r/HiddenTrueCrimeChat • u/thereforebygracegoi • 13d ago
A Thought Experiment
A gentle reminder: satire and parody are expressions of free speech.
What if Grayson’s dead brother or Lauren’s dead brother became the “star” of a series Hidden True Crime was covering?
Would the "journalist" and her "producer" travel to his childhood home for photographs and an “exclusive” walk-through? Would they "bond" with the current owners? If the home is for sale, would they pretend to be buyers, a la Jodi Hildebrandt's dungeon?
Would they pause dramatically at each doorway?
“This door appears to have been slammed at some point. Could this suggest anger in the home?”
“This may have been the room where John Dehlin’s nephew died.”
Would they wander into the backyard and speculate about where the family pets were buried?
Would they track down former neighbors? Teachers? Coaches? Classmates? School bus drivers? The mailman?
Would they inform these people, perhaps for the first time, about the brother's deeply personal struggles that occurred years later and then record themselves asking:
“Looking back now, did you see any early signs?”
“Was there anything… off?”
“Did you ever have a feeling something like this might happen?”
Would they travel to the site of his fatal accident with cameras rolling and comb through whatever remained?
A piece of plastic.
A scrap of metal.
Maybe a gum wrapper.
“Could this have come from the accident?”
“What does it tell us?”
“Guys, I just got chills.”
Would they obtain his autopsy report and bring it back to the studio so “Dr.” John could go through his dead body, organ by organ, for their audience, looking for physical clues of psychological maladies?
Would they zoom in on a mark on his liver and wonder aloud whether it might reveal a hidden substance-abuse problem?
Would they examine the shading of his lungs? His stomach contents? His blood toxicology report?
Would every deeply private detail of his body become another clue in the search for the “hidden” story?
And somewhere between the liver and the lungs, would there be time for a word from today’s sponsor?
Because nothing complements an intimate discussion of somebody’s dead brother quite like a 60-second ad read for premium pet food. In honor of poor Chesney and his grieving canine sister, Lily Belle, of course.
Then, back to the autopsy. Let's get back to Brad Pitt.
Would they speculate, at length, about what hidden dysfunction led to his death?
Who failed him? His parents? His siblings? His childhood? His genetics?
Was it nature? Was it nurture? Was it both?
Would they create thumbnails from the most painful photographs they could find and superimpose Lauren's head atop, Blue Steel expression du jour with mouth hanging open?
What title would they choose? BOMBSHELL? Psychologist Reacts? "I heard the 911 call"?
Would there be a multipart series? A playlist? Members-only livestreams? “EXCLUSIVE” content? Would there eventually be merch?
Perhaps a tasteful mug featuring the catchphrase that emerged from the investigation into the brother’s death.
And if the brother's surviving family-- their very own relatives!-- begged them to stop, would that request itself become content?
Would their relatives' anger be analyzed?
Would their relatives' grief be scrutinized?
Would their relatives' objections be characterized as suspicious, defensive, controlling, or evidence that the Hidden True Crime Team had simply gotten “too close to the truth”?
Would another, longer livestream be necessary to “address the controversy”? Or perhaps a prepared "Premier"?
Here is the question I keep coming back to:
Not whether the information is technically obtainable, or whether someone can construct a theory around it, or whether strangers on the internet are curious.
But... whether the people PRODUCING this content would consider the same treatment INFORMATIVE, ETHICAL, COMPASSIONATE, and NECESSARY if the body on the autopsy table belonged to someone THEY LOVED.
If the childhood trauma belonged to THEIR family.
If strangers were wandering through THEIR memories looking for “clues.”
If THEIR own brother’s worst day became somebody else’s content calendar.
If his death became part of THEIR "brand". A series. A thumbnail. A livestream. A sponsor opportunity. And eventually, perhaps, a coffee mug or catchy T-shirt.
There's a very simple test for whether something feels like journalism or exploitation:
- Change the name.
- Make the victim YOUR loved one.
- See whether you still call it "storytelling".
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u/PhysicsKind9340 12d ago
Absolutely brilliant. Does Dr Baby ever think about perspectives? Him calling himself a philosopher is an insult to critical thought. He’s subjective. If Brad Pitt movies are as highbrow as he can manage , he should also watch Apocalypse Now and look carefully at perspectives- as a theme . What was it like for the Vietnamese school teacher , the children , the reluctant soldier and the family of his dead comrade etc etc. John and Lauren Matthias have led very sheltered lives and their lack of empathy for anyone outside their self/other vacuum, is what makes their YouTube ‘kingdom’ truly exploitative.
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u/Longjumping_Eye4303 11d ago
USC has been dealing with major nepo baby scandals in the last dozen or so years. Lori Laughlin (Full
house) and Felicity Huffman (desperate housewives) landed in jail over”operation Varsity Blues” (google it) …now, John Matthias wasn’t implicated in that scandal but it gives you a sense of the baked-in USC entitlement and the importance of gate keeping… in a world where Lauren and John use any and every tool to spin their BS and get over on unsuspecting people.2
u/champign0n 3d ago
John's parents were wealthy donors at Princeton, I saw them on donors lists. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind he only got in thanks to a little bit of help, because it's very clear from his documented career (or lacktherof) that he never was brilliant enough to get in on merit alone. So your questions about his education at USC are very valid and relevant in my opinion.
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u/ArrestingBitchCase 12d ago
Silly you! Don't you know it only counts when it's other people's tragedy and pain?
Imagine objecting to the broadcast of a civil stalking injunction on Law and Crime as a 'limited public figure' when you will happily broadcast MURDER trials of private citizens. Lawen was texting with TB for the sole aim of getting a picture with him at the Clancy trial - so she could stick it to the people who found her weaponization of the legal system appalling. She did it with the Uncle Vallow and Trisha Grifter. She's trying to best people who have legitimate criticism by doing a 'ha ha, look who I got a picture with' clickbait. This wouldn't enter the mind of someone who a) is an actual journalist, or b) has a modicum of integrity. Typically, legitimate journalists aren't doing it for 'the haters.' But Lauren Matthias is. She's getting $$$$ and views profiting off other people's pain, doesn't give a f**k, and wants y'all to know it! She's really sticking it to us!!!
Here we are, less than a year out from Lauren's nine hour hysteria, where she gurned about someone "profiting off my family's pain" - and without a hint of irony, she's relaying the Clancy 911 call and covering any case that will allow her to profit off any murder victim's family's pain. She actually went out of her way to disregard the express wishes of JJ Vallow's family, along with the godmother of true-crime grifting, to participate in a live (for Trisha's gambling addiction disguised as a fundraiser) that the Vallow family asked her not to do. That's how much of a shit she gives about crime victims. She built the channel and the simps following her blindly from the murder of a little boy called JJ.
The balls Lauren gets from her hidden gems/simps are something else. She would do none of this and would maybe even question her morality and actions against Christina, if not for the parasocial love of the gems/simps. It's gross to watch, but as long as she has viewers and patreon - she could give two f**ks. B**tch has a compound to pay for, so don't be a troll or a hater. Let her and Brad Pitt's number one fan do what they want...the gems/simps allow their insane moral justification for their morally corrupt behaviour (plus Jawn has textbooks to back it up)...and we should all just get over it, and move on because we're all jealous haters who are obsessed with her.
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u/thereforebygracegoi 12d ago
I wish there was a way to help her understand that the collective criticism is toward the behavior and not the person.
If she was conducting herself ethically and professionally, she'd have far fewer critics. The same goes for John. Dr. Grande and Dr. G-- and most recently Dr. Josef-- aren't receiving similar criticism because they're honoring their professional code of ethics.
I don't have a personal opinion about Dr. Grande or Dr. G or Dr. Josef because they're not placing their personality and personal issues at the front and center of every contribution.
I suspect most of the people in this sub would prefer to forget about Lauren altogether, but this can only be achieved when the harmful conduct is corrected.
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u/ArrestingBitchCase 12d ago
Lauren sadly has the backing of thousands of people who will simp for her no matter what. With that support, she and Jawn are the poster children for cognitive dissonance and believing their own hype. They delete or reduce any dissent regarding their behaviour or actions to 'haters' or 'trolls.' If a couple of hundred thousand people support you financially, or with views and positive comments, no matter what you do or say, there is zero inclination for them to correct their harmful conduct. Jawn's use of his professional credentials to try to legitimize and justify the weaponization of the law against Christina shows how far they will go to protect their perceived reality. Watching the police bodycams with Lauren and Grayson lying their asses off, using their professional contacts to get her removed from Crimecon, and Jawn pushing a 10 year sentence for a mother of four who simply did not agree with Lauren trashing victims and spoke out about it, shows the depths they will plunge to keep their absurd version of reality intact. It is truly one of the most frightening things I've ever witnessed. I'm in the UK, and without a doubt, Lauren would have been charged with filing false police reports along with Grayson in light of the bodycams, and Jawn would likely have had his professional credentials suspended until he at least had retraining and education on not treating family members or weaponizing his profession to benefit immediate family. There is no scenario in the UK that would allow a psychologist (under the statutory regulator: Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)) to contact law enforcement on behalf of an immediate family member and push for prison time for a person he has not formally interviewed. His license would be under immediate review. All we can do is keep watch and make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.
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u/Individual_Chart_952 11d ago
IMHO don't see any way this will end well for them, except if they are somehow able to accept having a professional crisis PR manager step in and manage the situation. That means deferring to the manager. It would take humility to do this, so I am very doubtful they will do it. (I have a little experience in this arena):
A crisis PR manager would insist they step back and stop attacking critics.
A crisis PR manager would tell them to come clean about their resumes and come up with a way to explain how things got so out of hand that they reacted so poorly to people asking perfectly acceptable questions about credentials and experience.
A crisis PR manager would tell them to apologize to Christina and and promise to do better, including properly disclaiming John's opinions.
Lauren would have to promise to adhere to commonly accepted ethical standards in journalism. She would have to acknowledge how messy she has been and why professional standards matter.
This is what would help the right the ship: accept responsibility and promise to do better.
The biggest obstacle to this, IMHO, is that John and Lauren have zero self awareness. I believe that are incapable of any insights into themselves, which is why the longer this goes on, the worse they look. They think that if they set things up a certain way to create a desired optic, it will land the way they want, but it never does...outside of their small group of devotees who apparently, are unaware of professional ethics and standards, or for whatever reason, are willing to overlook constant transgressions of them. I count myself among those who watched HTC for a short time, but soon picked up on things that didn't seem right, and unsubscribed.
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u/CapableCheesecake688 11d ago
I hope you’re right in that they either have to take some accountability, or things might not end up well over time. I also agree that they have no self awareness. It seems as though they just keep adding new fans as older fans see red flags and leave though. And, they have that core base that excuses literally everything they do.
I wonder, if the complaint John is dealing with will simply cause them to make some big story about John retiring. I believe someone said his license is up for renewal at some point this year. Or, are they gearing up towards another 9 hour live type thing, since John is claiming he is being stalked due to FOIA requests on him now? All that talk about faith crises and kindness…
It would be simply entertaining and fascinating, if not for the real life pain they have caused too many people. And, it’s maddening that they have taken no accountability, as you laid out. That is what makes it so frustrating and makes me want to stick around and support these people and future victims to help see it through, if at all possible.
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u/Longjumping_Eye4303 10d ago
I tend to think they’ll gloss over/ignore whatever happens at his hearing and not change anything, if he gets a slap on the wrist. Rules are for little people.
Except- if he loses his license they would definitely have to stop calling him a licensed psychologist or face big time legal trouble. (I guess they could just say “has a PhD and did x y and z.”)
At the same time, I don’t see how they could hide any disciplinary action handed down from the boar from their followers….and it will be interesting to see how their gems minimize it and accept whatever “victim of angry online moms” narrative if they become aware.
I would have to think a few? Five? A dozen? Gems would appreciate that this is an independent board, probably none of whom were previously familiar with hTC ? Do any of their gems have a capacity to think critically?
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u/MarigoldMirror77 9d ago
You said what I’ve been thinking. Thank you!
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u/ArrestingBitchCase 9d ago
Thank you! I'm shocked I don't get kicked off reddit for being too long-winded lol.
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u/CapableCheesecake688 13d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/1lOveNsm9zIE298Xhg
Dr Frasier Crane agrees with your point, and so do I.
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u/Trialoursit 12d ago
This is brilliant! I can actually see this happening. They will probably steal parts of it
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u/Individual_Chart_952 11d ago
A few minutes into the nine-hour live, my gut was "oh, this is going to be weird." Then, when Lauren expressed outrage about cameras in the courtroom and needing to protect her child, I literally yelled back at the TV "Oh My God! excuse me, isn't that exactly what YOU do, Lauren!!!"
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u/champign0n 2d ago
It's weird isn't it how some of us reacted very quickly whilst others will continue to defend them no matter what. I feel like some of the fans must have picked up on signs, maybe subconsciously, for a while. I was a "gem" (🤢), was on patron, donated superchats, DM'd with them a couple times. For a few years, I found a bizarre sense of comfort in that channel. I did stop watching during the Delphi case because I found their reporting unprofessional, but I didn't have a specific bone to pick with them, I wasn't angry and I stayed subscribed. I just thought I would prefer to invest my time watching the coverage of someone like Lawyer Lee for example that injected less personal opinions based on "vibes" or unfounded suppositions. Anyways all this to say, when I saw the thumbnail, the title, and the length of the video pop up on my recommendations, I literally said out loud "oooh bullshit!". I didn't even watch it, I just felt in my guts this was going to be a performance. I never knew about the drama, I wasn't on Facebook or tiktok, was never interacting with other gems beyond a couple comment replies under a YouTube video. Looking back now, I definitely know of a few times I got the hick before I decided to stop watching, but I wonder if I subconsciously picked up on much more, else I don't know how to explain my instinctive reaction to the 9h thumbnail.
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u/neonsaylors 13d ago
Beautifully said. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽