Jake Shane, the 26-year-old influencer, actor and host of Therapuss, is pushing back on the backlash that has followed his celebrity interviews, saying he is not trying to do the work of a reporter. In a new discussion with Kacey Musgraves, Shane said he sees his show as something else entirely: “I’m not a journalist.”
That comment came after a string of clips drew attention online, including his exchange at the Vanity Fair Oscar’s Party with Julia Fox and Damson Idris, when he asked both the same question about Rose Byrne’s fictional, terminally ill child in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You: “But wasn’t the kid annoying?” Fox and Idris reacted with a mix of cringe and disbelief, and the moment quickly became part of the wider criticism around his interview style.
Shane addressed that criticism while Musgraves was on Therapuss promoting her album Middle of Nowhere. He told her one of his favorite lyrics was from “Slow Burn,” which she wrote and released in 2018: “In Tennessee, the sun’s going down / But in Beijing, they’re heading out to work.” Musgraves laughed off the read, saying, “It literally just means what it means.”
Shane’s response to the blowback was direct. “There are real journalists out there asking real thoughtful, hard questions,” he said, adding: “What I am having with people is a conversation… I want to create a comfortable, friendly environment for my guests.” It was a notable distinction from the tone of the questions that drew the criticism in the first place.
The reaction has landed in the middle of a larger argument about whether influencers and celebrities are now doing the work of journalists, especially in the booming world of celebrity podcasts. Those shows are often built around promotion for a new product, show, album, tour, documentary or even an AI-slop venture, and the line between conversation and interview can blur fast when a clip travels further than the full episode.
Shane’s case is a sharp example of that tension. His defenders may see a playful host trying to keep things loose; his critics see questions that miss the mark and lean into awkwardness for attention. What he has made plain is that he does not want to be mistaken for a reporter. He wants Therapuss to feel like a friendly stop on a promotion run, not a press conference, and that may be exactly why the criticism keeps following him.
