Aren't we all tired of being scammed and abused by big money?
The villains are playing in our faces.
All we can do is call them out.
Redditor Pcdistroyer wanted to hear about which businesses and industries are taking us all for a ride, so they asked:
"What industry was a lot more dark and sinister than most people realize?"
"The tow truck industry in Ontario. A lawyer in Toronto had to flee the entire f**king country after standing up to them as the cops outright said she couldn't be protected. Their activities to control various parts of the towing industry in Ontario included arson and murder."
- hughmann_13
"I know a guy who started a towing company and drove a flatbed wrecker for a few years. He'll be the first to tell you that the towing industry is the scum of the earth with very few exceptions."
- ArchaicBrainWorms
"The Troubled Teen Industry."
- _the_bluprint
"The 'camps' and stuff. One of my buddies went through that. He was kidnapped in the middle of the night from his bed. Bag over his head and handcuffed, then shuttled to a camp in the middle of nowhere. Absolutely terrifying. All because he was smoking weed. He immediately graduated to oxys when he got back."
- tunomeentiendes
Texting Teens GIF by A24Giphy
"Vacation Timeshare. I worked in the industry for like 4 years, selling more timeshare points to people who already own timeshare. The marketing folks would use really weird and shady tactics to get people (often elderly) into a 90-minute sales presentation. Saying s**t like 'There’s an issue with your ownership, come in for a presentation' or 'You’re actually not using your timeshare points right, come in and we’ll show you how.' Whatever gets them in the door. Lie if you must."
"Then they walk in and are subjected to the most intense sales pressure of their lives. The sales team is experts at confusing people (again, most often elderly) into spending 20k to 50k on timeshare points that they probably don’t even need.
The best part is that the company doesn’t really add any more properties, but they sell a bunch of endless points. So your 20k purchase will eventually devalue to the point where you can’t book anything. Then you need to come in and spend more.
It’s a legal scam."
- AlexanderTox
"It's crazy how many corporations target elderly people. My grandma is always getting catalogs in the mail trying to sell her stuff and the prices are outrageous. You can find the same thing on Amazon for like $5 when it's $40 in the catalog (plus tax and shipping.) Even companies like DirecTV are awful with a lot of their scams targeted at the elderly."
- DatTF2
"Family vlogging. These people are absolutely exploiting their children for views and sponsorships, and the kids will never see a dime of the money. I think we will see a lot of laws concerning this in the next decade."
- TrueCrimeButterfly
"I'd be genuinely surprised if there's not a law or code-named after Ryan when he comes of age. Apparently, they're already trying to shift the channel over to a different sibling since he's getting older."
"Ryan's toy reviews (or something like that, I think they rebranded it a few years ago). It's one of the biggest child exploitation channels that's been around for a while. Basically, the parents have been milking the kid for millions since he was a toddler."
- NinjaBreadManOO
"The pet trade. 90% are some version of the Tiger King but with some other animal."
- MiasmaFate
"This. My local shelter is SO FULL that they have been doing free adoptions every weekend. Someone I know adopted a purebred cat for the aesthetics and because it is 'crucial to know their lineage.' (???)"
"Meanwhile, my adopted cat is so goofy and lovable and adorable and potentially would have been euthanized if I didn’t adopt her. Plus a lot of these cats bred for aesthetics have horrible health issues and just suffer."
- pictures_of_success
International Cat Day Cats GIF by MOODMANGiphy
"Pineapple trade. Banana trade. Cacao cultivation and trade."
- MootRevolution
"When making chocolate from scratch, my ex needed to dig to find a slavery-free cacao supplier. He found one whose arrangement with suppliers was that he would visit with zero notice, and immediately be shown the entire supply line, from growing to shipping."
"At the time, that vendor had found no growers in Africa who would take him up, and few elsewhere in the world."
- Starshapedsand
"Piggybacking on this - Sugar, and not surprising - sugar was only made affordable to the masses by slavery and it's never left those shady roots behind."
- amortizedeeznuts
"Music. Ruthless and greed-filled."
- onekeanui
"Democratization of music production and distribution is both a blessing and a curse. But any way you slice it it’s incredibly hard to get consumers to pay for music and you will meet many a middleman on your way."
- ClittoryHinton
"Been in the industry for over 30 years. Had levels of success enough to buy a house and a few nice cars. Now it’s impossible to achieve that level of monetization. Labels are the worst now when buying marketing and online platforms. Sad sad state of affairs."
- onekeanui
"The electronics industry is actively killing and destroying the habitats of gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants in Congo due to the extensive and often illegal mining of coltan, an ore used in the production of modern phones, laptops, tablets, and more. And it’s pretty awful for the human (sometimes child) laborers too. You can help by recycling your old phone instead of throwing it away or keeping it in a drawer forever."
- YardSardonyx
"As someone who has worked with horses my whole life, in multiple disciplines, I'll say the equine industry. People always point fingers at horse racing for the drugs, breakdowns, and horses ending up in slaughter. I'll just say those same exact things happen even In your local show and lesson barns. It's just not as open to the public. Obviously, it's not every barn and not every trainer/owner, but they make everyone look bad."
"I worked at a very well-known facility in North Carolina. They had about 40 horses and did lessons and shows. It was a place where people could start out riding. The horses were worked all day every day, even in extreme heat. They often didn't have access to fresh water and would miss out on feed if they were being used in lessons. If they couldn't earn their keep, off to the kill pen. But no one complained because it was all people who had no idea about horses."
"Since then, I have worked at several high-end show barns. They have access to fresh food and water and are extremely well cared for, but they are worked and shown through career-ending injuries and drugged-up. I know what vets to avoid as they are 'quick fix' vets. They do just enough to get a horse through show season."
"There are also so many dirty tricks people use when training young horses. So please do your research if you or someone you know wants to get into riding. There are good trainers out there, but be careful. In my experience, the racing industry is one of the best as they are always improving for the horse's welfare. The showing world is very hidden and if you complain or step up people come after you."
- Pandorasbox2021
"Construction in the Middle East."
- DJErikD
"Most are passport slaves. They come to work, passports are confiscated, and then they are stuck. It's why I will never travel to Dubai. It's built on the back of slaves."
- hobbes8889
"Had a layover in Dubai recently where I had several hours to spare to head to that big a** mall and see the Burj You can just tell that the ostentatious display of wealth had to have been built on a foundation of skeletons. No one builds a f**king giant free-to-see aquarium with sharks by convincing taxpayers to front the cost."
- hughmann_13
"The adoption trade in Ireland. The nuns made millions creating shame around single motherhood and then created an entire industry to sell babies and use the surplus for labour in industrial schools. And collected millions in donations from parents who bought babies for decades."
- LordyIHopeThereIsPie
"K-pop. It's really sinister, the process of how people train to even be eligible to become a K-pop idol. They're basically quasi-slaves to the companies, and have lots of personal restrictions from diet, to residence to even relationships. If they break through and get a great career, awesome, remember to pay the company's share. But if they don't, it's all for nothing and you're thrown out. Some things look too squeaky clean, you shouldn't be afraid to look behind the curtain."
- MiguelIstNeugierig
k-pop GIF by KoreaGiphy
"Betta fish industry. Petco, PetSmart, and the like. Really any of the pets that are in there. The reptiles are all malnourished, don't have proper UVB or heating, metabolic bone disease is everywhere, etc."
- lizardgizzards
Finding Nemo Dory GIF by DisneyGiphy
In the end, is any big business or corporation not sinister?
At this point, we know we're all being scammed.
I hate that innocent animals are mistreated all for a buck.
I never thought about the fish.
The K-Pop situation is out of control.
People have been talking about that forever.
Yet nothing seems to get done about it.
All of this nonsense for a little more money when there is plenty to go around.
All in the name of greed.
During the episode, the women participated in a Q&A session to answer questions attached to individual bandanas on three puppies brought out on stage.
The question Adams received from the puppy on her lap was, "What's your favorite thing to do with your spouse when your kids are in bed?"
Without hesitation, the Golden Globe winner and mother of one said “I’m a big Netflix and chill kind of gal. I like to chill."
However, these days, the term "Netflix and chill" doesn't mean what it used to, and Barrymore was quick to give Adams a reality check about the phrase.
“You know ‘chill’ means [sex]," said Barrymore, to which Adams immediately blushed and replied:
“Oh, it does? Oh, no, I said that. Oh, you guys! I think this means something I didn’t know it meant."
Barrymore interjected to inform Adams and the studio audience, "Because we’re from the ‘80s and ‘90s when chill meant relax.”
The exchange elicited laughter from the audience as Adams blushed.
You can watch a clip of the moment here.
Adams wasn't alone.
Social media users shared their thoughts.
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Aww, what's not to love?
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Adams has a 14-year-old daughter named Aviana that she shares with husband Darren Le Gallo, also a fellow actor.
She met Le Gallo at an acting class in 2001 just before her breakthrough role in Junebug. The pair got engaged in April 2008 and married in May 2015, five years after Aviana was born.
While raising a teenager presumably has its challenges, some chill time in her context is well-earned, but we wouldn't hold it against her if she "chilled," the way the kids these days mean it.
Barrymore came to learn about the updated meaning of Netflix and chill in a virtual episode of her show in October 2020.
She explained:
“I’m gonna tell you what I did last night. I did one of my favorite things in the world. I watched an episode of Friday Night Lightsand I ate a giant bowl of carbs."
“So, I guess last night what I can say is I did ‘Netflix and chow.’ Because I was saying that I Netflix and chilled only to find out that I didn’t know what I was talking about."
"Does anyone know what Netflix and chill really means?”
She continued:
“Well, now, it turns out that chilling is something completely different. It’s when someone comes over and you, like, do anything but chill."
“So, here I’ve been bragging, like, ‘I Netflix and chilled.’ And chilling is not the same thing anymore, so I’m gonna call it Netflix and chow.”
Adams stars in Nightb*tch, which is a satirical story about a former artist-turned stay-at-home mom who transforms into a dog overnight.
The film is currently in theaters after it premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, on September 7.
