Dirty Chats

Hold your florals, because in this episode I SAVE BLAKE LIVELY'S REPUTATION. 

Also in this ep, it's the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni case explained - well, the updates anyway. 

Because Judge Liman just gutted two thirds of Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.

So, in Dirty Dish: I break down exactly what happened with the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni ruling. What was dismissed, why it's not as simple as "she lost," and what's actually heading to trial in May.

I also go line by line through her post-ruling statement, and discuss the diabolical dragon emoji 🐉

Plus I have a full image rehabilitation plan for Blake that I genuinely believe could save her career. 

Dirty Business: Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty has done two activations back to back that shows she's at the top of her marketing game. And I want to explain why they work on a brain level, not just a "oh that's cute" level.

Scratch-and-sniff billboards in New York City. A casino slot machine that dispenses foundation samples outside Sephora. And the psychological concept that ties them both together: the pattern interrupt.

I also bring in Steven Bartlett's £13,000 blue slide and what it has to do with your content strategy in a post-AI world.

→ Why Judge Liman dismissed Blake Lively's sexual harassment claim and what "independent contractor" actually means legally 

→ What's still going to trial in May and why the smear campaign claims were always the heart of this case 

→ How Rare Beauty's experiential marketing activations use pattern interrupts to trigger dopamine and create brand memory 

→ The neuroscience of novelty and why your brain remembers unexpected experiences more vividly than anything familiar 

→ What Steven Bartlett's £13,000 blue slide can teach you about standing out in a saturated, AI-content-flooded market 

→ The one question every brand needs to answer: what's your scratch-and-sniff billboard?

I'm Marisa Twentyman, founder of Dirty Copy and host of Dirty Chats.

Find my website HERE

Alix Earle just sold out a skincare brand in 19 hours. Here's exactly how she did it.

In Dirty Dish, hundreds of thousands of Chinese social media users are changing their profile pictures to Kris Jenner's face....but why?

Then in Dirty Business, I break down Alix Earle's pre-launch campaign for Real Actives, her new acne skincare brand.

🧩 Alix spent months feeding people's primal brains before a single product was available to buy. The rollout included cryptic Instagram accounts, passcode-locked suitcases sent to influencers, a physical puzzle billboard in SoHo, and the Empire State Building lit up in mint green.

The whole range sold out in 19 hours 🤯

I walk through every step of the campaign and the buyer psychology behind why it worked....

... including what part of the brain actually makes people buy.

The recap:

→ Why Kris Jenner is trending across China and what it says about how aspiration actually travels online 

→ How Alix Earle's Real Actives pre-launch campaign used curiosity loops and dopamine to sell out in 19 hours — before most people had seen a single product → The reptilian brain buying sequence (emotion first, logic second, purchase third) and how to apply it to your own launches 

→ Why overcoming objections publicly — the way Alix did with her Accutane history — is one of the most underused moves in product marketing 

→ What Alix Earl's daily Get Ready With Me habit teaches us about consistency vs. intelligence in business

I'm Marisa Twentyman, host of Dirty Chats, creative copywriter and marketing consultant for brands that don't do boring. 

THANKS FOR BEING HERE!

Check out my IG here

This week I'm unpacking the full Taylor Frankie Paul situation: the assault footage, the cancelled season, the lawsuit rumours, and the one question nobody's really asking....why did ABC cast her in the first place when they knew?

(We're blaming Nick).

I also have a full PR plan for three different parties caught in this mess: 
* the Bachelorette franchise
* The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
* and Taylor herself. 

And yes, I pitched ABC a plan to save their show. Six days later, Deux Moi dropped a blind item that suggests they may have… borrowed it. 

Still waiting for my cheque 😏

The real marketing lesson buried in all of this? (yes, I talk about marketing as well.)
The currency of marketing is feelings, and the second your audience feels bad about watching you, the money dries up. 

Here's what else I cover:
→ Why ABC's decision to cast Taylor Frankie Paul - despite knowing her domestic violence history - is a masterclass in what happens when entertainment brands chase drama over due diligence

→ The psychology behind why audiences forgave Taylor before the video, and why they can't now - and what that means for your brand's perception

→ Why the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives franchise may not survive this, and what a brand does when its main character becomes a liability

→ What a brand activation event at scale actually looks like - and how the Bachelorette could use one to rebuild visibility and recoup losses

→ Why silence is sometimes the only PR move that works (my real plan for Taylor, and it starts with a garden)

Check out the viral IG carousel HERE
And my website HERE

The one where I pitch Meghan Markle a business idea she didn't ask for - and break down Timothée Chalamet's Oscar campaign in history.

This week on Dirty Chats, we're covering two stories that have absolutely nothing in common except that both involve famous people who both take themselves very seriously. 

First up in Dirty Dish - Meghan Markle. The Her Best Life retreat in Sydney sold out in days, there are conflicting reports about whether she's getting paid $1 million or doing it "as a favour for a friend" (spoiler: it's neither and both), and Netflix has officially pulled out of as ever, her lifestyle brand.  I also pitch Meghan a business idea she absolutely needs to hear...what can I say, she needs me. 

Then in Dirty Business - will Timmy's gaffe hurt his Oscars chance? 

I chat timelines including Oscar voting dates.  

But the real story is his Marty Supreme marketing campaign, which was genuinely brilliant. 

• A fake 18-minute leaked Zoom meeting. 
• An orange blimp over American cities. 
• Climbing the Las Vegas Sphere. 
• Crashing a real table tennis tournament. Losing basketball to high schoolers with Adam Sandler.

We unpack how Oscar campaigns actually work (it's literally influencer marketing invented decades before Instagram existed), the bandwagon effect in action, Seth Godin's Purple Cow...

...and I break down one of my favourite marketing startup stories of all time: BUMBLE's. 

What you'll learn: → Why the Oscar FYC (For Your Consideration) campaign is a $25 million marketing exercise disguised as an arts competition → How Bumble shortcutted their way to perceived status with zero ad spend — and what that means for your brand → The Purple Cow principle and why safe is actually the riskiest strategy for your business → Why showing up where your audience ISN'T is the move that changes everything → The bandwagon effect and why social proof is still the most powerful conversion tool you've got

If you're creating content for your brand and want carousels that actually go viral  -  check out my Viral Carousel course. And if you want the gorgeous, psychology-baked templates to match, jump on the waitlist for Viral Carousel Templates. 

Join Carousel Template Waitlist HERE

Dirty Chats is hosted by Marisa Twentyman, NZ-based copywriter and founder of Dirty Copy. New episodes drop weekly.

Did Kim Kardashian just waste the best launch story of 2026? Obviously I have thoughts.

This week on Dirty Chats: my husband bought me a Thermomix and I've basically become a different person, Lily Allen showed up to her tour opening night wearing a dress made of actual receipts (and it's a masterclass in specific storytelling), and Kim Kardashian quietly became co-founder of an energy drink brand with absolutely zero buildup — which, for a woman who built her entire career on anticipation, is criminal.

I'm breaking down the psychology principle she completely ignored: Presuasion, the concept from Robert Cialdini that says the most powerful moment to influence a buying decision isn't when you make the ask — it's in the moments just before. What you prime your audience to think and feel before your offer lands determines everything. And I've mapped out exactly how Kim should have done this drop, week by week, if she'd wanted to actually build hype instead of just... posting a yellow can and writing "pineapple."

In this episode:

• Why Lily Allen's receipt dress is one of the best examples of specific storytelling you'll ever see — and what it means for your copy
• The Thermomix that has apparently saved my marriage and set feminism back 80 years
• Kim K's new energy drink brand Update: the product positioning is genuinely genius, the launch strategy is not
• Robert Cialdini's Presuasion framework and how to use it in your own pre-launch content
• Why the clouds vs. coins website experiment should change how you think about every piece of content you put out before a launch
• How to get your audience mentally identifying as a buyer before they've seen your offer

The big marketing takeaway: Most people treat pre-launch as a waiting period. Cialdini says it's actually the most valuable time in your entire campaign. The post before the launch, the email before the cart opens, the story before the ask — all of it is either building the right mental context or the wrong one. Kim built none, which means she left a lot of emotional investment — and probably a lot of sales — on the table.

I'm Marisa Twentyman, founder of Dirty Copy, and I'm your girl for website copywriting, copy and marketing consultations and an AI-powered business. 

Check out my website HERE

My Instagram HERE

Dirty Chats is BACCCCCK and firstly a note: the audio isn't quite as good as I'd hoped... 😬

In this episode, I’m breaking down two stories that had me (and the internet) in a full chokehold:

– The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, in Tucson, Arizona
– The Netflix docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model and the cultural reckoning around Tyra Banks and ANTM

And because I physically cannot consume media without turning it into a marketing lesson…

We’re talking about:

• The psychology of curiosity
• Why public attention has a 10-day shelf life
• How reality TV exploited contestants before social media shifted the power balance
• Why in 2026, authenticity beats polish
• And why AI might be the next cultural shift you cannot afford to ignore

I also highlight two real-life case studies of anticipation in marketing, with Jess Ruhfus' new supplement brand Staje, and Alex Warren's campaign of hype around his new single FEVER.

I'm Marisa Twentyman, founder of Dirty Copy, and podcast host of Dirty Chats - where we gossip and grow your business.

Download the website freebie HERE

Join the Claude workshop HERE

Follow Jess HERE

This week on Dirty Chats, I’m finally doing what you’ve all been waiting for: a forensic analysis of the Brooklyn Beckham family drama...plus my draft PR plan for Brooklyn and Nicola to help them come out on top of the PR war (which they absolutely can, if they become the first clients of my imaginary PR company). 

Yes, I know. This episode is late...BUT I'M STILL ON HOLIDAY, so feel special. 

So this episode is a bonus Dirty Chats: less business, more gossip (for now), and a brutally honest breakdown of why this situation played out exactly the way it did.

I go line by line through Brooklyn’s statement, unpack the wedding stories, the “signing away my name” confusion, the blocking/unfollowing chaos, and explain the one thing the internet never forgives: looking butthurt in public when you’re not beloved yet.

What I cover in this episode

• Why the internet sided with the Beckhams without a single shred of evidence
• How nostalgia beats logic every single time
• Why publishing family grievances online is reputation-defining (and rarely in your favour)
• What the “signing away my name” claim is actually about (hint: trademarks, not control)
• Why “we just want privacy” is the fastest way to become a meme
• My unfiltered take on who I believe, when, and why
• And finally: the only PR strategy that would actually work for Brooklyn & Nicola

The big marketing lesson....

This entire feud isn’t about truth - it’s about brand equity.

The Beckhams don’t just have a family. They have a brand.
Years of nostalgia, emotional investment, and masterful narrative control mean the public will instinctively protect them.

Brooklyn and Nicola?
 They haven’t earned public goodwill yet....and this moment has now become what they’re most famous for.

That’s not a moral judgement.
 That’s branding.

And to finish? My PR plan for Brooklyn Beckham & Nicola Peltz. 

Basically, they need me. 

This isn’t just celebrity gossip.
 It’s a real-time case study in what happens when you lose narrative control... and why brands (and families) guard it so aggressively.

It’s also a reminder that:

• The internet respects unbothered
• Nostalgia is undefeated
• And if you’re going to air your dirty laundry… you’d better already be loved

Get the VIRAL CAROUSEL COURSE HERE (use code DIRTYCHATS for 30% off)

In this final episode of Dirty Chats for 2025, I’m doing three things I love most:
gossiping, breaking down marketing psychology, and telling the truth about what’s actually working in business right now.

First, I give Erika Kirk a no-BS PR and marketing makeover, unpacking why public perception matters more than intention...and my cutthroat suggestions for her to win the public over. 

Then, I share my biggest predictions for business and marketing in 2026, including why visibility is everything, why “enterselling” is the future, and why high-touch, lower-ticket offers are quietly outperforming launches and courses.

And finally, I explain why Owning Manhattan is hands-down the best reality TV show ever made ....and what Ryan Serhant’s vulnerability teaches us about ambition, burnout, dopamine, and the cost of constant growth.

If you’re a business owner, creator, or marketer trying to navigate visibility, AI, algorithms, and selling in 2026....this episode is for YOU

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why public perception = reality in marketing, PR, and politics
• The real reason some brands feel “off” (even when they’re saying the right things)
• My 2026 business predictions ....what’s rising and what’s dying
• Why entertainment + selling (enterselling) is the future of marketing
• How visibility alone can drive sales — even with a messy funnel
• Why the algorithm isn’t broken (and what it actually rewards now)
• The shift from scalable courses → high-touch, lower-ticket offers
• Why entrepreneurs are addicted to momentum (and the dopamine crash that follows)
• What Owning Manhattan gets right that Selling Sunset never did

On another note...I can't believe this is the last episode for 2025! I'm back mid Feb for a bigger and better year than ever. Thank you SO much for listening and supporting!

Get the viral carousel course HERE

In this episode, I break down Skims’ viral TikTok Live shopping event, including the exact performance numbers from “Kimsmas Live” and what they signal about the future of social commerce and online marketing in 2026.

I also dive into the Jaclyn Hill TikTok backlash, why viewers suddenly labelled her “unrelatable,” and what her viral algorithm rant reveals about changing consumer expectations in the influencer world.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Skims used TikTok Live to merge entertainment and ecommerce
• Why “enterselling” is emerging as a key marketing trend for 2026
• What the Jaclyn Hill controversy teaches us about audience behaviour

Visit my website HERE

In this episode of Dirty Chats, I'm discussing two VERY disconnected things:
💸 the exact breakdown of what I'm investing in 2026, WHY...and my evolving philosophy towards investment
💔 the emotional cost of going “no-contact” with family, and the rise of this disturbing trend

First, inside Dirty Dish, I’m unpacking Oprah’s viral podcast on the silent epidemic of people going non-contact with parents and family. We talk Gen Z, therapy-speak, labels like “narcissist” and “gaslighter,” the difference between toxic abuse vs. “you’re not perfect,” and why self-reflection might be the real key to reconciliation (in families and in business).

Then I take you behind the scenes of everything I’m already investing in for my business in 2026 - exact purchases, prices, and the mindset shifts that took me from “I’ll just figure it out myself” to dropping over 20K on PR, events, strategy and systems. I break down:

• Why successful entrepreneurs make decisions quickly
• The difference between a “cute little business” and scalable growth
• How high-ticket rooms, events and mentorships actually work (and why they’re basically a club)
• The investments I’m making next year and what I expect them to do for my brand

If you’ve ever agonised over a $500 software subscription while secretly wanting a 6-figure business… this one will sting and inspire in the best way.

In this episode, we get into:

• Oprah’s viral no-contact conversation and why estrangement is trending
• How therapy labels (narcissist, gaslighter, BPD) can both help and harm family relationships
• The difference between walking away from abuse vs. cutting off imperfect-but-loving parents
• Why self-reflection is the non-negotiable ingredient in any healthy relationship
• My own experience with low-contact family dynamics and “death by a thousand cuts”
• How my relationship to investing in business completely changed this year
• The mindset gap between “I’ll YouTube it” entrepreneurs and those playing a bigger game
• Why speed of decision-making is a marker of a seasoned entrepreneur
• The exact things I’m investing in for 2026 (and rough price tags):
  • A high-level PR intensive
  • A new website template + tech stack (hello, ThriveCart + Tonic Site Shop)
  • A US trip for a major women-in-business event
  • A launch strategist to help engineer a bigger, cleaner launch
• How much I invested in Year 1 vs now -  and why the numbers keep going up
• The truth about making “sick-to-your-stomach” purchases and betting on your future self

THANK YOU - as always - for listening. Love you forever!

Marisa x

Check out Dirty Copy website HERE