In short
Jenny McCarthy discusses her anti-vaccine stance rooted in her son Evan’s alleged MMR-related regression, vaccine/medication “detox” theories, vaccine hesitancy, and her broader wellness/clean-ingredient lifestyle. She also promotes her clean beauty brand Formless Beauty and talks about EWG verification and ingredient restrictions.
Guest background
Jenny McCarthy is a New York City media personality (Playboy, MTV, The View, radio, The Masked Singer) and long-time autism/vaccine activist. Her son Evan is now 23, a content creator with a YouTube channel (gaming underscore USA).
Key claims
She says MMR exposure led to Evan’s seizures, cardiac arrest seizures, loss of words/eye contact, and autism diagnosis; she urges parents to “do research,” avoid multiple shots in one day, and treat certain symptoms (jaundice, eczema, recurrent ear infections) as “red flags.” She claims Tylenol disrupts methylation/glutathione and can worsen outcomes in low-glutathione/MTHFR mutation cases. She argues vaccine studies are unethical/placebo-free and that manufacturers can’t be sued.
Notable examples
Time magazine’s 2003 MMR-autism blurb; her refusal to sign an MMR waiver; Evan’s phenobarbital comas; her MTHFR gene mutation and breastfeeding/gut-healing narrative; EWG ingredient restrictions and her mascara’s “no parabens/phthalates/formaldehyde/aluminum powder” positioning.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOAwakening to Vaccine Concerns
0:00 to 1:28
Jenny shares her personal awakening regarding vaccines and autism.
“You know, I don't know if the word is vindicated.”
The Impact of COVID on Vaccine Perspectives
1:40 to 3:54
Discussion on how COVID has shifted public perceptions about vaccines.
“So I mentioned this to you, but I've been a follower of yours, not from any other space, but from your work on vaccinations that goes back, I think, 16 years with your famous episode with Jim Carrey on vaccines.”
Jenny's Vaccine Journey
3:54 to 6:16
Jenny recounts her experiences with her son and the MMR vaccine.
“not going to give based on side effects or am I not giving any at all?”
Research and Warning Signs for Parents
6:16 to 9:06
Advice for parents on vaccine research and recognizing warning signs.
“The immune system's already being busy taking care of an illness.”
The Role of Glutathione and Methylation
9:06 to 11:04
Explaining the impact of glutathione and gene mutations on health.
“And sometimes they do it before and after the shot.”
Questioning Standards and Society's Beliefs
11:04 to 14:00
A discussion on the societal pressures around vaccine beliefs.
“So when you see, because I'm in a lot of Facebook groups for young moms now as a mom of three very young children.”
Questioning Standard Beliefs
14:00 to 14:40
Explore the challenges of questioning widely accepted beliefs about vaccines.
“And if you hear it from moms who've gone through this, we're begging you just to do the research and don't blindly listen.”
Conspiracy Theories and Open Minds
14:40 to 16:00
Delve into the phenomenon of conspiracy theories and the rigidity of beliefs.
“That suddenly it's quack science or you're crazy and it's like amazing how many things in life people are brainwashed on that they think are just, I'm not brainwashed, this is just facts.”
Politics and Food Regulations
16:00 to 17:50
Discuss the politicization of food safety and regulations in contemporary society.
“I think things have gotten so politicized.”
Bobby Kennedy and Vaccine Advocacy
17:50 to 19:20
Jenny shares her involvement with Bobby Kennedy and her views on vaccine reform.
“There is nothing that I can tell Bobby that Bobby can't do 100 times better than I ever could give him advice for.”
Show all 20 chapters
Vaccines and Legal Challenges
19:20 to 21:10
Discuss the challenges parents face in suing vaccine manufacturers for injuries.
“well, let's test for lung cancer with smoking.”
Child Health and Vaccination Experiences
21:10 to 23:10
Jenny reflects on her children's health in relation to vaccination.
“I haven't talked about this, but my oldest child is fully vaccinated.”
Diet, Allergies, and Wellness
23:10 to 25:20
Explore Jenny's dietary choices and their impact on health and wellness.
“Do you consider yourself a Maha, not just Maha with vaccines, but also with food and wellness?”
Creating a Clean Beauty Brand
26:12 to 28:00
Jenny discusses her journey in developing a clean beauty product line.
“So in terms of Maha and wellness, one of the biggest things is your body is your is your biggest organ, right?”
The Importance of Clean Beauty
28:00 to 32:46
Jenny McCarthy discusses the significance of EWG certification and clean ingredients in beauty products.
“this amazing brand in our skincare, in our makeup.”
Jenny McCarthy's Career Journey
34:17 to 42:00
Jenny shares insights about her career trajectory and balancing motherhood with work.
“So I want to flip a minute to your illustrious career.”
The Midwest vs. Hollywood Mentality
42:00 to 44:10
Explore the differences in upbringing and community values between the Midwest and Hollywood.
“This is why I moved back to the Midwest.”
The 'Would You Rather' Game
44:10 to 45:45
A fun segment where Jenny answers light-hearted questions about personal preferences.
“What would you rather get leaked online?”
Health and Wellness Challenges
45:45 to 47:26
Discussing the struggles and expenses of maintaining health, especially in the context of autism.
“every type of therapy that that boy can possibly endure just for the sake of not only healing him, but letting people know not to waste your money or not.”
Dinner Party Dreams
47:26 to 51:36
Imagining an ideal dinner party guest list and the insights from historical figures.
“Besides my husband, I would say Sherry Shepard.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Do you feel vindicated? You know, I don't know if the word is vindicated. I feel relieved. Having COVID happen to us all was such an awakening. We're talking 2002, 2003. And on the cover of Time Magazine was a little blurb that said, mothers are saying that their child is developing autism after the MMR. So when I went to ask the doctor during his appointment, he said, don't be one of those quack mothers. It's all a lie. They're being hysterical. You have to trust the medical professionals. It wasn't that long after that, Evan suffered a debilitating seizure and then a cardiac arrest seizure. And then he started losing his words, babbling and eye contact.
0:43Mothers would describe it as almost like someone kidnapped the soul out of the body. No more mamas. Wouldn't even like look at me. There's no smiles anymore. And then he was diagnosed with autism. Don't blindly listen to the doctor. Do the research for your child.
0:56Katie Miller:Do you consider yourself a Maha, not just Maha with vaccines, but also with food and wellness? I am what you call now a little bit of the toxic phobic person. So you have a beauty brand that does clean products. Correct. I have so many supplements, beautiful supplements. I sound like Trump. Beautiful. The most beautiful you've ever seen. Big and small. Mostly big.
1:28Katie Miller:Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Katie Miller Podcast. Please don't forget to like, subscribe, share, and follow. Today, we are joined by Jenny McCarthy in New York City. Thanks so much for doing this. Thank you. Thank you. So I mentioned this to you, but I've been a follower of yours, not from any other space, but from your work on vaccinations that goes back, I think, 16 years with your famous episode with Jim Carrey on vaccines. Yeah. So just for the audience to catch us up from 16 years ago. 20 years ago. Oh, excuse me. Excuse me. 20 years ago. Can you believe that? 20 years.
2:01That's so long.
2:02Katie Miller:And I've told everyone this, that you were like the true OG of the Maha movement before it was Maha. Yeah. Some might even say the OG of the anti-vaxxer, which I've been labeled for all these years. But yes. Do you feel vindicated? You know, I don't know if the word is vindicated. I feel relieved more than anything because of the crimes against humanity that has happened to our children. And having COVID happen to us all was such an awakening. People talk about these mass awakenings. People woke up, even ones that were considered vaccines their religion, started to question it. Started to say, I don't think I'm going to get that booster.
2:51So by putting that doubt that you should not blindly trust not be a sheep to trust every single thing the experts have to say did such a service for us in our community.
3:08Katie Miller:So you started talking about this when it was personal to you about your son. How's your son today? My son is doing so good. He's 23 years old. He has his own YouTube channel. He's a content creator. He's into showbiz family. So gaming underscore USA. If you want to see how Evan has progressed, how he's doing, check out his channel. If you have a child, please, he's looking for subscribers. He's doing quite well, by the way, but he's always looking for kids that are of interest of his likings. So when you were talking out about vaccines, it was specific to the MMR vaccine, correct? At that time, correct.
3:46Katie Miller:Is there some now, because I find as a young mother and doing my own education on which vaccines I want to give my child versus what we're delaying and how we're separating them, is which ones do I find that I'm not going to give based on side effects or am I not giving any at all? And so for someone like you who's a mother who's done your own research, right, who I think are the most powerful people on the planet, what would you say of the schedule today that if you were going back in time, you would not give your child? Well, you know, knowing what I know now, and I never have ever, ever told anyone to not vaccinate.
4:28But the question is, she's asking me, everybody, what I would do in a time machine. I would not because of the damage that was done to my own child. I would have probably stayed home, homeschooled, and built up the immune system through breastfeeding, doing things the right way. Or at least, you know, what I would have probably done is either then doing some delayed schedule or, you know, they're talking about breaking apart the MMR. that wasn't an option when my son was, I asked the doctor in the room, can we break apart the MMR? Can we give them separately? And the answer was no. So there's no doubt I would probably have skipped them for my son or delayed them past two.
5:13Katie Miller:I actually just chatted with the head of the FDA on this, that there's still in the United States, not an ability to separate out the MMR. Okay. Thank you. Because when that was announced, I was like, when did they start that? Because I have been asking about that. In the EU, I think they pull one out, but not, so there's still two together. And there is no option to get that in the United States today. Wow. That's wild. You know, if people just stop and do the research, and that's all I've ever wanted them to do. I've told my experience. My story just happened to match so many families, which is why it became so popular.
5:46Because as soon as I spoke out, it kind of then started to reach a critical mass. And what happens when we reach a critical mass? It's impossible to go back now. And I'm hoping that people that are still wanting to vaccinate, and please do if you want to, but just do the research. Also, I would tell parents to look for kind of warning signs in your baby's health leading up to each shot. If your child is sick, going with a cold or flu, please do not. The immune system's already being busy taking care of an illness. Do not do multiple shots in a day. Do not give Tylenol before or after or during pregnancy.
6:28There's a lot of things to consider. Now, also, if you notice your child being jaundiced in the beginning or having eczema, severe eczema, or multiple double ear infections, these are all things, those are red flags in our community, the autism community, that said, red flag, red flag, my baby is having some type of immune dysregulation. The immune system is not as strong as it could be. So for my case, leading up by the time I got to the MMR, it was like the tipping point where the immune system dysregulation overflowed. And for my child, that meant seizures. That meant cardiac arrest seizures.
7:08We've had to put him in phenobarbital comas so he doesn't go back into another cardiac arrest. They were pretty severe, life-threatening seizures.
7:18Katie Miller:When you see President Trump make an announcement about saying that we shouldn't give pregnant women Tylenol, that they should talk to their doctor and don't give infants Tylenol. Did you know that all along? I wrote about this in my book in 2005. So the moms in the autism community knew this. We tell our friends and anyone that will listen to us not to do it. The only thing that I wish President Trump would have done, and I'm so glad he said it, but I wish she would have explained the why behind it because people got very confused. They were like, oh, you were wrong. Vaccines don't cause autism.
7:57Tylenol does. It's like, no, no, no. So if you can let me explain for one second, at least in my world, what happened. I wrote in my book many, many years ago that Tylenol, it disrupts the methylation process because it lowers your glutathione. Vaccines, this is what your doctor will say. You don't have to worry about the toxins or the metals in vaccines because your body naturally excretes them. Okay, excreting, but through poop, pee, sweat, whatever. Babies don't sweat, but you get the idea. So what happens with someone with low glutathione? Glutathione is your body's natural antioxidant that gets rid of all this garbage.
8:34But if you have low to none, you're going to wind up holding on to those metals. Those metals then bind to organs, whether your gut, your brain, you name it. It's going to bind. It's not going to go anywhere. It's going to cause havoc. It's going to cause damage. It's called encephalopathy. You know, your brain swells. What happens? Seizures. What happens? Autism diagnosis. So we always knew that when moms would go get their shots, that Tylenol, if you're going to give it to them before the shot, you're already lowering the possibility of detoxing those toxins out of the body. And sometimes they do it before and after the shot.
9:09And it's like, oh my God. you're handcuffing your body's natural ability to detox all of those things the doctors say you can excrete out of your body. Now for me I didn't use Tylenol. I didn't use Tylenol before after or during pregnancy but what I do have is an MTHFR gene mutation. Now that might get a little boring to you but you guys if you want to have a baby if you're thinking about have a baby even if you're don't have a baby everyone should get tested for it. It's an easy swab you can order online. It's a Q-tip on your cheek. And it lets you know if you have this gene mutation, why is that important?
9:46It will tell you if you have a methylation disruption, so your body can't detox things out. So I have it, my son has it. It passes down from mother to son. Does it happen in every child? I'm not a scientist or doctor, but I'm going to tell you likely. It's likely. It's likely the mother, everyone I know that has a child on the spectrum that has tested for the MTHFRG mutation, they have it and their child has it. So that means we've got low glutathione. We can't detox these things out of our body. So it binds, it binds. I mean, what do we feel like when we go out and we drink too much and our alcohol makes us feel like crap, but your friend is fine.
10:30Your friend doesn't have a hangover. Some people cannot remove those toxins as much or as quickly as other people. And I'm one of those people. Right.
10:40Katie Miller:I know Mehmet Oz has talked a lot about this gene mutation recently as it relates to giving certain medications, extra folate. Correct. To kids with autism. Correct. To help them become more functional. Correct. That's been a wonderful breakthrough. Again, if you have that MTHR gene mutation, you have to make sure, number one, that you're always taking methylated B vitamins because your body can't transfer that. So when you see, because I'm in a lot of Facebook groups for young moms now as a mom of three very young children. And now if somebody says, should I vaccinate my child? There are hundreds of posts that come underneath this.
11:18Katie Miller:And I would say in my non-scientific analysis, probably 50 % say, don't do it, do your own research. Yeah. Was that the case when you were raising your child that you saw this similar feedback? Or do you think there's now an uptake of vaccine hesitancy that you've seen because of people like yourself and Bobby Kennedy speaking about this more frequently and publicly? Okay, we're talking 2002, 2003, around that time. My son was born in 2002, so 2003. I was at the grocery store, and on the cover of Time magazine was a little blurb that said, mothers are saying that their child is developing autism after the MMR.
11:57And I was like, Evan is due for his MMR appointment next week. And I just felt this, like someone punched me in the stomach. mother's instincts is real and I was literally like oh my god I feel so sick to my stomach I have to go talk to my doctor so we went in for the appointment you guys no one was there was no mothers in the neighborhoods there was no relatives I knew not one soul during this time who had autism besides rain man okay now everybody knows someone with a child I during our time you guys no one. The fact that Time Magazine had this little blurb was the only way I knew. So when I went to ask the doctor during his appointment, he said, don't be one of those quack mothers.
12:44It's all a lie. They're being hysterical. You have to trust the medical professionals. And I said, listen, I understand that. That's why Evan's gotten every vaccine. I said, but there's something in my gut that is telling me that he should not have the shot. Now I was with my ex-husband at the time and he was just like, Jenny, just let him do the shot. I was like, you guys, I'm literally shaking. I don't feel right about this. Now with the MMR shot, they make you sign a specific waiver for that particular shot. I refused to sign it. So my ex-husband at the time went, why don't you leave the room?
13:15I'm signing it and we're going to give him the shot. So I left the room like in the hallway, talking to God, praying, crying, going, please just let me be wrong about this. By the way, my ex-husband, I don't blame him. He apologizes. He gets it now. But it wasn't that long after that, Evan suffered a debilitating seizure and then a cardiac arrest seizure. And then he started losing his words, babbling and eye contact. He turned it, mothers would describe it as almost like someone kidnapped the soul out of the body. No more mamas, wouldn't even like look at me. There was no smiles anymore. And then he was diagnosed with autism.
13:56And it was just like, so now today people know so many people that look at the fact that 50 % in your group is saying that there was 0 % back in my day. So love me or hate me for it. At least people are talking about it. And if you hear it from moms who've gone through this, we're begging you just to do the research and don't blindly listen. Don't blindly listen to the doctor. Do the research for your child.
14:30Katie Miller:Do you think that's a larger issue in our society when you question what is known as just what everyone else believes to be the standard? That suddenly it's quack science or you're crazy and it's like amazing how many things in life people are brainwashed on that they think are just, I'm not brainwashed, this is just facts. It's, you know, I'm so baffled by that, honestly. I think I've always been in the camp of questioning things always. and it's quite mind-boggling, isn't it, how many wackos and conspiracy theorists have turned out to be correct? You know, so it's like I would think at this point, since so many conspiracy theories have turned out to be correct, there wouldn't be so many people blindly listening.
15:18But then I realized people's brain makeups are completely different. You know, there's people that have, it's easier for them to have open minds and there's some people that are just built to just be rigid in their thinking and there is no helping them there's no helping them so it's like I've always any mother that has come to me I still help mothers all the time dms I do calls with them anyone that comes to me I will help and if you don't want my help that's okay but I'm not going to um beat anybody up for not believing what I believe.
15:56Katie Miller:Do you think that's the case in politics now? I would say since 2016, there's just such a divisiveness that goes across the line of people believing one thing and not willing to see the other side. Yes. I think things have gotten so politicized. It's kind of crazy to me that getting food additives and food coloring out of food has become a Republican side. Yeah. When I watch the news, I'm like, wow, I am so blown away that this has turned into a political viewpoint. To me, it's like if Trump said, I almost want Trump to do reverse psychology sometimes. I want him to be like, eat as many Cocoa Puffs and Fruity Pebbles as possible because then it will become banned.
16:45Katie Miller:Right. That's how crazy things have become. If he said that Cocoa Puffs were the healthiest thing you could eat, it would be banned tomorrow. Exactly. Exactly. Let me back up. When he was talking about the vaccine, how many politicians and people said, I'm not getting that Trump vaccine. Yeah. And then when Trump left, it's now the Biden vaccine and I'm going to get the Biden vaccine. It's just. Right. I'm amazed that people don't stop and go like, wait, am I one of these crazy people that is saying this? It's the women on TikTok who are like taking the Tylenol and like throwing it back. That's crazy.
17:19That's just crazy. Yeah. It's peak Trump derangement. Woo!
17:24Katie Miller:Peak Trump derangement. Have you had any conversations with Bobby Kennedy or our HHS leaders on your takes on how we could reform this movement as somebody who's done so much research on it? You know, I've helped Bobby on his tour when he was running for president. And I've had so many times. I mean, if you look back at our history, you know, Evan was three years old when me and Bobby marched in Washington together. And so we've been together a long time. There is nothing that I can tell Bobby that Bobby can't do 100 times better than I ever could give him advice for. I mean, it would be like a toddler telling someone that graduated from MIT how to do their job.
18:10There's nothing I can do except encourage him to cross everything off of the list that we need done. I definitely want him to be looking. I want him to push Trump more, a little more for the EPA regulations for gloss fate. I'm really worried about the gloss fate getting through where we can't sue. I would like the 1982 vaccine law to go away I mean there's a lot of things but he's doing a great job we're getting there he's just up against the biggest giant
18:41Katie Miller:do you think it should be easier for moms, parents to be able to sue vaccine manufacturers for illnesses that you believe it causes children? it's crazy that we can't it's crazy that it's the only thing you cannot sue a manufacturer for for an injury Everything else you can, a child's toy, you name it, except the childhood vaccines. And, you know, the crazy thing that I've heard and been beat up for over and over again is hearing vaccines are safe, the studies are there. And what people don't realize is the studies have not been done. And what I mean by that is the gold standard studies. You know, you just if people don't understand that, it's testing the product versus a placebo.
19:23You're not going to take lung cancer. well, let's test for lung cancer with smoking. You're not going to test a group of smokers with a group of smokers. And that's what they did for the childhood vaccines. What you don't realize is they're testing aluminum against aluminum.
19:36Katie Miller:Yeah. Because it's unethical to test, you know, a placebo, which makes me crazy. Were you surprised to learn that in the studies for the COVID vaccine that there were 10 childhood deaths? Was I surprised? No. Was I saddened? Of course. and what saddens me even more is it's not bigger news. It's just a shame that people that are so indoctrinated into this just go, well, there's many more children that died because of the COVID. You know, that's the comeback. And it's just like, come on, you guys, come on. I just can't wait for us all to hit true critical mass. It's coming, I think. I think so, too.
20:18Katie Miller:We're really close. We're really close. I think more young moms, as they start asking the questions, are seeing what you and I both see. Correct. Which is healthy children can do a lot better not being vaccinated. Yes. It really is true. There are studies out there. An Inconvenient Study is a documentary that you should watch. and they did that study, but they won't put it out there showing the chronic illness of the percentage is you would be mind boggled. By the way, if anyone is thinking of vaccinating their child or unsure, please just watch that documentary because the study was done. But the guy that did it, who was a lead guy in the best hospital that we could possibly ask to do this, said, I'll never work again if I release the study.
21:09Well, they got their hands on the study and released it. So please watch it.
21:13Katie Miller:I haven't talked about this, but my oldest child is fully vaccinated. My youngest child is not vaccinated at all. My oldest child had milk, so I had protein allergy, right? And we had struggles breastfeeding. My third child was fully breastfed until age one. He is my healthiest child who never, ever gets sick. He's never been on antibiotics. He is like every day could put food in it, like dirt in his mouth and he will not get ill. Honestly, this is what I've heard, and I did talks over the country over the past 15 years, talking to moms face-to-face who had a vaccine-injured child or just woke up and did not do that.
21:50And they said, my child that is not vaccinated hasn't been to the doctor in like eight years, doesn't get sick, the strongest immune system, doesn't have allergies. Right. It's unbelievable how much healthier that generation is.
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22:06Katie Miller:That child doesn't have any skin issues. He is so much better. But again, not every breastfeeding journey is successful. No. And among three children, only one of mine was. But it just shows me how much different the gut microbiome becomes when it is successful. Correct, correct, correct. I mean, my son, I remember when I brought Evan to the doctors because he was always so sick. And they were like, he has the immune system of a dying AIDS patient. Yeah. quote from this immunologist from Cedar. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? He was how old then? Three. And he was like, what are you talking about?
22:47Today is, I just had his latest appointment with a functional medicine doctor. And she's like, Jenny, I can see how much work you've done. Evan is the healthiest 23-year-old son boy I've seen in my practice. Like, we've got his immune system back. He's just, his allergies are gone. His leaky gut is gone. His candida is gone. His seizures. I know. Years. I mean, it's been. That must feel really good. It's truly. So the body can heal if you let it.
23:16Katie Miller:Do you consider yourself a Maha, not just Maha with vaccines, but also with food and wellness? Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. Definitely. What do you typically eat in a day? Okay. So I am organic. I am pretty paranoid about everything because I still have MTHFR gene mutation. I've got leaky gut candida, Hashimoto's, celiac disease. So everything, I usually carry my food with me. I have hospital grade air filter systems in my home. I created a beauty brand, which I'd love to talk about in a minute, that's uber clean because of this reason. I have so many supplements beautiful supplements I suddenly try I'm beautiful the beautiful most beautiful you've ever seen big and small mostly big but um I literally um I I'm what you call now a little bit of the toxic phobic person that I'm paranoid like I had to call hotels ahead of time don't spray anything don't spray fragrance the car can't have the cars I go into can't be free fragrance super super toxic so every I'm probably what you would call a radicalized extreme maha person uh yeah so what do you typically eat what's in the bag okay what's in the bag is I usually intermittent fast okay then I have a protein shake that only I can have which is the most disgusting thing you've ever tasted because I'm allergic to everything okay um and then I I mainly do protein and then a veggie.
24:55But like I did carnivores for six months that changed my life. And I reset my system. It was the greatest thing ever. But it's usually meat. I'll have like a ribeye and I'll have our ancestry beef and an avocado. Like those are my favorites. Hard-boiled eggs?
25:12Katie Miller:We doing eggs? I'm allergic to eggs. I'm allergic to 60 different food groups. So I have to literally stick to meat and vegetables. Did those allergies get passed on to your son? he did initially because his immune system got so dysregulated when you have leaky gut and you have candida you're going whatever you eat you become allergic to because your body fights it goes who's this broccoli is not supposed to be in the bloodstream you're allergic to broccoli so I've got so many food allergies his healed except for I still keep away from gluten and dairy speaking of food labels and transparency did you know there's a website where you can learn more about the ingredients and all of your favorite drinks it's called good to know facts.org there you can explore over 140 common beverage ingredients in one place.
25:52Katie Miller:No spin, just facts. As a busy mom of three young kids, it's so important for me to know exactly what I'm giving them. And this website created by the American Beverage Association is such a great resource. Check it out at goodtoknowfacts.org. As parents, we know what's best for our kids. It's about time that we were in the driver's seat. This episode is in a paid partnership with the American Beverage Association. So in terms of Maha and wellness, one of the biggest things is your body is your is your biggest organ, right? Your skin is your body's biggest organ. I'm a big proponent of whole house water filtration because of this.
26:26Katie Miller:And I am religious about the makeup that goes on my face for that exact reason. Great. So you have a beauty brand that does clean products. Correct. Can you tell me a bit about how you develop that and how you consider that clean? I would love nothing more in the world. So I didn't wake up one day and go, I have a dream to create a beauty brand I created out of a desperate need because I have so many allergies. I'm toxic phobic. I don't want cancer. And I learned how many cancer causing ingredients are in beauty. So I went looking for cleanest brand and I was like, oh my God, these companies are saying they're clean.
27:02You're going to Sephora with the check marks saying clean. And when you actually look under the hood, you guys, they're not clean. So I was like, what am I going to do? What am I going to do? So I found like super organic. But the problem with that is when you use that makeup, it doesn't work well. So I said, forget it. I just got to do it myself. Do you know who the environmental working group is? Yes. EWG. EWG. I went to EWG and said, listen, I want to create a beauty brand around your restrictions. They were like, that's amazing. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be. They handed me a book of over 900 pages of unacceptable ingredients you cannot use in beauty.
27:43If you want it, it can be considered EWG verified. They handed it over and I was like, oh my God. So I found myself the world's greatest chemist and I said, let's get to work. So we have developed, according to their restrictions, we don't use their restricted ingredients. this amazing brand in our skincare, in our makeup. We have one lip gloss that we're very transparent about that we use a tiny drop of Red 40. The teeny, because some people want this certain pink lip gloss. We don't sell red because then you need a shit ton of the Red 40. But everything in our entire brand is EWG. those are the restricted and unacceptable ingredients.
28:32We just got our first checkmark. EWG takes years and years. So for instance, mascara, I found out is the second biggest offender in makeup, the most toxic next to foundation. So when I looked into it, I'm like, what is in mascara? And it's crazy how close it is to your eye and directly into your body. Thank you. Hormone disruptors, you guys, hormone disruptors. And you're like, what is that? It causes cancer. Just know that, okay? Hormone disruptors is a mascara. Parabens, phthalates, those are all chemicals that cause cancer. Formaldehyde, aluminum powder. We, and yeah, I said formaldehyde. We don't have any of that in our mascara.
29:08It's sold out right now, but if you want to go back, you can check it out. But we keep selling out because we're one of the very few that doesn't have all of those ingredients. We get letters that say, oh my God, my eyes aren't burning our skin cleanser you guys it takes off your eye makeup some people use separate eye makeup remover ours does eye and face without burning your eyes and literally in one swoop you know how like sometimes it takes forever to get your eye makeup off literally like this and you could open up your eye and your eye doesn't the eyelash glue for me is stuck for like three days okay try my clean your i'm going to send you everything it probably is already on the way if you don't have it at your house already the cleanser removes it our moisturizer but also or eyeshadows don't have talcs.
29:50You don't have to worry about asbestos. And EWG is so anal, you guys. They say to us, okay, here's my lip glosses. They're made with aloe, chamomile, shea butter. And they go, aloe, huh? Yeah, aloe, very clean. They go, now go third party test it for gloss fade. Because crops are sprayed with it. Now think about it, you guys, how many things you buy with aloe thinking it's healthy.
30:11Katie Miller:And then you're not realizing it's sprayed because it's not also like, because even organic can be sprayed. That's why people are like, you're not organic. I'm like, we're better than that because we third-party test. It's what went wrong at Whole Foods because now everyone assumes everything at Whole Foods is healthy. And they allow so much junk now that they previously didn't. That is correct. So we go, we're that crazy. That's why our audience, it's you which is in chemotherapy. We have tons of pregnant moms, autoimmune people or people who don't want cancer or people who are like me who are very mindful of ingredients.
30:38So formless beauty. So you sell foundation? We don't sell foundation yet, but we're getting close. Okay. I'm wearing it right now. We're getting there. It looks great. Thank you. We have mascara. We've got moisturizer, cleanser that takes off your makeup, hyaluronic acid, an exfoliator that is in a week you see a difference in your skin. We have eyeshadows. We have brushes that are phenomenal. And then tons of lip glosses.
31:03Katie Miller:Have you looked into doing any deodorants? We have deodorant coming out this year. Okay. Because that's a big one. That like multiple women who I speak to now, everyone's like I'm just using lemon slices. And I'm like this just can't be the answer for women. It's like lemons. Please stay tuned because I'm wearing ours right now. And you know what's so great is sometimes the aluminum-free ones can feel greasy under your arms. I'm like, I don't want to feel like I have rotisserie chickens underneath my arms. Or it's like staining your clothes. That's right. So ours is chef's kiss. Come back next year.
31:29I'd love to give your viewers a discount. So if you type in, I can put, how about Miller 10? Okay, we'll put it up.
31:37Katie Miller:We'll put it up on the screen while we're doing this. Miller 10. Get 10 % off. And what website are we going to? For life. Formlessbeauty.com. Formlessbeauty.com. All right, we'll put it on as we're talking. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm very excited because, again, like, you go to Sephora, they have a checkmark. I was actually in Blue Mercury over the weekend trying to buy something, and a different woman walks in and goes, is any of your stuff EWG certified? And the one behind the counter is like, what's EWG? And I was like, oh, my goodness, how do we not know? Right? This feels so, like, standard to me and reflexive that, like, of course you want something clean on your face.
32:12Katie Miller:Correct. There isn't good marketing out there that actually says what is or what is not. Everyone should know. If you are a maha or if you are a person that just EWG should be your best friend. So you look for the ones that have certification. And if not, look into the company to see if they're in the process because it takes four years. Like I said, you have to retest and retest and retest. So we are at you're in stage one, two and three and four. All of our products made it through stage three. That's great. And we just got our first checkmark for another product. So we're about to be slewed in completely for our brand.
32:42and there isn't another celebrity brand that can say that all their products are EWG verified.
32:46Katie Miller:That's awesome because most people who I speak to in the celebrity space say that their product's clean, but if you actually look on the labels, 100 % no. I wouldn't need it, so it's like crazy. By the way, you know what they say? They go, I'm going to use an example. Say someone's named Sarah and they have a makeup brand. You can just picture a celebrity, okay? Sarah, and then we're verified clean. So I go into the bottom of the website, I do some digging, page, page, page, What does S verified mean? It means Sarah verified. That it's clean? Yeah. She verified it herself. I'm like, what? Sarah verified it herself?
33:23Katie Miller:Oh, man. What a wool they're pulling over women's eyes who, like, I wonder why the fertility rate in our country is so low. Right. And why women are struggling to get pregnant now more than ever. Right. And it's like when you're putting makeup on your face at 12 and 13 every day. Every day. What's happening as those endocrine disruptors? Correct. I am so excited for you. You're going to be addicted for life. I am. I promise. You'd probably have it at your house by now. This holiday season, families and small businesses are feeling the squeeze. While local shopkeepers struggle under billions in credit card swipe fees that raise prices on groceries, gas, and more, big credit card companies brag to Wall Street that inflation is good for business as they undermine President Trump's winning economy.
34:05Katie Miller:Every day, Americans are footing the bill. It's time to stop hidden fees and big bank greed. Senator Marshall's plan to make credit cards compete is the America First solution we need. This ad is paid for by the Merchants Payments Coalition. So I want to flip a minute to your illustrious career. You started at Playboy. You've gone to MTV. You went to The View. Now you're on The Masked Singer. Yeah. What's been that career arc like for you? And how have you managed that while still raising your son and getting him back to a good health? It's been a fun journey because I'm kind of one of those people that when I set out to Hollywood, I looked at what I wanted in my career like a blank canvas of art.
34:46OK, so it was just white. And I want to be able to throw as much paint on it as possible. Like, I want to do this. I want to do this. I want to do this. I want to do this. So I start off MTV hosting and then I did a slew of sitcoms, do a bunch of acting. And then when my son was diagnosed with autism, I wanted to be with him and spend 24 hours a day healing him. And I had that conversation with God of like, please, if you help me heal my boy, I'll teach the world how I did it. And that's when I started writing books. And writing books not only allowed me to help spread the message, change the world, help other families, but it also provided me an income to stay at home and help heal my boy.
35:26So I wrote nine books over the course of those years. And that really saved me and saved so many people of at least having more knowledge as to what to do or not to do. And then, you know, then once Evan started getting better, I was like, all right, I kind of feel like better, like getting back into it. So I started getting back into hosting. I had to deal with Harpo for a few years and then I had my own talk show on BH1. And then I did Sirius XM, my radio show for seven years and Masked Singer now. But now I'm moving into coming back because I have a lot to say still for my own hybrid. It's going to be a podcast, but we're putting it on national TV.
36:09So it'll be a daytime talk show, but it's also a podcast. So it can be seen everywhere else as well.
36:14Katie Miller:That's awesome. But so for young mothers at home who are thinking, oh, I can't take time out of my career because I'll never reach the peak of my career. if I take that time to be at home with my young child. You're a living example that you can do that. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. I mean, you know, I remember when Evan came home from the hospital and I was rocking him and I just kept saying to him, I am going to be the greatest mother ever. I'm going to let him do everything. I just want to be home with my baby and just love him forever. You know, but I also have this passion to know that I wanted to be even more of service to the world, service to God.
36:53You know, I knew that being a mother is number one, but I also know I had a purpose to do something else. So I feel like, um, God finds you that timeline to be able to do both of those things. What you have to let go of is guilt. Guilt will hold you back because there's no such thing as also balance. Sometimes you have to just be forgiving of yourself. Sometimes you're going to be at work and sometimes you're going to be at home a lot. So it's just finding that balance and by the way if you're tortured over anything you don't do it I have something called an emotional guidance system and that is what guides me of knowing when it's time to start another job or no one is time to stay back and be with my family so follow that emotional guidance system be careful of of being stopped by guilt or shame when did you first realize you were funny like this could be my thing I don't think I am but thank you I just I'm just more of a kind of a goofy truth teller if you will like I'm I I've always kind of looked at things where people are like oh you know I remember because I did Playboy back in the day and I wanted to leave Playboy and get into like funny sitcoms or doing goofy things and no one in Hollywood touched me They're like, I'm sorry, pinups aren't goofy.
38:13And then I was like, really? Pinups aren't goofy? Watch me. So I got on MTV and I was like picking my nose, beating up guys. I mean, your generation might not know of my MTV days, but I did kind of like the Lucille ball of the pinup. I was like, didn't take myself seriously. I make fun of myself. I show my ugly warts and all. I've got plenty of videos of me showing, you know, without makeup on, looking like a crackhead in the morning. You know, like, so I just I feel like I just kind of show a more real side and whether humor comes through on that. Right.
38:47Katie Miller:How do you think the 90s and 2000s fame is different than today's influencer culture? It's a great question. Really good questions. You know, because we didn't have social media back then, it was it it was a lot easier. I mean, you guys have it so much more difficult and you also have a leg up because you can promote yourself. You don't need Hollywood anymore. So that's the good thing. But I do not wish it. If I had to go back and said, do you wish you had social media in the 90s to help? No, I probably would have had a billion followers. But to me, I think the disservice that it does is it gets in people's head and prevents them from being who they truly could be.
39:39Because when you get beat up as an influencer out there, you tend to quit. You tend to change your narrative. You tend to be more of a follower than a leader. A lot of people get scared. I watch a lot of my friends in show business who I was like, oh, they were brave and ballsy. And then when show business, I mean, when the influencer social media generation came around, they completely changed because they couldn't handle the heat. So I feel like I feel lucky that I didn't have that growing up. But I also feel lucky that I haven't changed my balls, even though I got beat up.
40:16Katie Miller:Do you think you would still be invited to be a cast member on The View, given where they are politically today? well they were that political if you remember joy and elizabeth they were hard they the reason why they wanted to bring me on was because they quote said it was too polarizing they thought it was too polarizing back then you guys and so they're like we want to bring you on for light and fluffy and fun review people on dancing with the stars talk about the bachelor like have some fun well that That lasted a week. That lasted a whole week. And back then I was I didn't consider myself to be a political person, which is why I thought I was perfect for the job.
41:00Katie Miller:Right. After a week when they said they want to get political, I was like, oh, my God, what am I going to do? Like the like today we're going to be discussing the hostage situation and whether the United States should the government should pay the ransom or not. And I was like, what? I'm like, I just know who won on Dating with the Stars. So getting through that year was really difficult. I'm much more political now in terms of having opinions because, thank God, our latest administration has helped so much. But back then, ooh, yeah, I would not, I would not, I would never even. They've asked me to come back for, like, reunion shows.
41:41and I was like, over my dead body, would I ever step foot in that place?
41:50Katie Miller:What do you think Hollywood gets right about Real America? And what do you think it gets wrong? I think it gets everything wrong. I think there's nothing Hollywood gets right. This is why I moved back to the Midwest. I grew up in Chicago, Southside Chicago, went to LA. when my son turned eight, I was like, oh, hell no. I want him to go back to a place where kids ride their bikes till the light comes on. I want the lightning bugs to be caught. I want him to play in the fire hydrant. I want friends forever. And you don't get that in Hollywood. People don't know their neighbors at all. And so when you're counting on people to represent the Midwest or the Midwest mentality, The proof is just listening to the commentators that they're shocked by certain stories.
42:41They're like, what do you mean? The perfect example is if you watch Bill Maher, he has left and right on. And when he'll bring up woke topics and listening to what a Hollywood elite has to what comes out of their mouth. And Bill says to them, you're in the woke bubble. You're in the bubble. it's you don't open your mind to any other news except for that that one little tiny outlet that they're fed fed fed fed fed so um that's why when i go back to tv and podcasting um being back in the midwest is gonna be very important to me to stay there stay to my roots and represent
43:20Katie Miller:our voice do you think that's how they got the trans issue so wrong is by pushing it on so many Americans via like the Netflix kid shows and so much that's out there because it's just what's in their echo chamber? I think they got bullied into it. I think lobbying groups came in and forced them into doing it. And look at how quickly it turned around, you know? So I think it was a matter of just them again being sheep following the mob that was bullying them instead of realizing that the majority was not saying they wanted it. So I think it was more of a bullying thing. Okay. So now we're going to play the game of would you rather every episode.
44:11Okay.
44:11Katie Miller:What would you rather get leaked online? Your camera roll or spicy text messages with your husband? Oh, definitely spicy text messages. Yes. Would you rather have a Janet Jackson-esque wardrobe malfunction on The Masked Singer or accidentally spoil a contestant's identity on air? Definitely spoil contestants. Although everyone's seen it by now, still, at this age, they were more like zucchinis, so. Would you rather have a glam team follow you everywhere or a chef who only cooks clean, organic meals? Chef who cleans. I would give up makeup. I would shave my head bald. I have a chef walk around with me and cook me healthy food.
44:49Katie Miller:It's crazy, by the way, how many people who are very wealthy don't have a chef to make them healthy food. That's crazy. And it's my biggest struggle is getting healthy food. Right. And it's like as a working mom, it's like I can only do the best what I can do in a day. Right. Tell me about it. I don't have a chef, but I don't consider myself in that wealthy camp yet. I'm still in debt from autism, believe it or not. Wow. Because it cost, you know, just so people know, back then it was costing parents$80 ,000 out of pocket because insurance does not cover a lot of the therapies for autism. Do they cover now?
45:27ABA is somewhat covered, but a lot of times you have to reach, you have to be so severe to get a lot of those therapeutics, therapies. therapies. So, um, and plus I was, I, any, Evan was a Guinea pig for all of us. I put Evan through every type of therapy that that boy can possibly endure just for the sake of not only healing him, but letting people know not to waste your money or not. But it costs a, it costs me a lot of money.
45:57Katie Miller:So just for everyone out there, what's one thing that you tried that someone shouldn't do? hmm the problem is sometimes it worked for other people but um like for instance ivig wasn't necessarily something that worked for evan but then it worked for kids who else have pandas so i can't i don't really want to it's like chemotherapy even though you know it works for some people it doesn't work for others so i don't want to be a naysayer on that okay would you rather get stuck in a group chat with all of your exes or in an elevator with all your former co-hosts from the view?
46:37Ex-husbands, boyfriends.
46:40Katie Miller:Would you rather have perfect hair every day forever or a metabolism that never quits? A metabolism, of course. I'll take that. I'll take health over anything. Okay. So what's your skincare routine right now? Okay. So it is our formless beauty skincare because I've been using it for the past four years. So I've removed my makeup with our cleanser and then I use our exfoliator. You guys, it is so good. It literally buffs your skin, but I'm also very dry, so it moisturizes as well. Then I use the hyaluronic acid in the morning and at night and then I put on our moisturizer and that is it. That's it.
47:16It's pretty simple. Very simple. I need four steps. Anything goes beyond that. You lost me.
47:22Katie Miller:You lost me. I agree. I agree that I'm in the bathroom too long. Too much. Who's your favorite celebrity to work with? Besides my husband, I would say Sherry Shepard. Why? Sherry and I go way back. We did a pilot together. We hold on to each other for dear life during The View. We would cry on each other's shoulders at The View. We have bruises on our knees from holding on each other like underneath the table on The View. So we've gone through a lot together and she is, she's got a pure heart. Who's the worst celebrity to work with? I don't know if I could say it, but I'll just say someone from a panel.
48:01That's all I'll give you.
48:03Katie Miller:What shows are you watching right now? I just watched the Diddy special. And you know what? I got through like the second one and it was, it was so, so dark that I try to just watch things that lift up my spirit a little bit that are a little more light. So I watched the Housewives. I went over the housewives it's less dark it's still dirty in terms of you need to take a shower afterwards because there's so much gossiping and stuff but at least I get to laugh at it have you seen any of the lore about 50 Cent and Diddy? no oh gosh this is like the whole TikTok thing right now but if you haven't seen it then this doesn't make sense but it's like I don't hold a grudge as long as like 50 Cent it just shows 50 Cent's face with like everything over just how long 50 Cent's been holding a grudge on Diddy Oh, my God.
48:51I have to see that.
48:52Katie Miller:It's really excellent stuff on the Internet. Do you prefer texting or calling? Texting for sure. I speak in text messages already. Like I get to the point. I get things out. I talk in sound bites. So when someone will call me and be like, I die. Do you dictate into your phone? No, I don't. OK. I don't do dictate to text. I do audio. OK. So like you can audio and then it goes to somebody. Yeah. OK. What do you always keep in your purse? What don't I keep in my purse? I've got glue-on nails because I don't do acrylic anymore because it's not good for you. I agree. Then I also have deodorant. Then I also have my lip glosses.
49:41So those are really like the must-haves. Yeah, and a Mophie.
49:46Katie Miller:What's your typical day look like when you're at home? I'm playing with my dogs. I'm working out. I'm going in my infrared sauna. I go inside of a hyper chamber. And then I'm basically writing, answering emails, or going live on TikTok selling Formless Beauty. It's our last question. We ask this of everybody. If you could host a dinner party with three people dead or alive, who's coming to dinner? And what are you eating? Jesus is coming to dinner. and you know I'm unsure if Jesus was a vegetarian. It sounds like he wasn't but then there's something called the Jesus diet. I'm very confused. So I'm not sure what I would feed him.
50:32Probably a fish. Probably a bronzino.
50:37Katie Miller:Are you a good cook? I am a terrible cook. Terrible, terrible, terrible cook. Who would you have for dinner? Oh gosh, I've never thought of this and I've asked everybody.
50:50Katie Miller:I'd want to do like, right now, it'd probably be Julius Caesar, Cleopatra,
51:01Katie Miller:and my grandpa. Oh, I love that. I miss my grandpa a lot. He recently passed and him and I were very, very close. But right now, I'm listening to an awesome series about Julius Caesar and Cleopatra and man, would I have loved to have been alive then to hear you know, their relationship and how Egypt and Rome worked together around that time and how leadership worked and how they were able to form these coalitions. Because I think a lot of what happened during the Roman times is a lot of how society functions today. I agree. And there's so many lessons there. Wow. So that's who I'd have to ask right now.
51:36Katie Miller:I like it. I like it a lot. And I would say like, we should eat whatever they want to eat. But like, no, I'm a diehard pizza fanatic. Right. So probably a few different types of pizza. Oh, I love that. And they probably really enjoy that. Because as much as I'd love to say I'm a carnivore, right now meat just totally makes me sick. And so just stick with the pizza. Yeah, there you go. I'd want makeup lessons from Cleopatra. That's what I would ask. Yeah, that would be great. How do you get that eyeliner? It'd be so perfect. All right, so we have Jesus at your dinner table. Who else? Oh, I have to pick more people.
52:03Jesus. Now that you said my grandpa, I would have to go with my grandpa.
52:11And I've already had dinner with Eckhart Tolle, and I love Eckhart Tolle. I would probably say Trump because I want some more things done
52:22Katie Miller:he knows how to get things done that's for sure I still have a list so I want more things done thank you so much for coming on thank you thank you so much for watching this week's episode of the Katie Miller podcast please don't forget to like, subscribe, share and follow we're available every Tuesday nights at 6pm where you get your podcast thanks so much, see you next week
52:52anntcias
From the publisher
In this episode, Jenny McCarthy the OG of MAHA talks about her long history in vaccine advocacy, The View, and her push to make our country a healthier place - including our faces.