Trisha Paytas says they are quitting the 'Frenemies' podcast after ownership disputes
Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein host H3H3's popular podcast "Frenemies" together.
On Tuesday, Paytas tearfully announced they would be stepping down from the show.
Paytas claimed the exit is due to a conflict over ownership and production decisions.
YouTube star Trisha Paytas tearfully announced in a video on Tuesday that they would be stepping down as co-host of the popular podcast "Frenemies."
Paytas, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns "they" and "them," has hosted the H3H3 Productions podcast with Ethan Klein since September 2020.
Paytas' video announcement came after a disagreement that occurred during the podcast's most recent episode late Monday night. In the video announcing their departure, they said that the H3H3 production crew expressed they were unhappy with Paytas' conduct during the last episode of "Frenemies" and that the crew would pause recording the show for the week.
After Paytas announced their departure from "Frenemies," Klein tweeted a seemingly tongue-in-cheek reference to the dispute, writing "Happy #NationalBestFriendsDay."
Klein also tweeted that he didn't know what to do with "4,000 frenemies hoodies" and that Paytas' video came as "a total surprise."
"I dont [sic] really know what more I can say or do," Klein wrote. "Im [sic] very sorry to all the fans of frenemies, I know how much it meant to everyone, I did everything I humanly could to save it."
The issues between Paytas and Klein extend into their personal lives, as Paytas is currently engaged to Klein's brother-in-law.
Some fans also doubted the announcement's validity due to Paytas' past tendency to flip-flop. They similarly claimed they would quit "Frenemies" and delete Klein's number in December 2020, but soon returned for another episode.
Klein fought with Paytas over how dedicated they were to the podcast
Paytas' announcement of their departure follows an on-air debate over their work ethic, as well as the podcast's production costs and ownership.
Toward the end of the newest "Frenemies" episode, which is currently behind a paywall for H3H3 Podcast YouTube subscription holders, Paytas said that the question and answer segment - a new part of the podcast planned to be introduced this week - is "dumb" and makes the podcast look "lazy."
Klein responded by saying that the crew for H3H3 Productions, which is owned by Klein and his wife, Hila, does "most of the work" for "Frenemies," while Paytas "just shows up."
Paytas replied that they bring topics to the podcast and contribute to the duo's discussions. They went on to say that Klein "recycles" topics between the H3H3 Podcast's other YouTube programming and "Frenemies."
Following that, Paytas continued to say that the H3H3 Podcast crew brings ideas that "aren't that great" to "Frenemies" and said that they didn't get input in hiring decisions for the crew.
When Klein asked why Paytas would have input on hiring, Paytas said that 5% of the total "Frenemies" revenue, including advertising revenue from its shorter highlight clip YouTube videos, went to the H3 crew.
Klein said that the money earned from advertisements was for "production costs" and the two started to disagree over plans to move the studio to a location in Downtown Los Angeles rather than Klein's house, which is located further out in the city.
According to Klein, Paytas didn't want to travel downtown to record the podcast. But Paytas went on to say that production costs were too high, relative to the perceived cost of "Frenemies" and the value Paytas brings to the show.
"Why don't we have 'Frenemies' employees and I get input if we're putting 5% of the budget toward them?" Paytas asked. As the disagreement continued, Paytas asked to stop filming.
But in their video announcement about leaving "Frenemies," Paytas said that this dispute was not the reason for their departure.
Paytas said they wanted the show to be a 50/50 partnership the two built together from the ground up, including pitching in costs for the set and production.
Klein's position, Paytas said, is that H3H3 produces "Frenemies" while Paytas is "the talent."
"I do feel like I contributed half to 'Frenemies,'" Paytas said.
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