transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:02] Why have we asked our contractor we found on angie.com to be our kid's legal guardian? Because he took such good care when redoing our basement that we knew we could trust him to care for our kids, the all eight of them, should something happen to us.

Speaker 2:
[00:14] Are you my dad now?

Speaker 1:
[00:16] Uh, no, sorry, I do basements. Connecting homeowners with skilled pros for over 30 years.

Speaker 2:
[00:24] Angie, the one you trust, define the ones you trust.

Speaker 1:
[00:27] Find pros for all your home projects at angie.com.

Speaker 2:
[00:31] Well, well, well, well, Janelle, Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen have been fired from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as cameras pick back up. We have more Summer House tea because Jesse Solomon, he is coming out swinging, calling out West and Amanda saying that the reunion is going to be popping. So we have a lot to get into. I may get a little zactivated because I do have some stuff to get off my chest. But I hope you are ready for it. Let's dive in. Sorry, I hope you are ready for it. Let's dive in. This is No Filter With Zack Peter, your go to source for all the latest pop culture and reality TVT, Sir Fresh, all week long. Now let's dive in. What up everybody, in the clear, yes, Donna's live starts in 50 minutes, 50 minutes, five zero. And I have promised her that I will be done before 11 a.m. Pacific. So she can go live without any interruptions because I think, I don't know, something's going on. And she's like, I need to be on time. And so I was like, okay, be on time. Oh, yes, I did get a haircut, in case you were wondering. Yes, fresh. I have the EWG dinner tonight, and then I have to go to DC in the morning, and whew, so I've been running around trying to do all the things. Muddy Grace says, we should start making bets on which muscle tank Zack will be wearing. It's going to be hot summer in LA. No muscle tank today. I'm usually wearing a muscle tank or a piece of merch. Today I'm wearing the Justice for Justin, available at nofiltermurch.com. So go on in. Remember, guys, you have one more week to lock in those sales and 50% of those proceeds will be donated to Home Life Community to support adults on the autism spectrum like my brother Ethan. So if you would like to support individuals with autism, you can do that right now by going to nofiltermurch.com. 50% of my proceeds will be donated. And also, as Laura has been shouting from the rooftops today, today is No Filter's 11th birthday. Okay, I birthed this show 11 years ago today. So what an anniversary, what a day, what a day, what a day. Let's get it, get it, get it. Let's get it, get it, get it. So thank you guys so much for being here. Whether you've been here for six months, six years or all 11 years, I am very grateful. Let me know when you first came onto this podcast. Drop a comment below, you can drop a comment on Spotify, you can drop a comment on YouTube, you can drop a comment in the live chat on YouTube. So wherever, whenever, wherever you're listening to this or watching this, whenever you started listening to No Filter, let me know how long has it been? Two months, a year, three years. Did you find me during Scandival? Did you find me during Blake versus Baldoni? Did you find me during Bravo Housewives Days? What did you find me from? Look at this. Yennexia too says came here when Scandival was unraveling. Isaac says January 2025. So Isaac's been here for almost a year and a half. Yep. Scandival, I'm here from Juicy Scoop. Heaven McDonald, Juicy Scoop. Congrats, I found you through Scandival probably about a year and a half ago. So likely through Blake. Yeah, a lot of people came in during Scandival. That was a big one. Blake found you during COVID. Yes, it was like COVID era. That's when the podcast went. Video was in 2020. I mean, we did some videos in like 2018, 2019, but it really became video focused in 2020. Yeah, a lot of it's Blake, some of it's Nancy Guthrie, some of it's Scandival, a lot of it's Erica Jane. When I was covering the Girardi scandal, Mary says she found me during the Bravo Housewives days. That was like the Jen Shaw scandal, Scandival, Girardi embezzlement scandal because Erica Jane. Yeah. See, Forensic Mama says, I found you at the beginning of the Erica Jane stuff. Yeah. See, I have all the little benchmarks. That's when people like, all you talk about is Blake and Baldoni. All you talk about is Nancy Guthrie. All you talk about is this. All you talk about is that. I'm like, I've always covered a number of big stories. And a lot of people have followed me for many, many years. Scandival, let's get it before your girl got prego, ala ala a little over a year ago. Did you get prego, Jasmine? Who's my girl and who got pregnant? Yeah, January, 2025. Yeah, because that was Blake and Baldoni. That's when Baldoni came out, and I was like, I'm not going to be a Blake and Justin saga, Blake and Justin saga, December, 2012. Yep, my first show was your interview with Erica Jane. Yes, Janice, that was, I was to this day, the only one that got a full one hour sit down where she answered all the questions, Marco Marco, Tom Girardi, Housewives. Like she, I'm the only one. Since her book tour, I think I'm the only one that's gotten a full one-on-one sit down, but that got her to open up about her marriage. Oh man, Nancy Guthrie, Oh, Johnny Depp. I did cover that very briefly. Yes, came here when there was a misunderstanding with Oven Adam. Oh, when our beef, yeah, that caused a lot, a lot too. Wow, wow, wow, wow, Bethany, wow. Danny Gossip Girl says, found you a long time ago when you used to collab with another person who shall not be named. Thank you, guys. Found you during Nancy, love my Zack shirts, yeah, yeah. Judy said, just a few months ago, found you through Donna Bowling. It's my daily dose of Donna. It's my daily dose of Donna. Okay. Well, thank you, guys. Well, in honor of the 11-year, we're not at 12 quite yet, in honor of the 11-year anniversary, I wanted to let you guys know that I am doing a promo today, only 24 hours to celebrate 11 years. If you are not a member of the Zack Pack on Supercast, you can become a member today. It is on sale today only. You don't need a discount code. You just go to our website and go to allaccess.supercast.com and become a member of All Access. And today only you get 25% off for the next three months. So when you sign up, you will get a discount and it is a 25% discount that is applied to your first three months, but you have to sign up today because it's only valid for 24 hours. So if you want to become a member of the Zack Pack or fully Zacktivated, you can sign up now, get 25% off automatic discount for the next 24 hours. But not only that, if you're already a member of the Zack Pack and you want to upgrade to the Zacktivated plan, then you will get 30% off. Three zero, you will get a 30% off upgrade discount. So if you want to upgrade from the Zack Pack to Zacktivated, you can upgrade for 30% off. You just have to sign up today. Be sure to upgrade today. Be sure to sign up today. Go to allaccess.supercast.com. You can also go to nofilterwithzack.com. Become a member today of No Filter All Access on Supercast. Supercast, Supercast. So go on, get it, get it, get it, everybody in the club. Zack, I dig the shirts. Will you please add cups? Like cups, like solo cups? What kind of cups do you want? Muddy Grace. Oh yes, we had so much fun on the Zoom last night. Muddy Grace was like trying to be a detective and was trying to like pick apart codes. Wait, you're fighting with up and ab. No, that's old beef. That's so old. We were fighting. We were friends and then we had a falling out back in like 2022, and we have since mended and we're good and we're friends again. Obviously, he lives far away. He lives in, I think, Charleston or out in that area. So I don't see him often, but we are still very friendly. We'll talk on the phone every now and then and check in and get updates. So yeah, I remember that with Zack so long. Happy 11th birthday to No Filter With Zack. Yay. Okay. That said, let's dive into all of the tea. Robin says, I came on a month or two before Scandival. So Robin got to live Scandival in its full glory. Dan says, hi everyone. So glad Zack was birthed into pop culture world of streaming. My Zack-tivation occurred catching a short regarding Blake using the Amber Heard playbook, hashtag justice for JD, hashtag justice for JB. My mouth is dry. I can't do the okay quite right. In Hilton head. Yes. Hilton head. But I don't know the difference. Grateful that I found him through Blonsack. Wait, I have to give Laura a shout out because she, I just saw as I was getting ready, she tagged me in a post and the post shows like me before and after. Look, she said, happy 11 year anniversary, podcast anniversary, Zack Peter. And so this is one of my older headshots. I think this was, this had to have been 2019 that this headshot was taken. The show started in 2015. Yeah, because 2016, or sorry, 2026 is 11 years. Yeah, the show started in 2015. But this was one of my older headshots. And then this is the more recent headshots. Like boom, boom, boom, boom. Just shows that little trajectory. Thank you for that, Laura. Appreciate you. Okay. Lots to get into. What do we want to start with? We have, I do have a little rant that I will go on at the end of the show. So let's get through the tape first. Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is returning. Cameras are expected to pick back up, but cameras will not be picking back up with Dakota or with Taylor Frankie Paul. So they have both been cut from filming the rest of season five. Obviously they started filming season five. So yeah, I don't know. I mean, I'm hoping that they still at least release the season of The Bachelorette. So today, Hulu is doing like their... You know how Apple always has like their big press conference or Disney has their decon where they make all of their announcements? Hulu is doing their big announcements today. And it's... Well, some people have been trying to take guesses as to what Hulu is going to announce. I'm assuming they may announce some sort of Secret Lives spinoff. That's why they wanted to get production back up and they wanted to get the news out to know that like things with Secret Lives is good. I've seen some people, Zachary Reality was thinking that ABC is going to, or Hulu is going to announce that they're going to end up streaming Taylor Frankie Paul's Season of The Bachelorette now that all of their, the latest DV allegations have been dismissed. It's more of a he said, she said. I think the courts have determined they're both toxic. I don't think either of them were interested in pursuing any sort of charges moving forward. So it seems like the case was just dropped altogether. So, oh no, Taylor just confirmed this isn't true. Did she? Because last I heard, it was true. Yeah, everything online, not returning, Taylor Frankie Paul not returning. Oh, here's a new report. Okay, this is from TMZ. Taylor Frankie Paul's return will happen, but her family remains a priority. Taylor Frankie Paul will return at some point, however, her main focus remains her family. Sounds like she's on pause. Okay, this is Dorinda Medley. I'm not fired, I'm on pause for 12 years. Production sources tell TMZ that Taylor's priority remains her kids and her family. It's always your priority, it's always your family when you get fired. But she is not completely cutting off ties with the show as we're told that she will film at some point. Our sources tell us cameras will go up nearly immediately, even as early as this week, and the entire cast and production crews are supportive of Taylor returning to the hit Hulu show when she's ready. Okay, listen, if this is the narrative that they're putting out there, I'm telling you right now, we're likely going to end up seeing this season of The Bachelorette, because they're trying to give Taylor her hero arc, or unless it's her team that's giving her a hero arc and trying to rehab her image in the press. But if this is Hulu behind it, if this is Hulu's own or the parent company is Disney and ABC, and so I just, I don't know. She commented on a post and said, Strange, that's not the call I got. Well, yeah, because they typically, I mean, it's the same thing that happens with Real Housewives when they get the call where Andy's like, you need to take a break, we're gonna put you on pause, we're gonna bring you back at some point. Bitch, you're fired, you got fired. You're on probation, okay? Sounds like press spin. Yeah, she commented, we need to stop propping these people up. I mean, I really want to see her bachelorette season. I'm down for the bachelorette season still. I've never been in the camp of like, take terrible people off TV, I'm more of in the camp of we know they're terrible, so why do we expect them to have higher standards for themselves? Like they're terrible people. Quick question, why does West think he is Johnny Depp famous, he is so delusional? I didn't know he thought he was that famous. We can only hope that she's taking a break, don't need to see her. Yeah, I mean, I think I predicted like, they should film, let the situation resolve itself and then by the finale have somebody sit down with Taylor and get her side of the story for the show and we would watch that and we're gonna watch that. I think the girls need to stop with all the social media. Like Jesse, I love and adore Jesse, but Jesse keeps posting all these videos and her and Marciano and what appeared to be faked paparazzi pictures, in my opinion. And so I just feel like they're doing the most. They're trying too hard. The other girls are all up in the comments all the time, responding to things, posting on their stories, posting statements. And I'm just like, stop, like, give us a minute to miss you. Okay? It's not that. I mean, come on, guys. Come on. Okay. Well, if you want to feel good, if you want to have your camera ready moment, then I think you need to make sure you have some camera worthy skin care, right? Listen, I don't have the patience for a 10-step anything, okay? Especially not when the internet is melting down. So when something actually makes me look put together in minutes, I take notes. I get out my handy dandy notebook and I take notes, okay? One of the biggest questions that I always get is what skincare I use. I always tell people that the real trick is a good tinted SPF. Lately, I've been using Merit Beauty's The Uniform Tinted Mineral Sunscreen. I'm actually wearing it right now. It just helps balance everything out while also shielding your skin. So if your motto is less is more, then shouldn't your morning routine feel the same way? Am I right? We like that no filter, but we want to look like we're put together. With Merit Beauty, their thoroughly edited lineup is made for a fast five-minute routine with easy-to-use products that deliver a natural, put-together look in just a few swipes. Whether that's makeup or skincare, it's up to you. You choose your own journey. Merit Beauty is a minimalist beauty brand that makes elevated makeup and skincare designed to help you look put together in minutes. The best part is all of Merit's products are clean, vegan, cruelty free, and made with nourishing skincare ingredients that will leave your skin looking better long after taking off your makeup. It's time for your makeup and your skincare to meet the reality of your daily routine with Merit Beauty. Right now Merit Beauty is offering listeners their signature makeup bag with your first order at meritbeauty.com. That's Merit Beauty, M-E-R-I-T, meritbeauty.com, and to get your free signature makeup bag with your first order, meritbeauty.com. Well, Janelle. Okay. Let's see. What's... My phone is blowing up. It's been a week. It's been busy. So many things. Yesterday, I was at decision fatigue. I was like, I don't want to make any more decisions. Stop texting me. Stop asking me questions. Stop asking me about schedules and brand deals. My brain is at capacity. Unless Taylor can bring them 200 million profits, she is done. Okay. Let's see. Jesse Solomon was on Watch Happens Live. Jesse Solomon is from Summer House. He's breaking a silence on West and Amanda from Summer House. That whole drama that has unfolded. Jesse says that he looks forward to the reunion. He says that he expects West to come in and be a bit combative because as of right now, West doesn't really seem to think he did anything wrong. He's like, you guys don't have the timeline, right? And we were all technically single. And like, yeah. And that's kind of the argument that I've made. Sierra was single, West was single, Amanda was split from Kyle. Kyle and Amanda are technically both single. I mean, Kyle's out there making out with Megan King Edmonds from Real Houses of Orange County at the Page Six party just last week. So I'm kind of in the boat of like everybody was technically single. And West and Sierra weren't like really a thing. It was obvious that he was bread crumb in Sierra and Sierra was super into him. And like, that's fucked up. And that's not cool of him to do to her. But I get where West is coming from. But I also think like when you're in the middle of the scandal, when everybody's pissed at you and there's a lot of hurt, then the best thing to just do is take some accountability, own your shit, and try to heal. Robin says, wow, Jesse was spilling it last night. Yeah, he says that West has not apologized to him. He says that Amanda apologized to him because I guess they did lie to everybody and were lying to everybody because everybody was asking. Jesse revealed multiple instances where he believed that something may have been going on. They were, I think, all out in Florida one time, and West and Amanda went to dinner and they didn't invite Jesse. Jesse is like, that's weird. I'm in town too. Why would you not include me? Then I guess there was another time where he and Kyle ran into West and Amanda at a bar. So there was a lot of like, huh, this is kind of interesting. You guys are hanging out a lot. We're seeing you together. Is anything going on? It was always no, no, no, deny, deny, deny. So he said that there were moments that made him suspicious because he was catching them out and about, but they both denied it to his face multiple times. And so that's where he's just like, you guys lied to us. And so there's like this deceptive piece of it. And so it's hard to then trust what you guys are saying now because you were deceptive with all of us. Like you weren't being honest with us. And all we wanted from you guys was honesty. So yeah, Amanda is that girl and West is that guy. But Jesse says he's still close. He's still friends with West. He's just hoping that West can take some accountability and redeem himself. But apparently the timeline based off of what West has said and now what Jesse is saying, it sounds to me like they started. I mean, something may have started to brew in in January, but it seems like February and January was when Kyle and Amanda announced their separation. I believe they had stopped living together back in November. So it was still a fresh breakup. I stand by saying, I think West is just a rebound. Amanda has felt emotionally neglected by Kyle. West is the guy that likes the forbidden fruit. He likes going after the girls he knows he shouldn't have rather than picking a perfect catch that's available to him like Sierra. Amanda was the forbidden fruit. She was the friend's wife, his friend Kyle's wife, and he was friendly with her. And it's the option he shouldn't have jumped at, but it was also the challenge. And a good F-boy loves a good challenge and a good pursuit. And I don't foresee them going the distance. I really don't. I think West is just another version of Kyle, a younger version of Kyle. So Amanda's not breaking any patterns. She's just going for Kyle. But Kyle, that's more emotionally available in this moment. And that's what West is giving her. I think West is a love bomber. I think West loves to give you all the sweet words and give you all the compliments and tell you how much he cares about you. And he probably is good with his tongue because we know he loves to eat. So, you know, I think she's maybe a little dignitized. Separated, but not divorced. Separated isn't divorced. So are you just not allowed to date? Like is Kyle technically wrong in dating? Is Mauricio technically wrong in dating even though they're separated, not divorced? You're not together. Yes, you're still legally bound to each other because you're not officially divorced. But when the relationship is over, the relationship is over. Just because you're technically still married does not mean you're not single. It means there's a complication in your situation. But you know, I don't, to me, it's annoying when people are like, but they're still married, but they're still, well, yeah, but they're not together and they're not looking to get back together. They're not taking a break. They're not taking space. They have broken up. They have moved out of each other's place or wherever they're at now. Like they don't live together. They don't go out together. They don't cook dinner together. They're not still making out. I don't think that they've hooked up anymore. Like their relationship is done. Just because you're not formally divorced doesn't mean that you're not still together. Divorces can take a long time. My boyfriend is seven years deep in his. Imagine not dating for seven years because you're fighting your ex over your Retrieve, I'm assuming that meant Retirement Fund or did you mean Retrieve Fund? But yeah, I mean, it's true. Like divorces can take, look at Bethany. It took her years, retirement, yes. It took her years to get divorced. So just because you're not technically divorced does not mean you're not allowed to date other people. I love Robin as the voice of reason. She was the voice of reason in our Zoom call last night too. Robin said, if you're separated, you could date. That's right, Robin, tell him. Okay, so we'll see what happens with the reunion. I just hope we don't come in heels. Like I want a good reunion, right? Break us open. Okay, let's get on over to a little couple's. Okay, so in Couples News, we have a new Kardashian love, love situation. Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi. Interesting. Apparently, they were all over each other and were making out at Coachella, and this is all thanks to Kylie Jenner. Okay, so Kylie Jenner is dating Timothy Chalamet, and I guess Timothy and Kylie know Jacob Elordi, and I guess Kendall has also been friendly with Jacob Elordi, and now Kylie's been pushing her to be like, come on, get on out it. Live your life, date Jacob Elordi. He's hot, he's tall. I'm sure Kylie's like, the two of us could be in these big award shows together. Kylie's ready. Kylie's like, I'm elevating this brand. Kim elevated the brand when she went Kanye, and now Kylie's like, and I'm elevating it even further by going Timothy. Imagine we have Kylie and Timothy, and then Kendall and Jacob Elordi. That's, boom, that's banging. I'm here for it. I actually like this. I think Kendall and Jacob, I mean, I think Kendall's a lesbian, but I think Kendall and Jacob Elordi, I'm here for it. Is he not dating Olivia Jade? I don't believe so. Is Jacob Elordi dating Olivia? As of early 2026, they are not believed to be in a serious relationship, but there have been reports that they split in late 2025 and have been following an on-again, off-again romance since they started dating back in 2021. So they've been on-again, off-again for the last five years. Doesn't mean he can't still have fun with Kendall Jenner. Same Zach, I always thought she was a lesbian. She might still be a lesbian. We don't know if she's a lesbian or not. Let her be a lesbian. Speaking of lesbians, I came across a video yesterday that really triggered me. And it is about lesbians, yes. It's about the lesbians and the gays, okay? And it's about the lesbians and the gays having babies, okay? So I came across this video from this guy. His name is Will Witt. He's a political commentator. I believe he's now based out of Florida. He's written books. He has very strong conservative values. He speaks out about them. I followed his content for some time. To be fair, I wasn't really familiar with him prior to discovering some of his videos and some of them to me from my own perspective and in my own opinion. I found them to be very logical. I found some of them, the points that he was making to be very sensible. I've always been very clear. I don't identify as Republican. I don't identify as a Democrat. I've always been somebody that's been independent. And this is not a political rant. I promise it is about the lesbians and the gays. And something that he said that really got under my skin about the lesbians and the gays starting families and how he's very much against surrogacy. And I want to go through this and I want to go through these points because there's a lot of them that I want to kind of, not clap back at, but I'm somebody that finds myself to be very strongly independent, moderate in the middle. I'm not loyal to a party. I'm loyal to my own values, right? And so my approach to issues in our country relate to the values that I have, right? That were instilled in me growing up and as I've grown or evolved, so have my viewpoints. And so I don't think that we should be loyalist to any party otherwise, but I think if you're blindly loyal to a party, then you don't know what you stand for because then it becomes dogmatic. You're like, this is my team. And so I have to go with everything my team says rather than having a free mind of your own, to have your own discernment and to make your own decisions, right? That said, he posted this video, which to me was... Do you want to watch the video? Do we want to watch it? I don't know if I want to get triggered all over again. Here, let me... I guess we can... Let's watch the video for context. And then I'll respond because I have my thoughts. I saw it yesterday and I was like really bothered by it.

Speaker 3:
[28:44] But here...

Speaker 2:
[28:49] Here, I'm going to... That's why. Let's go through this together. Okay, so this is Will. This is his video.

Speaker 3:
[28:58] This is Brandon Mitchell, a registered sex offender who was allowed to buy a kid with his gay partner. Totally normal. What about these two great dads who mocked their surrogacy baby for wanting its mother and then had their other kids say which one of their dads is hornier? Or what about this great guy who, with his gay partner, adopted a kid, sexually abused it, and smothered it? Guys, a child has a right to a mother and father. Just because you are two gay men does not mean you have a right to have some child. This is insane. Everybody knows it's insane, and it has to come to an end.

Speaker 2:
[29:29] This is a perfect example of just pure rage bait, and I'm going to say I took the bait, but I want to come at it from a practical, pragmatic, compassionate place in my response, because he posted this video, which to me is, again, it's very clearly rage bait. It's fishing for cheap engagement. It's a very not well thought out argument that's not really backed by anything. He tried to share some statistics from Michael Knowles, who's another political commentator that he was posting about. For whatever reason, they decided to come for the gays and the babies yesterday. And I was just like, but it's not based in logic. It's not based in science. It was colored with inflammatory headlines. Headlines that I completely condemn, right? I don't, the three instances that he references in his video, I don't stand by and I'm not here to defend those. Those are terrible people that made terrible parenting decisions and have affected their children in a way that I believe is disgusting. And I don't stand for that, right? But I don't think their sexuality is specific to parenting, right? So I want to get into it because he colored his video with these inflammatory headlines, which is something he seems to be fighting against, something I've always fought against, you know, considering mainstream media looks for stories to make you click. And that seemed like this is exactly what he was doing. He was looking for confirmation bias. He was trying to present stories that he knew would back up his argument that were taking completely in isolation, right, outside of the number of gay families. I mean, listen, I was born to, you know, two parents in high school that had two straight and each had two straight parents, but yet they still ended up getting knocked up in high school. They had me as a kid, my mom ended up, you know, being in an open lesbian relationship for the last, what, 13 years, and we were a blended family, you know? There were two step siblings that I then, you know, took in as my own. My mother had three boys that she brought to the table at that time as well. We became a modern family. And so the thing with Will is he and I do see a lot, do see eye to eye on a lot of issues. I think that, you know, he and I share a lot of the same values. But when I saw this video and his opinions on surrogacy and like on traditional family dynamics, it really struck a nerve for me, especially reading some of the comments on that video. So I did. I want to preface by saying I did reach out to him. I reached out to him via DM and I reached out to him via email. I have not heard back. I doubt that I will hear back. But basically, I tried to come from a very conscious, polite, loving, compassionate place. And I thought I wrote a pretty kind message to him. Actually, I'll read you the message that I sent that with the full context is here. I said, I said, well, hey man, big fan of your videos. I think you and I are on the same page on a lot of things and share a lot of similar values. I have an immense amount of respect for you and how you use your voice in your platform. I was a bit disappointed to see your latest video about surrogacy, which I understand is, can be nuanced yet a triggering topic. I understand the pushback and actually agree on the benefits of being raised in a household with a mother and a father. I think there's certainly an immense amount of value in that. However, I don't agree with your portrayal of gay parents, and I was especially disappointed to see the only examples you presented were predators or truly terrible people, both of which can be found in households with a mother and a father. It felt very hyperbolic and beneath the quality of content you typically put out. I'd be happy to have a healthy discussion about the issue to hear each other out transparently. I shared some news with him. I said, I'm with you. There are too many people having kids that shouldn't be, but there are also many people like myself that plan to start families off on a good foot with resources and the means to do so, wanting to do their best to raise healthy, good little humans on this planet long after we're gone. Maybe it's a combo that we can have online, show people both sides of the argument and maybe expand some perspectives, or at the very least, maybe just be able to understand each other a little better. Let me know. And that's what I sent him. I haven't heard back. I doubt I'll hear back, but I just figured it was only fair to not judge him based off of his perspective and to invite him to have a productive, hopefully productive conversation because he believes that a baby should be raised by a mother and a father and he also seems disgusted by the idea of surrogacy as did many of the people in his comments, which I believe was intentional. He was designed to fish up that engagement and to trigger that audience member that had those same values and to shit on a potentially good family because you don't like that they're gay, I don't think is a fair assessment of good parenting. Now, I understand that surrogacy is unconventional. I understand that a baby raised by a gay couple can be uncomfortable for some people. I'm not disputing that discomfort that some people may have because it's unorthodox to some people or it's just different or it's new, or it's something that they're not used to or that for whatever personal feelings they have about it, they dislike it. But the argument that a baby should only be raised by a mother and a father is just flat out faulty. It's a flat out faulty logic, right? It's not backed by true statistical data because I know, I also saw on X because Will shared some of these tweets, that the very straight political commentator Michael Noles cited some studies of his own, some very old studies from like over 10 years ago, over a decade ago, studies that predate gay marriage, studies that predate the accessibility of surrogacy and IVF, right? I mean, now IVF is covered by insurance companies. These are studies that didn't have fair variables. You can't tell me comparing five gay couples 20 years ago to 10,000 straight couples is a fair assessment, is a fair variable to consider when you're comparing these two populations, right? And then to only cite instances where gay fathers were inappropriate or were predators based off of inflammatory headlines. Again, couples, I do not stand by and I'm not here to defend because I think that they are disgusting and deplorable, and I will stand by that, you know? So I think playing those cheap tricks makes you know better than when the New York Times posts clickbait headlines, right? So if you're going to call out the mainstream media and you feel like they're being dishonest, then you can't be inhibiting those exact same qualities just to post a one-minute video so that you can get your engagement up to get some more followers to push some book sales. It's cheap and it's beneath all of us, right? The mainstream media outlets that, you know, myself and Will and Michael like to call out, we can't then also adopt their same practices. So more recent studies have shown that there is no significant, significant changes in outcomes solely based on the sexuality of the parents. When you compare gay parents to straight parents, there's no significant differences. And I believe that the data supports that because it comes down to the parenting. It comes down to the household. It doesn't come down to who you're sexually attracted to. That has nothing to do with you being a good parent or you being able to raise a healthy child, right? There are plenty of straight couples, arguably more straight couples that have at least one parent that's a predator, right? Or that's inappropriate. It makes inappropriate jokes in front of their children. Men and women have babies on a whim all the time. And guess what? They fail their children all the time. It doesn't make you a perfect family just because you have a mom and a dad. Is the mom and dad, are they present? Do they have the financial means to be able to provide for you? Do they have the emotional stability to be able to help guide you in this world? Do they have values that can raise a good human being in this world, right? All things to consider, a man and a woman being physically present in a household does not innately make it a perfect household to raise a healthy child. Those variables fail consistently. What matters most in raising a baby is a stable environment with resources and means to be able to provide for that child and to raise a child in a healthy way. Now, to be fair, healthy, I think, can be a subjectively used term, right? But I think that we can all agree that benchmarks of healthy can be physical health, mental and emotional health, instilling them with good qualities and values. I think those are all fair benchmarks that we can objectively agree on. Maybe some of the details and the nuances of what each of those items mean can change, can vary, right, based off of how we subjectively see the word healthy. But, you know, success, happiness, purpose, all pursuits that I think every parent would want their children to grow up and achieve. I think we can all collectively agree on that as well. But that comes from the people in the household, not their gender. Now to be fair, to play devil's advocate, I do understand the benefits of raising a child with a divine masculine energy and a divine feminine energy, right? I think that it's healthy for babies to be raised around qualities that women traditionally have and qualities that men traditionally have. But that doesn't necessarily have to mean it comes directly from a mom and a dad. You know, I think an authority figure is important. I think having a nurturing figure is important. I think having a provider, a strong provider in the family is important. I think that there are many traits of a parent that can help set a child up for the most successful outcome that go beyond just a man and a woman in the household, right? It's not guaranteed, but it certainly can help. I'm not denying that. But that doesn't mean that one man and one woman are the only ones capable of doing that because that is the argument. Sure, maybe back in the caveman days, you needed a man who was physically stronger because men are biologically stronger than women, and you needed them to go out and be the provider. You needed them to be the hunter, to go bring food home for the family, right? To go get the bear and bring it home and cook it on the grill. And yes, you did at that time need a woman to stay in the cave and care for the children and breastfeed and nourish them, right? You needed a provider and someone to nourish. And I think that's where we have these traditional roles. But in today's world, those variables look very different in our modern society, right? And you can't tell me that a single parent or that a gay couple can't provide some of those same variables, if not all of them, if not better in some instances, depending on the environment. I'm an example of that. My parents had me in high school, so many family members of mine stepped in to help raise me, to help take care of me. That gave me an opportunity to have many of those traits, but that didn't come from a traditional, you know, male-female household. When I was living with my mother and my stepfather, a woman and a man, I mean, my stepfather was a hot mess. He was a drunk. He was an alcoholic. Sure, he would put money on the table to put food on the table, but he was not a good quality partner. He didn't show me what it meant to be a good quality man or how to treat a woman right or how to be a good father. If anything, I learned from his mistakes. But, and again, I have, you know, my relationship with him has evolved and, you know, he's a different person now than he was when I was growing up, even though he and my mother are no longer together, because like I said, she ended up leaving him for a woman and that's a whole other story, but many single parents raise good kids. Many hetero parents raise good kids. Many hetero parents fail in raising their children. Sex just isn't the only important factor. That's like saying that because walking is natural, walking takes me from one place to another, therefore walking is the only way to get from one place to another. My legs were designed to walk and to move me from point A to point B, so it should be the only way, because naturally and biologically, my legs move me from one place to another. Sure, our legs were made for walking, but they were made to take us from one place to another. Yeah, traditionally, walking was our only means of travel, but then we started riding horses, and then we invented cars, and then we invented planes. So should we forgo modern technology, because traditionally walking was the only biological means of travel, right? Just because our legs, through walking and running, were our form of travel, does that mean we should just forgo any sort of modern technology that has evolved beyond that? No, society has shifted. Same thing with modern medicine. Antibiotics aren't natural, but they can help get rid of infections. Blood transfusions are not natural, but they can help save somebody's life. A liver transplant, using somebody else's body to help another person, is it natural, but it can give more time on this earth with their family? Yeah, all of those things go against the traditional premise of survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest. You shouldn't, if you, if your body isn't capable of taking you on, then what, should we just all die off? Because we shouldn't utilize modern medicine and modern technology. Even biohacking, right? A lot of these, you know, dudes like Will love their biohacking. They love their peptides and their supplements and their protein shakes. And they utilize all of that to focus on longevity to live longer. But living longer goes against the premise of survival of the fittest. You're not supposed to survive. Traditionally, based off of history, longevity is not natural. Longevity is a hack using modern technology, modern medicine, the evolution of society, right? If you have a headache, you should just suffer and bear. You should go to CVS and get, you know, some, shouldn't get some Tylenol. You shouldn't get some Advil. Granted, I know a lot of the crunchy people are against that, but like you shouldn't even be able to go and get the supplements that are in a capsule. Go into the forest, find you some plants, get some natural magnesium, grind it up, and there you go. That should heal your headache. It's just insane how we have evolved, but yet we still want to go based off of principles, based off of our own personal bias that are no longer applicable. Fuck your CrossFit. That's not natural. Sorry, but what was natural and traditional have evolved. Now, yes, you do need a biological male and a biological female to produce a child, to produce another human, but you don't just need a man and a woman to raise a child. Men and women are flawed equally. Arguably, a gay couple going through surrogacy has one thought about that decision. It wasn't just a drunken one-night stand. It wasn't an oopsie whoopsie. I was an oopsie whoopsie back in high school. My parents weren't equipped to have a child at that point. I'm glad that they did. I'm glad that there were other people around that were able to help raise me, but they certainly weren't equipped to do that on their own. I can honestly say they weren't the most actively involved throughout my childhood, right? They came and went based off on their own leisure. They had their own families that they started after me. They got married and had more children. And there were moments where I felt like I had become an afterthought. I don't blame them for that. There was a lot of value that I gained. It definitely builds a lot of character, and it helps me think of things that I want to apply when I have my children and when I'm parenting. But a gay couple who's going through surrogacy, they've thought about this decision, right? They have mentally and emotionally prepared for this decision. There was no oopsie whoopsie. And sure, money isn't the most important thing, but when you're looking at a couple that can hire and go through surrogacy, which is not cheap at all, they clearly have the financial means to be able to provide for the child. So those are variables that set them way ahead of most straight couples that can get pregnant accidentally, that are getting pregnant accidentally, that maybe don't have the means to be able to raise a child, but are doing it on their own. I'm not saying that they shouldn't. Everyone should have a child if they want to. That's the argument that I'm trying to make, that you shouldn't be limited because somebody's perception is so small-minded that they're not willing to allow a fully healthy, happy, capable person of having a child, even if that, even if their process is untraditional, right? And I hate their whole idea of simply saying that we're just buying a baby. It's not fucking Amazon. Anybody that has gone through this journey knows it's not easy. It takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of money. And it takes a lot more effort than a sleazy one-night stand after getting drunk at a bar. OK? We know the consequences that we sign up for, but at least we're more equipped to handle those consequences unlike many teen parents who are most likely raised by straight parents. And this narrative of like, oh, well, doing this is trafficking women's bodies to make a baby for our own selfish gain. I'm sorry. Parenting is one of the most selfless things that anybody can do. And if it's selfish for me to have a baby, it's selfish for anybody else to make the decision to have a baby. But I'm not judging them. And it's not trafficking because nobody is holding any of these women against their will. The same way nobody is holding a liver transplant donor against their will. They are willingly volunteering for this situation, right? They're volunteering to participate in this because they want to help, or they're also very well taken care of. They're compensated, but they have the free will to provide people an opportunity to start a family that can't. I saw in the comments someone was saying that, like, if you choose a partner that cannot have kids, then you shouldn't even be able to adopt. You don't deserve to have kids. I was like, oh, so does that mean that the woman with fertility issues shouldn't adopt a kid with her husband? Because you've set a man and a woman, and they technically, if he married her, he's marrying somebody that's incapable of having a child. So should they not adopt? Should they not hire a surrogate to carry their baby, especially if it's their DNA? If I'm going to be going through a surrogate, then you better believe I'm going to be using my DNA. Like, I don't understand. They also can't biologically conceive for whatever health reasons. So should they not be allowed to have a family? Now, granted, these are variables that they can't control, whereas arguably you could say, well, I mean, you could say that they're variables that I can't control either. But also, the dude didn't need to marry that woman who can't bear children for him. That was also an elective choice to choose her if she has fertility issues. He can simply leave her for a woman that doesn't have fertility issues by that same logic. It's flawed logic that doesn't hold in today's modern world. A child needs to be raised in a present loving household, not just a hetero household, okay? Because we've seen that model fail time and time again. Making that decision for a gay couple is not impulsive. It's something very well thought out, and it's an investment that is made over time. It's not something that you just do and then you might regret later because you didn't know what you were signing up for. It's something that many men and women, gay and hetero, think thoroughly about before they do it. Is there a benefit in having values of a divine masculine and a divine feminine in the house? Absolutely, yes. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to come from just a man and a woman that are the mom and the dad. You need a provider and you need a nurturer, you need an authority, and you need a compassionate partner, right? All traits that in a modern world are capable of achieving beyond the traditional family unit. There are other more modern ways that you can achieve that. If you want to get into the data on that, the recent data supports that thesis. And also, if my having a child doesn't affect your life, then by all means, fuck all the way off. My child is my responsibility. You don't get to police how I choose to live my life if it doesn't infringe upon or harm yours. There's no direct harm to anybody else. And if you're concerned about my kid and the potential harm that I may be inflicting upon my child, then come pay my fucking bills. Provide for my child, raise my child, before you give me your low-budget parenting advice. OK? I don't fuck with your household, so don't fuck with mine. And also, I want to be clear, again, I don't support those gay parents that have been arrested for child abuse. But to me, those are bad people with bad parenting skills. It has nothing to do with their sexuality, and it does not represent every single person that happens to be gay. Because I don't see myself as a gay person, I don't see myself as a person that happens to be attracted to men, right? It's just one teeny tiny trait of who I am as a person, and who I am as a person, I believe, would make a great fucking father. So I don't fuck with those types of dads, I think we should condemn them, I'm with you, we're aligned in that. But don't come over here and try to police me with your bullshit, that is not backed in data, it's not backed in science, it's not backed in reality, and it's not based in today's modern worlds. Okay? Mind your business, you do you, I'mma do me. Since you're conservative, I would think that you would understand those values, be it here you are trying to police what I do with my life when it has nothing to do with yours, period. Okay, on that note, I do have to wrap because Donna Bowling is going live right now and I don't want to cut into her time. So go support Daily Dose of Donna, hit the like button, hit the subscribe button. If you sign up for No Filter All Access today, you have 24 hours, you will get 25% off. If you sign up today or if you upgrade, if you already have a plan and you upgrade your plan, you will get 30% off. It's a three month discount for upgrades and a 25% off three month discount for new members. You can go to allaccess.supercast.com, become a member of No Filter All Access for bonus episodes, ad free episodes, weekly Zoom calls. It's a good time, merch discounts, all the good things. So go sign up right now. Give me a follow at Zack Peter all over the internet. I love you. I appreciate you. Have a great rest of your day. And I will talk to you tomorrow. Tomorrow's episode probably won't be live because I'm traveling. Thursday and Friday may be pre-records. Just giving you a heads up about that now. All right, guys. Love you. Appreciate you. Go support Donna. Bye, guys.