The Hole Under My Driveway, Spencer Pratt for Mayor, and the Hantavirus Cruise Ship | Ep 258 HTBITY

Stu Stone on the New Hollywood Hustle and the Rolling with Saget Years| Ep 265 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Stu Stone — actor, filmmaker, rapper, podcast pioneer, and one of my oldest friends in this business — for a conversation that was 25 years in the making. Stu has been on this couch more than anyone else, which tells you everything you need to know about the quality of what he brings. We went deep on the era that defined both of our careers, the hustle that got us there, and the economy that's keeping us alive today. We covered a lot of ground. We got into how the convention circuit has quietly become one of the most reliable income streams in Hollywood — Eli Roth called it "the new residuals" and he is not wrong. We talked about Tremors 5 selling 863,000 DVDs, residual checks from Enemy of the State, and why getting on Netflix might actually be the worst financial move you can make. Then we went back to the origin story of "Rolling with Saget" — the song that started as a demo recorded in a porn warehouse in the Valley for $40 an hour, almost starred Jeff Goldblum, got passed on by every rapper in the game (including Akon, which we will always regret), and then went to number one on MySpace overnight. We watched footage from the MTV show Blowing Up, including a clip of Bob Saget rapping in the Hummer on Sunset, and we talked about the meeting at Warner Brothers where we had to explain the concept to the chairman of the label by singing "Boogie in Your Butt." We also got into how I created a fake manager named Marty Power — a cross between Robbie Benson and James Woods — to get my first auditions, and how selling sandwiches to Barry from Barry's Boot Camp was the beginning of learning how to sell myself. Stu is one of the few people who has been there for every version of me — Lexus Jamie, Hummer Jamie, Bentley Jamie, pandemic Jamie — and watching these old clips together reminded me how much we actually built from nothing. This one goes long and it earns every minute. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Stu Stone: Stu Stone (born Stuart Eisenstein) is a Canadian actor, filmmaker, rapper, and producer who has been working in the entertainment industry since age two. He is best known for playing Ronald Fisher in Donnie Darko, voicing Ralphie Tennelli on The Magic School Bus, and co-starring with Jamie Kennedy in the 2006 MTV reality series Blowin' Up. He is a director and co-founder of 5'7 Films, whose horror feature The Haunted House on Kirby Road won Best Horror Feature at the Toronto Independent Film Festival. His current projects include the film Don't Mess with Ghosts, a re-release of Faking a Murderer, and Dark Side of the Ring Season 7. Follow Stu Stone Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stustone/ X: https://x.com/stustone ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Welcome Back, Hall of Famer 00:05:12 – Tom Green, Podcasting and the Early Internet 00:13:03 – Fame Then vs. Fame Now 00:19:07 – The Convention Circuit and Hollywood's New Residuals 00:29:02 – Convention Horror Stories 00:34:18 – Why Hollywood Doesn't Work Like It Used To 00:44:34 – The Death of the Movie Star 00:50:05 – Jamie's Early Hustle 00:56:57 – The SNL Audition 01:00:51 – Chasing a Record Deal 01:02:15 – How Rolling with Saget Was Born 01:09:01 – Going Number One on MySpace 01:10:37 – Convincing Warner Bros. to Make It 01:15:04 – Blowin' Up Turns 20 01:25:18 – T-Pain, Bow Wow and MTV Memories 01:29:03 – Wrapping Up ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Michael Rapaport Has Thoughts on Israel, Trump, and the White Boy Hall of Fame | Ep 264 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Michael Rapaport — New York City legend, actor, comedian, podcaster, and one of the most outspoken pro-Jewish voices in the country right now — and we went everywhere. I mean everywhere. We started where any two white boys from our era have to start: the White Boy Hall of Fame. Who’s in, who’s got a wing, who owns the whole compound. And it escalated from there in the best possible way. We got deep into Jewish identity, Zionism, and antisemitism — and Michael broke it all the way down. He explained what Zionism actually means at its most basic level, why he refuses to separate anti-Zionism from anti-Jewishness, and why he has zero patience for people who want to debate him on it. He talked about the rise of what he calls “reimagined, remixed” antisemitism, what happened at UCLA, why he’s deeply critical of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and why he’s seriously considering running for mayor himself. He also explained the one reason — and it’s a big one — why he retired his longtime nickname for Donald Trump. Nine trips to Israel in two and a half years, conversations with hostage families, and a clarity about what actually mattered to him in the last election. That’s a real answer from a real person, and I respect it. We also got into the Kevin Hart roast fallout, why Michael thinks the comics complaining about it are out of pocket, his memories of the Improv in the early 90s when he and I were both coming up, his arc on Only Murders in the Building, and his Tribe Called Quest documentary — which he started filming at Rock the Bells with a camera in his own hands. Michael Rapaport is one of those guys who has always been exactly this — loud, funny, passionate, and completely unfiltered. Social media simply gave everyone else a window into the guy people in comedy and Hollywood have known for decades. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Michael Rapaport: Michael Rapaport is a New York-born actor, comedian, director, and podcast host who has been a fixture in film and television since the early 1990s. His film credits include Zebrahead, True Romance, Higher Learning, Cop Land, Dr. Dolittle 2, and Big Fan, and on television he has appeared in Boston Public, Prison Break, Atypical, Justified, and Only Murders in the Building. He directed the acclaimed hip-hop documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011) and the ESPN 30 for 30 film When the Garden Was Eden. Since October 7, 2023, Rapaport has become one of the most prominent pro-Jewish, pro-Israel voices in American entertainment, using his I Am Rapaport: Stereo Podcast and his massive social media following to speak out against antisemitism — and he has recently announced he is considering a run for Mayor of New York City. Follow Michael Rapaport Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelrapaport/ X: https://x.com/michaelrapaport Website: https://www.michaelrapaportcomedy.com/ ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Open: Hidden Cameras & Old Friends 00:01:00 – The White Boy Hall of Fame: Who's In, Who's Got a Wing 00:07:00 – Mark Wahlberg Owns the Compound 00:09:00 – Larry Bird, Elvis, and the Hall of Fame Debate 00:12:00 – Robin Thicke, Gary Owen & Scott Caan 00:16:00 – Jews, Hollywood, and the "Run" Conversation 00:19:00 – Antisemitism Is Back With a New Publicist 00:21:00 – What Zionism Actually Means 00:27:00 – The Jewish Tunnels of Los Angeles 00:33:00 – Free Palestine, Hamas, and Iran 00:43:00 – Kanye West, Redemption, and the Music Question 00:47:00 – Michael's Early Career & the Improv in the 90s 00:53:00 – Brooklyn Is Cotton Candy Now 00:58:00 – Zohran Mamdani: "Zoran the Moron" 01:03:00 – Spencer Pratt, the LA Mayor Race & Michael Running for NYC Mayor 01:08:00 – Trump, October 7th, and Why He Retired "Dick Stained" 01:21:00 – The Movie Business Is Broken 01:31:00 – The Kevin Hart Roast Fallout 01:43:00 – The Tribe Called Quest Documentary & Rock the Bells 01:47:00 – Wrap-Up ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Michael Rapaport, Hate To Break It To Ya, Jamie Kennedy podcast, White Boy Hall of Fame, antisemitism 2026, Zionism explained, NYC mayor race Zohran Mamdani, Kevin Hart roast controversy, Tribe Called Quest documentary, Beats Rhymes and Life, pro-Israel Hollywood, Michael Rapaport interview 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Corey Feldman's Last Appearance on My Podcast (And His New Music) | Ep 263 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat back down with Corey Feldman — actor, musician, and we went deep. The last episode we recorded together had to be pulled for legal reasons tied to an ongoing fakumentary lawsuit, so this one picks up where that left off.  We got into why Corey has never once been booked on a major late-night show — not Kimmel, not Colbert, not Fallon, not Letterman, not Carson — and why he believes his speaking out is the direct reason. He walked me through the exact moment everything changed: watching the 2010 Academy Awards and seeing Corey Haim's name left out of the In Memoriam segment. That was the night he went to ABC Nightline and said out loud what nobody in Hollywood wanted said. He also shared something I'd never heard before — the promise Corey Haim made him take a year before his death. That conversation hit different. We also got into the smear campaign that's been running against him for fifteen years, the people he believes are paid to keep it going, and what happened the night his documentary screened at the DGA — with Rosanne Arquette, Matthew Modine, and a plug that mysteriously got kicked out of the wall. From there we went into the Epstein files, why Corey thinks the current geopolitical noise is a distraction from accountability, the difference between real corroborated evidence and whitewash lists, and where he draws the line on what he'll say publicly versus what could get him "suicided." We also talked about what's actually going on in his career right now — a new rock collaboration with Fred Durst, a song he's writing to raise money for Epstein survivors, a Steven Soderbergh-presented film called Sour Party screening at SAG on July 7th, and the Stand By Me Live and Goonies tours drawing thousands every night. Corey's busy, he's clear-eyed, and he's not done. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Corey Feldman: Corey Feldman is an actor and musician who has worked in Hollywood since childhood, with iconic roles in The Goonies, Stand By Me, The Lost Boys, and the original Scream. He is widely recognized as the first public figure to openly discuss the prevalence of abuse in the entertainment industry, a stance he has maintained for over three decades despite significant personal and professional consequences. He is the author of the memoir Coreyography and the creator of the documentary (My) Truth: The R*** of 2 Coreys. He currently fronts his own band, runs an independent music label, and is actively touring with Stand By Me Live and Goonies Live events across the country. Follow Corey Feldman: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdogg22/ X: https://x.com/Corey_Feldman Website: https://coreyfeldman.net [https://coreyfeldman.net/] Corey’s New Single:https://youtu.be/JnRWBAlOGcE [https://youtu.be/JnRWBAlOGcE] Corey’s Birthday Party Shows: 7/25: The Arrow Room [Rancho Cucamonga, CA] 7/26: Garden Amphitheatre [Garden Grove, CA] ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Corey's Back: Why the Last Episode Got Pulled 00:02:23 – Legacy vs. Viral Fame: Art Is Forever 00:05:20 – Jimmy Kimmel, Loyalty, and the Pilot That Never Paid Off 00:09:58 – Exiled from Late Night: The Price of Speaking Out 00:13:39 – The 2010 Academy Awards and Corey Haim's In Memoriam Snub 00:19:03 – Corey Haim's Final Promise 00:21:26 – Judy Haim, Gaslighting, and Where Was the Mother 00:24:27 – Paid Opposition: The 15-Year Smear Campaign 00:25:44 – The DGA Screening, the Pulled Plug, and Two Years Blacklisted 00:30:13 – Out of the Shadows, QAnon Whitewashing, and the Real Epstein Flight Log 00:45:38 – Epstein, the War, and What's Being Covered Up 00:49:27 – Satanism, the Illuminati, and Hollywood's Dark Side 00:55:37 – Faith, Prayer, and How Corey Stays Centered 00:58:09 – New Music: Fred Durst Collab and a Song for Survivors 01:01:00 – Sour Party, the Goonies Tour, and What's Coming Next ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Corey Feldman, Hate To Break It To Ya, Jamie Kennedy podcast, The Goonies cast, Stand By Me cast, The Lost Boys, Hollywood pedophilia, Corey Haim, Epstein files Hollywood, child actors abuse, Corey Feldman interview 2026, celebrity blacklist Hollywood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Manager Behind Chappelle, Burr, and Dane Cook on What It Actually Takes with Barry Katz | Ep 262

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Barry Katz — legendary talent manager, producer, and founder of the Boston Comedy Club — and what started as an interview turned into one of the most honest, wide-open conversations I've had on this show. Barry has managed or launched the careers of Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Dane Cook, Wanda Sykes, Jay Mohr, Bert Kreischer, Whitney Cummings, Jim Gaffigan, and more than a dozen other names you know by heart. He is, as I told him to his face, the last of a breed — a manager who actually goes to the club, watches the set, and builds the hour alongside the artist. Nobody does that anymore. We got into all of it: what Barry saw in me thirty-two years ago at a Stand-Up New York SNL audition and why he says the Jamie Kennedy on stage today is almost unrecognizable from that kid; the three things that actually make a great stand-up comedian; and why he believes I've been leaving something on the table. That part stung — and I had to sit with it — but he's not wrong. We talked about the 90-10 reality of the manager-artist relationship and why it's structurally set up to end in a firing, how Barry got fired by fax, by FedEx, and in person, and why he'd sign every one of those clients again without hesitation. We went deep on Dane Cook's social media revolution, the Brad Williams YouTube story that changed a comedian's business overnight, and why Barry thinks doubt is the single greatest dream killer working against comedians today. We also got into the Malibu's Most Wanted origin story — Nick Swardson, a spiral notebook, and a fax machine — which is one of the best stories I've heard in years. Barry is one of those rare people who makes you want to go out and destroy. By the end of this conversation I was fired up in a way I wasn't expecting. He's built more careers than anyone I know, he's taken more hits than anyone I know, and he's still smiling. That's the lesson. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Barry Katz: Barry Katz is an American talent manager, television and film producer, and the founder of the Boston Comedy Club in New York City, which he ran for seventeen years and which served as the launching pad for some of the most significant careers in modern comedy. Over four decades he has managed or developed Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Dane Cook, Wanda Sykes, Jay Mohr, Bert Kreischer, Whitney Cummings, Jim Gaffigan, Darrell Hammond, and many others — selling forty-five out of forty-six comedy specials he has taken to market. He was the executive producer of the Emmy-nominated NBC series Last Comic Standing and has produced Grammy-nominated comedy albums, including Jay Mohr's Happy. And A Lot. He currently hosts the Industry Standard podcast, runs the Blueprint for Success mentorship program for emerging comedians, and continues to manage, produce, and consult across the entertainment industry. Follow Barry Katz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barrykatz/ X: https://x.com/BarryKatz Website: https://www.barrykatz.com ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Open & Barry Roasts Jamie's House 00:03:20 – What Barry Saw at the SNL Audition 32 Years Ago 00:09:00 – The Three Things That Make a Great Stand-Up Comedian 00:16:00 – Barry's Honest Take on Jamie's Stage Persona 00:23:00 – Jamie's SNL Audition Story & Life After the Rejection 00:26:00 – Jamie's Career: Auteurs, Roles, and the Town That Changed 00:36:55 – The Gene Simmons Story 00:39:20 – The Dog vs. the Wolf: Barry's Philosophy on Creative Freedom 00:51:20 – The Boston Comedy Club & How Barry Got to New York 00:53:40 – The Client List: 20 Legends and Counting 00:55:50 – Jay Mohr, Addiction, and 30 Years of Partnership 00:58:45 – The 90-10 Truth About the Manager-Artist Relationship 01:03:40 – Barry's Strength Is His Weakness: Doing Everything 01:13:00 – Dane Cook, Social Media, and Changing the Business Forever 01:16:00 – The Brad Williams YouTube Story 01:29:00 – The State of Stand-Up: Too Much Noise or More Opportunity? 01:39:00 – Legacy, Lyrics, and What It Actually Takes to Leave a Mark 01:44:00 – Bombing, Thick Skin, and the Trump Blinders Metaphor 01:53:50 – Kill or Be Killed: The Comedy Store Mentality 02:00:00 – Stock Rising, Stock Falling, and Talent That Never Dies 02:05:50 – The Malibu's Most Wanted Origin Story: Nick Swardson & the Fax Machine 02:10:30 – Closing: Barry Gives Jamie His Flowers ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Barry Katz, Barry Katz podcast, Hate To Break It To Ya, Jamie Kennedy podcast, comedy manager Hollywood, Dave Chappelle manager, Bill Burr manager, Dane Cook social media, Boston Comedy Club, Last Comic Standing producer, Industry Standard podcast, comedy business 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Church Is a Business — Nathan Apffel Exposes the $1 Trillion Religion Racket | Ep 261 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Nathan Apffel — Emmy-nominated filmmaker, Christ follower, and the creator of the docuseries The Religion Business — and what started as a conversation about his documentary turned into one of the most wide-open, genuinely surprising talks I've had on this show. Nathan drove down from San Diego to be here, and I'm glad he did, because this one went places I didn't expect. Nathan's whole thing is the money. Not whether churches should exist — he's a believer, he's clear about that — but the legal architecture that lets a pastor collect $500,000 a week from a congregation, pay himself a tax-free housing allowance on an $18 million real estate portfolio, fold an investment fund and a TV network under the church's umbrella, and never show a dollar of it to anyone. Not the government, not the congregation, not the IRS. We got into how you can literally start a church today with nothing more than a state filing and an EIN number, how the LDS Church has $300 billion in investments and is the second-largest private landowner in the United States, and how Kenneth Copeland built a $750 million empire by mailing letters to elderly women. Nathan also told me about the time he showed up at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, with a sign asking the pastor one simple question about his housing allowance — and got surrounded by 15 security guards with expired licenses, had his phone grabbed out of his hand, and ended up in handcuffs. It's all in the show. We also went deep on the stuff I didn't plan for — the Big Bang versus creation, the Nephilim, 666 translating to Nero Caesar in the Hebrew numerical alphabet, why the King James Bible got rewritten, soaking, the celestial kingdom, entropy as a spiritual concept, and whether Jesus came to make bad people good or dead people alive. Nathan's a surfer from Burbank who got into editing after a traumatic brain injury at 16, directed one of the worst-reviewed films in IMDB history, and spent 15 years researching a documentary that Tucker Carlson and Sean Ryan both called essential viewing. He's the real deal, and this conversation earned every minute of its runtime. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Nathan Apffel: Nathan Apffel is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur based in Utah, best known as the director and creator of The Religion Business, a multi-part investigative docuseries exposing financial fraud, abuse, and lack of accountability inside American religious institutions. He began his career editing action sports content for brands like Oakley after a traumatic brain injury ended his surfing and skating at age 16, later directing travel TV for Fuel TV and operating on shows including Temptation Island. The Religion Business — co-produced with decorated combat veteran and entrepreneur Chris Ayoub — is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube Movies, with Season 2 currently in production. Nathan has appeared on Tucker Carlson's show and the Shawn Ryan Show to discuss the series, and his Instagram platform @religionbusiness grew to over 100,000 followers within five months of launch. Follow Nathan Apffel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathan_apffel/ X: https://x.com/devouringmarrow The Religion Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/religionbusiness/ The Religion Business website: https://www.thereligionbusiness.com ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Welcome to Burbank: Nathan's Origin Story 00:01:49 – Traumatic Brain Injury, Final Cut One & Editing His Way In 00:03:24 – Chicks Dig Gay Guys: The Worst Directorial Debut Ever 00:07:06 – The Apffel Coffee Empire & LA History 00:10:54 – What Is The Religion Business? 00:16:01 – The $1 Trillion Unregulated Industry 00:26:39 – How to Start a Tax-Free Church in One Afternoon 00:30:01 – The LDS Church: $300 Billion, Defense Stocks & Soaking 00:43:45 – Kenneth Copeland, Prosperity Gospel & Mailing Lists 00:57:37 – Nathan Gets Arrested at Fellowship Church in Texas 01:10:57 – Joel Osteen, TBN & Buying Airtime With Donations 01:21:37 – Is Jesus Real? Creation vs. Chance 01:41:42 – The Nephilim, 666 & the Hebrew Numerical Alphabet 01:44:50 – King James, the Geneva Bible & Rewriting Scripture 01:56:52 – The Trinity, Interstellar & God Outside of Time 02:09:30 – Satanism, Epstein & the Architecture of Darkness 02:19:22 – Christ Came to Make Dead People Alive 02:29:00 – Season 2 & What Happens If Christians Actually Live Like Jesus 02:33:51 – Where to Watch The Religion Business ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Nathan Apffel, The Religion Business, Jamie Kennedy podcast, megachurch corruption exposed, church tax exemption scandal, Kenneth Copeland prosperity gospel, LDS Church investments, organized religion money, Hate To Break It To Ya, religion documentary 2025, church financial abuse, Nathan Apffel interview 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]