Scrolling With Sophie
WTF happened this week?
Scrolling With Sophie
Scrolling With Sophie is a weekly newsletter in which I dissect, discuss, and occasionally mock the celebrity/influencer stories that are taking up too much space in my brain—things I’m cringing at, obsessing over, and thinking about an unhealthy amount. Partnership opportunities are available.
I’m… Obsessed?
After recently watching Netflix’s the Tinder Swindler and listening to every catfishing podcast known to man—more on that later—I’ve fallen deeper into my scammer obsession than ever before. And the ultimate real-time scammer content just fell into our laps?
I’d heard about Brittany Dawn Davis (aka @realbrittanydawn on Instagram) in passing and never paid much attention to her, which was clearly a mistake. She is a mess.
Here’s some background: Davis used be a full-fledged fitness blogger before pivoting to “Christianity influencer” in 2019 when it was originally revealed that her former fitness program was, to put it simply, extremely shady.
Fast-forward three years, and the state of Texas said, “Yeah, she’s definitely shady.” They’re suing her for the scam.
According to legal documents, Davis allegedly was selling “personalized fitness packages” ranging from $92 to $300 for three months of the program, which included “individualized coaching, customized nutritional guidance, and coaching.”
The problem is: Nothing was personalized as promised, Davis ignored and blocked paying customers, women with eating disorders say they were misled and harmed by the program, and Davis could be in deep sh*t. Texas is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million in damages.
These are some more “fun” facts about Davis that I’m not seeing get as much coverage:
Her husband, Jordan Nelson, is a former Kansas City cop who used excessive force against a Black man, was singled out by the ACLU and Black Lives Matter for his blatant racism, and was subsequently fired over it. (Let’s sit with the fact that it’s probably extremely difficult to get fired for being “too racist” when you’re a cop in Kansas City. Other racists must find that very impressive.)
Trigger warning, animal cruelty: Davis and that sweet-sounding husband of hers were already in hot water late last year when they admitted to shooting their own dog in the streets of their suburb after it was sadly hit by a car.
Totally normal, sane behavior here all around, folks.
Rant of the Week
Kim Kardashian was on the March issue of American Vogue—and, like with most things miss Kardashian-adjacent—kontroversy kwuickly ensued!
Diet Prada immediately accused Kim and Vogue of cultural appropriation over the spread, which included shots that are eerily similar to iconic past photoshoots of several women of color. DP made sure to include proof of Kim’s shameless Naomi Campbell cosplay that’s been happening for years, too.
Not only that, but Kim decided to run her mouth (as one tends to do in an interview!) and say some… questionable things.
Some Diet Prada commenters called the post a “reach.” And whether you agree or not, there’s no denying Kim has made a career out of appropriating trends, hairstyles, and body types from women of color. She’ll wear what suits her in the moment, only to later take it off like a costume to move onto the next trend. (Exhibit A: her recently reduced BBL.)
Remember her “Bo Derek-inspired” braids?
Also, she’s apparently launching a skincare brand soon, and trademarked “SKKN by Kim” last year. Cute.
I’m going to take this opportunity to reiterate that we have enough celebrity beauty brands, and the last thing our planet needs is more plastic waste and useless products.
Another side rant: Imagine how much longer our planet would have if the Kardashians didn’t get balloons for things like “eyeball parties” when one of them gets Lasik eye surgery.
Last side rant before my last brain cell dies: Kylie’s new son is named “Wolf Webster. Do with that what you will.
Roundup of the Week
Back to my scammer kick: As a Person Living With ADD™, I’ve discovered listening to podcasts while doing remedial housekeeping tasks truly helps me ~stay focused~. These 5 listens were, by all measures, super-absorbing.
Sweet Bobby: A successful radio host falls in love online and gets entangled in a web of lies before finally realizing the dark truth about her internet boyfriend. A cautionary tale, m’ladies!
Do You Know Mordechai?: A Jewish woman meets the nice Jewish guy of her dreams named Mordechai Horowitz—only to get the rug pulled out from her. (No, that’s not his real name, and yes, it’s hilarious that he chose it.)
Something Was Wrong: Can you spot a theme here? A woman thinks she’s marrying the man of her dreams until she learns that—you guessed it—something was wrong.
California City: Real estate developers told unsuspecting victims that “California City” would be the next Silicon Valley or Las Vegas, and they’d become rich if they bought land there. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t, and they didn’t.
The Irish Con Queen: Reality TV producer Johnathan Walton tells the story of how he got befriended and subsequently conned by an international scammer named Mair Smyth. (A fake cancer diagnosis is involved, of course.)
Thanks for reading, and Go Bengals.
Joe Burrow's "wagon", LOL