A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

When Nicki Minaj stepped on stage in Phoenix, Arizona, with one hand clasping Erika Kirk and the other waving to a crowd of white supremacists, even I was shocked. We’ve known the Queen of Rap to be many unsavory things: an insecure egomaniac, a steadfast defender of predators, an obsessive poster (she has my solidarity on that one). But “fascist propagandist” I did not see coming. Today, Olayemi Olurin, Kat Tenbarge and I draw a map of Nicki’s life to make sense of how she got here, what she hopes to receive from it, and if it’ll even pan out. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Subscribe to Olay on YouTube. Follow Olay on Instagram. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Samantha Fulnecky filed a religious discrimination complaint against her university after failing an essay assignment in which she only referenced the Bible, she was on a path to victory. Sure, the essay was a grammatical disaster and completely incoherent — not to mention offensive towards both her classmates and professors. Sure, the failing grade was deserved. But in the age of right-wing culture war domination, Samantha was poised to become a star. Her January 6th-loving mother, Turning Point USA (and their recent influx of cash), and the Oklahoma House of Representatives all threw their full weight behind her. Despite all this, Samantha Fulnecky became the last great joke of 2025. Today, Kat Tenbarge, Parker Molloy and I examine why she failed the grift (and the essay). Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity.  Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work at Spitfire News. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Subscribe to Parker Molloy’s newsletter. Follow Parker Molloy on Bluesky. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the afternoon Charlie Kirk died, Jeffree Star livestreamed a four-minute-long rant about how nonbinary people aren’t real. Star, with his pink hair, diamond nails, and prior openness to using “any pronouns,” doesn’t necessarily fit in with Turning Point USA’s target demographic. Or does he? In this long-awaited and much-requested episode, veteran YouTuber Kat Blaque and former full-time Jeffree Star reporter Kat Tenbarge guide us through the tragic, racist, celebrity-filled history of the Internet’s most prolific makeup mogul. Despite many changes in circumstance — just like Gwen Stefani, he’ll always be an Orange County girl. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get smarter about yours (and others!) news media consumption with Ground News at https://www.ground.news/fruity Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off Subscribe to Kat Blaque on YouTube. Follow Kat Blaque on Instagram. Subscribe to Kat Tenbarge’s work. Follow Kat Tenbarge on Bluesky. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no bigger danger to Jews, apparently, than New York City’s Mayor-Elect, Zohran Mamdani. The morning after he was elected, the ADL announced the launch of the “Mamdani Monitor” to track antisemitism within Zohran’s administration. Debra Messing posted 91 Instagram stories in a single day about how she fears for her life as a Jew — not because of the rise of antisemitism within the MAGA movement or the mainstreaming of neo-nazi Nick Fuentes, but because of Zohran Mamdani, a man who is not antisemitic. This week, Matt Lieb (of Bad Hasbara) and Simone Zimmerman (of Israelism) help me navigate a literal industry — and ethnostate — propped up not only by fearmongering about antisemitism, but also by intentionally creating it. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Get 15% off a cuter, more sustainable way to clean at https://www.blueland.com/fruity.  Get an exclusive 60% on Incogni! https://incogni.com/fruity Listen to Matt Lieb on Bad Hasbara. Follow Matt Lieb on Twitter. Listen to Simone on Beyond Israelism. Follow Simone on Instagram. Read the Jewish Currents audit of the ADL’s 2023 antisemitism statistics. Read the Jewish Currents audit of the ADL’s 2024 antisemitism statistics. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jennifer Welch, a 51-year-old Texan turned Oklahoman, is radicalizing America one wine mom at a time. The southern podcaster (who might finally be our “Joe Rogan of the Left”) has become an unlikely, fierce critic of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the corrupt Democratic establishment, and unregulated capitalism, which she says “brought us Trump” (I agree). This week, Jennifer and I cross a generational divide to discuss Israel’s erosion of the Democratic Party, Ezra Klein’s idiotic centrist plea for more anti-abortion Democrats, and how to sell democratic socialism to the masses. Listen to bonus episodes on Patreon! Thanks to today’s sponsors! Work smarter, not harder, with Factor meals ready in two minutes at https://www.factormeals.com/fruity50off. Start managing your money better and cancel unwanted expenses at https://www.rocketmoney.com/fruity.  Listen to Jennifer on I’ve Had It. Follow Jennifer on Instagram. Find me on Instagram. Find A Bit Fruity on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices