The Viall Files
E867 - Los Angeles Fires, Traitors w/ Dorinda Medley, Heidi Montag Hits No 1, RHOSLC, and Special Forces
Tue, 14 Jan 2025
Welcome back to The Viall Files: Reality Recap! Thank you to all of the firefighters, emergency responders, and heroes helping us at this time. Our love and prayers go out to those affected by the Los Angeles fires. Kelly’s GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kelly-rebuild-after-palisades-fire In today’s pop culture, we discuss Traitors returning, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt promoting Superficial, Allison Holker’s continued backlash, Zach Bryan’s Instagram Rant, Britani Bateman recording her castmates, Special Forces, and Southern Charm. “I had wardrobe. I read Art of War. I was ready.” OUT NOW! Listen to Humble Brag with Cynthia Bailey and Crystal Kung Minkoff. Available wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@humblebragpod https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humble-brag-with-crystal-and-cynthia/id1774286896 Start your 7 Day Free Trial of Viall Files + here: https://viallfiles.supportingcast.fm/ Please make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode and as always send in your relationship questions to [email protected] to be a part of our Monday episodes. Follow us on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheViallFiles Listen To Disrespectfully now! Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disrespectfully/id1516710301 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0J6DW1KeDX6SpoVEuQpl7z?si=c35995a56b8d4038 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCh8MqSsiGkfJcWhkan0D0w To Order Nick’s Book Go To: http://www.viallfiles.com If you would like to get some texting advice on Office Hours send an email to [email protected] with “Texting Office Hours” in the subject line! To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://www.advertisecast.com/TheViallFiles THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS: Apostrophe - We have a special deal for our audience: Get your first visit for only $5 at https://www.Apostrophe.com/vial when you use our code: VIALL. This code is only available to our listeners. Thrive Market - Ready for a junk-free start to 2025? Head to https://www.ThriveMarket.com/viall and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Bombas - So try Bombas now. Head over to https://www.Bombas.com/viall and use code viall for 20% off your first purchase. Sundays For Dogs - Get 40% off a two week trial of Sundays. Go to https://www.sundaysfordogs.com/VIALL or use code VIALL at checkout. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (07:07) - Alec Gellis Joins (16:41) - Heidi And Spencer (21:44) - Water Cleanse Update (28:09) - Household Headlines (45:12) - Dorinda Joins (01:10:01) - Traitors Recap (01:19:49) - RHOSLC (01:32:25) - Special Forces and Southern Charm (01:40:58) - Vibes Vs Stats (01:41:15) - Outro Episode Socials: @viallfiles @nickviall @nnataliejjoy @alecgx @kellylauren @dorindamedley @ciaracrobinson @justinkaphillips @the_mare_bare @leahgsilberstein @dereklanerussell
Chapter 1: What are the updates on the Los Angeles fires?
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What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Vow Files Reality Recap Edition. I am your host, Nick. We are safe and sound, thankfully. It's been a wild, wild few days here in L.A. Obviously, everyone in the country and the world knows about the fires. It really has been.
I'm assuming you all feel the same way, but it was very much giving like, if you were in LA, which I think all of us were safe inside, obviously, because the air quality was pretty scary for a while, but it was giving like the first couple of days of COVID, you know, going to the grocery store, everyone's wearing masks again, like grocery store, like shelves were full.
felt pretty picked through at times people buying large amounts of water very eerie feeling obviously very scary thankfully we are okay so many other people have not been obviously a lot of people have lost uh homes you know so many thousands of people have lost homes sadly people have lost their lives it's really very tragic but hopefully things are getting better we have uh some wind in the forecast uh this week so we'll see how it goes but um yeah it's been a it's been crazy
I don't know. I've been seeing a lot of chatter online and like critiquing online. I feel like this is when the people love to critique influencers and celebrities and especially people who, quite frankly, aren't even in L.A. I feel like are the loudest. But it's like I've heard a lot of people say that like influencers are handling this wrong. Right.
Like there are some who are leaving town and flying to a different state. and they're running away. And then there's the people who are posting and like, donate, donate. Here's everything I'm donating. I'm going and buying this and donating this. And it's like, you're such a pick me. You're trying to get clout. And then it's people who aren't posting. It's like, what are you doing?
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Chapter 2: Who is Alec Gellis and what did he experience during the fires?
There's just so much criticism around everyone's moves right now. And I feel like there's no rule book or right way to deal with or cope with or live through devastation and traumatic experiences. And it's like, for people to critique what people are doing. It's like, if you left town because you were scared, that's fine.
You should run from fire.
If you stayed and you went to Costco and you bought a bunch of stuff or you took a bunch of donations and you helped a bunch of people and you posted it all over the internet, that's fine. If you did all of that but didn't post it, that's fine.
You know what's not helpful? Your criticisms.
Yep. It's just like I just feel like people are so quick to use these moments to be like, see, that's why I hate that influencer, because she like hasn't posted one single thing this whole fire. And it's like probably because I don't know. She's scared. She's with her family. She's trying to protect herself. It's like at the very least, everyone in L.A.
experienced some sort of sleep deprivation, anxiety, smoke inhalation, like, you know, We all were sitting wondering, like, are we next? Like, I feel like everyone had this sense of like, should we pack a to-go bag? Should I? I mean, I'm running around our house being like, what are our prized possessions? Like, what are stuff that we can't replace?
And that's a really scary feeling to just even have to think about that. There's just no right or wrong way. And... you know, I for even for the people who are like posting like normal, people are mad at them. And it's like they're just trying to experience some sort of normality. And I think there is guilt around that normality.
It's like, you know, I was like, oh, should I stop and get a coffee this morning? And then I was like this sense of guilt of like, oh, my God, why would I stop and get a coffee?
Like there's people who you're like, yeah, I don't know how you guys feel because there's a there's an eeriness of like, are we supposed to look like Act normal now. Like, what is the protocol here? You wake up each day. Some days there's clouds in the sky. Some days it's like the skies are clear. Yeah, it's very uncertain here.
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Chapter 3: How did Heidi Montag achieve a No. 1 hit?
Yeah, it's and for us, like, you know, now I mentioned like we now packed like a like a to go back. This particular fire has been a historical travesty, but like it's it's obviously got out of control. There's a lot of dialogue about how that happened. But like for it to have gotten as close as it was, was terrifying.
because in all the years that I've lived here, we are aware of the fires going on, you know, but for, for people in LA, you just, where we lived, it was never really something that we had to worry about. And now that we do, it's, it's a new, everyone in LA is just not sure what's going on. And then you have reports of arson, you know, a lot of these fires have been started by arsonists.
It's a really scary time. And, and yeah, so obviously think about everyone affected, but you make a great point. Like I just, I, I don't know. That's just the Internet. Everyone wants to jump on and have an opinion, especially when they're not even here. Like, you don't even know what's going on.
It's also with like the celebrities, you know, it's like Kim Kardashian is posting nonstop about this and that and resources. And it's like, how do you know she hasn't donated a bunch? Like, just because people aren't posting that they're donating doesn't mean they're not donating.
Because if they posted, they donated.
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Chapter 4: What are the main highlights from RHOSLC?
Then people are like, oh, my God, you're so picky. It's like when people film themselves helping homeless people. It's like you're only doing that to have a video or to help, you know. But it's like people feel like if they don't record it and don't post it, then people are going to think they're not helping and they're not doing anything.
I also think there's a misconception that it's only rich people being affected by these fires where it's like these are people that have inherited homes that couldn't even afford to buy this home currently or like just normal people in general.
Could barely afford the property taxes. Yeah.
So it's like it's everybody.
A lot of it was like rent controlled apartments that people had lived in for 30, 40, 50 years that had just that's all they could afford.
All Tadita and Pasadena are just like normal communities that have just been like absolutely devastated. Yeah. I've seen like as far as like the community in L.A., just like enormous amounts of like empathy and care for each other, which is kind of like, I guess, in a really messed up way, like some sort of silver lining of this.
Have basic empathy for people who have gone through like utter destruction and the worst thing that could happen.
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Chapter 5: What happened in Special Forces and Southern Charm?
It's all it takes is just to be like, I don't know. You know, I don't you know, maybe you wouldn't handle it that way, but you're not here and you're not like living through this. And so I just don't think there's a rule book to this type of stuff.
There's a lot of crazy stories out there. We do have a great episode coming up. We do have Dorinda from Traders joining us later this episode. Sadly, if you are watching Traders, we are. We're going to talk about it, obviously, with Dorinda. Really entertaining. Sadly, Dorinda was already voted off. Lots of discussions and dialogue on that. But she joins us later in the show.
This is obviously a very tragic time for L.A. and there's a lot of sad stories. But we do want to try to focus on more positive stories. I mean, there's not much positives. There's always, you know, but there have been some community members that have been heroes dealing with this tragedy. And one of them, his name is Alec Gellis. His girlfriend, Kelly, sadly lost her house.
He has been fighting fires. He had to deal with the Franklin Fire that was a few weeks ago to try to save his house and a few of his neighbors' houses. And then when this fire happened, he was once again fighting fires and literally putting his life on the line. Sadly, his girlfriend lost her house in the fire.
It was definitely an act of bravery that he put out, and he is so gracious enough to join us and share a little bit of his story. So welcome to the show, Alec. Hey, Alec. Welcome to the show. How you doing, man?
What's up, guys? How's everybody? Nice to meet everybody.
Nice to meet you as well. We are okay. Obviously, first off, we want to start by giving you our condolences. Kelly, obviously your girlfriend, she couldn't be with us. She lost her house, but you've been dealing with some pretty sad tragedy over the past few weeks. So we just first and foremost appreciate you taking the time, man.
Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate it. It's been a wild couple months and, uh,
Yeah. Yeah. So we kind of intro'd you, but can you, in your own words, just kind of explain what the past couple of months has been like, starting with back when you started just dealing with the Franklin fire?
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Chapter 6: What did Dorinda Medley say about her experience?
Oh, thank God.
Where was Kelly when you were trying to put out the fire in her house?
Was she also there? So, yeah, so we were up at her place. We basically just, like, watered it down. We were just kind of, like, spraying all the hedges and, like, the roof and everything and just making sure it was all soaking wet. Then if a fire came, it would, like, an ember lands on it. It just goes out right away. Sure.
And when the fire came over the hill, it got too close and she just didn't feel safe. So I just drove her over to my place really quick and then came back. And the cops almost didn't let me in. I had to fight two cops. I got in a screaming argument with two cops to get back in. And one of them chased me back up to the house. And eventually it was just like, dude, you're fucking crazy.
And just left. And... Basically, yeah, that's what happened.
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Chapter 7: How are influencers reacting to the current events?
Man, that is really sad. How is Kelly doing? I mean, I couldn't even imagine what it's like to lose a house. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Was she able to get her most valuable possessions out, or what did that look like?
She got some stuff out, but pretty much lost everything. And it was a really special cottage that she was renting. And she kind of has this really epic fairy vibe, creative. And it was just such a special place to chill. And it was her dream home that she'd been seeing, driving in and out of Malibu for years. And then just kind of happened to end up being able to rent it. And...
She'd only been there since April. So it's just like super devastating. So she's really sad. Just been trying to like stay positive and kind of look to the future and avoid looking in the rear view mirror and just see all the opportunities going forward and like all the cool travel possibilities and like trying to just kind of like see like the like blue ocean ahead.
Yeah, I mean, that's all you can do is try to be positive. What are other people in your community experiencing?
It's super crazy here. So the challenge with Malibu is there's so many regulatory agencies that make it almost impossible to rebuild your home. So there's many homes that haven't even been able to be rebuilt since Woolsey Fire. So especially these houses on the beach, are especially difficult to build.
So most of these houses are from the 70s or even earlier, and they're people that are older who have the tax basis from a long time ago. So they probably won't be able to rebuild. Most of them are underinsured or the insurance dropped them because they're the area is so fire prone. So most of these people really like lost everything and it may take a decade or more for them to rebuild.
So essentially it's just a complete loss because they won't be able to sustain holding the property. So it's hard to tell what's going to happen to a lot of these homes. Probably they're just going to turn into like mega billionaire compounds that's going to be like kind of crazy. But yeah, it's really going to change the community a lot, especially in that area.
And so the half of Malibu that burned was the half that didn't burn in Woolsey. So it's just like, whoa, man.
What is the PCH in Malibu like right now? I mean, we obviously haven't been down there.
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Chapter 8: What can we learn from the community's response to the fires?
it's a really cool story uh we want to we want to keep supporting it they're number one on itunes now i i think we're trying to get them also to number one on spotify and on the billboard charts as a whole the job is not done uh we still need to go out and try to support heidi and spencer's song i mean for one we just want to support them they literally lost their house and two i mean it's it's a
It's a good story. And we need stories like this of inspiration and positivity in the face of tragedy. And it's been really cool to see their fans and their supporters come together to support Heidi and their song. And it's a catchy song. And a lot of other celebrities and Rada posted about it being like, it's the new song of the summer. It's going to be the 2025 song of the summer.
Flavor Flav is supporting it Pitbull said that he's going to drop a verse on it too Pitbull so I mean it's we're really we're really going here and it's really taking off it's cool too because Heidi had a quote back in 2010 where she said if this album doesn't blow up next week maybe it's next year maybe it's like 14 years later I think she said that when we were when they were here yeah she said it again that's just always been her that's always been her kind of approach you never really know
They also have two young boys, which, you know, I don't know if everyone knows, but it is, I mean, it's just so heartbreaking that these, you know, these young boys.
No, it's devastating. I mean, you know, adults, I mean, even adults, like when you're talking to Alec, I mean, it's, he seems to be trying to have a positive spin, but this is traumatic and it's terrible and it affects you. But when you have, for the kids.
How do you explain that? They have, what, a two-year-old? Like, what's their youngest? Two?
Old enough to remember, I think, so.
I mean, old enough to remember their room and their toys and like their favorite hide and seek places in their house. And all of that is gone. And it's so sad.
So, Justin, what is the name of the album if they want to go buy the whole album? Superficial. Superficial. So whether it's on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you want, go support Heidi and Spencer and download Heidi's hit song. I'll do it.
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