For months, Frenemies was one of the biggest podcasts on the internet.
Hosted by h3h3Productions star Ethan Klein and internet personality Trisha Paytas, each episode of the podcast has received two to five million views on YouTube alone.
Born from a controversial public feud between the pair, the podcast was an unexpected hit, dominating social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Twitter.
But this week, it all fell apart.
In September 2020, Klein and Paytas launched their joint podcast Frenemies. At first, Frenemies was fraught with drama. The two hosts were often embroiled in hostile arguments, with Paytas even threatening to end the show. But as the months went by, the pair genuinely grew closer, becoming not just friends, but family.
Why did Trisha quit Frenemies?
It all began on the latest episode of Frenemies when Paytas argued that a newly introduced question-and-answer segment on the show was "dumb" and "lazy".
From there, the episode descended into an on-air argument about production-related issues as Paytas questioned whether the revenue made from Frenemies was being distributed fairly. (Paytas receives a 45 per cent cut of the show, while Klein receives an extra five per cent cut, which is allocated to production costs as Klein's crew plans and produces the entire show.)
Paytas also argued that the H3 Podcast crew bring ideas that "aren't that great" to Frenemies, and suggested hiring a completely new production crew for the show. This conversation took place directly in front of Klein's employees.
Paytas later left the taping before the podcast had wrapped.
Afterwards, Paytas shared a YouTube video, announcing their departure from Frenemies. In the video, the 33-year-old said the crew had expressed that they were unhappy with Paytas' conduct during the latest Frenemies episode.
"I cannot continue," Paytas said in a statement below the video.
"If this makes me look selfish or a brat, so be it. I am grateful for the opportunity – but it just is not good for me mentally anymore," they continued.
On Twitter, Klein shared that he was "gutted" by Paytas' decision.
"Trisha’s video this morning was a total surprise to me," he said on Twitter. "I don’t really know what more I can say or do. I'm very sorry to all the fans of Frenemies, I know how much it meant to everyone, I did everything I humanly could to save it."
Since then, the drama has continued to unfold online with Paytas releasing a trilogy of YouTube videos about "Ethan's lies", upsetting fans who were hoping for a reconciliation between the duo.
While Frenemies will no longer continue, the pair are still linked personally as Paytas is engaged to Klein's brother-in-law.
Feature Image: YouTube.
Like a $50 gift voucher for your thoughts? For your chance, take our quick survey .