding fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down fathers were gossipy AF and they love to cut each other down. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, the show where you send us your questions about American history and I find the answers, including the nuggets of wisdom our history

has to offer. Hamilton pauses and then he says, the greatest man that ever lived was Julius Caesar. And Jefferson writes in his diary, this proves that Hamilton is for a dictator based on corruption. My favorite line was what Neil Armstrong said. It would have been harder to fake it than to do it. Listen to American history hotline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So what happened at Chappaquiddick? Well, it really depends on who you talk to.

There are many versions of what happened in 1969 when a young Ted Kennedy drove a car into a pond. And left a woman behind to drown. There's a famous headline, I think in the New York Daily News. It's Teddy escapes, blonde drowns. And in a strange way, right, that sort of tells you. The story really became about Ted's political future, Ted's political hopes. Will Ted become president?

Chappaquiddick is a story of a tragic death and how the Kennedy machine took control. And he's not the only Kennedy to survive a scandal. The Kennedys have lived through disgrace, affairs, violence, you name it. So is there a curse? Every week, we go behind the headlines and beyond the drama of America's royal family.

Listen to United States of Kennedy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't miss the You vs. You podcast. Join Lex Borrero every week as he sits down with some of the biggest names in entertainment to talk about the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that made them who they are. They go deep, covering childhood trauma, family, overcoming loss, and the moments that shaped their journey.

These honest conversations are meant to take the cape off our heroes with the hope that their humanity inspires you to become a better you and therefore set you free to live the life of your dreams. Here's a sneak peek. I'm trained to go compete. I'm trained to be like harder, but sometimes that mentality stops you from stopping and smelling the flowers in your own garden. Is it wrong to want more? We migrated, our family migrated here. I'm like second generation. Listen to You Versus You

as part of My Kultura podcast network. Available on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just like great shoes, great books take you places. Through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget. I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies. I'm Danielle Robay and this is Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from

Hello Sunshine and iHeart Podcasts. Every week I sit down with your favorite book lovers, authors, celebrities, book talkers, and more to explore the stories that shape us, on the page and off. I've been reading every Reese's Book Club pick, deep diving book talk theories, and obsessing over book to screen casts for years. And now I get to talk to the people making the magic. So if you've ever fallen in love with a fictional character or cried at the last chapter or passed a book to a friend

saying, you have to read this, this podcast is for you. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. For weekends, you can't say no. We would, people would walk around with their laptop. We would go to a concert, you have to have your laptop in your bag. Because if you got a call at four and you didn't answer, you would get fired.

It was over for you. It was over for you. So, and I made the decision to participate in that because I didn't have anybody, I didn't have anything else, I didn't have a team. We were kind of deterred from getting a team. So the things I know now, obviously. This was pre-HR there too, because HR was new when I got there.

There was no HR. No HR? No. When I came to TMZ, HR was very new, and there were no, the union things that come in when you have a union protection, they got rid of it. That didn't exist back then.

They had telepictures that was the parent company, that technically you could go, but you didn't know anybody there because they weren't, you only knew who was in the building. So it was really the Wild West. And I probably, I mean, when Michael Jackson died, I didn't leave the office for three days. Like we slept there.

And that was your salary of $50,000 or less. I mean, I think I was still making like the PA salary then, which was, I think I had got boosted to like $650 a week. Crazy thing is when Lauren started working here, you ever see that dog that they, I'm not comparing you to a dog, but that dog that when you get out the shelter, right? And you put your hand up to pet it and the dog is scared?

That's how Lauren was working here. That's how I was for years. Lauren was like, wait a minute, you guys just said good job? Like, I'm like, what? I thought she was joking, then I realized, no, she was traumatized. Like, it was crazy.

I still won't tell her that. Nope. How long were you there? I was at TMZ for eight years. And when you come in, you hear, well, from the black people there, you hear so much about you. Van was always really big about, you know,

talking to me about you. He was there when I was there, so was Raquel. And then they left, and when they left, it was me. And I was like, what the heck? At least you had the camar Raquel. And then they left, and when they left, it was me. And I was like, what the heck? At least you had the camaraderie. But then they left. And then George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery happened. It was like, oh.

And you're fighting by yourself because there's a lot of microaggressions. There's macro, too. And one of the things that was hard for me was like, at the time, and this was before Van even got there, I was the only Black person on camera. And so I- Ooh, you are soul sisters. Yes. Yes. No, the story even got there, I was the only black person on camera. And so- Ooh, you are soul sisters.

Yes. No, the story she tell me, y'all sound- And you feel an obligation, but sometimes you're tired, right? And you don't know what that, you supposed to be saying half the time? But the thing is, with black talent especially, you don't have the luxury of being silent

when it's a black issue, because they're gonna look at you in this room full of white people and wonder why you didn't say anything. They're not gonna think about like, I've been doing this every single day. I got a migraine. I'm tired. Like I'm tired of arguing. I know they're race baiting me.

They bait you on purpose. But at the same time, I'm like, I gotta think about the people who are watching that look like me that are like, Nina, why didn't you speak up? But you know, you know, as you age, fighting every day gets exhausting. And also when you're getting baited, because it's like, I don't mind having a healthy discussion, but you're purposely trying to bait me to have this conversation so you can have content,

and I'm not really with that. And so you get tired of being used, you get tired of like women being talked about, you know, you feel like I'm in this space. When I was there, it was very toxic. Like we would get, they had a relationship with Vivit because you know, of Kim Kardashian's sex tape, and Vivitt was sitting, like, sex tapes in.

And sometimes people would just watch them in the office. You know, and it was like, you'd be like, what am I, what's going on? But then also you're like, well, what are my other options? And that's when you start to build these relationships. So you're like, I gotta make an exit plan. I had a... I just want to say this real quick and then we can move away from TMZ,

because you have moved away. But I met you... I found out so much about real quick and then we can move away from TMZ because you have moved away. But I met you. I'm finding out so much about you all. We've been in the trenches. You ain't never said nothing about this. I met you a long time ago in LA and our interaction, you weren't rude

but it just wasn't the best. And when I was about to leave Ben was like, you should call Nina and I was like, I don't think she cares for me that much. And he was like, why? And I was like, well, and I told him, but now here you're, I don't know if you even knew who I was, but if so, I'm thinking like maybe

that I had nothing to do with that, but I'd never thought about this because when you're in that environment, you think it's regular. You think it's okay. I never thought about like what your post-life felt like mentally having to go through and deal with all of that. And how that came into.

What that got to do with you telling the world that Nina was rude to you? No, I said she wasn't rude. She just wasn't the best. Like why would you do that? The reason why I'm seeing that. You I think what that got to do with you telling the world that Nina was rude to you. No I said she wasn't rude and just wasn't the best. Why would you do that? You could have said that off the head. No the reason why I want to say that is because now I'm sitting here and I felt your emotion just now we were talking about your experience and I identify with it so much and it made me think about if I were to run into someone right in that same predicament. Yeah. Unknowingly I might not like you know what do you know what I'm trying to say? You're reacting to the place, not the person.

Yes. And so you you know, it's like if someone brings up a relationship that hurts you, you're kind of like, and especially if you're not in the space to like say you're not thinking about it and it jars you for a second where you're just like. And also, I'm very media trained, right? So sometimes I don't want wanna speak bad on a place. And I don't know if my experience will be your experience. So there's a lot I can't say to you

without saying it, right? Where I can, it's like, how do I tell this person they're in the trenches and like get out quickly? Because that may not be your journey. So how do I say that to you because it's so nuanced? So it's just such a layered thing. So sometimes if like people come up and be like, I'm at TMZ, I'm kind of like...

That's exactly how it was. I'm like, I don't know what to tell you because this is only something you understand if you've been there. It's like being in a sorority. But at the same time, and I think I've just healed from being there probably within the last like four years,

four or five years. I have this thing now where I'm, my friends say I'm the fastest responder because you had to be this thing, right? I always, even now, I'm not really in news anymore. Like I'm a host for shows and even now I feel like I gotta look at these headlines. I'm like, what am I doing?

I ain't posting about no news. What? I'm the first to post a tweet about it? Like what am I? So you have these things. So I don't remember the interaction, but I'll say that it was so traumatizing that sometimes it was hard to react positively about it.

And also, you know, as you grow, you learn how to temper that a little bit better. But I think probably when we met, I hadn't really quite learned how to do that yet. It wasn't nothing crazy, but I just, I felt your shocker. probably when we met, I hadn't really quite learned how to do that yet. It wasn't nothing crazy, but I just, I felt your shocker. I just didn't, I didn't understand. Yeah, I didn't understand what I felt until this moment.

And I was like, you never know what people are dealing with. But I didn't know because when we hear about your journey there, we just hear. Well, I've never talked about, this is the first time I think, I've always said things positively because ultimately it was a positive experience because I have never learned, you learn kind of when you're in that because it's like the army.

But I tell people it was the best boot camp I've ever been to. It's the best boot camp. You'll never and one thing I will say about Harvey is he to this day, probably the hardest work ethic of anyone I have ever known in the industry. But you get a lot of trauma from it and it's very difficult to express if you haven't been there. And then also it's like, I don't wanna make that my story. So, you know, when I meet somebody and we're in a social setting,

it's like, it's still now, some people say, oh, I know you're from TMZ, and I cringe a little bit, not because I'm ashamed of it, but I've done so much. But it's still something that's always associated with you and will always be, as you will know, it will always be. And there's gonna be a time where you just don't wanna hear about it, because you've accomplished so much more. And so it's a little triggering when someone comes up to you

and wants to talk about it, and you're just like, it's like bringing up an ex that you don't, fuck with, excuse me, do it anymore. What you really wanted to say to her probably was, good luck, or, mm, who? Yeah, but if you don't want to be negative, because what am I supposed to say if you're in it? You know, like what am I supposed to tell you?

No, I mean, I needed the money, but I forget what was going on at the time, but I think this was one of the times where I've been wanting to quit, and I just didn't, people think you're crazy when you say that, and I was like, oh, Nina Berger, I can talk to her. And then I was young.

And I wish we would have been introduced through Van, because there, I would have loved to have talked to you one-on-one, like privately, and just really give you a good download, because I know that you did reach out and DM and I never even saw him because I wasn't following you and I didn't even see him until I followed you. And I was like dang, there's DMs in here

and I didn't even see this. Girl, I was crying out for help. Please somebody. You were, you were. I think y'all went through two different boot camps because Laura didn't come here with nothing. I said lie, stop that. This morning, let me tell you what happened this morning.

We literally have to move on from this but this morning, and you'll understand it, so I, this morning. No she won't. This morning, this, tell you what happened this morning. We literally have to move on from this, but this morning, and you'll understand it, so this morning, this morning, this morning, no listen, listen. All right, we're live doing a show. We're about to tease her segment. So she's supposed to come in and tease what she got coming up.

The latest with Lauren. But she couldn't do it this morning. He has a pressing news. I mean, some pressing news that she just had to confirm. She sneaks in the door and whispers in my ear, Which somebody else? I'm thinking something crazy going on. Her and Cispers in my ear. With somebody else. I'm thinking something crazy. Going, her and C walk in together.

I said, okay. I was like, so one of the founding members of the Whispers die and I know all these outlets are saying it, I kinda tried to say it. They said it 12 hours ago. No, it was seven. Overnight and I was like, but I wanna get the statement myself before I say, RIP.

So can you just tell them that I'm gonna come with the latest? I came back here and they like, you did that all of that for that. I was like, you're not going to never say, but the statements right now, I'm like, no, but if you don't receive it yourself, sometimes you just don't know. A statement that went out all the urban ACs across America and said, be nice to the mix. Cut it out, Lauren. Lauren, listen, we don't do some meditation after the exercises, because it's real. If you have never been there when someone was accidentally killed, we don't do some meditation after exercises

because it's real. If you have never been there when someone was accidentally killed, you don't understand. Yeah. She was trying to call the phone and make sure he was really dead. I'm like, what's wrong with you? Yeah.

And you know what you're waiting on. You don't want a Daisy chain. This is going to be my last thing about the PTSD. What I found is a lot of people who leave only find their worth in posting news. Because that's how you were rewarded. Then you were only you were you could have been fired for not producing enough. So you find like your worth in producing stuff. That's why like when I left, I will be posting breaking news and I didn't even have an outlet to attribute it to. And what

is what it allowed me to do when I took a step back was start to put more worth in me, what I'm saying, and the other things. Because I was like, I don't even know if I really like news anymore. Like, I don't know if this is something I even enjoy anymore. Like, I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy XYZ. Like, what else can I dive into? And for you, what I would like to say is,

and I think you're very good at it, but, you know, and I know you have other things that you like to get into, and I just don't want you to get caught up in this thing of like, I have to produce to be value, because it's like what, who you are that brings the value, not being first, because we're, we kind of are taught to like, we got to be first. What did you say Nina? I heard you. I heard you back in the room. Can you repeat that one last time? Can you repeat that one more time?

I'm just saying that the value is not in being first anymore because this is what I have learned. It's what you're going to talk about that is valuable because you're not technically in a new place that has to be first. It just, sometimes you... When did you hear that? Did you hear that? I feel like yesterday. It makes you special. The sense of urgency is what makes you special because you care. And that's important. But I think people care just to want to know that these days, everybody can get it anywhere.

They want your take on it. And you were correct. And everybody else was wrong. I know I was correct. And you are amazing at your job. I was correct. She was correct. I said that there were no charges dropped against Diddy. You told me I was not correct. Because she said there was no charges dropped.

I'm not even gonna get back to it. I'm not even going back to it. I was like, what the? Okay, let's start. So this was a side quest. But it was a healing side quest, so I'm glad we were able to talk about it. Yes.

I wanted to rub your shoulder, but I didn't know. I was like. No, I felt it. If you were to cry, I would cry. No, I mean, it's not. Gosh, I ain't no nothing. We done been for two shoulder, but I didn't know. I was like, you know, one rub, one rub. If you want to cry, I want to cry. No, I mean, it's not. Because I'm talking about, gosh, I ain't no nothing. We done been for two years, and you ain't ever said them three letters together.

Well, who talks about their abuse like that? No, you right. You don't. Like, you was all good. I said, girl, you. And now, we're talking about movies. We're supposed to be talking about movies. You said you were.

Girl, you broke. We're taking time out. In this new life that you have, girl. I was concerned that you would be in me, though. I Was Let you see the break down and start about She showed you all my life She was really fighting. I said, girl, you been through some stuff. Yeah, it's been a week, listen. But then you know, I'm going over there, and I'm talking to the people. Who did it to me to fuck her? Because Gab here now.

Harvey, you're fired, Harvey. Get your own tape and your own sandwich. What if you go in there for Lauren too? Yeah, by the way, it's going to go in. No, no, no, don't enter me in it. No, don't. No, Lauren sent me in for the whispers. She said y'all had a whispers.

She said y'all had the whispers. She said y'all had the whispers. The whispers had the whispers. We got one less whisper in the world and y'all are weird. There's one less please. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Friday Night Bob's on TVXQ, man.

We appreciate you guys for coming out. Don't be strange. You could come on more often. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Kev. I feel like you didn't get to. Neither, girl.. You could come up more often. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, Kev. I feel like you didn't get to. Neither, girl. I was watching, too. I was like, oh, my God. This is really happening. They're gonna put this on TMZ. It's gonna be on TMZ.

It's gonna be full circle. I'm serious. Please come up more. Come up more often. If you're out in town, please come up. Absolutely. Absolutely. We had to wait seven years to get Kev, so... Well, y'all just had him, so, you know. This was fun. I was fully in... you know. No, then this was fine. I was fully in.

I was in the comments. I was tweeting. He was in the comments. But Nina, your line is still in stores. Yes, yes. I have a clothing line for plus women sizes 12 to 30. Yes, it's in stores. It's at Macy's.

It's doing very well. And so this is one of the designs. So yeah, it's still, you know, the multiple streams. I always need that. Big Nina Parker, not the little one. You better know about it. You should keep a check. All right. Well, it's Nina Parker you know, the multiple streams. I always need that. Big Nina Parker, not the little one. You better be real about it. You should keep a check. All right.

Well, it's Nina Parker, kept on stage, Friday night vibes on TBS. I felt like that was a good family moment. That was! Every Friday. Hey, but we gotta leave on a prayer. A prayer? Yes, a prayer!

Father God in the name of Jesus. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What's wrong with the prayer? I'm like, who the way of reverend? Where the pastor? He's the pastor! The pastor can't help! Let me tell you about my pastor, my church. the way of reverend? What a pastor. He's a pastor. He's a pastor. He's a pastor.

Let me tell you about my pastor, my church. You ain't ask Kev to pray last time. He fired me. My pastor was numped. He prayed last time. He prayed his talk. I do want to say one thing, just to bring things around full circle.

Before the prayer? Yes. When Kev was here last time, he didn't shout out his show with Nina Parker. Right. Right? Tony Baker was up here. Tony Baker was talking about the tour,

that him and Kev going on. Kev ain't saying nothing about the tour. Oh, you didn't mention the tour. Tony Baker was talking about the tour that him and Kev going on. Kev ain't saying nothing about the tour. For Tony announcer today. Tony announcer today with us. That's not a protocol. Lord, you're part of here first. It ain't supposed to be announced yet. I'm gonna give you the press release right now.

I'm gonna tell you. It ain't supposed to come out until July. OK, OK. He shot it in July. But that's fine. The show is premiering tonight on Friday. Tonight on Friday No summer long celebrity guests all the games all the things but come for me and you know man at the end of the day

We're your cousins with the show. You really not gonna do a prayer. Okay, father. God in the name of Jesus We come against TMZ right now father God But everything they've done to black people from Nina to Van to Lauren God Crush them in your might God break them down. You'll be the breaking news father guy allegedly allegedly Break it from the inside guy and then give Lauren and Nina the breaking news of the broken news Hey, man, you hear me guy Do it in your name? And let's write it that vibes to God Jesus name. And bless Friday Night Vibes too, God. Yeah, can you switch to the other switch? Let it come on every day, God.

And it is a positive environment. Yeah, now Friday Night Vibes, that's it. But listen, they give us sandwiches and stuff. Yeah, that's how we eat. They give us food, and we get breaks. Yeah. I ain't never been in the middle of a prayer and like, why I got my head bowed in my eye?

For no reason at all. I can't take this one, sir. God been ignoring us. Bless you. It's Orr's day, we love y'all. It's the Breakfast Club. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. I'm Bob Crawford, host of American History Hotline, a different type of podcast. You, the listener, ask the questions,

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