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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Justice Department Releases New Batch Of Epstein Files; "Life- Threatening" Storm Hitting California; Political Punchlines: How Comedy Shaped 2025; Inside Timothee Chalamet's Wild Hollywood Press Tour; Tony Robbins' Music Mission To Feed The Hungry. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired December 23, 2025 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:20]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles. Laura Coates has the night off. So I'm with you an hour early for THE STORY IS which starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): THE STORY IS inside the new revelations from the Epstein files. What's real? What's not? What actually matters?
One of the attorneys who's been seeking answers for years will join me tonight.
THE STORY IS tracking a dangerous storm hitting California. Evacuation warnings in effect. How bad will it get?
THE STORY IS where politics meets comedy.
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: You can't believe they gave me my job back. I can't believe we gave you your job back.
MICHAELSON: A look back at the major punch lines from 2025.
THE STORY IS at the top of the sphere and all over your feed. How Timothee Chalamet is redefining the Hollywood rollout.
Plus, THE STORY IS -- following in the footsteps of "We Are the World" with Tony Robbins and his new twist on the song to feed the hungry.
MICHAELSON: If you come up with a vision, you can make it happen right?
TONY ROBBINS, AUTHOR: Yeah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles. THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON
MICHAELSON (on camera): Thanks so much for being with us.
A trail of breadcrumbs to follow tonight from the new release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. In some cases, the documents shed light on what investigators knew. And yet other files just muddy the picture even more. Some of what's been released today is, frankly, hearsay, so- called tips to the FBI with salacious, uncorroborated information.
And at least one of the documents appears to be phony. You may have seen this picture in your feeds today. A supposed 2019 prison letter from a J. Epstein to Larry Nassar, which reference, quote, "our president".
DOJ says it's fake. Deputy Attorney General Tom Blanche explaining it this way, quote, "We produce documents and sometimes this can result in releasing fake or false documents because they simply are in our possession, because the law requires this case in point, the so-called Epstein Nassar letter is clearly fake. Wrong handwriting, wrong return address and postmarked three days after Epstein died."
Other documents do name or involve Donald Trump. There was this 2021 subpoena sent to Mar-a-Lago tied to the government's case against Ghislaine Maxwell.
There was also this 2020 email from an assistant U.S. attorney in the SDNY who wrote, quote, "Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported or that we were aware."
Of course, Trump has never been charged with anything related to Epstein, and the DOJ this morning went out of its way to make sure that everybody knew that. Quote, "These documents contain untrue and sensationalistic claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election." And we should note that when pictures of Bill Clinton emerged in the files, the DOJ made no such disclaimer.
But let's remember what this case was really all about before it got so political. Survivors wanting to know how Jeffrey Epstein got away with it for so many years. Who helped him? Who knew? Who else participated? Did investigators do their job?
That's where this next email comes in. It reads, quote, "When you get a chance, can you give me an update on the status of the 10 coconspirators that was from someone who signed their email?"
FBI in New York dated July 7th, 2019. It suggests that the FBI was indeed tracking potential conspirators of Epstein beyond his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Who those people are, though, is still a mystery.
Let's unpack more of what we learned today with Jacob Shamsian and David Aronberg. Jacob is the legal correspondent for "Business Insider" who's been digging through these files. Dave Aronberg is the former state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida.
Gentlemen, welcome. Thanks for being here.
JACOB SHAMSIAN, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, BUSINESS INSIDER: Thanks for having me. DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA:
Thank you. Elex.
MICHAELSON: Jacob, there is going to be public pressure to name those possible coconspirators, that a lot of people were surprised to hear about this concept of coconspirators. The DOJ previously said there wasn't enough evidence to charge them. Will this force the DOJ to look at those cases again?
SHAMSIAN: Yeah. So, you know, as your audience knows, the only other person charged in this sex trafficking conspiracy was Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
[23:05:03]
You know, we also know that there are some victims who are also recruiters for other women, and their status is a bit more confusing, right? Should they be considered victims? Should they be considered coconspirators? Are they a bit of both? Can you really charge someone like that with a crime?
And I think one of the issues here is that that email that we saw is heavily redacted. And, you know, are these -- are they redacted because these are victims that are redacted, or is it just sort of part of the redaction that the DOJ is doing here?
They're redacting things that really ought not to be redacted, and we just have no sense of what's going on with this email because we can't really trust the redaction process.
MICHAELSON: And, Dave, why were the cases against these coconspirators not pursued both here and in Epstein's 2007 Florida case?
ARONBERG: That's the big question, Elex. You know, the Department of Justice back earlier this year in July, said that they did not have any evidence that could predicate an investigation against alleged coconspirators. And that's why it came as a surprise to a lot of us when we saw that the DOJ for years have had evidence against coconspirators.
In fact, that email you mentioned -- mentioned 10 potential coconspirators they black out the names, but there are three individuals whose names are mentioned, and that's Leslie Wexner, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in a French prison of suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted.
So I understand why those two names are mentioned. Why was Leslie Wexner's name left unredacted while other names were redacted? Why is Bill Clinton's picture all over the files? While others who supposedly were involved with this are redacted?
So, there are so many questions. It seems political on one end. It seems sloppy on the other. We don't know.
So, hopefully, we'll continue to get some answers. MICHAELSON: Dave, so much of what's in these files really is from
secondhand sources. Would any of this be admissible in a court of law?
ARONBERG: There's so much hearsay here. So, you would need firsthand testimony. Victims, the survivors, the survivors are ready to speak out. They want to give the names, but they're worried that if they do, they could be hit with massive civil defamation lawsuits. They don't have the money to go against some of these very powerful, very wealthy individuals. So they're depending on the government to do it for them to mention the names for them so they don't have to get sued.
And then perhaps we could see some justice. But, you know, the administration is very careful about revealing any names. They don't want to cast aspersions over people who have never been charged with a crime and may never be charged.
But at the same time, a lack of transparency is keeping this controversy alive and growing, and the public is never going to be satisfied until all the files are released and includes the names of the alleged coconspirators.
MICHAELSON: Well, one person we knew who've been tied up with all of this for a while is Prince Andrew, and he certainly faced some consequences in his own life.
Jacob, there was a potential message mention of him. Somebody named A. This is an email from 2001. This person named A, who happened to be staying at a royal estate, said, "Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?" That A, of course, is believed to be Andrew.
What are these messages suggest about his ties to Epstein?
SHAMSIAN: Yeah, well, you know, this is a message from what might be Prince Andrew to Ghislaine Maxwell, asking to meet girls. This is also the time period which -- where Virginia Giuffre, who you know, died earlier this year was saying that she was in Epstein's orbit and was being sexually abused and made a made an accusation against Prince Andrew, later settled in court.
So, I think that sort of gives you some context about, you know, what he's pursuing at this time and maybe you know, how he's going to Ghislaine Maxwell, who, of course, recruited, Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago into Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. And we should point out that CNN has reached out to representatives of Andrew. Have not heard back. Previously, they have denied wrongdoing. And these emails do not specifically accuse him of wrongdoing. But it certainly seems like he was caught up in all of this or mentioned at least and it's hard because so much is redacted to figure out what's really going on here as we all try to go through these.
Jacob and Dave, thank you both so much. Really appreciate you sharing your perspective.
SHAMSIAN: Thank you. ARONBERG: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: I'm joined now by an attorney for several Epstein survivors, James Marsh represents Maria Farmer, who's made a complaint to the FBI 30 years ago accusing Epstein of sex crimes.
Welcome to THE STORY IS.
JAMES MARSH, REPRESENTS VICTIMS OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN INCLUDING MARIA AND ANNIE FARMER: Great. Thanks for having me.
[23:10:00]
MICHAELSON: Let's start with an email from the FBI, which references those ten coconspirators. Previously, the DOJ has said there was no credible evidence that would lead to charges against others. Should we reopen those probes?
MARSH: That's a really good question. I mean, we've really been focused given Maria's letter, our complaint to the FBI, and now that it's been substantiated, is what really happened in the 1990s. In this case, it was a time of intense scrutiny of Jeffrey Epstein and really, everything that came after, led to the abuse and exploitation of hundreds, if not over a thousand women and young girls.
So, whether these coconspirators how they fit into the puzzle, I think will be very interesting to see, but I think we need to get some documents from the 1990s. And so far in our review, we haven't seen anything from the 1990s. A lot of this stuff is investigations that have been well known for over a decade.
And then, of course, the recent investigation that led to the suicide and then the conviction of Maxwell. So, whether or not these coconspirators get named, who they even are, how long they were coconspirators, I think those are all questions that still need to be answered.
MICHAELSON: I mean, do you think there was a massive failure to not stop this sooner? And that that may have been part of this conspiracy?
MARSH: I wouldn't call it as much of a conspiracy as I would a failure to for bureaucratic institutions to do their jobs and to do them properly. But there's some very curious, you know, late-breaking information that we've received about the actual file that we got from the FBI. The -- is apparently the FD-71 is a transcription or a note from a telephone call. So, we were able to confirm that tonight.
And the sources that we talked to who are familiar with FBI procedures basically said there's other documents that should be attached to this report. This report does not really stand on its own. And where are the corollary documents attached to this?
So, I think in the coming days, were going to get a really a more deeper sense of what exactly that report is. What are some of the notations on that report and who should have followed up, could have followed up, would have followed up and didn't follow up. I think those are all very important questions that we need to answer,
especially if we're going to get to coconspirators, right? Because this is a time when the government had an opportunity to take action, to do an investigation, and for some reason, that didn't happen. And we need those answers to get a more fuller picture of what exactly went wrong here.
MICHAELSON: And is there anybody that was involved in all of this that's walking free right now that shouldn't be? I'm sure it's something that a lot of these survivors want to know.
MARSH: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: At least one Epstein survivors --
MARSH: I want to see their own statement. So, you know, that's something that's missing from the files, too.
MICHAELSON: At least one Epstein survivor tells CNN her name is still unredacted in the files, despite asking the DOJ to hide it. The DOJ has taken down files to redact other names. What's going on here? Who is the DOJ trying to protect and why does it seem to be so different depending on who the person is?
MARSH: I think this is a massive operation. I think the right hand doesn't always know what the left hand is doing. We were shocked that the -- that Maria Farmer's complaint, you know, report came out. You know, that's something usually -- you'd really have to fight hard to get.
I think there's a lot of different people working on this, and I think they have a list of names. And, you know, I just think, honestly, I think this is government incompetence. I don't know that there's any, you know, intention here. I mean, I've been proven wrong before on these points. So anything is possible.
But I think this is this massive, you know, data dump is just a mess. And, you know, we're not -- we're not -- I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to what's going on here.
MICHAELSON: Well, James Marsh, thank you so much for sharing your views. And we really appreciate you coming on.
MARSH: Great. Thank you for covering this. And thank you for having me on your show.
MICHAELSON: Supreme Court hands the president one of his biggest defeats yet as it rules against his use of the National Guard. Congressman Mike Levin with me live in studio next to talk about that, the economy and more.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:18:29] MICHAELSON: The Supreme Court delivering a big blow to President Trump. The country's highest court deciding the administration legally could not send National Guard troops to Chicago to protect ICE agents. The court arguing, quote, at this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois. The 6-3 decision featuring a rare divide between the conservative majority with Justices Roberts, Barrett and Kavanaugh siding with the courts liberal justices. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker hailing the decision as a big win for his state.
But the White House downplaying the decision, quote, president promised the American people we would work tirelessly to enforce our immigration laws and protect federal personnel from violent rioters. Nothing in today's ruling detracts from that core agenda.
The decision comes after a National Guard troop was killed and another severely injured in Washington, D.C. And while this decision would not impact Trump's ability to use the National Guard in the nation's capital, this legal setback could impact their deployment in other states and cities, including California, which has its own lawsuits about this potentially heading to Supreme Court.
Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Mike Levin of California, who joins me here now.
Congressman, welcome.
REP. MIKE LEVIN (D-CA): Thank you, Elex. Good to be with you.
MICHAELSON: Good to have you, for the first time in the house.
LEVIN: Thank you, thank you.
MICHAELSON: Appreciate it.
So, your reaction to this decision and do you think that this will also sort of have a domino effect in other places, like here in California?
LEVIN: I certainly think it could. And I was encouraged by this, Elex. You know, for all that we've seen and heard from this Supreme Court, I think there are examples where were going to see the court break from the Trump administration.
[23:20:05]
And it's really a validation of everything we've been saying for the better part of the year. You know, what happened here in Los Angeles, what happened really across the country totally violates the spirit. And the letter of the Posse Comitatus Act from back in the 1800s. The military should never be used for routine domestic law enforcement. It's simply an American. And I think we'll see more decisions like this in the future.
MICHAELSON: Which other decisions do you think? LEVIN: Well, when I see what's on the Supreme Court's docket, I think
everything from tariffs to the spending power. As a member of the House appropriations committee, that's very near and dear to me and potentially other things, birthright citizenship. I just don't think that this Supreme Court, even as biased as three of its justices are, we saw today, Barrett and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch go against this, this president. And they simply followed the law. And the law is very clear in this example.
MICHAELSON: And it gives them more credibility as an institution, don't you think?
LEVIN: Well, look, I think we need term limits for Supreme Court justices. I've come out and said that. But I think that to the extent the credibility is still there, I think today was a step in the right direction.
MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, you know, the economy, obviously such a big issue for everybody. We got some GDP numbers and they're pretty good today. We found out that the GDP grew 4.3 percent, up from the second quarter. President Trump deserves some credit for that. I mean, he gets blamed when things don't go well. Does he deserve credit for economic growth?
LEVIN: Well, maybe we'll see. What I will tell you is a couple of things. One is that people aren't feeling it at the kitchen table when people are at their kitchen table looking at the cost of groceries, the cost of fuel, the cost of housing, and all the rest, they're not thinking.
MICHAELSON: Fuel's down in a lot of places, not necessarily here. Highest gas prices in the country.
LEVIN: But I would -- I would argue that doubling down on fossil fuel industry is going to lead to a lot more volatility in people's transportation costs, but it's up 13 percent year over year. Energy costs, utility costs are year over year, up 13 percent.
I don't think people are focused on GDP when they're looking at their grocery bills and their other bills. I do think, however, that growth is good and that number is an excellent number. I'm curious how much of it is consolidated in a handful of industries and companies, specifically, the A.I. boom is something I think we're all concerned about. But look, positive numbers are good.
MICHAELSON: Do you think the A.I. is a bubble?
LEVIN: I'm sure that it is a bubble, but far smarter people than I are -- you know, depending on who I speak with are either more concerned or less. But you can't have this kind of consolidation of growth and expect it to be sustainable.
MICHAELSON: So, one of the things that people are really focused on in terms of their bills is health care. And we know that these subsidies that about 20 million Americans rely on are about to expire, which means their premiums are going to go up in a significant way. I know you've been asking your constituents for their stories. You recently heard from hundreds of them. Is there one story that stood out to you?
LEVIN: Yeah. You know, there are several, but one I'll tell you about -- I have a 62-year-old recently retired teacher, and his bills are going to go up $700 a month. So he's going to take early Social Security at age 62, instead of waiting for a few years to take that Social Security.
There are so many examples, though, Elex. Premiums doubling, tripling, people not being able to afford rent and groceries or having to lose their health care. And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said 1.8 million Americans are going to lose their health insurance just in 2026. That impacts all of us, you and me and everybody else, regardless of how you get your health care, we're going to be impacted if millions of Americans lose it.
And the sad reality is Mike Johnson, he could have that vote right now. You know, we could literally go back the day after Christmas, and we could go vote on a discharge petition to extend the credits. I give credit to the four Republicans that finally, finally joined us. I just wish they wouldn't have waited until the last minute.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. So that that means there are Republicans that have joined you because they think the politics of this are bad, and they also believe in the issue itself. And so, but do you think there are the votes to get this done in the House? Are there the votes in the Senate? What's going on? What's happening there behind the scenes right now?
LEVIN: There are absolutely the votes in the House to pass the discharge petition, because the whole nature of a discharge petition, you have to have 218 signatures to bring it to the floor. And it's a repudiation of the leadership. It means Mike Johnson has lost control of the floor. This is the first time since 1935, Elex, where we've had four successful discharge petitions in the House of Representatives. We'll then pass it and send it to the Senate and I hope that the Senate comes up with something that we can all agree upon.
You know, whether it's a clean three year extension, such as we've passed in the House or it's two or one years, I don't know where they'll land, but I do hope that they'll land with a extension, because if they fail to do it, millions and millions of Americans are going to be priced out of health insurance.
MICHAELSON: We saw that Epstein story continues to dominate the news today. We hear now about potentially ten coconspirators -- not clear who all those people even are.
[23:25:02]
Your big most important takeaway from what you're seeing on Epstein?
LEVIN: Well, you can't have selective transparency. So, you know, the more that we see coming out from the Department of Justice and sort of the amateur hour with the redactions, where you can copy and paste them and see the text, it just leads to more questions. And the reality is that the speaker of the House delayed and delayed and delayed to seat Adelita Grijalva, the congresswoman from Tucson, Arizona, for months because they didn't want the discharge petition on this matter, on the Epstein matter. And now that that 30 days in that Epstein Files Transparency Act, 30 days is the requirement for the DOJ to release everything they have, they have failed to do that.
And many of my colleagues, I think, are right to want to hold Pam Bondi in contempt. They are breaking the law. Elex.
MICHAELSON: Lastly, I always like to end with something fun when I can. It's holiday week. Favorite holiday tradition in the Levin household?
LEVIN: Favorite holiday tradition? I would say being able to be home for Thanksgiving and having some wonderful food with our loved ones, as well do here for the Christmas holiday. Going to be going to see my in-laws as soon as we're done with Christmas. And I know my in-laws are watching this, so I love you guys very much. How about that?
MICHAELSON: I mean, I know you're a good politician, but being on the right side of the in-laws is always smart politics, right?
LEVIN: You know, I'll tell you something. Happy wife, happy life, Elex.
MICHAELSON: You can't win over that. That constituency, everything else is a lot harder.
LEVIN: Exactly. Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Congressman, great to see you and congratulations on this. This is fantastic. It's great to have it here in California. Thanks for coming in.
LEVIN: Thank you. Thanks.
MICHAELSON: Still ahead, the dangerous storm that is hitting us here in California right now. Fears of flash flooding, mudslides, especially in his district. We are tracking it all.
Plus, a pivotal year for comedy full of punch lines, potential politically charged moments. We'll take a look back tonight with the help of two comedians who do it for a living. What was the funniest moment of the year? We'll talk about that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:31:25]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories. Another potentially life- threatening storm headed for California, this time targeting the southern part of our state. Evacuation orders are in effect for many in the L.A. area, with officials issuing a rare warning of a high risk of flooding. The northern part of California was pummeled with rain earlier this week.
And the multi-state manhunt for nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard ends in tragedy after authorities discovered her remains in a rural area of southern Utah. Authorities arrested her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on first degree murder charges. More on that in our next hour.
Finally, a triumphant comeback for 41-year-old skier Lindsey Vonn, who has officially qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The gold medalist posted she was honored to compete in her fifth and final, although who knows if that will stand. Olympics in Italy next year. Well, we're just over a week to go into the new year. There's no denying what a turbulent year this has been for the world of comedy.
From the cancellation of the top rated "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" to Jimmy Kimmel being temporarily pulled off the air over comments he made about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and then you had TV mainstays like "South Park" and "Saturday Night Live" coming out swinging against the current administration. Like with this now infamous oval office exchange with Zelenskyy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't compliment the tie. You don't say "thank you". You don't tell us how hot we look. Okay? You don't say, if I was gay, I'd be all over you, too. Okay? And we're supposed to help you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if I could just say --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have been talking this entire time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: You also saw the growing influence of the so-called manosphere, comedians like Andrew Schulz, Tim Dillon, Theo Von.
And the year wrapped up with comedian on comedian infighting over the controversial Riyadh comedy festival with HBO's Bill Maher slamming Dave Chappelle over his comments at the festival, where he said it's easier to talk in Saudi Arabia than in America.
Let's talk about all this with two comedians. Emmy Award winner Paul Mecurio and the host of "Stand Up with Pete Dominick", Pete Dominick.
Gentlemen, welcome to THE STORY IS.
PAUL MECURIO, COMEDIAN: Elex, thanks for having us.
PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: Thanks for having me here.
MICHAELSON: Let's start this question for both of you. Let's start with you, Pete. When you look back at this year, how has comedy changed? How is this year going to be remembered?
DOMINICK: I think it's gotten better in a lot of ways, because I think there was definitely a lot of fear at the beginning of the year to see how hard they were going to lean into censoring speech, and they did. They launched an attack on the career and integrity of every comedian, artist, performer, satirist, writer. They came after the guys at the top, obviously, Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel and so many more, and everybody fought back.
And this is the most important thing to us as comedians, our freedom of speech. We support each other. We supported the guys that we know and work for, Paul and I, for Colbert for years, and everybody else. I mean, Jimmy Kimmel, everybody came together. So, I think it was scary at the beginning. But I think that we've really come out ahead and triumphed, Elex.
I'd like to hear what Paul had to say, though.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. What -- what do you have to say?
MECURIO: Yeah, just to add to that, I think the Kimmel -- it was, it was pretty dark when Kimmel happened. But we got through it and there was light at the end of that tunnel, right? I mean, what happened there was ABC listened to the loudest voices in the room. And that's the problem in the country now.
And they forgot about, oh, I don't know, the other two million other people that liked Kimmel.
[23:35:01]
And what this was a hate speech, although it wasn't hate speech per se, but it was about speech you don't like is still protected by the First Amendment. And this is a great civics lesson for everybody out there, especially kids. Just because you say something somebody doesn't like doesn't mean you're wrong or it's wrong.
And so, what ended up happening was two factors. Comedy catapulted us into this debate. And then money factored in because ABC was worried about losing money and revenue for affiliates canceled. But then when people supported Jimmy, they were worried about people unsubscribing and boycotting the theme parks. And so, there was this interesting combination. And I think were at a point in this culture, and I think it actually worked because of this Jimmy situation where we need to listen to each other.
No one has a right to tell me what I can watch. If you don't like something, turn it off. But I have never gone to somebody and said, I don't like that you're liking that. And I want you to stop.
Now, part of that, I think, is fueled by social media. It gives everybody a platform. And so, I think a lot of good came out of Kimmel. You know, it solidified the First Amendment free speech. And I think it sent a message that, you know, the quiet ones have just as much right to enjoy something as the loud ones have a right not to enjoy it.
MICHAELSON: Do you think that the that him coming back after Stephen Colbert was will be taken off the air when it looked like both of them were coming out? The fact that Kimmel came back sort of changed the way comedians felt gave everybody more confidence?
DOMINICK: Absolutely. I mean, I think there's no doubt about it, because you came for the king, you came for the kings, and you lost. And that mattered tremendous amount because all of the rest of us were, you know, had to think about what we were saying now, anywhere, whether it's on a small comedy club in New York or anywhere else across the country or on CNN or any other network or on all of our own shows, we all have our own shows now.
So, yeah, they came for the king and they lost. And it matters. It's a huge, huge triumph for comedy, for free speech. And just to put a, I think, a pin on what Paul was saying most, most specifically, it's when the government tries to censor your speech that that's where we have a huge problem. And that's left for tinpot dictators in history's worst leaders.
MICHAELSON: Yeah, Pete. Dave Chappelle is now slamming --
MECURIO: I want to tag on to that. I just want to tag on to what Pete said. I'm not sure I totally agree in terms of a comedians breathed a sigh of relief. I think a lot of comedians saw that and got their back up where anti-establishment by definition, right? You tell us to do A, we're going to do B.
And so, I think that they, you know, they whacked the honey pot, right? They got the bees going. And so, I see what Pete is saying and I agree with it in part. But I do think -- I personally haven't changed anything, although I don't have the platform that Kimmel or Colbert or some of these people have. But I haven't changed anything. And if anything, I'm talking about it more in my act.
So, I think it emboldened comedians. But one last thing. This isn't just a comedian problem. It's everybody's problem. Because if they could silence Jimmy through the government, then they could silence your kid when he wants to make a speech about LGBTQ in a school and they want to stop funding the school because they don't like the speech. So, it's everybody's problem.
DOMINICK: Exactly.
MICHAELSON: Pete --
DOMINICK: Dave Chappelle snuck in a plug for his new special, whack the honey pot, Paul, I saw what you did.
MICHAELSON: Well done.
Dave Chappelle is slamming those who criticized him for performing in Saudi Arabia, including Bill Maher. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE CHAPPELLE, COMEDIAN: These mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED) act like, because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia, I somehow betrayed my principles. Well, no, no, I know I didn't, I -- no, no, no, no, no, no, let me come on everybody, let me do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Your response to that
(CROSSTALK)
MICHAELSON: Start with Pete. Yeah.
MECURIO: Okay.
DOMINICK: I guess -- I'll quickly just say I love Dave Chappelle, but, I mean, he's really lost me over the past few years because he's always stood up for marginalized communities, and now he's attacking one. That's just no place for it. I don't -- I don't have any space for it.
MICHAELSON: Paul?
MECURIO: I was sort of more taken aback that Bill Maher was like, Bill Maher was doing exactly what we just came out of doing, which is sort of imposing your values and your on someone else and berating somebody else for doing something that you didn't like. You wouldn't like, you wouldn't like to do, didn't like, was said.
I just feel like we need to leave each other alone a little bit. Let's live in the middle. You know what? You cannot like something and just not like it. And let it be. And let the chips fall where they may for that person who's doing something you don't like.
MICHAELSON: All right. So I want to ask each of you, what do you think is the funniest moment of the year?
Pete, let's start with you.
DOMINICK: I mean, to me, it had to be the thing that launched a million memes, which was the Coldplay CEO and his HR executive getting caught on the kiss cam.
[23:40:07]
To me, that was the thing that no matter who you were, no matter what your algorithm was or was or whatever social media platform from Facebook to Instagram to whatever, this thing was launched into your life. And it was like the whitest, the whitest thing ever. Like a CEO and his HR at a Coldplay concert and thousands of memes days and weeks after You had P. Diddy holding a bottle of lotion, you had Trump with Epstein or Trump with Elon or Trump with Putin. So many memes and I just -- it's still going.
MICHAELSON: What do you think?
MECURIO: Yeah, that's -- that's a great one.
Just to tag that. I love the part where no matter how sophisticated you are, when you do something dumb, you turn into a 12-year-old boy. He ducks down thinking no one's going to see him. That was like, festive, I love it.
Mine was the plaques. The plaques Trump put up the mock mocking Biden. You know, like sad, pathetic, hilarious. At the same time, these plaques say more about Trump than they do about them.
In fact, I have my hands. This is breaking news, Elex. The plaque that's going to go up for Trump, and I'll read it to you very quickly was phenomenally tremendous. And displaying how big league tremendous his spectacular tremendousness was as the most tremendous president in the history of the universe, I believe loyalty was more important than competence. Volume was more important than truth. Treated democracy like a talent show and still blame the judges, was a stable genius for the very good brain. Settled 4,500 wars. Makes America great again after void where facts applied.
MICHAELSON: That seems like a post from Gavin Newsom's social media account. You could be doing some writing for him on the side as he do this.
MECURIO: Absolutely.
MICHAELSON: Paul, Pete, thank you for all the laughs this year. Really appreciate it and looking forward to more in 2026.
DOMINICK: Thanks for having us, Elex.
MECURIO: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Coming up, reinventing the Hollywood rollout. How Timothee Chalamet is making waves with the way he is promoting his new film. Wait until you see just how far he's going.
And later, I'll take you behind the scenes with Tony Robbins on his star studded, music led mission to feed the hungry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:46:13]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, ACTOR: Marty Supreme is an American film that comes out on Christmas Day 2025.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: No, that's not Michael Jordan, ladies and gentlemen. That's Oscar nominated actor Timothee Chalamet becoming the first person ever to appear on top of the Las Vegas sphere. And it is the latest stunt in what has become a wild and highly unusual press tour to promote his latest film, "Marty Supreme".
So, what else did he come up with?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(RAP SONG)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That video has now racked up more than 150 million views on X and Instagram combined. Its a collaboration with rapper S -- I don't know who won the Internet for weeks. Expected was secretly Chalamet.
Other ideas that come to fruition these orange Marty Supreme blimps you may have seen flying around recently. Then there's all the A-list celebrities wearing Timothee's very own "Marty Supreme" jacket, names like Tom Brady, Steph Curry, his girlfriend Kylie Jenner. That was an easier booking.
There's even a limited edition Marty Supreme Wheaties box. All of these ideas were first laid out in a now viral Zoom call between Chalamet and the film's marketing team, where he even suggested repainting a famous monument to promote the film.
I'm joined now by the host of the popular film podcast "Raiders of the Lost" podcast, Anthony Deveney.
Anthony, welcome.
ANTHONY DEVENEY, HOST, "RAIDERS OF THE LOST" PODCAST: Thanks for having me. It is SD Kid is the rapper's name.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. Thank you. Clearly, I'm hip with everybody.
DEVENEY: I'm learning, too.
MICHAELSON: So here's some of that Zoom call. I want you to listen and then react.
DEVENEY: Absolutely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHALAMET: The Statue of Liberty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
CHALAMET: Orange
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's great. I love the scale. That's wonderful.
CHALAMET: This to me is one of my favorite images I've ever seen in my life. Like, I don't even know if Ellis Island exists anymore, but you could have people arriving to New York. Whether it's for tourism or out of dire need. And then you see the Statue of Liberty, and it represents everything. It's always represented. But if it's orange, now you're thinking, Marty Supreme.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Or maybe thinking Trump. I don't know. (LAUGHTER)
MICHAELSON: But on a scale of one to 10, how would you grade this press tour?
DEVENEY: This is an absolute -- it's 100.
MICHAELSON: Yeah.
DEVENEY: He's making us all a dream big. And Chalamet understands novelty and intrigue. That's what this is. And also, this is a theater. This is performance.
This is -- he's understanding that in order to change, the world is changing. And so, movie marketing needs to change. Hollywood needs to change. And he's thinking outside the box. He's trying new things.
And he understands that in order to get engagement, you have to get people curious, excited and inspired.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. And of all these things, what do you think is most effective?
DEVENEY: I would say that Zoom call being the first thing. It's so trivial and ridiculous. Many people thought it was fake. It's genius.
And he's also connecting to his fans. He knows where they are. His fans are not reading magazine articles, interviews. They're not watching late night TV. He's interacting with them in their spaces. He knows where to go, what excites them, what they're interested in, what they're talking about.
MICHAELSON: Because people have, like described Tom Cruise as the last movie star. And he operated in that universe. But people, when they think of this generation, think of Timothee Chalamet, perhaps as the next movie star. And maybe this is the way that you do it, because so far, you're saying that were seeing some box office success because of this.
DEVENEY: Absolutely. So "Marty Supreme" already has the best limited release since "La La Land". It opened in six theaters last week, made almost $1 million just in six screens.
[23:50:05]
It also has the highest tracking for presale tickets for A24 in their entire history, so were already seeing channel: 100 date: 12/23/2025 time started: 23:50 time ended: 23:55 comments: hdhr_channel 192.168.17.41-100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- opened in six theaters last week, made almost $1 million just in six screens. It also has the highest tracking for presale tickets for a24 in their entire history, so we're already seeing success.
MICHAELSON: Is there a risk of overexposure? Is there a risk of looking kind of foolish so that you actually lose some gravitas or lose some of that credibility?
DEVENEY: I think that with this, everybody respects Chalamet and his passion for this project is palpable. He's putting everything into this. I've never seen an actor this committed to a marketing campaign. He clearly believes in the project. And so, I think everybody can feel that belief in him.
MICHAELSON: And he certainly puts himself all into his roles as well, which is part of the reason why he's one of the biggest actors on the planet.
Anthony, thanks so much for coming in. Really appreciate it.
DEVENEY: Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: Checking out your podcast.
We'll be back up next, from being hungry to feeding the hungry. Tony Robbins, taking a cue from "We Are the World" to fulfill his mission of 100 billion meals. I'll take you there.
And later, look who's joining THE STORY IS, Logan Paul. My wide- ranging conversation with him coming up in our next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
MICHAELSON: Did you know that Tony Robbins was once hungry without dinner on the table? Well, he was. And a stranger's kindness changed his life. So now, he's helping to make sure that others don't have that same experience. His goal is to provide 100 billion meals to the hungry. Strategy is familiar one. Bring together the best of the best to release a song to help make that happen.
We got behind the scenes look at "The Next Verse".,
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): As the chorus of "The Next Verse" is recorded, author and life coach Tony Robbins is in tears watching his vision become a reality.
Stars like Bruno Mars, Jon Bon Jovi, Dr. Dre all uniting in song.
TONY ROBBINS, "THE NEXT VERSE": This is -- we have -- we figured out 780 years of music experience here.
(SINGING)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Forty years after the song "We Are the World" raised more than $80 million to support humanitarian efforts in Africa, Robbins envisioned a modern twist to support his effort to feed 100 billion meals to the hungry. MICHAELSON: A hundred billion meals seems like such a crazy --
ROBBINS: We've already been 62 billion.
MICHAELSON: But you're there. You're making it happen, right?
ROBBINS: We went five years ago. It was 80 million people that were on the verge of starvation. This year, it's 385 million, just five years later.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): As a young man, Robbins himself experienced hunger. At 17, he moved out of what he described as an abusive house and became a janitor. And he's not the only one here who suffered.
WILL.I.AM, SINGER/SONGWRITER: I've stood in food lines when my family didn't have the means.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Before Will.I.Am's Black Eyed Peas sold an estimated 80 million records. His own family needed help to eat.
MICHAELSON: After that experience, especially fill your soul to be a part of this, to be a part of this cause.
WILL.I.AM: Being a recipient of do-gooding and then having success, you want to always contribute.
ANGIE EVERHART, ACTRESS/MODEL: I've been hungry before, so it's not fun.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Actress and model Angie Everhart says she once could not afford groceries.
MICHAELSON: So when you hadn't eaten for two days and a friend brought you groceries, what did those groceries represent to you?
EVERHART: I cried when they -- when she brought me the groceries, I cried.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Now she owns a food company, Bear Organics, the first to support 100 billion meals.
MICHAELSON: And does this feed your soul?
EVERHART: Absolutely.
ROBBINS: The two of you together is wild.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Robbins recruited Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to produce and help write this song.
TERRY LEWIS, PRODUCER: This is the song that never ends. I mean, this song could go on forever.
(SINGING)
JIMMY JAM, PRODUCER: The call to action. I can change the world. You can change the world. We can change the world. Love can change the world.
(SINGING)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Tony emotional watching Michael McDonald, The Doobie Brothers fame, recording.
ROBBINS: This is what most of us look for in our lives to be a part of.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): McDonald says he was an immediate yes.
MICHAEL MCDONALD, SINGER/SONGWRITER: When somebody says, we have a chance to feed a billion kids in a world where a child starves to death, every 10 seconds, you can't say no.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): For musicians like Siedah Garrett, this is a unique opportunity to collaborate.
SIEDAH GARRETT, SINGER/SONGWRITER: I just saw Michael McDonald.
(SINGING)
GARRETT: When the only white man that can hold a candle next to Patti LaBelle? Come. He's amazing.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): This is the music video for "Man in the Mirror".
(MUSIC)
MICHAELSON (voice-over): An anthem Garrett co-wrote with Michael Jackson to promote global change.
MICHAELSON: In some ways, you feel like this song is like a sequel to "Man in the Mirror"?
GARRETT: This song is the is the entree to man in the mirror. It's a call to action, and I'm hoping that you answer that call.
DARRYL MCDANIELS, RUN DMC: DMC in a place to be.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC says music can prompt change like nothing else.
MICHAELSON: How is music the universal language?
MCDANIELS: It's a spirit. Once you hear it, you know who you are.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): To expand reach, Tony partnered with iHeartRadio and with Zoom, which brought in live feeds of people from all around the world.
Andy Carluccio is head of innovation for Zoom.
ANDY CARLUCCIO, ZOOM, HEAD OF INNOVATION: We bring in video at super low latency from everywhere in the world through our tiles app, and then that goes out to these LED walls so that we make sure that the presenters and the remote audience feel like they're part of the event.
MICHAELSON (voice-over): But behind all this fancy technology is a very simple, powerful purpose.
MICHAELSON: What's the big, big lesson you want people to take from this day from seeing this video?
ROBBINS: I think it's that -- unless you have something you care about more than yourself, you're going to always have problems. I mean, there's a unification here because all of us are trying to serve something more than ourselves.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: How cute are they?
The song releases on iHeartRadio stations on Christmas Day. Get more information about the movement at 100billionmeals.org.
A big thanks to Laura Coates for letting me sit in her chair as she enjoys some holiday time off. A big thanks to her team for helping to produce this bonus hour of THE STORY IS.
