American Scandal

Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage.

Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame? From the creators of American History Tellers, Business Wars and Tides of History comes American Scandal, where we take you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. Hosted by Lindsay Graham.

New episodes come out every Tuesday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. Get all episodes - including exclusive seasons - ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Introducing: Something Was Wrong

Introducing: Something Was Wrong

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 09:00

A Seattle-based celebrity photographer and hairstylist accused of criminal abuse is the focus of the latest season of top-rated Iris Award-Winning true-crime podcast Something Was Wrong from Tiffany Reese.

Season 14 of Something Was Wrong features first-hand accounts of alleged abuse from eleven survivors who share their in-depth stories for the first time. They detail the physical, verbal, and emotional abuse they’ve suffered at the hands of this photographer which dates back as far as 2007, in hopes of seeking justice for his victims.

Reese created the program in 2018 to validate abuse victims and educate the public about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, coercive control, and gaslighting.

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Each of us projects a version of ourselves to the world that's different from who we truly are, and the greater the difference between these two versions, the more deceit and chaos follows. In the case of one Seattle-based celebrity photographer and hairstyles, the duplicity and self-delusion even becomes sinister. Season 14 of Something Was Wrong amplifies true first-hand accounts of eleven survivors of abuse allegedly at the hands of a seemingly fun and charming man, but one who has a very dark side. The chronic gaslighting, cheating, physical abuse and intimidation have become too much, and these survivors are speaking out in the hopes of saving others' pain and misery, and finding justice for themselves and others. You're about to hear a clip from Something Was Wrong while you're listening. Follow Something Was Wrong on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Download the Amazon Music app today. Emerson would start crying and I would be like, I need to go help her. And he would be like, all you care about is the baby. Like, she's ruining my life. I hate her. I wish she would die. So I started sleeping with the door locked, and I started having him sleep in Bowie's room. I no longer wanted him in the room with me. And Emerson, while she was sleeping. I didn't so much worry about her when I went to work. So it was during the height of him raging on me. That's when I was scared of him and scared of what he would do to her. One day I was getting Emerson ready to go in the bath. I look and she has handprints on her back and her butt. I take a picture of them and I send it to him and I said, what the fuck did you do? And he's like, you're fucking crazy. That's a rash. I didn't do anything. What's wrong with you? Did you go off your meds? My meds are thyroid medication. I'm not taking mood stabilizers. But this is what he does to me. Makes me feel like I'm making everything up. And nothing is real. It's six o'clock right now. And he left for work at 11. So I'm only noticing this now because one I didn't get her like naked for anything. Two, she's never had a rash ever. There was never a time that she had a rash. I was like, that's a lie. Looking back now, I should have taken her to the emergency room right then. Or I just should have called the police. I didn't. That's my biggest regret is that I didn't tell someone. I'm not crazy. This is real. This is a handprint. And I have the pictures still. I've seen the pictures. They're very upsetting. It appears to me to absolutely be a handprint. It almost looks like a hikki at one point like he took the top layer of her skin off by hitting her so hard. She's just turned one. What could she have possibly been doing? Nothing. There's nothing. There's absolutely fucking nothing. And he alleges that it didn't happen and that it was a rash to be clear. I'll put that on my list of questions to ask him about. Yes, please do. Going forward, I know that he's hit her. I'm operating in the space of knowing, but also feeling like I am stuck. I start planning my exit. I don't know how I'm going to do it. I just know I have to leave. It was around this time that I saw more conversations through Facebook chat. It was never through text messages, always through these side things. So he's talking to some chick and Kansas or something, telling her that he's going to come there and they're sending nudes to each other. He leaves his iPad one day when he goes to work. And so I look at it again because I'm like, something is going on. I look at his sent messages and I find a picture of him having sex with Melissa. It was all shocking. I knew this guy was bad news. I had no clue that he was capable of all of the things. A soulless shell of a person. How devoid of love and empathy can one person be? I think where his love and empathy should be, it's just been replaced with an obsession with power and control. Hey, prime members, you can listen to something was wrong wherever you get your podcasts or early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.