The Spill

LB has such a cute personality, and she brings out the best in all her cohosts while sharing opinions about current and past TV, movies, and celebrities. She brings joy to a world that feels heavy sometimes, and this has quickly become a top favorite podcast for me.

Love this podcast! I get quick and funny info about pop culture without scrolling through IG - and it is like sitting with my girlfriends getting the scoop! I appreciate Laura’s knowledge on movies, musicals and pop culture from times before her. Can I just say, I hope Em watches While You Were Sleeping (and all your recs) as many times as I did as a kid! ❤️P.S I am in the US

The March 11, 2025 episode prompted me to leave a review. The guest host Cassenya Luca (apologies if I’ve misspelled) that was on today has a terrible attitude. Five minutes into listening to her basic opinions gave me the serious ick. She strong-arms The Spill as though she’s the host every time she is a guest on this show, and while she called Meghan’s show “inauthentic” with a sneer in her voice, Cassenya breezily mentioned that she’s just got done recording her other podcast before coming to this one, which was the fakest, smug-est delivery ever. She should save some of the sneers she gives to Meghan and use them on herself. She also repeatedly pointed out that Meghan gets a lot of hate and she didn’t mean to be hateful… and then proceeded to do both. In my opinion, actual critiques of a show that simply isn’t your cup of tea is one thing. Pointing out what you don’t like about something and then labeling that thing in a negative light with your tone and your words is quite another, and it’s childish. Anything mildly positive Cassenya said, was said in a tone that sounded like she was offering a crumb. Special thanks to Laura for literally correcting Cassenya when Cassenya declared that Meghan and Harry didn’t want to do royal duties anymore; Cassenya sounded like an uninformed person who talks loudly whether her information is correct or not. I hope different guest hosts are invited to do this show in the future when needed. That said, I enjoy The Spill with Laura and Em a lot.

I’ve listened to nearly every episode of this show since early 2023, and while I do enjoy it, it is important to note that there are consistent factual inaccuracies that are easily disproven by any reputable news publication. As a self-proclaimed pop culture and news fangirl, I’m consistently reading up on and listening to celebrity news and culture (NOT from tabloid media), and it can be frustrating at times to hear The Spill team consistently get facts wrong, especially when they’re giving “background” about the origin of a story. Please, please, please do more preparation and research, ladies! You are highly intelligent, but the consistent lack of attention to detail can get so frustrating. If the stories were less sugary, the journalism would be considered highly irresponsible. The Shameless girls do an incredible job researching their stories and citing their sources. When they don’t know a piece of info, they also acknowledge that or research in real time vs purporting incorrect info to cover themselves (an LB staple move, unfortunately). I know Shameless and The Spill are different formats and vibes and I do listen to both, but The Spill has the potential to be much stronger with a little more factual refinement and finesse.

Listen, the podcast itself is okay as a pop culture podcast that doesn’t really dive too deeply into topics etc etc. BUT, twice now (as far as I’m aware), they have had such weak and outdated and lackluster takes on Palestine, specifically in relation to Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler. They’ve tried to frame the genocide as a complex topic that people have varying opinions on, which is ridiculous framing, and tried to frame anti-genocide protesters protesting Gal Gadot as doing so because she was speaking Hebrew when she collected her ludicrous Hollywood Star. They weren’t protesting her because of that?? They did so because she has continued to manufacture consent for a genocide and dehumanize Palestinians. Acknowledging and protecting indigenous communities shouldn’t begin and end with a podcast disclaimer, and as Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza—as revered organizations like Amnesty International have concluded—and massacre children, adults, and the elderly in tandem with starvation and dehumanization campaigns, I implore this podcast’s hosts to be extremely careful with their framing around problematic figures like Gal Gadot.

I give this to stars because I listen to the episode of Dakota Johnson, and they made very fair points about the Nepo baby conversation. However, as a Native person their “land acknowledgment” should just be taken out because the lack of effort behind it is unsettling. Also, the episode about Taylor Swift sidestepping a controversy at the Super Bowl. One would assume it was about supporting a team with a racist mascot. However, not a word about this was mentioned. what controversy was bigger than that? All I can conclude is that this is an example of white feminism and unfortunately I won’t be listening again.