Trisha Paytas quits ‘Frenemies’ podcast amid feud with frenemy

So much for keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

YouTube sensation Trisha Paytas is “stepping down” from the popular weekly podcast “Frenemies” amid a disagreement over their conduct on the show. The nonbinary podcast host, who goes by the pronouns they and them, dropped the bombshell Tuesday in a YouTube video that’s already racked up more than 1.5 million views.

“I have this feeling in my heart that I need to step away from ‘Frenemies,’ ” said Paytas, 33, who’s been co-hosting the H3H3 Productions podcast with Ethan Klein since the two created it in September 2020.

Paytas’ announcement follows a dispute during the podcast’s Monday night episode, in which they and their co-host argued over the show’s production, Insider reported.

Paytas had called a new segment of the podcast “lazy” and “dumb” — prompting Klein to retort that the production crew does “most of the work” for “Frenemies” while his podcast partner “just shows up.” However, Paytas, who is reportedly engaged to Klein’s brother-in-law, artist Moses Hacmon, suggested their value lies in bringing relevant topics to the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPxK2pY2mUA

The spat soon erupted into an argument over production expenses, the show’s location and advertising revenue.

Needless to say, the “Frenemies” production crew was none too thrilled with Paytas’ comments and even stopped recording the podcast for the week, per the announcement.

Despited the heated tiff, Paytas claims that the on-air argument was not the reason for their resignation. Rather, they wanted the podcast to be a 50/50 partnership in which both hosts pitched in equal amounts for production and set costs.

“I do feel like I contributed half to ‘Frenemies,’ ” Paytas said in the video.

“Frenemies” co-hosts Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein in happier times.
H3 Podcast

The internet personality elaborated on her decision in a comment under the clip, adding that they also quit to “ease the tension everywhere.”

“I don’t want to be the toxicity in their machine,” wrote Paytas, adding that the show is “not good for me mentally anymore.”

The statement concluded, “It could be my own brain attacking me, but for myself, right now, I just need to disengage completely. this is without a doubt, the hardest decision I’ve ever made. and it definitely was the most successful thing I’ve been a part of, so it’s with a super heavy heart that I cannot continue.”

Following Paytas’ resignation announcement, Klein posted a seemingly snarky reference to their on-air tiff on Twitter, writing “Happy #NationalBestFriendsDay.”

However, it appears that they’re not “Frenemies” in real life, as the host has since claimed that he’s “gutted” over his ex-colleague’s departure.

“Trisha’s video this morning was a total surprise to me,” he said on Twitter. “I don’t really know what more I can say or do. Im 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.”

In a follow-up post several hours later, Klein described the show as a “beautiful experiment,” adding that Paytas “has been a dear friend of mine throughout, and I’ll always be grateful for all she’s done for us.”

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