The Pile-On

As co-host of one of the biggest podcasts in the country, Jessie Stephens has grown a large audience as well as a large number of critics. Over the years, Clare has watched people create a distorted version of her twin sister online, misrepresenting her career, her values, her marriage and even the way she has embraced motherhood. Much of that criticism has centred on the rumour that Jessie is suc...

Josh Szeps has built a career on asking difficult questions and refusing to repeat the lines people want him to say. Today, he is known for pushing back against groupthink and hosting conversations most people avoid. But long before that was his public identity, Josh experienced his first pile-on the same weekend as his wedding. In this episode, Josh reflects on the online backlash that blindsided...

In early 2024, Married at First Sight alumni Domenica Calarco and her co-host were at the height of their podcasting success. Their show  Sit With Us  had built a loyal audience and strong partnerships, but one episode changed everything. After a controversial interview aired, Domenica found herself at the centre of a full-blown internet storm. Headlines, comment sections and brand partn...

In April 2025, Australian actor and content creator Kath Ebbs (they/them) found themselves at the centre of a global tabloid storm — one that had nothing to do with being on television, and everything to do with who they were dating. Their then-partner, pop icon and  Celebrity Big Brother UK  contestant JoJo Siwa, had spent weeks on camera forming what looked like much more than a friend...

Tim Minchin knows what it’s like to have the internet turn on you for something you didn’t actually say. At the end of 2023, while touring  An Unfunny Evening With Tim Minchin and His Piano , his mother Ros died unexpectedly. He was grieving, performing, and trying to plan a funeral when his phone lit up with a warning from his management:  “You’ll get calls from numbers you don’t recogn...

Sophie Cachia knows what it’s like to be piled on on the internet. She’s been sharing her life online for 13 years — first as a blogger, then an influencer and now an entrepreneur and author. Over that time she’s learnt to live with the constant criticism that comes with visibility: the comments about her body, her parenting, her relationships, her sexuality. But there was one message she couldn’t...

Marlee Silva was 24 and on the cusp of a national book tour when her phone lit up—for all the wrong reasons. One accusation—branding her a “late-identifying” Aboriginal woman—ignited a vicious online pile-on. Overnight, friends fell silent, brands cut ties, and strangers dredged through her sister’s teenage Instagram posts, turning a few screenshots into a spectacle that almost destroyed Marlee’s...

Listen to part 1 of Clare's conversation with Hannah here. On a Thursday morning in Australia, news breaks that far-right US activist Charlie Kirk has been shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. Hours later, Hannah Ferguson — CEO of Cheek Media, a proudly feminist and unapologetically progressive platform — publishes her response. The headline reads: “The shooting of Charlie Kirk is not a...

Listen to part 2 of Clare's conversation with Hannah here. When Cheek Media co-founder Hannah Ferguson posted a video supporting Kamala Harris in 2024, she didn’t expect it to spark one of the most painful pile-ons of her career. What began as criticism from prominent media voices soon spread to her own family, with strangers targeting her teenage sister in a way that blurred the lines between onl...

This is  The Pile-On —where the headlines end, and the human stories begin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ve seen the outrage. Now hear what it’s like at the bottom. The Pile-On is coming soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.