Pastor Jamal Bryant posted a video to his TikTok account publicly describing wellness influencer and life coach Cheyenne Bryant as an “uncredentialed and uncertified professional,” walking back his prior decision to platform her on his podcast. The statement follows weeks of public scrutiny over Cheyenne Bryant’s use of the title “Dr.” and her claimed doctorate from a university that has since closed.

@jamalbryantpodcast

Jamal Bryant Breaks Silence…WATCH THIS! Watch The Jamal Bryant Podcast “Let’s Be Clear” – Out NOW on YouTube! #JamalBryantPodcast #JamalBryant #Podcast #Credentials #Doctor #College #Housing #Politics #Scandal #BlackFamilies #BlackHomeownership #BlackOwned #BlackCommunity #BlackLivesMatter #MentalHealth #Accountability

♬ original sound – “Let’s Be Clear” Podcast – “Let’s Be Clear” Podcast

Bryant acknowledged on TikTok that he had previously hosted Cheyenne Bryant on “Let’s Be Clear,” his podcast distributed across TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, before her credentials became a matter of dispute. His public statement frames that earlier appearance as a mistake he felt compelled to correct on the record, in the same medium where the controversy lives.

For creator-hosted podcasts in the faith and wellness space, that framing carries real weight. Hosts who feature guests under a doctoral title are implicitly lending that credential their audience’s trust. When the credential fractures under scrutiny, the host’s reputation is part of the wreckage. Bryant chose to address that liability publicly, and that decision is the story as much as the callout itself.

Cheyenne Bryant, who has built a following of millions across platforms as a psychology expert and life coach, became the subject of sustained online criticism after appearing on the Joe Budden podcast and disclosing she does not hold a therapy license, as TMZ reported. The disclosure prompted wider scrutiny of her educational background and qualifications.

@breakfastclubam

🚨 Dr. Cheyenne Bryant came through to promote her new book 📕 ‘Live Your Promise’ ✨ and clears the air about the rumors surrounding the legitimacy of her doctorate 🎓 degree. Tap into the full interview on @netflix.

♬ original sound – The Breakfast Club – The Breakfast Club

On May 12, Cheyenne Bryant appeared on The Breakfast Club to address the credential questions directly. “I paid for a doctoral program, alongside my masters program and my undergrad program,” she told the show. She explained that the institution she attended, Argosy University, lost its accreditation in 2019 and closed permanently, leaving her unable to retrieve official transcripts to verify the degree.

Argosy University, where Cheyenne Bryant pursued a doctorate in Counseling Psychology, lost its accreditation in 2019 and closed permanently. Cheyenne Bryant says she was able to download portions of her academic records from the student portal but that many files were no longer accessible after the school shuttered.

She has not wavered on the title. In an interview with Fox 5’s Marissa Mitchell, she said she has no intention of producing documentation publicly. “I have multiple degrees, and I’m not going to prove anything to anybody,” she told Mitchell, as TheGrio reported. She is currently on a press tour for her new book, “Live Your Promise.”

The “Dr.” question sits in complicated cultural territory on creator platforms. Dr. Dre built one of music’s most commercially powerful names around a title that carries no academic credential. Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, earned a genuine doctorate in clinical psychology but built a television career as an advisor operating without an active license. Neither was positioning themselves on social platforms as an active practitioner of mental health guidance, which is precisely where Cheyenne Bryant’s case draws a sharper line.

Podcast hosts in the creator economy rarely walk back a guest appearance on the record. When they do, it signals that the cost of standing pat, in credibility and in community trust, has become higher than the cost of accountability. Whether other faith and wellness hosts draw the same line, with the guests they have already platformed, is the question Bryant’s video leaves open.

Season 4 of “Let’s Be Clear” is currently airing, per the show’s official podcast feed.

Jon Powell

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KSI announced this week that he is leaving the Sidemen after 13 years. A spokesperson confirmed that the announcement was real, not a staged stunt for entertainment or a temporary promotional bit. Despite early fan speculation that it might be a stunt or part of a bit, the announcement was confirmed as real by multiple major news organizations. In a statement, KSI said that he would no longer produce Sidemen videos or appear in the group’s regular content. In the video he posted on YouTube, KSI called the announcement the hardest video he had ever made and said he had been considering the decision for months before he shared it publicly with his audience and the other members.

KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, was one of the original members of the Sidemen. Born in London in 1993 to British-Nigerian parents, he began uploading videos to YouTube in 2008, initially focusing on commentary for the FIFA game series. The name “KSI” comes from a Halo clan he was a member of. Olatunji met other Sidemen members (Joshua “Zerkaa” Bradley,  Simon “Miniminter” Minter, Tobi “TBJZL” Brown, Vikram “Vikkstar123” Barn, Harry “Wroetoshaw” Lewis and Ethan “Behzinga” Payne) in school. The name “Sidemen” comes from a GTA Online group that all future Sidemen members were in (except Wroetoshaw). 

KSI dropped out of school around 2011 to focus on YouTube content full-time. He appeared in most of the group’s high-profile videos since Sidemen officially formed in 2013, helping the collective become one of the most prominent YouTube groups in the UK. The Sidemen’s group channel has more than 23 million YouTube subscribers and was reportedly the fastest YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers. Individual member channels and social media pages also have subscribers and followers in the millions.

KSI’s career has included multiple controversial incidents. He was accused of sexual harassment of female staff at a Eurogamer event in 2012, was dropped by Microsoft and was banned from future Eurogamer events. In March 2021, he apologized for using transphobic slurs in past videos, stating he did not know the word was offensive. In April 2023, he apologized for using a racial slur and took a break from social media.

KSI works across multiple fields beyond Sidemen videos and merchandise. He has fought as a professional boxer and appeared in films and on television. He has served as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, starting as a guest judge in 2025 and becoming a full-time judge for series 19. He has released multiple charting albums. His business ventures include Prime Hydration with Logan Paul, launched in 2022, and Lunchly, a lunch-kit brand founded with MrBeast and Logan Paul in 2024.

The Sidemen posted a statement on Instagram saying they were sad to share the news and that KSI had decided not to continue as part of the group. They did not mention a replacement or a revised lineup at the time of the announcement. KSI said the decision was not the result of a conflict with the other members and that he still views them as “friends for life”, but later reports indicated that some of the remaining members were upset about the exit and the timing of the announcement. When asked about the departure, Sidemen member Miniminter confirmed the news during a livestream, but did not elaborate further. Regarding his decision, KSI explained that his work in music, boxing, television appearances, and business ventures had become too demanding to sustain alongside regular Sidemen content and the group’s scheduled production cycle.

Fans reacted on social media with disbelief and confusion, and many posts framed the announcement as a joke or a temporary stunt before the news was confirmed. KSI responded to the reaction by saying he is not leaving YouTube and that he will continue to create content outside the Sidemen, which suggests he is shifting his focus rather than abandoning the platform or the public eye. The Sidemen have not announced how they will adjust their content without KSI or his creative input.

KSI’s departure ends a long period in which he functioned as one of the most visible members of the group He will continue his work in music, sports, television, and business outside of the collective. The announcement does not indicate that the relationship between KSI and the other members has ended or that future collaborations will be impossible. CNN reported that the group remains active with the six remaining members.

The Sidemen Charity Match and other group projects have not been canceled, and the group has not said whether KSI will appear in any future events as a guest or special participant. The announcement on May 31 serves as the official end of his regular participation, and no further video or statement has been released to change that position.

James Lewis

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced the launch of an official recurring livestream, the first recurring official livestream launched by a New York City mayor. The show was simultaneously broadcast across Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, Bluesky and podcasting platforms, including Spotify and iHeartRadio. The official NYC mayoral X account posted a teaser for the show, with a photo of Mamdani at his desk, alongside a photo of former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt speaking at one of his famous fireside chats. In the post, Mamdani is sitting in front of microphones with stickers of the logos of social media and podcast platforms, an homage to FDR’s photo, where his desk has microphones from news outlets CBS, NBC and MBS (America’s first commercial radio network).

The title of the show is also an homage to former New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The show was workshopped for a month by the mayor’s team, according to an anonymous senior mayoral staffer who spoke with Daniel Arkin and Allan Smith for NBC News. The inaugural broadcast took place yesterday, May 21st.

Mamdani’s show intentionally harkens back to the radio shows of two famous American populist and progressive politicians, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuardia, who were also New Yorkers. The title of the mayor’s livestreaming series was inspired by a 1940s radio show hosted by former Mayor LaGuardia. The weekend broadcast was called “Talk to the People”, and ran from 1942 to 1945, the end of LaGuardia’s term. According to the press release from the mayor’s office, LaGuardia “using the most cutting-edge technology of his era to break through traditional gatekeepers and connect with working people across the city.”

Building on a campaign that used social media as a major part of how it reached voters, Mamdani has carried that digital-first approach into his official mayoral communications. His campaign leaned heavily on short videos, jokes for the social media generation, and endorsements from podcasters. Both the Democratic primary and general election were shaped by a constant online presence. Now the mayor’s office is using a similar playbook for public-facing programs like “Talk to the People.” 

Some have claimed that Mamdani is the first American elected official to launch a recurring chat show or stream, although Mamdani’s progressive New York City ally Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been on Twitch for years. AOC has used the platform a number of times, including to campaign for former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders . Former President Obama’s use of platforms like Facebook in his 2008 presidential campaign, is often credited with helping him achieve his victory against John McCain in the election.  The 2016 presidential campaign was also notable for its use of social media, with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign content on Vine, and then-Republican nominee Donald Trump’s heavy use of Twitter. President Trump, now back on X, later shifted much of his online activity to Truth Social after being banned from Twitter.

During the broadcast, which ran for roughly half an hour, Mamdani began the broadcast with an ode to Mayor LaGuardia, followed by information about the 2026 World Cup, specifically about a lottery for World Cup games played in MetLife Stadium, just outside of New York City. Much like the shows of LaGuardia and FDR that Mamdani hoped to emulate, the mayor took questions from New York City residents, discussing issues related to the cost of living, housing, childcare, infrastructure, and city policy. Major policies highlighted included the recent pilot program for universal free childcare that Mamdani announced with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in March and the mayor’s tax on non-residents who own second  homes worth more than $5 million. During the broadcast, Mamdani proposed further taxing ultra-wealthy New Yorkers through a 2% income tax hike on income of more than $1 million a year, to help fully fund the universal childcare initiative.

Mamdani was then interviewed by local social media personality, activist and restaurateur MooseNYC. During this interview, Mamdani admitted that he didn’t know what the game Minecraft was. The broadcast had some hiccups, with users reportedly complaining of the lack of moderation on Twitch, where commenters spammed explicit messages. Over 10,000 people tuned into the initial livestream. No schedule has been given for future broadcasts.

James Lewis

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