The People Vs Nastassia Schroeder

A list of *some* of the horrifying things said on Stassi's latest podcast, and the aftermath.

The Episode Description Itself

November 24th, a new episode of Straight Up with Stassi was released, called "Are we on a male witch hunt?". The description reads: After weeks of deliberation, Stassi decides to dedicate a whole episode to the new sexual harassment epidemic. Joining her is her friend and Los Angeles native, Jennifer Hoffner, a well-informed, eloquent woman who has seen it all in Hollywood.

Her "eloquent" friend Jennifer is also the co-founder of Pucker and Pout. A blog run by Stassi's cast member, Katie Maloney. The accuracy in describing Jennifer as well-informed and eloquent can be decided for yourself, but saying she has "seen it all" is hardly true, as she (along with Stassi) claims to have never been sexually harassed, nor does she know anyone that has been. So clearly these two voices are ones that need to be heard, right?

Can you imagine "deliberating" for weeks how you're going to talk about this, and this is it? Well, keep reading and you'll see what I mean.

"It's like the Salem Witch Trials, but for men."

Yes, Miss Eloquent Jennifer really said this.

"Half the things are true, half these people are actual victims, but then there are all these little [illegitimate stories] because they want publicity."

This one was said by Stassi, with a slight interjection from Jennifer. I will never understand where people get this. Many of the women coming forward have remained anonymous. To say that half of these people are telling to truth is absolutely appalling, but it only gets worse. Jennifer also referred to a lot of the stories as "silly". Why is up to these two to decide which stories are legitimate, and which are just "SILLY"? Stassi does repeat more than once that she doesn't want any of this to take away from the real victims, and that she is sorry for them, and she worries these "silly" stories takeaway from them. You can say that as many times as you want, but the rest of the podcast does not follow the same tone at all.

"How is that sexual harassment? You could say no, or you could push them away."

These ladies should give seminars on how to be un-rapeable, since according to them, it's totally avoidable. I should add that I'm less than ten minutes in. I should also note that finding quotes is really difficult because complete sentences are not easy to find in this podcast.

"Men are terrified right now."

The quote itself might not be horrifying, but it seems to be one of Stassi's main points throughout this episode. She's is very angry and upset that men may now feel uncomfortable being alone with her or joking with her. Can you imagine how nice it must be for that to be one of your biggest fears?

HAMSTERS

This is an acronym that stands for: Hooker Actress Model Stripper Trainer Entertainer Runaway. Which they claim make up most of the women in LA. These are also women who see men with power and want something from them/attention. After this, she makes a smooth transition to a Texture ad. As of right now, Texture has not publicly pulled as a sponsor.

"No one can make me suck someone's dick"

Via twitter

Believe it or not, this quote is just the beginning of the conversation. They agree that there is NO WAY to force someone to do anything physical, basically, unless there is a gun to your head. "You can bite!" Jennifer adds. According to them, there are so many ways to get out of it. Just pull away, shove them off of you, or bite their dick and then it's all over, right? It's just THAT EASY.

There Hollywood cases of sexual harassment are more about power than anything. So yes, you can bite that guy's dick. If you are totally okay with your career being over.

It's also discussed that if you were already making out with them and you are/seemed into it, then you're probably just regretting it later. Or, if it was a long time ago, just get over it. You also can't claim rape later, if you walked into a room looking happy with a guy. Less than a half hour in.

"So now what, if a girl goes and touches some guy's private parts, is he gonna come out and say 'You sexually harassed me'"?

Via twitter

Well, Jen, unless that girl had consent, yeah.

"We're all saying it in private."

Truly bone chilling to realize Stasssi believes that this is what everyone really thinks, and she's just being the brave one who is saying it. You and Donald Trump, huh?!

Just report it!

It's super easy to just report things. That's what BBB is for! Nothing negative has ever come from that, and justice is always served... Stassi does play "devil's advocate" (good god) here, and say that sometimes their careers would be threatened. Good call, Stas.

I'm going to be frank, I need a minute to stop listening and take a little break. I'm here making jokes and calling her out- but listening to this podcast (now again) has made me emotional. It's one thing to have an opinion, everybody does. But for someone with a platform to say such damaging things is beyond upsetting. This is why people don't come forward. This is why people are afraid. Stassi, you have young, female fans that listen to this. Yes, it's America, you can say whatever you want to say, that is your right. But that does not take away consequences, or the expectation of human decency. You would think that you could maybe be a little more understanding, as a victim of revenge porn? Was your ex-boyfriend just having fun when he tried to release your sex tape? Couldn't you have avoided that whole situation? I mean, you did willingly send it to him! <-- These are things I would never say, because that would be blaming YOU for something awful that was done to you by a man you believed had power over you. You were scared. I listened to the podcast episode where you talked about it. Do you realize you're doing that to these victims who have been afraid? You are perpetuating this.

Al Franken

Al Franken was just having fun, and Stassi doesn't know what Net Neutrality is.

"I just think it's the easiest thing in the world to not go to someone's hotel room late at night, and it's the easiest thing in the world to not make out with someone if you don't want to, and it's the easiest thing in the world to not suck someone's dick"

This is another one of her main points, just how easy it is for sexual harassment to be avoided. Sure, you can bite their dick or push them away from you, but then what if they get physical? What's your next move? I would love for these girls to tell us, since they so clearly believe they are so much smarter than everyone else.

"It's like a handbag!"

Referring to coming forward with allegations. It's trendy. To get famous. Jennifer even says "What do you have to gain?", to which I say..... EXACTLY? I'm trying to refrain from name calling and total bashing but oh my god. This is making me truly sick.

Jennifer then told a story about a friend of hers that was contacted by Harvey Weinstein. Apparently he had asked her several times to come to a hotel room, and she refused. Case closed, everyone. So one person was "smart enough to figure it out" - what does this prove? Are you trying to make it seem like everyone that did go into the hotel room just wasn't as smart as your friend? Hot take.

They also defended Lena Dunham, but I'm not getting into it.

How hard did they have to work to be this offensive? Stassi brings up the time that one of her cast mates (Ariana Madix) called her out for saying something racist on a podcast. If you'll remember, she apologized for these statements, but she now makes it clear she still totally stands by it. The same way she did when she recently got in trouble for making a joke about being offended Harvey Weinstein didn't hit on her. She apologized, but clearly still stands by it.

Stassi now goes on a rant about how she begged Jennifer to do this podcast with her because of how informed and smart she is. No comment.

"I don't know if I can believe.."

When they brought up Dustin Hoffman was on the list of abusers. They have the classic reaction of Oh noooo what? I dunno if I can believe that. I don't know him, but....

Fucking classic disgusting reaction.

"Where the fuck were your parents?"

Re: Kevin Spacey being accused by a 14 year old at an after party. So it's everyone's fault except the abuser? They do say that obviously Kevin Spacey was in the wrong, but why should this even be mentioned? It doesn't matter at all!

Roman Polanksi...

"You know, her mother was there, she took her to the party, it went down at the party, like, she never said no, it was consensual." -Jennifer

SHE WAS A MINOR AND SHE WAS DRUGGED. This is absolutely sickening and I cannot believe this was public, even for a short amount of time.

"They might as well be the Salem Witches hanging from trees."

What can I even add to this? There comes a point when there is just nothing you can even say. To compare men who have been accused of sexual assault, to women hanging from trees is absolutely appalling and I cannot believe I even need to say this.

They then go on a rant about how these men have children and that "their parents are known as sexual predators!"... Well, when they're sexual predators...

WINC commercial - as of now, they have not publicly made any statement or pulled sponsorship.

"Just push them off" "Adopt a resting bitch face" etc

Just be mean and guys wont try to rape you. How dare you walk into a room with a smile and a good, approachable energy- then you'd just be asking for it.

This is all I could stomach for recapping the episode, and soon after this, they change the subject.

Backlash

Believe it or not, people did not react well to this episode. Stassi took it down not long after posting, but it's the internet, and everything is forever. She has so far lost three sponsors: Rent the Runway, Simple Contacts, and FrameBridge.

Even die hard Stassi fans, aka Khaleesis, have started to turn on her saying they cannot be a fan any longer. Yes, of course, there are people that stand by her and her comments as well.

Stassi's Reaction

Via twitter

Not long after seeing all of this backlash, Stassi decided to double down on her statements. Tweeting that "About 5 ppl heard this podcast & everyone else read ONE quote without the backstory or context of a TWO hour episode" along with a gif of herself. So then, why delete it? If you stand by what you said and believe it was taken out of context? Why not keep it online and give people the chance to hear the context of this one quote? Also, I wonder which quote she's referring to. It's that bad, that I can't even tell. She was also favoriting and retweeting the (few) people that were on her side. The worst part was definitely her instagram story, where she made "jokes" about being a white supremacist. The joke was just that her friend said she was, then she followed with a quote saying if you don't understand sarcasm, unfollow her immediately. That isn't exactly how sarcasm works. Generally there is supposed to be some clever joke around it. That's like me saying "Hey, I'm a racist and a murderer." and following it up with omg I was being sarcastic jeeeeez!

She tweeted that she recorded a follow-up episode, then when someone asked her why it was deleted, this was her response. She has since deleted the tweet, so I'm going to be kind enough to give you all a screenshot.

Stassi's Delayed Reaction

Via twitter

After much thought, reflecting, and surely someone telling her if she doesn't apologize- she'll lose her podcast, Stassi released an apology. You can decide what you want from it, but it should be noted that after releasing this apology, she is continuing to favorite tweets telling her she did nothing wrong. Feels like quite a PR move to me. If you look in her mentions, you'll see many people (including me) calling this a load of bullshit.

I should note that I reached out to her publicist to see if Stassi wanted me to include a statement from her, and got an automatic response that their offices were closed until Monday, due to the holiday. She still had time to write an apology for Stassi, though...

Sponsors that are still silent: WINC, Texture, and Casper. People have taken to twitter and instagram to ask them for a statement, and Casper has been deleting these instagram comments. We'll see what happens, but as far as I'm concerned, Stassi is over.

Vanderpump Rules is probably my favorite show on television and it's been quite a journey to see Stassi's true colors. She's always been a villain, but in the first few seasons, she was lovable because she actually came off as somewhat intelligent. She has a talent for making herself the bully, the victim, and the hero, all in the same situation, and this is no different.

This story is still unfolding and all you need is access to twitter to keep following and watch as her other cast members take stands, but this is all I can report for now. You can believe her apology if you want, and continue to support her, but I will not.

It is one thing to have an opinion, even an unpopular one. But this is more than unpopular, this is damaging. This has brought pain to many people. This is not a matter of people being "too sensitive these days". We don't need to hear your take, or your friend's take, on something you clearly have no experience with, and know nothing about. This podcast is a great example of the reason people do not come forward. I feel disgusting that I even have to write this, but I felt the need the moment I started listening. And why did I listen? Because I was subscribed! I've had issues with Stassi and her comments before, but when I have free time, I re-watch Vanderpump Rules and I listen to all kinds of podcasts. I'm all about that content. But this is beyond too far, and her reaction to all of it has only proven to me that she does not deserve to have a platform to spew things like this.