Episode 97 · The GaS Digital / Ray Kump Era
The Gift
May 23, 2018 · 1:04:26 · 20 segments, 144 moments indexed
- 1 min
Music and brief intro announcing the show and cohost Ray Kump.
1moment
- 0:00Cold open: Tim Dillon Is Going To Hell theme begins
- 1 min
Tim introduces guest Michelle Wenn, creator of Ha! The Musical playing at Skankfest NYC, and notes Ray is running late.
2moments
- 0:32Ray Kump is running late due to bad traffic in New York City.
- 0:53Ha! The Musical is about stand-up comedy that nobody asked for, but they got it anyway.
Michelle WenHa, the MusicalSkank FestBig J O'KersonLuis GomezRay Kump
- 8 min
Michelle explains at length her attraction to large, hairy, powerful-seeming men and her disdain for thin, vain men, with Tim and eventually Ray riffing on masculinity, gay bear culture, and her cat Oscar as an avatar of selfish confidence.
10moments
- 1:21Michelle says Tim and Jay are fat men she loves, but she's self-conscious about her own looks.
- 1:59Tim: "I don't trust a thin man and I don't trust redheads. A thin man is a very selfish, disgusting person."
- 2:42When Michelle sees a big fat man, she thinks he's powerful and takes charge—lives life on his own terms.
- 3:29Michelle explains that being a fat slob reads as masculine to her, historically linked to wealth and indulgence.
- 4:26Tim notes most gay men don't prefer fat guys, unlike Michelle who wants the opposite of the sculpted ideal.
- 5:49Michelle describes her fat cat Oscar as a lazy, selfish, self-centered cock who owns the house and doesn't care.
- 6:43Tim asks when Michelle developed her fetish for fat guys, noting she probably didn't always date them.
- 7:09Michelle: fat teens with changing voices and developing bodies aren't hot, but fat middle-aged men with hair are.
- 7:38No hair is a dealbreaker for Michelle—hairlessness reads as androgynous and she requires beards and body hair.
- 8:25Michelle calls her preference for fat hairy men being 'in charge' rather than 'fatty'—it's about presence.
OscarHarry Balzac
- 4 min
Discussion of Michelle's current boyfriend, how she surrounds herself with larger friends, and the story of her freaking out and berating Tim when he lost weight, insisting he start eating again.
5moments
- 10:31Thin men are untrustworthy, self-centered, horrible people—vain and selfish, should be working instead of working out.
- 11:05Michelle can't get attracted to a thin guy without hair, comparing it to pedophilia.
- 11:49Michelle describes her ideal man as a clean, large powerhouse, citing Tim Dillon as an example.
- 12:28Michelle likes her friends to be fat; when one friend lost weight and posted on Instagram, she called screaming he had cancer and needed to stop.
- 12:44That friend notes he was still morbidly obese in the weight-loss photo everyone was concerned about.
- 4 min
Michelle talks about being married multiple times and staying friendly with most exes, then details her mysterious CIA-adjacent father who ran TRW, fled to Tunisia after 9/11, remarried a much younger French woman, and had a late-life daughter who called him 'Tom.'
8moments
- 12:56Tim's sister called him demanding he stop losing weight and put it back on, concerned he was developing a eating disorder.
- 13:30He's been married multiple times and insists there's nothing wrong with getting married repeatedly.
- 13:53Tim remains very friendly with most of his exes, though not the second one out of respect to someone named Olivia.
- 14:28His father worked in the CIA and likely did something a little naughty but not criminal.
- 14:55Tim's father ran TRW, a company that made automotive and aircraft weaponry and parts—immediately identified as a front.
- 15:48After 9/11, Tim's father abruptly moved from Miami to Tunisia for a job, the specifics of which remain unclear.
- 16:19Tim's father went to Tunisia claiming he had a job, though the nature of that work was never certain.
- 16:37In Tunisia he remarried a young French woman and had a child in his 60s, fathering a daughter who was only six when he died of cancer five years later at 73.
TunisiaTRWLarry KingThe Falcon and the Snowman
- 3 min
Michelle describes her running feuds with children including a young half-sister she resents over inheritance, admits to being financially 'robbed' after her father's death, and reflects on loyalty and Italian-style grudges.
8moments
- 17:38Michelle has feuds with children, which Tim loves
- 17:58She got into a feud with little Alice Steinberg over an argument with his daughter
- 18:32Tim claims he has an Italian sensibility of loyalty
- 18:53Tim will fight with a child because he thinks some kids are just nasty adults in growth
- 19:15The jealousy around Tim's half-sister centers on money, not childish resentment
- 19:34She was an unpleasant child because she had an unpleasant mother, so they didn't give her a fair shot
- 19:46Tim got robbed financially by the half-sister's mother
- 19:59Tim knew the robbery was coming and saw it from a mile away
SteinbergAlice Steinberg
- 4 min
Talk turns to Michelle dropping her son off at an etiquette class in Beverly Hills, her views on firm handshakes and traditional manners, and what she'd want in a son-in-law.
10moments
- 20:15Tim dropped his son Leo off at an etiquette class at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
- 20:28He's into traditional manners, or at least the idea of people being able to access them if needed.
- 20:51On the importance of handshakes: Tim won't associate with a man who has a dead fish handshake.
- 21:27The etiquette class was full of Chinese billionaire kids and Leo, who immediately got attention from all the girls.
- 21:56Tim prefers a firm handshake and doesn't want a mealy handshake, though he acknowledges this is a relic of masculinity.
- 22:32He says he doesn't want to exclude people based on handshake strength, but he wouldn't want his daughter dating a man with a weak handshake.
- 23:00For a suitor, Tim wants someone with a sense of self, something going on, and a career—rather than just a price tag.
- 23:20He doesn't dislike actors, but he's not infatuated with the idea of his daughter dating one.
- 23:31His sister dated a stand-up comic for twelve years before it ended.
- 23:58Tim says his sister essentially gave the comic all her good years.
etiquetteBeverly Hills Hotel
- 3 min
Michelle recounts her sister's 12-year relationship with a comic that led her to hire standup comedians as assistants, her time working for Ellen DeGeneres, and turning down a Red Nose Day sketch that would have made fun of her weight.
9moments
- 24:17Guest got a cascade of standup comedian assistants hired through her boss's connections.
- 24:31Tim asks about working for Ellen DeGeneres.
- 24:45Ellen was a tough and difficult boss, though not personally cruel to the guest.
- 25:22Tim notes comedians are all losers and clowns, then backtracks on the characterization.
- 25:50Dating a comedian means signing up for a long-distance relationship due to touring schedules.
- 26:17Tim turned down a Red Nose Day NBC sketch that would have paid $1,100.
- 26:28The sketch's premise was just him taking his shirt off so kids would see he's fat.
- 26:50Tim wouldn't do it without actual funny lines, not just being a fat clown for charity.
- 27:05Guest agrees the concept exploits him rather than creating genuine comedy.
Ellen DeGeneresRed Nose Day
- 3 min
Michelle defends a controversial Halloween costume citing her Spanish heritage, then discusses her cavalier attitude toward offense and gives cautious, limited comments on #MeToo given her decades in the entertainment industry.
7moments
- 27:35Guest dressed as a Mexican for Halloween despite being Hispanic with Spanish heritage.
- 28:04People questioned the costume at her trick-or-treating location, asking what the problem was.
- 28:36Tim argues everyone should make fun of everyone rather than getting offended by costumes.
- 29:01Guest acknowledges horrible abuses against women and children happen in the entertainment business.
- 29:20Tim asks whether the #MeToo movement might be missing other elements of these situations.
- 29:51Guest says she can only speak from her own experience and can't comment on others' experiences with harassment.
- 30:07Guest explains her personal threshold for offense is higher than most due to generational differences.
- 4 min
Michelle explains her new musical about a gay medium and abuse survivor who talks to the dead and does cold readings, and defends her belief in his paranormal gift.
10moments
- 31:03Dead Serious is a musical about a gay man who talks to dead people, dresses in drag, and survived one of Boston's most notorious child abuse cases.
- 31:29The subject grew up abused, came out gay, became a well-known medium on TV, though some people think he's a scam.
- 31:52Tim notes the musical explores the world of psychics, paranormal claims, and debunking the bullshit in that space.
- 32:10The guest believes the medium is legitimate and has attended many cold readings with him.
- 32:23Tim says he's a skeptic and cynic with jokes about it in his Netflix special premiering early July.
- 32:39The guest clarifies the medium definitely dresses in drag and is gay, though people dispute those facts.
- 33:01He's a true believer, not a huckster, and Christine and Jay both attended one of his readings.
- 33:25Tim expresses interest in seeing the medium in action, noting he seems like a nice, well-put-together guy with multiple projects.
- 33:41The guest suggests traumatic childhoods often accompany paranormal gifts, whether that's psychological or a thinner spiritual veil.
- 33:58These questions about the connection between trauma and psychic ability are explored in the musical's Q and A section.
Dead SeriousShaker Heights, OhioBoston
- 4 min
Details emerge that the medium's father is imprisoned for the abuse documented in the medium's childhood diary, and that the medium himself ran a fraudulent apartment-deposit Ponzi scheme in his 20s, which Tim and Ray find hilarious to reconcile with his 'gift.'
10moments
- 34:33The medium's abusive father is in prison for 12 years after Thomas kept a diary documenting the abuse, which became the main evidence against him.
- 35:07Tim notes that women seem more willing than men to dive headfirst into horror stories and crazy situations.
- 35:37Tim jokes that after his father died, the guest wanted to yell at him for getting robbed by a gold digger rather than leave money behind.
- 36:00Discussion of how mediums do cold readings without advance information, with the guest claiming the medium didn't know who they were beforehand.
- 36:25Tim and Carla frequent psychics as a hobby and have seen John Edwards and other well-known paranormal performers.
- 36:48The street psychics in New York—the $5 mom-and-pop operations—manage to stay in business because people want immediate help with their problems.
- 37:07Tim initially thought the street psychics were prostitutes until the guest corrects him that they're genuinely providing readings.
- 37:49The medium ran a Ponzi scheme with apartments in his early 20s, a detail that came out in the Daily Mail or similar publication.
- 38:15Tim presses the guest on glossing over the fact that the medium—someone they're debating the legitimacy of—admitted to running a Ponzi scheme.
- 38:29Tim sarcastically repeats the guest's argument that you have to be open to the spiritual realm despite financial fraud.
psychicsJohn EdwardsCarla
- 4 min
More digging into how the book deal on the medium fell through once the Ponzi scheme surfaced, and Tim and Ray's running bit about how a gifted psychic couldn't foresee his own fraud getting caught.
10moments
- 38:38Tim identifies the Ponzi scheme as a cry for help from abuse.
- 38:54The medium has demonstrated success at fraud and is adept at being fraudulent.
- 39:23People have spent the last decade exposing cold readers and fake mediums.
- 39:36Teresa Caputo has never been found out, though she bombs frequently with general statements.
- 39:51Cold reading is a trained art form people have practiced for hundreds of years with established techniques.
- 40:16Tim argues the only people who are legitimately psychic may be those involved in financial fraud.
- 40:31A major book company with a vetting department got cold feet when the Ponzi scheme came out.
- 41:10Tim on grifters and cons: a grifter is a grifter and a con is a con.
- 41:25She tells breakfast stories without realizing she's conning people, rolling them out perfectly.
- 41:52The subject casually mentions her mark ran a successful Ponzi scheme in his early 20s and beat people over the head.
Teresa CaputoAmazing Randy
- 5 min
Michelle clarifies the medium took deposit checks for apartments that didn't exist, briefly went to jail for it, and the group discusses the strange overlap between fraud skills and cold-reading skills, plus his estranged relationship with his imprisoned father.
11moments
- 43:02The medium spent a brief stint in jail for a white-collar crime involving $3,000.
- 43:22His early scam involved offering free apartment rentals, then taking $1,000 checks and never making the apartment available.
- 43:51He showed up at other people's apartments, not his own, taking thousand-dollar checks and disappearing.
- 44:38Tim recaps: the medium spent his early 20s taking deposits for fake apartments that didn't exist, before getting caught quickly.
- 45:07Tim notes that unlike humans, psychics claim they cannot predict their own futures.
- 45:33The medium's troubled upbringing provides context, though it doesn't excuse the fraud.
- 45:54The medium embraced doing an expose in a musical partly because he deals with skepticism about his legitimacy all the time.
- 46:31The medium has had no contact with his father since the day he went to prison, roughly 12 years ago.
- 46:57The medium was about 14 when his father first went to jail, then had limited contact before the father was returned to prison.
- 47:44The medium's siblings don't have psychic gifts and were also heavily abused, with their stories coming out in an upcoming project.
- 48:01The medium will perform cold reads throughout the musical as interludes between scenes.
fraudmediumAirbnb
- 4 min
Michelle describes her next planned musical about plastic surgeons, jokes about recruiting her EGOT-winning cousin Bobby Lopez, and explains she only wants to do three musicals total before moving on to new interests like flower school.
8moments
- 48:26New musical called Cut is about plastic surgeons performing monologues while singers and dancers perform behind them.
- 48:47Tim suggests involving Bobby Lopez, a double EGOT winner and Avenue Q composer, but hesitates about reaching out because of the inappropriate ask.
- 49:33He had three musicals envisioned and is now actively working on the second, planning to do the third before stopping.
- 49:44Tim admits he loses interest in things often and likes to do things at a large scale before moving on.
- 50:14Focus on one thing helps people rise to the top, but Tim gets flaccid toward things rather than staying locked in.
- 50:49Going through a period of exploring his feminine side and wanting to do things that allow him to age gracefully without the industry grind.
- 51:08Unsure about the markup on flowers or what he'll actually be doing, comparing himself to Katherine Hepburn potentially selling flowers on Sunset Boulevard.
- 51:23He's bicoastal between LA and New York because of his children, but has always been more of a New York person.
Bobby LopezAvenue QDisneyKatherine Hepburn
- 2 min
Michelle talks about splitting time between LA and NY for her kids, then criticizes how coddled and fragile the current generation of children is compared to how narcissistic parents raised her generation.
8moments
- 51:48Tim finds LA to be a very isolated city overall.
- 52:05Modern kids seem fragile compared to previous generations, struggling with allergies and environmental sensitivity.
- 52:20Tim's generation had narcissistic parents who shut down emotions and put kids in the backseat in every way.
- 52:36The pendulum has swung too far the other way—Tim admits he's guilty of it, putting his kids in therapy and encouraging openness.
- 52:50Better parent-child relationships come with a cost: kids think they're the most important thing in the room.
- 53:07Tim refuses to praise his kids for things they aren't actually good at, like macaroni art, because it's detrimental and not honest.
- 53:18His grandma told him he'd never make the NBA, and he thanks her for the reality check.
- 53:29Tim still gets mad that his grandma might have been wrong—he could have made the NBA.
parentingmodern parenting culture
- 3 min
Comedy Censorship, Ellen, and the Kathy Griffin Controversy
#The trio rant about comedians being unfairly blamed for social issues, defend edgy and provocative comedy as a mirror of society, and debate the Kathy Griffin Trump photo controversy and free speech traditions.
10moments
- 53:46Tim argues that comedy is supposed to ruffle feathers, and people should be able to turn it off if they don't like it.
- 54:08The skill in comedy comes from making edgy material funny because it's something you wouldn't normally say at work.
- 54:37Tim worked for Ellen and found her grouchy and cold, but doesn't think it's worth the fuss everyone makes about it.
- 54:50People should calm down—opinions aren't hurting anyone's brand, and attacking comedians doesn't serve creativity.
- 55:08Comedians aren't holding back social progress; art is a mirror to society, not the driver's seat.
- 55:35Tim was torn on the Kathy Griffin beheaded Trump photo—part of him thought it went too far, but part saw it as a joke.
- 55:50This country was founded on the idea you can hold the president in effigy or burn them; flag burning and political speech are protected.
- 56:18If you can burn a flag or overthrow the government theoretically, why can't you make a statement about somebody?
- 56:39Tim describes himself and friends as complex people—being gay, this, that—and says life is too short to avoid complexity and just blend in with sheeple.
- 56:56Living it up and embracing complexity beats being boring and fitting in with everyone else.
- 2 min
Michelle explains her attraction to people with complex, painful backstories over homogenous corporate-style diversity, tying back to her fondness for Oscar the selfish cat.
5moments
- 57:06Tim defines diversity as including complexity, choices, and brains—not just color.
- 57:20Corporate diversity wants marginalized people in homogenous form: same age, same cities, same opinions on every issue.
- 57:52What draws Tim to people is interesting, potentially painful backgrounds and the complexity that comes with them.
- 58:33Guest's Instagram handle is NYLAPOP, where she posts pictures of Oscar more than other content.
- 59:01Tim explains why he appreciates Oscar: the dog doesn't care about anybody and hangs out without demanding attention.
- 2 min
Michelle reveals her lifelong pattern of being drawn to unusual people started at age five with a romantic obsession with Mihu, the little person actor from the movie Elf.
5moments
- 59:26Tim identifies with Oscar from the film, calling him a "fat selfish cock."
- 1:00:18Guest's first childhood love was Misha, the little person who played the body in Elf.
- 1:00:40Tim asks if the guest was actually in romantic love with Misha as a five-year-old.
- 1:00:57Guest recalls Misha as a sad, short man who died of liver failure, an alcoholic midget.
- 1:01:14Guest reflects that loving Misha defined who they are and they were born that way.
Misha the midgetJillian VelardeDead Serious the musicalSkank FestOscar
- 2 min
Wrap-up with everyone's social handles, Tim's upcoming tour dates in Cincinnati, San Francisco, Connecticut, Chicago and Kentucky, and reminders to subscribe to the Guest Digital Network for the archive.
3moments
- 1:02:17Ray Combs found through Twitter at @raycombs and Facebook, plans to appear at Skankfest.
- 1:02:39Tour dates announced: Go Bananas in Cincinnati (24th-27th), Clusterfest in San Francisco (June 1st-3rd).
- 1:02:59More tour dates at Comedy on Broadway in Lexington, Kentucky, with full schedule at timdylancomedy.com.
Skank FestVice SportsShaker HeightsTunis
- 1 min
Tim praises Michelle as one of the best guests the show has ever had and closes out the episode with goodbyes.
4moments
- 1:03:17Tim announces the show is approaching episode 100 and plans something big to celebrate
- 1:03:28Michelle's performance on the episode exceeded expectations, going beyond good into "bonkers" territory
- 1:03:38Tim explains that people listening will be jealous hearing Michelle's stories, some of which can't even air on the show
- 1:04:00Michelle confesses the camera made her uncomfortable due to a genuine phobia of cameras