February 14, 2025 • 27 mins
She played Ray Pruit's girlfriend 'Wendy Stevens' in one episode of 90210, but Marisol Nichols is part of our forever family!
From starring alongside Luke Perry in 'Riverdale' to working with Shannen Doherty in 'Charmed' and 'Friends 'Til the End,'
Marisol takes us down a sentimental walk down memory lane in the best possible way.
Plus, find out what she's doing to help save kids from human trafficking by checking out her podcast and website MarisolNichols.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nine Gene Onegine with Jenny Garth and Tory Spelling.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, Hi, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Nichols one of the best names in the biz from Nichols.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh, it's so great to see. We just saw you
on one of the episodes from season six where you
are Ray Preuitt's beautiful new girlfriend.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Thanks.
Speaker 5 (00:32):
Yeah, Wendy Stevens, right, yeah, yes, bull bangs.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Remember, Yes. I saw the pictures. I looked them up.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I was like, Wow, it reminded me of an Instagram
post that you had put up saying remembering when you
were just a little punk, And I was like, in
that character, wow, you felt Donna should be sorry, Donoughy
should be happy because Ray is obviously moved on and
he's and love and she seems to be a better
(01:03):
fit for him. But the two of you, you guys,
looked great together.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
I gotta say, thank you, thanks very much. Yeah, it
was fun. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Do you remember being on the episode that day? Like,
do you remember filming that You've worked so many times?
This is a crazy question to say, do you remember
that one day?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I was brand It was brand new for me.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
So I just moved from Chicago, so coming from Chicago,
I think I did. I did an episode of like
some TV show that's shot in Canada.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Due South.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
It was called and the director from Due South, Gil
was going to direct your that episode.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Bill Shelton, Yes, exactly, okay.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
The next week, so he asked me to come an
audition for that, and then that's how I ended up.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
My soon to be ex husband was on Due South.
Dean McDermott.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Oh, really amazing the soon to be I understand that
I've been there, yes, but yeah, so that's how I
ended up so well for me, it was a big
It was like.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
So this was like your second acting job ever, yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Like maybe like third or maybe third or fourth, but
like brand new, like I've maybe been in a.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Life for like a year.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
So it was really it was like, oh wow, okay, great, amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So it was memorable.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I like that, or so they talk you'd come back
like I couldn't remember. We couldn't remember, Like Jamie was
the series regular, right and then he left the show
because sadly they wrote him as hardcore woman abuser and
couldn't make it come back.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Like the female fans were like, what you beat him?
Donna push you down? This years or whatever.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
But yeah, so then we were saying that, you know,
they made him redeemable as best they could, and he
had a new song and so that we can't listen
to because they will not stream any of the episodes
with music.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Oh yeah, so we used.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Watching one DVD, which he's unfortunate for the fans.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
I need have to pay music, right.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I don't know if there was talk of him like
coming back more so, did they talk to you about
that character be recurring at one point?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
When I got it, there were like, this is possible recurring,
which I was still learning what that even meant.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Like I was that brand brand new.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
But I was I was like cool, great, that'd be amazing,
like and it was funny because because I you know,
I ended up working with Luke like years years later,
but I had still I'd always remembered the nine o
two one at nine o two one oh episode that
I was on, Like everyone was so nice. I was
a little scared. I was, you know, brand new in
(03:36):
the biz. I was a little like, oh, these are
huge stars, oh my god. And everyone was really nice,
and I just remember having a really good time and
really nervous, like I was still learning about like hitting
my mark and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Like I remember working with you because we got to
work together and you were awesome and really kind. Even
though I was a series regular, I was always nervous
because I remember being guests are on other shows and
people not being kind to me. So I was always
nervous about people coming on if Yeah, So I even
got nervous working with guest stars, Like I was like, Oh,
(04:10):
I hope they like me.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You know, It's all so weird, is when you know,
now I've been on the other side of the camera
and also been a series regular, and then there's the
other side of like you know that that guest star
is now going to go and talk and tell about
their experience on your show that you're on, and so
there's also like, oh my god, I hope I treated
them right, or I hope it went well for them, or.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know, I hope I was having a good day
that day.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Right, That's never happened on our show, right, Jen. No
one went on to say anything any guest stars.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
No, I don't think so. Maybe a couple. But you've
had such an incredible career, like you're a long hauler,
like the two of us. What age did you start
in the business.
Speaker 5 (04:54):
I mean, honestly, twenty two. I wasn't like a kid actor.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I wasn't.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
I wasn't an acting class or anything. I fell into
it when I was like nineteen and I was in
Chicago and auditioned for a series out in LA with
Paul Thomas Witt. Do you remember Paul Thomas Witt. They
did like gold and they did like all of these
like early like late eighties sitcoms or whatever. So it
(05:20):
was for a series regular for that and I ended
up getting it, and I ended up being moved out
to LA and that's how I got her.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
But that was really like twenty two, twenty two years old.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, nowadays they would call that a late bloomer. I know, right,
I don't call it that, but right, yeah, I guess so.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yeah, But back then, it was like, you know, to
get a gig out of Chicago in LA was a
huge deal. It's not like now where you can, like,
you know, on the with the Internet, you can cast
from any different country that you want. It really doesn't matter.
But back then it was a pretty cool gig to get.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Are you from Chicago?
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Born and raised, Okay, Midwest.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah, oh you too?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
And yeah, are you still not anywhere? You'd probably know
central Illinois? Like, yeah, I didn't go to Chicago ever,
but you and then you moved out to LA. Are
you still located in LA? Or is this I'm still
in LA?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I tried, so I think you were in New York.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I don't know, I've never lived worked.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, when this is over, if we can exchange numbers
or something. Your skin videos are amazing, but all the
facialists you posted were.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
In New York, and I'm like, shoot, I just need
a little no.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Joanna bargains she's in LA. And Kate Summerville's in LA.
They're actually LA. They're both okay, so we'll talk.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
You were seeing on your body of work, like I
have just a few things in front of me Vegas vacation.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Yeah, that was. That was my first movie, like ever.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You played Audrey Griswolds.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So wait, wait, so the first Audrey was also a
nine of two one zero Dana Baron, Yes, and then
our friend Juliet Lewis went on, so were you the
third incarnation of Audrey?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
I was, Let's see, wasn't there?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
No?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
There was like a years one more.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Before me, and I don't know who was in that.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
I don't remember, but I was like the fourth and
I was the first, the one that was like not
National Lampoons.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
It was like a separate one.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
What I sold the franchise, I guess.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
So, I mean it was, oh my god, producer blanking
on his name, but he was a huge.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Huge Weineberg whatever his name is.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
He like he represented like the rat Pack back in
the day, so he was mister Vegas and so they
allowed him to do it because okay for Vegas, like
he used to wrap elvis and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
But you were a Griswolm and that's all that counts,
because yeah, that is iconic.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
It was iconic.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
And if you picture me, like when I was on
your show with the big thick bangs, they're never gonna me.
Like to me, Audrey Griswold was like the all American,
you know, a little bit girl, and I didn't think
I looked like that. And I think I auditioned for
three months for that role. Wow, yeah, forever and then
ended up like getting it, like wow, And that was
(08:16):
the first time I was like I really got to
hit my mark and like the first time of anything.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, working, you're working with Chevy Chase. I'd be totally
stressed too. I love him.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Yeah he was. It was really nice.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Oh good, wait, you're also you were also what did
you play on Can't Hardly Wait? Which?
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Oh, okay, so there was.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
I mean it was this small. It was like maybe
I was in maybe four or five days. So you
remember the giant scene with our with like the rock
guy on the stage and Jennifer Love Hewitt's there and everyone,
like everyone.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
The most she remembers it her ex husband was.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
The party scene.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Yes, the party scene.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Girl that doesn't get to go in the closet and
make out with him?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
And she said, you wait, who did you want to
make out with?
Speaker 4 (09:02):
I think it was the geeky guy. Who was that?
It was the geeky guy Seth Green? Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
My gosh, that's one of my favorite movies. I love it.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
I love that movie too.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
You've just been on everything I was Friends, Charmed Boy, Me,
twirl screen too, Like, I'm just like.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What the highest rated Charmed episode ever?
Speaker 4 (09:38):
No?
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yes, really, maybe told us.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
It was. It was quite the outfit. It was quite
the office.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Wait, who did you play I should know this show, but.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Fuller, this girlfriend from the past. The past she's like evil,
but in present times she is nice, and like the
evil and the nice come together. And it was like,
I'm challenging Heather Macomb's character and all of that fun stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
But it was fun. It was a fun role. It
was a fun role.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It was just one episode.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think it was just one episode. I was supposed
to be, you know, recurring, but it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
You had many episodes on Riverdale.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
With Yeah, I mean that I was a series regular.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
First, well, tell us about that experience, Like, did you
work closely with Luke or in?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Yeah, that was I mean, you guys know it was Luke.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Luke.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
First of all, he's a total pro, like seasoned season
season pro, so generous, like so generous, always wanted to
make the scene better, Like he's not the kind of
actor to phone it in at all.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
She so could at that level of.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
His career, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Not at all? We worked closely together.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
I mean I was sort of he was like the
lost love of my life that got to we never
got together, and I mean we worked really hard to
make that sort of relationship a big, major, major thing
and real and like based in reality and not caricature,
(11:21):
and really talked with the writers and like, hey, can
we draw this out?
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Can we do this?
Speaker 5 (11:26):
And and Luke actually, I we'd gotten to Vancouver and
I had my daughter with me. She was eight years
old at the time, you know, and so we're in
Vancouver for the first time really, and he took me
and her and he's like, let me show you about
the boats. I mean, do you know the boats in
Granville and you could take the boats over to Grande Island.
I'll meet you guys there. I'll get you on the boat.
I'll make sure you're set, and like he was like,
(11:48):
you don't have to do that, and he was he
was just That's who.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Luke was.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
He was always trying to He took all the younger kids,
like you guys are like this. So when we were
doing this meaning of the pilot of Riverdale, right and
all the kids meaning like kJ and Lily and Cammy
and everyone are like down in the road right below us,
and me and Luke are sitting back and we're watching
we're watching the screening and we're watching them. And Luke
leans over to me and he's like, this reminds me
(12:15):
nine or two aer He's like, but this time they're
going to work and he's like, mush, kids, mush, make
me mush.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
That's funny.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Yeah, that was huge for him.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
And I've met several of the youngsters on that show
and they all have the same story that you know,
they were, they were new, and he took them under
his wing and really really wanted to prop them up
and support them. And yeah, it was beautiful. I got
(12:47):
to say I was a huge fan of Riverdale, like
my kids and I watched it and they were super psyched.
They were like, oh my god, this show we want.
I was like, well, my friend Luke's and and they
got it super like badass kick out.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Of him calling and being like, hey, it's uncle Luke
and they're like, oh my god, it is Himm You're right,
And that was everything for them.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
As obsessed with the show as I was, I sadly
when he passed, I honestly couldn't watch it again.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
And that's just that was a personal choice.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It was it was hard.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
It was really hard, and the funeral was really hard,
and it was rough. It was my dad had just
passed like maybe three weeks prior, and I'd just gotten
back on set and then that happened, and I mean
we all just, I mean the whole place shut down.
We're all just bawling, and the kids were bawling, and
(13:43):
it was just, you know, Luke can't go into a
Luke can't go into a room or a job without like.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Filling that space.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah, and with not only who he is and the
size of the being that Luke is, but then also
his care factor for every single person in the room
and for the script and for the story and and
just always had the big picture, not just his role,
do you know what I mean, like just the whole
(14:12):
story and where it could go and how it could
go and how it could be great.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
And yeah, I mean, you guys know.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
We were in Vancouver at the same time, because you
guys filled Vancouver and we were doing BH nine O
two one oh. And we know that Shannon went and
did the funeral. Yeah, while she was filling with us,
she went back and forth.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
I actually worked with Shannon. I did a movie years
later called Friends Till the End on MTV, but it
was Shannon. I think I played her best friend at
the time. It was a fun, fun little mtwo.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Did what happened to your friendship in the movie? I'm
so curious.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
It's a great question. We're friends till the end. They
like her and this other like Chucky.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
It became like her best friend or something, and it
was kind of like all about Eve, kind of weird.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Story like that.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
And I was more like than going, hey, you shouldn't
be that and there's something off about this and blah
blah blah blah blah. But I also for at the time,
there were all these rumors and she was fantastic. She
was also good, great work quick bro like no drama,
was great.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
But you know what, those are the stories we hear
the most. But yeah, you know that bullsh stuff that
the tabloids and people were talking about was just not
Yeah she was. They just love to do that to her.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Marisol. What year was that.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Friends till the end? I think it was maybe I
want to say, like ninety I think like ninety eight,
ninety nine maybe.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Okay, So did you do that before you did Charmed?
And was she still uncharmed when you did Charmed?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
It's a great question.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
I think she was still uncharmed when I did Charmed. Okay,
but I don't think I worked with her yet.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This just just wild your connection back to nine o
two one zero and everybody, it's like insane.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
You know, well you guys.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I mean, there's so many people that were on your show,
and even Brian. I worked with Brian years later on
it on a series I did called Resurrection Boulevard. He did.
I think it was second or third season. He came
on like the whole season.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Wow? Or did we ever work together? Come on, I
know plenty of time that happened, that something we can
do together.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
You are so talented. You have a podcast to tell
us about it.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I do.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Yeah, it's called the Marathon Nichols Podcast, mainly so that
people could find it, you know, but it's it's gonna
this is gonna take a dark turn, so I'll try
and keep it as light as possible. But I have
been working in the field of human trafficking since I
mean for over decade now, and I have my own
nonprofit called Foundation for Slavery Free World.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
And I ended up.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
Through relationships, relationships, relationships, going undercover and using my acting
skills over the last decade in different states, in different
countries around the world. To help put bad guys away
and help get women and children out.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
And so I formed a podcast, Thanks, and.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
I formed a podcast to help get the word out
and invite invited like not only all the guys that
I've gone under cover with and different ones, but also
different law enforcement, different actors in the field, actors in
a different definition of the work actor.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
We've had the head of.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
Meta on like literally Antikenny Davis, who does all the
global safety for Facebook and Instagram and all that she's
been on. And the whole idea is because I had
this audience of essentially teenagers and women because of Riverdale,
to go spread the word like, Hey, these are the
things you need to look out for. This is what's
going on in your own backyard. This is what the
(18:06):
bad guys look like, this is the tools that they use.
This is how you can protect yourself, your friends, your family.
And that's essentially what the podcast is. It's all of
those subjects that are essentially encompassing women and children, Like
I also have women on there, like a wonderful woman
who has an organization for.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Foster care kids.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
And so if you think about foster care kids, a
kid goes into foster care and then they get used
to the family and they're so happy. And then the
mom or dad gets out of jail or whatever the
situation is. Sometimes it's not so fine, and they say
they want the kid back, and the kid may not
want to go or the kid wants to go back.
But so she formed an organization that has lawyers just
for the children, pro bono, just for the law speak
(18:51):
for the kids and help them in court.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
And so we also have.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Stories like that, but it's just it's that whole subject.
So that's my podcast.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's fascinat that world that you're talking about, and I'm
so intrigued. I want to know more about your undercover experiences.
I've got to listen to your podcast now for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And speaking of your undercover experiences, correct me if I'm wrong, please,
are you developing a scripted show?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:20):
So when all of this so, Marie Claire, the magazine
Marie Claire, came and followed me for a weekend in
Michigan on some opsite did with the sheriff out there
that I still actually work with.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
And then they did this seven page spread.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
About the whole thing, and that went everywhere and everyone
was like blah blah blah blah blah. Anyway, Sony ended
up buying my life rights at the time, and I
wanted to create a TV show that was because what
a better way to spread the word on this if
you can do it through fiction and you can do
it through stories stuff. So we developed that and then
lo and behold it's turned Now it's turned into a
film and I'm still with my same producer from Sony,
(19:57):
and I think Lifetime is doing it. We're supposed to
start shooting in March. But until we start shooting, you know, and.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Of how that goes, Yeah, I will just exactly. Is
there a working title so far.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Called Somebody's Daughter? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, you're getting really impressive work, Like thanks aside from
just all the experience and the joy you've brought to
everybody through your acting roles over the years, Like this
is the next level changing lives and it's very inspirational.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Thank you, thank you. It's really into it. Just you're
meeting all the guys and meeting everyone, and it was like, well, hey,
can you can you.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Go to Caever?
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I have to ask you though, knowing what you know, Yeah,
you have a young daughter.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
I do sixteen.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Yeah, sixteen.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I thought it was eight and.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I got one six year old. Y they're trying.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I mean, it's just I don't have a library of
knowledge about the things that you have. Yeah, all this darkness,
and I am terrified to let my kids out the door.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
It's one of the main reasons, was like, look, this
is the world, so the only we're never going to
like keep them home and keep them fully off the
internet or fully off of this. So for me it
was like, look, I'm just going to give her as
much data as I can without overwhelming her. So she
knows what to look for, and she does for the
most part, Like for sure online she's helped her friends
(21:30):
Like she's like, that's that's the bad guys.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
What do you tell people? Like what are the signs?
Like what do we need to know? Yeah, what are
the top what our daughters need to know?
Speaker 5 (21:39):
They essentially it's no longer it's very rare the white
van that comes and grabs the kids off the street
or whatever.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
It's very rarely that.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
It's more you know, if you heard the term grooming,
but it's more of that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
No, wait, explain grooming.
Speaker 5 (21:56):
Grooming is like slowly getting someone used to the idea
of doing something that.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
They normally would not do.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Right, Like, you can use it in the sense of
like try not to be so dark and how to
explain it without being too dark. But when a kid
is under the hold of a really bad actor or
trafficker or whoever, in order to get that kid used
(22:25):
to doing things that they normally would never do, they
might show them porn, they might show them things that
they normally wouldn't see. And that's grooming them. That's getting
them used to going see this is a good thing.
See dead da da da da da da.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
In essence, getting the kid to trust them.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Right exactly, and getting them to sort of let go
of their own values and morals and things that they
would normally have as their reality.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
And changing something else.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Okay, okay, So online with let's say twelve year old,
fourteen years fifteen year old or whatever, they just reach
out through chat rooms because everyone's used to chat rooms
and dms and that and the other, and they have
a thousand fake accounts and it's literally you know, the
guy with a thousand fake accounts in the basement with
a ton of computers and just all day long calling
(23:15):
the internet to try and find someone who will chat
with them and talk with them.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
And that fits the profile of.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Someone who's insecure vulnerable, usually from either a bad family
or they think it's a bad family environment. You know,
like they might post like schow my parents or something
like that, and that's like, oh great, I can go
in there.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
They're looking for that.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
Or let's say or let's say it's something like I
don't know, let's say it's out You're at a mall
or something and there's a there's like a bunch of girls,
and the trafficker who looks like a normal guy will
look like a completely normal guy or woman.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Young. I just want to ask twenty can.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Be twenties, thirties, like yeah, Michael ooh you're beautiful. And
let's say that all the other teenage girls are like ew,
and the one is like that's the one.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That they'll they know the traffickers and they know.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
They're going after the vulnerable population, vulnerable children, vulnerable women,
and that's that's like it's just the reality now, it
just is. And it's it's not only women, it's also men.
I mean it's not only men, it's also women. And
they look like normal people, which makes you want to scream.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
But they don't. They don't look like.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
What you would think they would look like, or whatever's
in your mind, or the men that show up to
buy the trafficked girl for half an hour or an hour.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
They're normal people.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Their husbands, their wives, or teachers, they're they're bankers, they're
normal everyday people.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I have an ignorant question, just because you're really like
informing us at this point, and this is very useful.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Do they ever traffic young boys?
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Of course?
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, so in America most of the boys are runaways
boys and girls. But there's a there's a saying that
foster care is a pipeline to trafficking usually for girls,
and a pipeline to prison for the boys. And then
if you're a runaway boy, forget it. I mean a
runaway boy or girl, you're within three four days you're
picked up. And yeah, and the foster care kids are
(25:31):
very easy. And runaway kids are easy because there's no
parent there looking out for that kid or the missing
or any of that. There's no system and there's no
family system there.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
You know, before we let you go, I want to
know what is the signal the healthiess. Yeah, the signal,
like I've heard, I've seen and heard through my daughters,
there's like.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
It's like this, that's the help signal flashing it.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
So if you see like the thumb goes in, that's
if you nail are or someone and they're they're going
like this, they're signaling for help, but they can't yell help,
they can't anything. And one last thing is if you
do have kids out there, I've taught my you know,
you teach your kids to be polite, polite, polite, polite,
(26:17):
except if someone's doing something or trying to grab you.
And then I drilled it into my daughter, especially when
she was younger, to scream your freaking head off, kick,
scream bite everything. And if they tell you they're going
to hurt you or hurt me, they're lying. Scream bite
and they will run.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I love this topic.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Yeah, like.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
People should. There's so much we should know about this.
We should continue this conversation. But thank you for talking
about acting and all all the things, the fun things
we were talking about, but you're you're really making a
difference out there, and it's so inspiring.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Thank you. Thanks for having me
It's nine Gene Onegine with Jenny Garth and Tory Spelling.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hi, Hi, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Nichols one of the best names in the biz from Nichols.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Oh, it's so great to see. We just saw you
on one of the episodes from season six where you
are Ray Preuitt's beautiful new girlfriend.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Thanks.
Speaker 5 (00:32):
Yeah, Wendy Stevens, right, yeah, yes, bull bangs.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Remember, Yes. I saw the pictures. I looked them up.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
I was like, Wow, it reminded me of an Instagram
post that you had put up saying remembering when you
were just a little punk, And I was like, in
that character, wow, you felt Donna should be sorry, Donoughy
should be happy because Ray is obviously moved on and
he's and love and she seems to be a better
(01:03):
fit for him. But the two of you, you guys,
looked great together.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
I gotta say, thank you, thanks very much. Yeah, it
was fun. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Do you remember being on the episode that day? Like,
do you remember filming that You've worked so many times?
This is a crazy question to say, do you remember
that one day?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I was brand It was brand new for me.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
So I just moved from Chicago, so coming from Chicago,
I think I did. I did an episode of like
some TV show that's shot in Canada.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Due South.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
It was called and the director from Due South, Gil
was going to direct your that episode.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Bill Shelton, Yes, exactly, okay.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
The next week, so he asked me to come an
audition for that, and then that's how I ended up.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
My soon to be ex husband was on Due South.
Dean McDermott.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
Oh, really amazing the soon to be I understand that
I've been there, yes, but yeah, so that's how I
ended up so well for me, it was a big
It was like.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
So this was like your second acting job ever, yeah.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Like maybe like third or maybe third or fourth, but
like brand new, like I've maybe been in a.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Life for like a year.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
So it was really it was like, oh wow, okay, great, amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
So it was memorable.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I like that, or so they talk you'd come back
like I couldn't remember. We couldn't remember, Like Jamie was
the series regular, right and then he left the show
because sadly they wrote him as hardcore woman abuser and
couldn't make it come back.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Like the female fans were like, what you beat him?
Donna push you down? This years or whatever.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
But yeah, so then we were saying that, you know,
they made him redeemable as best they could, and he
had a new song and so that we can't listen
to because they will not stream any of the episodes
with music.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Oh yeah, so we used.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Watching one DVD, which he's unfortunate for the fans.
Speaker 4 (02:58):
I need have to pay music, right.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
I don't know if there was talk of him like
coming back more so, did they talk to you about
that character be recurring at one point?
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
When I got it, there were like, this is possible recurring,
which I was still learning what that even meant.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Like I was that brand brand new.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
But I was I was like cool, great, that'd be amazing,
like and it was funny because because I you know,
I ended up working with Luke like years years later,
but I had still I'd always remembered the nine o
two one at nine o two one oh episode that
I was on, Like everyone was so nice. I was
a little scared. I was, you know, brand new in
(03:36):
the biz. I was a little like, oh, these are
huge stars, oh my god. And everyone was really nice,
and I just remember having a really good time and
really nervous, like I was still learning about like hitting
my mark and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Like I remember working with you because we got to
work together and you were awesome and really kind. Even
though I was a series regular, I was always nervous
because I remember being guests are on other shows and
people not being kind to me. So I was always
nervous about people coming on if Yeah, So I even
got nervous working with guest stars, Like I was like, Oh,
(04:10):
I hope they like me.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You know, It's all so weird, is when you know,
now I've been on the other side of the camera
and also been a series regular, and then there's the
other side of like you know that that guest star
is now going to go and talk and tell about
their experience on your show that you're on, and so
there's also like, oh my god, I hope I treated
them right, or I hope it went well for them, or.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
You know, I hope I was having a good day
that day.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Right, That's never happened on our show, right, Jen. No
one went on to say anything any guest stars.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
No, I don't think so. Maybe a couple. But you've
had such an incredible career, like you're a long hauler,
like the two of us. What age did you start
in the business.
Speaker 5 (04:54):
I mean, honestly, twenty two. I wasn't like a kid actor.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
I wasn't.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
I wasn't an acting class or anything. I fell into
it when I was like nineteen and I was in
Chicago and auditioned for a series out in LA with
Paul Thomas Witt. Do you remember Paul Thomas Witt. They
did like gold and they did like all of these
like early like late eighties sitcoms or whatever. So it
(05:20):
was for a series regular for that and I ended
up getting it, and I ended up being moved out
to LA and that's how I got her.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
But that was really like twenty two, twenty two years old.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, nowadays they would call that a late bloomer. I know, right,
I don't call it that, but right, yeah, I guess so.
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yeah, But back then, it was like, you know, to
get a gig out of Chicago in LA was a
huge deal. It's not like now where you can, like,
you know, on the with the Internet, you can cast
from any different country that you want. It really doesn't matter.
But back then it was a pretty cool gig to get.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Are you from Chicago?
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Born and raised, Okay, Midwest.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Yeah, oh you too?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
And yeah, are you still not anywhere? You'd probably know
central Illinois? Like, yeah, I didn't go to Chicago ever,
but you and then you moved out to LA. Are
you still located in LA? Or is this I'm still
in LA?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I tried, so I think you were in New York.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
I don't know, I've never lived worked.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Well, when this is over, if we can exchange numbers
or something. Your skin videos are amazing, but all the
facialists you posted were.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
In New York, and I'm like, shoot, I just need
a little no.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Joanna bargains she's in LA. And Kate Summerville's in LA.
They're actually LA. They're both okay, so we'll talk.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
You were seeing on your body of work, like I
have just a few things in front of me Vegas vacation.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Yeah, that was. That was my first movie, like ever.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
You played Audrey Griswolds.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So wait, wait, so the first Audrey was also a
nine of two one zero Dana Baron, Yes, and then
our friend Juliet Lewis went on, so were you the
third incarnation of Audrey?
Speaker 4 (07:12):
I was, Let's see, wasn't there?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
No?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
There was like a years one more.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Before me, and I don't know who was in that.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
I don't remember, but I was like the fourth and
I was the first, the one that was like not
National Lampoons.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
It was like a separate one.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
What I sold the franchise, I guess.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
So, I mean it was, oh my god, producer blanking
on his name, but he was a huge.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Huge Weineberg whatever his name is.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
He like he represented like the rat Pack back in
the day, so he was mister Vegas and so they
allowed him to do it because okay for Vegas, like
he used to wrap elvis and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
But you were a Griswolm and that's all that counts,
because yeah, that is iconic.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
It was iconic.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
And if you picture me, like when I was on
your show with the big thick bangs, they're never gonna me.
Like to me, Audrey Griswold was like the all American,
you know, a little bit girl, and I didn't think
I looked like that. And I think I auditioned for
three months for that role. Wow, yeah, forever and then
ended up like getting it, like wow, And that was
(08:16):
the first time I was like I really got to
hit my mark and like the first time of anything.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, working, you're working with Chevy Chase. I'd be totally
stressed too. I love him.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Yeah he was. It was really nice.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Oh good, wait, you're also you were also what did
you play on Can't Hardly Wait? Which?
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Oh, okay, so there was.
Speaker 5 (08:36):
I mean it was this small. It was like maybe
I was in maybe four or five days. So you
remember the giant scene with our with like the rock
guy on the stage and Jennifer Love Hewitt's there and everyone,
like everyone.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
The most she remembers it her ex husband was.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
The party scene.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Yes, the party scene.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Girl that doesn't get to go in the closet and
make out with him?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
And she said, you wait, who did you want to
make out with?
Speaker 4 (09:02):
I think it was the geeky guy. Who was that?
It was the geeky guy Seth Green? Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
My gosh, that's one of my favorite movies. I love it.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
I love that movie too.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
You've just been on everything I was Friends, Charmed Boy, Me,
twirl screen too, Like, I'm just like.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
What the highest rated Charmed episode ever?
Speaker 4 (09:38):
No?
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yes, really, maybe told us.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
It was. It was quite the outfit. It was quite
the office.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
Wait, who did you play I should know this show, but.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Fuller, this girlfriend from the past. The past she's like evil,
but in present times she is nice, and like the
evil and the nice come together. And it was like,
I'm challenging Heather Macomb's character and all of that fun stuff.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
But it was fun. It was a fun role. It
was a fun role.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It was just one episode.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think it was just one episode. I was supposed
to be, you know, recurring, but it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
You had many episodes on Riverdale.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
With Yeah, I mean that I was a series regular.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
First, well, tell us about that experience, Like, did you
work closely with Luke or in?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Yeah, that was I mean, you guys know it was Luke.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Luke.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
First of all, he's a total pro, like seasoned season
season pro, so generous, like so generous, always wanted to
make the scene better, Like he's not the kind of
actor to phone it in at all.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
She so could at that level of.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
His career, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Not at all? We worked closely together.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
I mean I was sort of he was like the
lost love of my life that got to we never
got together, and I mean we worked really hard to
make that sort of relationship a big, major, major thing
and real and like based in reality and not caricature,
(11:21):
and really talked with the writers and like, hey, can
we draw this out?
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Can we do this?
Speaker 5 (11:26):
And and Luke actually, I we'd gotten to Vancouver and
I had my daughter with me. She was eight years
old at the time, you know, and so we're in
Vancouver for the first time really, and he took me
and her and he's like, let me show you about
the boats. I mean, do you know the boats in
Granville and you could take the boats over to Grande Island.
I'll meet you guys there. I'll get you on the boat.
I'll make sure you're set, and like he was like,
(11:48):
you don't have to do that, and he was he
was just That's who.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Luke was.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
He was always trying to He took all the younger kids,
like you guys are like this. So when we were
doing this meaning of the pilot of Riverdale, right and
all the kids meaning like kJ and Lily and Cammy
and everyone are like down in the road right below us,
and me and Luke are sitting back and we're watching
we're watching the screening and we're watching them. And Luke
leans over to me and he's like, this reminds me
(12:15):
nine or two aer He's like, but this time they're
going to work and he's like, mush, kids, mush, make
me mush.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
That's funny.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Yeah, that was huge for him.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
And I've met several of the youngsters on that show
and they all have the same story that you know,
they were, they were new, and he took them under
his wing and really really wanted to prop them up
and support them. And yeah, it was beautiful. I got
(12:47):
to say I was a huge fan of Riverdale, like
my kids and I watched it and they were super psyched.
They were like, oh my god, this show we want.
I was like, well, my friend Luke's and and they
got it super like badass kick out.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Of him calling and being like, hey, it's uncle Luke
and they're like, oh my god, it is Himm You're right,
And that was everything for them.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
As obsessed with the show as I was, I sadly
when he passed, I honestly couldn't watch it again.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
And that's just that was a personal choice.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It was it was hard.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
It was really hard, and the funeral was really hard,
and it was rough. It was my dad had just
passed like maybe three weeks prior, and I'd just gotten
back on set and then that happened, and I mean
we all just, I mean the whole place shut down.
We're all just bawling, and the kids were bawling, and
(13:43):
it was just, you know, Luke can't go into a
Luke can't go into a room or a job without like.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Filling that space.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah, and with not only who he is and the
size of the being that Luke is, but then also
his care factor for every single person in the room
and for the script and for the story and and
just always had the big picture, not just his role,
do you know what I mean, like just the whole
(14:12):
story and where it could go and how it could
go and how it could be great.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
And yeah, I mean, you guys know.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
We were in Vancouver at the same time, because you
guys filled Vancouver and we were doing BH nine O
two one oh. And we know that Shannon went and
did the funeral. Yeah, while she was filling with us,
she went back and forth.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
I actually worked with Shannon. I did a movie years
later called Friends Till the End on MTV, but it
was Shannon. I think I played her best friend at
the time. It was a fun, fun little mtwo.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Did what happened to your friendship in the movie? I'm
so curious.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
It's a great question. We're friends till the end. They
like her and this other like Chucky.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
It became like her best friend or something, and it
was kind of like all about Eve, kind of weird.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Story like that.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
And I was more like than going, hey, you shouldn't
be that and there's something off about this and blah
blah blah blah blah. But I also for at the time,
there were all these rumors and she was fantastic. She
was also good, great work quick bro like no drama,
was great.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
But you know what, those are the stories we hear
the most. But yeah, you know that bullsh stuff that
the tabloids and people were talking about was just not
Yeah she was. They just love to do that to her.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Marisol. What year was that.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Friends till the end? I think it was maybe I
want to say, like ninety I think like ninety eight,
ninety nine maybe.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Okay, So did you do that before you did Charmed?
And was she still uncharmed when you did Charmed?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
It's a great question.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
I think she was still uncharmed when I did Charmed. Okay,
but I don't think I worked with her yet.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This just just wild your connection back to nine o
two one zero and everybody, it's like insane.
Speaker 4 (16:06):
You know, well you guys.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
I mean, there's so many people that were on your show,
and even Brian. I worked with Brian years later on
it on a series I did called Resurrection Boulevard. He did.
I think it was second or third season. He came
on like the whole season.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Wow? Or did we ever work together? Come on, I
know plenty of time that happened, that something we can
do together.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
You are so talented. You have a podcast to tell
us about it.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
I do.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
Yeah, it's called the Marathon Nichols Podcast, mainly so that
people could find it, you know, but it's it's gonna
this is gonna take a dark turn, so I'll try
and keep it as light as possible. But I have
been working in the field of human trafficking since I
mean for over decade now, and I have my own
nonprofit called Foundation for Slavery Free World.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
And I ended up.
Speaker 5 (17:09):
Through relationships, relationships, relationships, going undercover and using my acting
skills over the last decade in different states, in different
countries around the world. To help put bad guys away
and help get women and children out.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
And so I formed a podcast, Thanks, and.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
I formed a podcast to help get the word out
and invite invited like not only all the guys that
I've gone under cover with and different ones, but also
different law enforcement, different actors in the field, actors in
a different definition of the work actor.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
We've had the head of.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
Meta on like literally Antikenny Davis, who does all the
global safety for Facebook and Instagram and all that she's
been on. And the whole idea is because I had
this audience of essentially teenagers and women because of Riverdale,
to go spread the word like, Hey, these are the
things you need to look out for. This is what's
going on in your own backyard. This is what the
(18:06):
bad guys look like, this is the tools that they use.
This is how you can protect yourself, your friends, your family.
And that's essentially what the podcast is. It's all of
those subjects that are essentially encompassing women and children, Like
I also have women on there, like a wonderful woman
who has an organization for.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Foster care kids.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
And so if you think about foster care kids, a
kid goes into foster care and then they get used
to the family and they're so happy. And then the
mom or dad gets out of jail or whatever the
situation is. Sometimes it's not so fine, and they say
they want the kid back, and the kid may not
want to go or the kid wants to go back.
But so she formed an organization that has lawyers just
for the children, pro bono, just for the law speak
(18:51):
for the kids and help them in court.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
And so we also have.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Stories like that, but it's just it's that whole subject.
So that's my podcast.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
It's fascinat that world that you're talking about, and I'm
so intrigued. I want to know more about your undercover experiences.
I've got to listen to your podcast now for sure.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And speaking of your undercover experiences, correct me if I'm wrong, please,
are you developing a scripted show?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:20):
So when all of this so, Marie Claire, the magazine
Marie Claire, came and followed me for a weekend in
Michigan on some opsite did with the sheriff out there
that I still actually work with.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
And then they did this seven page spread.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
About the whole thing, and that went everywhere and everyone
was like blah blah blah blah blah. Anyway, Sony ended
up buying my life rights at the time, and I
wanted to create a TV show that was because what
a better way to spread the word on this if
you can do it through fiction and you can do
it through stories stuff. So we developed that and then
lo and behold it's turned Now it's turned into a
film and I'm still with my same producer from Sony,
(19:57):
and I think Lifetime is doing it. We're supposed to
start shooting in March. But until we start shooting, you know, and.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Of how that goes, Yeah, I will just exactly. Is
there a working title so far.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
Called Somebody's Daughter? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, you're getting really impressive work, Like thanks aside from
just all the experience and the joy you've brought to
everybody through your acting roles over the years, Like this
is the next level changing lives and it's very inspirational.
Speaker 5 (20:32):
Thank you, thank you. It's really into it. Just you're
meeting all the guys and meeting everyone, and it was like, well, hey,
can you can you.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Go to Caever?
Speaker 1 (20:42):
I have to ask you though, knowing what you know, Yeah,
you have a young daughter.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
I do sixteen.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Yeah, sixteen.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
I thought it was eight and.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I got one six year old. Y they're trying.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
I mean, it's just I don't have a library of
knowledge about the things that you have. Yeah, all this darkness,
and I am terrified to let my kids out the door.
Speaker 5 (21:07):
It's one of the main reasons, was like, look, this
is the world, so the only we're never going to
like keep them home and keep them fully off the
internet or fully off of this. So for me it
was like, look, I'm just going to give her as
much data as I can without overwhelming her. So she
knows what to look for, and she does for the
most part, Like for sure online she's helped her friends
(21:30):
Like she's like, that's that's the bad guys.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
What do you tell people? Like what are the signs?
Like what do we need to know? Yeah, what are
the top what our daughters need to know?
Speaker 5 (21:39):
They essentially it's no longer it's very rare the white
van that comes and grabs the kids off the street
or whatever.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
It's very rarely that.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
It's more you know, if you heard the term grooming,
but it's more of that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
No, wait, explain grooming.
Speaker 5 (21:56):
Grooming is like slowly getting someone used to the idea
of doing something that.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
They normally would not do.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Right, Like, you can use it in the sense of
like try not to be so dark and how to
explain it without being too dark. But when a kid
is under the hold of a really bad actor or
trafficker or whoever, in order to get that kid used
(22:25):
to doing things that they normally would never do, they
might show them porn, they might show them things that
they normally wouldn't see. And that's grooming them. That's getting
them used to going see this is a good thing.
See dead da da da da da da.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
In essence, getting the kid to trust them.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Right exactly, and getting them to sort of let go
of their own values and morals and things that they
would normally have as their reality.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
And changing something else.
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Okay, okay, So online with let's say twelve year old,
fourteen years fifteen year old or whatever, they just reach
out through chat rooms because everyone's used to chat rooms
and dms and that and the other, and they have
a thousand fake accounts and it's literally you know, the
guy with a thousand fake accounts in the basement with
a ton of computers and just all day long calling
(23:15):
the internet to try and find someone who will chat
with them and talk with them.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
And that fits the profile of.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Someone who's insecure vulnerable, usually from either a bad family
or they think it's a bad family environment. You know,
like they might post like schow my parents or something
like that, and that's like, oh great, I can go
in there.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
They're looking for that.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
Or let's say or let's say it's something like I
don't know, let's say it's out You're at a mall
or something and there's a there's like a bunch of girls,
and the trafficker who looks like a normal guy will
look like a completely normal guy or woman.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Young. I just want to ask twenty can.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Be twenties, thirties, like yeah, Michael ooh you're beautiful. And
let's say that all the other teenage girls are like ew,
and the one is like that's the one.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
That they'll they know the traffickers and they know.
Speaker 5 (24:11):
They're going after the vulnerable population, vulnerable children, vulnerable women,
and that's that's like it's just the reality now, it
just is. And it's it's not only women, it's also men.
I mean it's not only men, it's also women. And
they look like normal people, which makes you want to scream.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
But they don't. They don't look like.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
What you would think they would look like, or whatever's
in your mind, or the men that show up to
buy the trafficked girl for half an hour or an hour.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
They're normal people.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
Their husbands, their wives, or teachers, they're they're bankers, they're
normal everyday people.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I have an ignorant question, just because you're really like
informing us at this point, and this is very useful.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
Do they ever traffic young boys?
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Of course?
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, so in America most of the boys are runaways
boys and girls. But there's a there's a saying that
foster care is a pipeline to trafficking usually for girls,
and a pipeline to prison for the boys. And then
if you're a runaway boy, forget it. I mean a
runaway boy or girl, you're within three four days you're
picked up. And yeah, and the foster care kids are
(25:31):
very easy. And runaway kids are easy because there's no
parent there looking out for that kid or the missing
or any of that. There's no system and there's no
family system there.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
You know, before we let you go, I want to
know what is the signal the healthiess. Yeah, the signal,
like I've heard, I've seen and heard through my daughters,
there's like.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
It's like this, that's the help signal flashing it.
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
So if you see like the thumb goes in, that's
if you nail are or someone and they're they're going
like this, they're signaling for help, but they can't yell help,
they can't anything. And one last thing is if you
do have kids out there, I've taught my you know,
you teach your kids to be polite, polite, polite, polite,
(26:17):
except if someone's doing something or trying to grab you.
And then I drilled it into my daughter, especially when
she was younger, to scream your freaking head off, kick,
scream bite everything. And if they tell you they're going
to hurt you or hurt me, they're lying. Scream bite
and they will run.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I love this topic.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Yeah, like.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
People should. There's so much we should know about this.
We should continue this conversation. But thank you for talking
about acting and all all the things, the fun things
we were talking about, but you're you're really making a
difference out there, and it's so inspiring.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Thank you. Thanks for having me
Hosts And Creators
Tori Spelling
Jennie Garth
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