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Speaker 1: This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast

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Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to Almost Famous. Today we have Clayton

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Speaker 2: Eckerd with us and we are so excited about that

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Speaker 2: because this man has been in the headlines like crazy

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Speaker 2: lately having a little back and forth with his I

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Speaker 2: don't know if you want to call her ex but

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Speaker 2: ex Gabby. So hey, Clayton, welcome to the podcast.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for having me. Guys.

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Speaker 4: It was not too long that we're talking, and I

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Speaker 4: am sooner than I thought back.

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Speaker 2: I know what did all right, So let's get started

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Speaker 2: with the drama you've had with Gabby lately. So you

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Speaker 2: heard her on a podcast making fun of your dancing,

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Speaker 2: which you've been very vocal about brings you joy. And

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Speaker 2: then she also referred to you as a toe.

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Speaker 5: Which I didn't know what that meant. I thought that meant.

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Speaker 3: I had to ask.

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Speaker 5: Ashley if that was like a new thing that people

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Speaker 5: were calling people.

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Speaker 4: So I had gotten that comment made about me all

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Speaker 4: the way back when I was a bachelor, and it

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Speaker 4: was it was kind of a common like dig at

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Speaker 4: me and they were referencing I think it was like

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Speaker 4: the Spy kids. You remember the Spy kids with the

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Speaker 4: red like little villains, and they had thumbs for heads.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, oh, I remember spy kids. I don't remember that.

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Speaker 2: I did not like the franchise. I didn't understand its popularity.

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Speaker 2: But I remember people used to call blonde people toe heads, right.

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Speaker 3: See, I've never heard that you're blondish until and I

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Speaker 3: don't have blonde hair. Yeah, so I don't know if

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Speaker 3: maybe I'm just.

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Speaker 2: A little blondie.

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Speaker 3: Not at all.

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Speaker 2: You're light, you're light.

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Speaker 3: See.

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Speaker 2: I think that he was light, but I guess when

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Speaker 2: you really amaze.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, the slight of here is just making everything up

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Speaker 3: here bright.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 3: I think that's where it came from.

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Speaker 4: And it was like somebody I went to buy my

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Speaker 4: website named Clayton Eckert and somebody had that name bought

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Speaker 4: and they were trying to basically make me buy it

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Speaker 4: off them, and they had like the thumb images all

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Speaker 4: over the website. So it was something that like people

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Speaker 4: brought up and I just was like, Okay, I don't

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Speaker 4: I don't really understand that.

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Speaker 3: I think they were kind of like bulkier.

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Speaker 4: Villains and so maybe aspect too, But.

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Speaker 3: Whatever, did that hurt you?

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Speaker 2: No?

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Speaker 3: I mean, gosh, that was listen, like.

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Speaker 4: The only things that hurt me were the things that

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Speaker 4: I actually somewhat believed, and that would have been Like

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Speaker 4: I did think I was boring, you know, as a

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Speaker 4: person in general, I played it very safe and always,

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Speaker 4: you know, was trying to fit in and not stand out.

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Speaker 4: I was fearful of judgment from others. So like when

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Speaker 4: people said I was boring all that, you know, and

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Speaker 4: called me, you know, like bland, whitebread, anything that referenced

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Speaker 4: like me just being a boring blank like a blank slate,

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Speaker 4: I didn't like, you know that that stuff bothered me.

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Speaker 4: But like that he's an idiot, he's you know, ugly.

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Speaker 4: You know, I have enough self confidence that I was like,

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Speaker 4: I don't believe any of that stuff, so it doesn't

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Speaker 4: bother me. But yeah, the boring stuff hit me the

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Speaker 4: thumb comment Now it's just stupid.

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Speaker 5: Am I wrong?

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Speaker 3: Though?

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Speaker 5: I Mean, there was a period of time post show,

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Speaker 5: I think you might even still been with Susie where

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Speaker 5: you came out publicly and this is all going to

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Speaker 5: get back to the Gabby situation, but you publicly said

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Speaker 5: that your confidence was completely shot, that you were struggling

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Speaker 5: with your mental health. Yeah, I believe you went out

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Speaker 5: and spoke on it. So you're saying it didn't bother

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Speaker 5: you because your confidence, you had enough self confidence. But

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Speaker 5: then at the same time, it did bother you at

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Speaker 5: some point because it started, you know, it started to

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Speaker 5: affect you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say my self confidence of self love

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Speaker 4: has tremendously increased in.

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Speaker 3: The last six to eight months.

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Speaker 4: But yes, I was really beaten down in general after

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Speaker 4: at the end of the show, and so, like comments

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Speaker 4: about my looks didn't really bother me, but it was

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Speaker 4: more just the negativity behind it. So it's just people

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Speaker 4: sending messages to try to attack me, and it was

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Speaker 4: this pile on effect that that really bothered me. And

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Speaker 4: so I started just more so feeling like a failure

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Speaker 4: because I had so much hatred.

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Speaker 3: It wasn't necessarily that like, oh he's ugly.

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Speaker 4: It was more like the amount of comments that were negative,

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Speaker 4: you know, said towards me started to feel overwhelming, and

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Speaker 4: that made me feel like I wasn't good enough as

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Speaker 4: a person. So but it was like the boring ones

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Speaker 4: that really stuck me in the side, you know, So

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Speaker 4: that yeah, I would say, like, yes, it absolutely hurt me,

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Speaker 4: just by the sheer number of comments being made. And

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Speaker 4: now though I would say it's not the case, which

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Speaker 4: is good, that is good.

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Speaker 5: I want to say that is good. And we're and

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna, like, I don't want to open up any

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Speaker 5: wounds here. I'm really happy that you're in a good place, and.

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Speaker 3: I'll open up anyones that I haven't already opened up myself.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, this is a very interesting situation. You have made

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Speaker 5: the headlines recently for some some drama that you didn't start,

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Speaker 5: but you chose, and I'm gonna we're going to get

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Speaker 5: into that you chose to enter into it. Recently, Nick

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Speaker 5: Vile on his show shared kind of in support of

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Speaker 5: you really saying that, hey, we can't let Clayton Ecker

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Speaker 5: be a punching bag forever. Was his quote, Do you

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Speaker 5: feel like a punching bag right now? Coming after these

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Speaker 5: gabby comments that happen on this podcast, It seems like

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Speaker 5: what Nick was referencing what you are feeling and a

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Speaker 5: really good season of life, which is great because you'd

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Speaker 5: hate for this to happen if you were like still

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Speaker 5: you know struggling is that it feels like, you know,

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Speaker 5: people seem to think you're getting a lot of hate

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Speaker 5: from all different sides. Do you feel that way?

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Speaker 3: Oh?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, that and I started to wonder, why, you know,

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Speaker 4: I keep getting hit with these things, and some people

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Speaker 4: a common denominator obviously it's him, and I'm like, yeah,

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Speaker 4: but no, you know I didn't. I'm not out here

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Speaker 4: instigating this or looking from trouble. I mean, the cheating

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Speaker 4: scandal I had that was some girl in you know,

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Speaker 4: New York I never met, So I didn't instigate that

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Speaker 4: when that one came on to me. You know, you

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Speaker 4: could say, like the praternity scandal. I mean, okay, I

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Speaker 4: hooked up with a girl, but nobody expects it to

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Speaker 4: go to that extent, you know, So it was that

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Speaker 4: was something as well that I'm like, that's ridiculous that

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Speaker 4: this this came on to me. And then the comments

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Speaker 4: with Gabby, you know, it was just like really, I mean,

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Speaker 4: here I am doing my thing. You can hate it

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Speaker 4: or love it. You don't have to. I understand I'm

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Speaker 4: not the greatest dancer. I'm very aware of, like how

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Speaker 4: good of a dancer I actually am in comparison to

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Speaker 4: legit dancers, which is also something I want to highlights.

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Speaker 4: People like, he's not a good dancer. I'm like compared

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Speaker 4: to who you know, because I've I have absolutely improved

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Speaker 4: from the first day that I started dancing, but like

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Speaker 4: compared to who so you know. But it's like, I

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Speaker 4: think the reason I, at least what I came to

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Speaker 4: realized was the reason why I'm a punching bag is

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Speaker 4: because I wasn't punching back.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 4: I think all this time I just basically took it

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Speaker 4: and then sat here and and and didn't do anything

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Speaker 4: about it. And so I recently came to a place

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Speaker 4: where I said, I'm not gonna just take this bullshit anymore.

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Speaker 4: You know, I'm going to stand up for myself, even

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Speaker 4: if it's something trivial. I mean, I think, you know, again,

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Speaker 4: what Gabby said, I've said had so many terrible things

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Speaker 4: said to me now like it didn't that didn't hurt me,

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Speaker 4: like her saying I wish you didn't I didn't have

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Speaker 4: eyes if you watch this dance video or then I

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Speaker 4: look like a thumb, you know. I was like, Okay,

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Speaker 4: I've heard way worse, but it's the principle. I was like,

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Speaker 4: I am no longer going to allow people to bash me.

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Speaker 4: You know, I'm going to stand up for myself, and

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Speaker 4: there's going to be some repercussion for you know, for

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Speaker 4: you come attacking me for you know, the cheating or

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Speaker 4: for the paternity scandal. This girl's facing criminal prosecution right now,

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Speaker 4: so you know, that's her accountability. And then for Gabby,

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Speaker 4: I mean, I think people saw that she's you know,

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Speaker 4: that wasn't fair and right for her to say, and

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Speaker 4: so you know, and she chose not to apologize, and

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Speaker 4: so she's facing a little bit of backlash from some

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Speaker 4: people online. I knew I was never going to win

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Speaker 4: that battle from a you know, public standpoint, as far

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Speaker 4: as court of public opinion. She's got three times the

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Speaker 4: followers and the audience and she's, you know, the hot

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Speaker 4: thing right now, so I knew I wasn't. But it

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Speaker 4: wasn't about that. It was more just like, keep my

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Speaker 4: name out of your mouth, stop talking about me. I'm

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Speaker 4: just not gonna let this fly anymore.

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Speaker 2: Was it frustrating to see her try to make it

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Speaker 2: like a woman versus man thing and how she was

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Speaker 2: saying that like men shouldn't have a say on like

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Speaker 2: what you talked about on the Bachelor.

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Speaker 4: That really did bother me because it was just like

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Speaker 4: what does this have to do with the matter at hand.

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Speaker 4: This is not a matter of male versus female. This

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Speaker 4: is strictly about you dragging me for no reason. And

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Speaker 4: she tried to play into this whole narrative that I

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Speaker 4: absolutely despise. I mean, it infuriates me, but I chose

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Speaker 4: not to. I didn't want to take away from like

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Speaker 4: that her response and go down this path of like

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Speaker 4: men versus women, because I'm not trying to go down

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Speaker 4: that path.

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Speaker 3: I just want the equality aspect.

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Speaker 4: But it really cheap of her to like bring up

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Speaker 4: my you know, white man and I'm like, oh, look,

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Speaker 4: so my ethnicity and my you know, sexuality or my

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Speaker 4: you know gender.

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Speaker 3: I'm like, why does this? Like you just stop.

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Speaker 4: You're just trying to basically get people to latch onto

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Speaker 4: that and be like yeah, like he's he should.

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Speaker 2: It wasn't relevant at all.

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Speaker 4: It wasn't relevant, and I don't like it because it's like,

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Speaker 4: what is a white man not supposed to be able

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Speaker 4: to express himself? And then all the comments, all her

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Speaker 4: little fans saying like men used to go to war

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Speaker 4: and like look how soft men have gotten.

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Speaker 3: I'm like, you are the problem.

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Speaker 4: You're the reason why men won't speak up because you

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Speaker 4: bash them for the second that they talk about their

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Speaker 4: mental health, and.

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Speaker 3: That's that's that's you know, that infuriates me as.

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Speaker 4: Well, like that response, and I'm like, see, this is

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Speaker 4: what happens when you start trying to draw this narrative

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Speaker 4: like she did, where she's like man versus woman. I'm like, stop,

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Speaker 4: that wasn't even a point of conversation, like you're just

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Speaker 4: it just yeah, I didn't like that at all. I

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Speaker 4: thought that was very cheap and just was unnecessary to

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Speaker 4: bring up.

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Speaker 5: Two side notes, one completely side note here like such

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Speaker 5: a wild turn. And then I'm going to get back

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Speaker 5: to some questions. Did you just get your ears pierced? No,

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Speaker 5: I've had them piers for Oh yeah, I've had them.

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Speaker 5: They're small, but I've had them piers for like a

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Speaker 5: year now.

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Speaker 3: Yeah he looks good. Yeah. I was like, that's cool.

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Speaker 4: I just one day, as I started, you know, finding

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Speaker 4: myself and what I wanted to do, I was just like,

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Speaker 4: you know, I've always thought earrings like cool on guys,

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Speaker 4: and you know, there was always this stigma of like

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Speaker 4: your sexuality would be questioned if you had earrings.

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Speaker 3: At least where I grew up, so.

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Speaker 4: That was the stigma behind it, and I was like,

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Speaker 4: I don't really care what people think about.

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Speaker 3: Me, and I just think it looks good.

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Speaker 5: You're going through a time.

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Speaker 3: You're discussing question. Man, I'm just doing what I want

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Speaker 3: to do, you know, I'm just saying, great.

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Speaker 5: I do want to get back here.

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Speaker 3: Okay.

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Speaker 5: So in closing on this topic, because we don't need

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Speaker 5: to draw it out, we don't need to go into

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Speaker 5: a thousand details. We never really said it was said.

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Speaker 5: What was said on this podcast that Gabby was on

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Speaker 5: is she pretty much spent you know, ten minutes really

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Speaker 5: like going at you, calling you or comparing you to

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Speaker 5: a toe, which I think there's different ways for people

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Speaker 5: to interpret what exactly that meant. Either you look like

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Speaker 5: a toe, or it's a comment like I don't exactly

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Speaker 5: even really know, but that's what she compared you to.

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Speaker 5: She said I dated a guy that was a toe.

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Speaker 5: And then she criticized your dancing that you post on

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Speaker 5: social media. If people aren't familiar or don't follow you,

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Speaker 5: you do share dancing videos on social media. We have

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Speaker 5: during this interview admitted that you don't think you're a

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Speaker 5: professional dancer, but this is something that brings you joy

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Speaker 5: and that's why you do it. So we have this.

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Speaker 5: You did come back out and speak publicly kind of

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Speaker 5: defending yourself. As you said, you're not going to be

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Speaker 5: the punching bag anymore. You are going to stand up

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Speaker 5: for yourself. You did do that publicly. She did respond

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Speaker 5: with the comments that we were just talking about, saying

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Speaker 5: that you really don't have a place to defend yourself

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Speaker 5: here because of some things that you did on this

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Speaker 5: live show. So this is where we sit today, at

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Speaker 5: least as far as I know, you sit in this

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Speaker 5: place where she just responded. You haven't said anything back.

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Speaker 5: As we close here, Clayton, where do you hope this goes?

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Speaker 1: Like?

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Speaker 5: Where do you hope this plays out? What do you

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Speaker 5: think that what do you hope the outcome is? Because

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Speaker 5: obviously you said that her fans are still, you know,

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Speaker 5: upset with you. I'm sure your fans and many are

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Speaker 5: upset with her. This could be a back and forth

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Speaker 5: that could last a long time and keep you both

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Speaker 5: in the public eye for a long time and become

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Speaker 5: a big benefit to you because you are back in

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Speaker 5: the headlines. Or you just squash it and you say

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Speaker 5: we're done with it. So where do you hope this goes?

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Speaker 5: What is your next move?

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Speaker 3: Yeah?

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Speaker 4: Well, I mean she said, put out our video response,

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Speaker 4: and then I put out a video response and response

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Speaker 4: to that that's on my Instagram, and that was you

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Speaker 4: know that. I felt again like, oh no, you're not

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Speaker 4: just going to be able to skit the last word

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Speaker 4: and say what you want and then bully me into

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Speaker 4: not responding.

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Speaker 3: You know, I'm going to take one last stand and

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Speaker 3: respond to that.

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Speaker 4: If I don't know if she's responded, since she's blocked

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Speaker 4: me on all of her social media, so I don't

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Speaker 4: know if she's sent out a response.

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Speaker 3: I haven't been tagged anything.

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Speaker 5: Time out, time out, pause, there is this block new

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Speaker 5: does this happen like post this situation or has this.

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Speaker 3: Been based off this whole thing? Okay?

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Speaker 2: Oh my god, okay, okay, so then you you you

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Speaker 2: responded twice. Now you're saying that.

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Speaker 5: You said something.

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Speaker 2: She said something, You said something, and then you said, oh, okay,

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Speaker 2: you're not going to respond to my response.

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Speaker 4: Well, she just I my she originally said something on

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Speaker 4: a podcast. I then put out my first you know, saying,

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Speaker 4: you know, like I'm not cool that She then responded

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Speaker 4: and said, oh, that's rich, you know, with talking about

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Speaker 4: being a white male. I then responded to that video

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Speaker 4: on my Instagram, so I have that video now if

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Speaker 4: she's put on anything since I haven't seen it because

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Speaker 4: she right now. But as far as like listen, I

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Speaker 4: mean even having this conversation here, like I don't want to.

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Speaker 4: I didn't want to drag it out I because it

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Speaker 4: doesn't benefit me. It was just strictly like, don't talk

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Speaker 4: about me, and that's it. That's that like moving forward,

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Speaker 4: you know again, because she could have someone, if someone.

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Speaker 4: I saw this whole excuse of like, well, people are

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Speaker 4: asking her about it. I was like, yeah, right, but

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Speaker 4: people ask me about the Bachelor, and you don't in

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Speaker 4: my experience, you don't see me talking about individuals well

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Speaker 4: you know, yeah three years ago this like blah blah blah.

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Speaker 3: It's like, no, you can. You're clearly choosing to target

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Speaker 3: me and make comments.

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Speaker 4: And it's been you know, multiple times, and that's what

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Speaker 4: originally got me to speak up. It's like I got

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Speaker 4: sent a few podcasts and I was like, all right,

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Speaker 4: one too many podcasts. You're going on this this tangent

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Speaker 4: recently and calling me out so I don't have any

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Speaker 4: intention if she were to respond back and put up

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Speaker 4: another video, It's like, there's it's really kind of beating

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Speaker 4: a dead horse. At this point, she understands I'm not

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Speaker 4: cool with it, so just it's like, don't keep talking

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Speaker 4: about me, and if she does, I don't know. I mean,

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Speaker 4: as of right now, she's not saying anything about it,

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Speaker 4: so I'm like, let's just drop it. But if she

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Speaker 4: wants to go on a rant and go off on

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Speaker 4: social media and podcasts and keep attacking me, you know,

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Speaker 4: I'll react accordingly. I'd rather not though, I'd rather just

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Speaker 4: like let it be. I don't like, I don't seek

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Speaker 4: this kind of stuff, you know. I just this was

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Speaker 4: not one too many times. I'm like, you, you have

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Speaker 4: spoken up poorly about me in the last few months

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Speaker 4: too many times.

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Speaker 3: And that's why I'm going to say.

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Speaker 5: Something before we wrap.

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Speaker 2: I do want to ask about one thing that you

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Speaker 2: said in your response video. You said that you had

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Speaker 2: reached out to her and apologized for what went down

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Speaker 2: during your season at the Bachelor. Did she ever respond

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Speaker 2: to that, because based on the screenshots, it was if.

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Speaker 4: A I never responded to my original message apologizing and

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Speaker 4: then I ended up having a conversation with Rachel one

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Speaker 4: day at an event and we had talked about, you know,

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Speaker 4: the situation with Gabby, and I said, you know, I'm

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Speaker 4: not really certain where the things are at, and she's like, oh,

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Speaker 4: you should reach out to her. So I reached out

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Speaker 4: about this opportunity, a thing that I had in my mind,

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Speaker 4: and she was very brief and that was that. So

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Speaker 4: it's like she never really yeah, I mean, she just

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Speaker 4: did want anything to do with me. So it was

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Speaker 4: loud and clear, and so that was that. And I

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Speaker 4: think that was the last time I sent her a message,

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Speaker 4: was like twenty twenty three, and just was like, Okay,

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Speaker 4: I forget it. Like she doesn't want to make amends.

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Speaker 4: She's you know, heard, and that's fine. We don't have

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Speaker 4: to forgive me. But I guess I'll just stop trying to,

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Speaker 4: you know, basically heal this this this connection that's.

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Speaker 3: Just not it's not reciprocal.

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Speaker 5: What a wild world you've been in since your time

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Speaker 5: of being the Bachelor of Clayton. My final question, and

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Speaker 5: we'll end it with this. I think we asked you

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Speaker 5: a few weeks ago when you're on are you glad

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Speaker 5: that you were the Bachelor or you would take it

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Speaker 5: all back. Do you wish this would have never been

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Speaker 5: the path you would have gone down?

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Speaker 3: No, I am.

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Speaker 4: I'm very happy because the guy on the Bachelor that

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Speaker 4: everyone watched wasn't the version of me that I wanted

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Speaker 4: to be. It was just the safest version of me

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Speaker 4: that I chose to navigate through life. All this adversity

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Speaker 4: put me in a place now where, like, I do

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Speaker 4: not care about people's Let me say this, I hardly

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Speaker 4: care about most people's opinions. I'm sure somebody can say

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Speaker 4: something that I can get under my skin, but I've

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Speaker 4: gotten to a place.

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Speaker 5: Now where Gabby, yeah, I.

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Speaker 3: Mean some people can can get under my skin.

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Speaker 4: I'm not going to say all and use absolutes, but

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Speaker 4: I hardly ever care about what strangers think about me anymore.

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Speaker 4: And because I don't care about fear of judgment, I'm

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Speaker 4: able to live a fully authentic life, or the closest

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Speaker 4: thing to it. So I wouldn't have gotten there had

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Speaker 4: I not had all of this conflict so in versity.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, I'm actually really grateful in a.

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Speaker 5: Better sounds like you've been listening to some Tony Robbins

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Speaker 5: podcast listening.

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Speaker 4: I've had Sony self help books and Sony podcasts like

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Speaker 4: I went. I went deep into the whole healing experience,

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Speaker 4: and I was able to switch my perspective, you know,

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Speaker 4: which is like it works for me, you know. So

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Speaker 4: I've convinced myself that everything's great.

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Speaker 3: So it is.

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Speaker 5: Hey, that's thanks for giving us the updates. This makes

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Speaker 5: a lot more sense. There's a lot in this world

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Speaker 5: of back and forth publicly public drama that I don't understand,

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Speaker 5: So thanks for coming on sharing it with us. This

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Speaker 5: has been the Almost Famous podcast with Clayton Eckerd until

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Speaker 5: next time. I haven't been, I've been Ashley.

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Speaker 2: See you guys.

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Speaker 3: Se y'all.

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Speaker 1: Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.