The "Relatable Reese" YT persona - what's different from any other YT "drama" channel?
Some personal impressions about the public Youtube persona "Relatable Reese" (I say "persona" cause that's all I know, i.e. the publicly displayed character that performs as "Reese" on the "Relatable Reese" YT channel) that I've been generally mulling over and just thought I'd share and move on:
- There is a genre of Youtube channels called "drama channels" - all they do is drum up a shifting crowd of "followers" and then create fake "drama" with, usually, another drama channel while the "followers' drift back and forth and back and forth, like soap opera banshees or moths following the channel creators' fake flames.
For example, in the world of YT "true crime" channels, the drama segment is known as "Crama" channels, and rather than stick to crime "facts", they just argue back and forth who's guilty, altho nobody really knows, it's just the "taking sides" dynamic.
In the case of RR's channel it appears her "official cover" schtick is "women's empowerment" thru shopping and counseling and gossiping about other people known to the group.
The drama channel "personas" - a/k/a "creators" - of these channels DO IT FOR THE MONEY - THEY'RE BUSINESSES, NOT ELEEMONSYNARY LONELY HEARTS CLUBS - and many of them do quite well, i.e., as near as I can figure, observing some of the bigger ones, the persona's are taking in about $200,000+ per annum what with YT advertising fees, "follower" "super chats" and payments via Venmo, Paypal, etc., monthly channel "Members" dues as well as other devices like setting up "Amazon Wish Lists" from which followers can pay for items - usually something that stirs up the sympathies of the followers like pet toys or childrens' items) to be sent to the channel persona which, usually unrealized by the gifting followers, can be "exchanged" by the channel persona for something other Amazon item much more to the channel creator's personal liking. (indeed there's one clever "Crama" Youtuber who raises money, in addition to for himself, for monthly donations to various volunteer crime groups, like searchers - but the real angle that he takes the money given by his followers and, yes, makes monthly donations of a portion of the amounts collected, but then claims the tax deduction for those donations for himself, wickedly clever, no?)
So that's the framework of ALL of them - MAKING MONEY; I don't care if they're ostensibly showcasing the interests of Mother Teresa or starving children, they're doing whatever they're doing to make that $200K nut by just running their mouths on Youtube. And, btw, lol, imo they're ALL GREEDY, LAZY, and SELFISH, AF as well, just the generic type, female or male, who goes into the YT grift game.
And the RR persona is NO DIFFERENT in that regard - she's in it to make a nice sweet income - and, again by "sweet", I'd guess in the well above $100K per annum range.
So what's the big deal - just another Youtuber makin' a buck by yapping.
Well, having looked at the various biz models and persona performative "role playing" of so many YR'ers, what stuck me - actually, shocked me - about RR is the piercing sophistication of her "follower" grooming techniques - apparently the fruit of her former Scientology training - as well as how utterly relentless she is in pursuing her grift; she talks for about 2 hours/day pretty much every day of the week except for her special "Members Only" Zoom sessions that reportedly last for as long as 12 hours!!!
But For RR - and this, in my estimation is her ominously distinctive quality - it's more than a money play angle in the super competitive world of YT grift - it's her publically self-evidenced psychologically driven compulsion for vengeance - and gal has THIN skin with a mind-warping buffet of vendetta's goin' on at any one time - from her daily life: doctors, nurses, restaurant servers, customer encounters in stores with whom she had/has some beef - from her personal life: her bio dad, her mother, her MIL, her former Scientology colleagues, her former husbands (except for 92 year old she married for 6 months)- AND, of course, any other channel "persona's" or "followers" that have quit her, and thus thereby, in her 24/7 (which actually must be a self-torture in and of itself) suspicious mind, threaten her grift.
So RR's "super-power"? Gal will set out to intentionally & publically HURT you - reputationally and/or emotionally based on whatever personal tidbits she's wheedled out of you during her "love-bombing" phase - as viciously as she can, if she gets that bee in her bonnet that you've become, as a follower, "dis-loyal" (or no longer money-producing) or a direct competitor channel in what she sees as her own grift "lane".
Of course there's myriad other notably troubling "red-flag" aspects of the RR persona: teaming up with her latest husband - imo, a miserable con man bum American expat hunkered down in Ecuador while she remains ensconced in the USA - with whom, on screen (via a separate channel) she engages in a very seedy/hinky soft porn interaction apparently geared to titillating a very distinct subset of her regular channel "followers" - and, elsewise, her overt "targeting" of older folks because, one could reasonably surmise, they have more disposable income and softer kind hearts for her various sob stories.
So, what's the lesson learned? No use expecting a duck to bark or a dog to quack - or either to stop doing what comes naturally to them - and highly sophisticated grifting together w. a nasty spirit of vengeance wrapped in a very offputtng, imo, constant undertone of sexual innuendo is what comes naturally to the "Relatable Reese" persona as she publicly presents herself.
BUT She ain't gonna change - gal herself brags constantly she LUVS TO SHOP and that takes MONEY - and every hit she takes from audience blow back is only a "teaching moment' for her as to how to manipulate better next time - it's the nature she chooses to cultivate on screen.
So, for me, personally, the takeaway was/is - STAY AWAY, stay, far, far away - fortunately, unless one gets sucked in by the her sophisticated grooming techniques and actually engage with her via money gifting (that's a "window" into tracking personal ID info), she's quite boring - one of those gals who can irritatingly drone on for hours on end and never say anything, but upset you nonetheless.
Is the "RR" channel a "cult"? Well, The Cult Education Institute outlines several common red flags:
- Absolute Authoritarianism: The leader has all the power and is never questioned.
No Tolerance for Questions: You are punished or shamed for having doubts or asking for proof.
- Isolation: The group pressures you to cut ties with family, friends, and anyone outside the group.
- Fear-Based Control: You are taught that the outside world is evil or doomed, and that leaving the group will result in disaster.
- Financial Exploitation: There is no clear look at how group money is spent, and members are pressured to give up their wealth or work for free.
- "Us vs. Them" Mentality: The group claims to be the only way to know the truth or find validation.
Personally, I don't think the "Relatable Reese" channel/persona rises to the level of these warning signs - she's not that "big time" - but she does use her Scientology background to good (bad) effect in running her little Youtube channel money grift - and folks likely should be well on guard that deliberately honed mind/emotion manipulation is going on.
So, in sum, imho, the RR performance doesn't rise to the level of a "cult", but it is dang cult-ish.
An last but not least, always gotta remember, each of us - hopefully all only adults, no children involved, god forbid - are free to make our own choices - so if some choose to jump onto the RR train for whatever reason of personal preference, it's still a "free country", lol. We're each accountable for remembering that old adage: A fool and her/his money are soon parted.
But if you feel that you, or someone you care for, has been substantively swindled by any YT'er, remember, one avenue of recourse is the state by state Consumer Protection bureaus: for example, let's say, Tennessee's is:
Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs - serves as the state’s primary consumer protection agency, handling complaints regarding unfair or deceptive business practices. The agency operates as a clearinghouse and mediation service to help resolve marketplace disputes but cannot provide direct legal representation for individual consumers.
How to Contact the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs:
Toll-Free Phone: (800) 342-8385
Local Phone (Nashville): (615) 741-4737
Email: consumer.affairs@tn.govOnline
Portal: Tennessee Consumer Affairs Online Complaint System
Mailing Address: 500 James Robertson Parkway, 12th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243
Stay safe - be happy! - and God Bless us every one (even RR, lol) :-)