News and Happenings

Raised by Ricki is off this week, but we’re sharing an episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour, another show we think you’ll love. For more than three decades, Maury has been a platform for flamboyant guests seeking paternity and lie detector tests for significant others. They’ve yelled, bawled and kicked over chairs. Now, the show’s host Maury Povich is retiring and it’s the end of an era for a particular brand of uber-trashy daytime TV.

The Weave Wars stretched the imagination of what hair could look like. From the hair-icopter to a hairdo with actual, live finches, The Ricki Lake Show spotlighted the artistry of fantasy hair. In this jam-packed episode, Ricki and Kalen are joined by the top two competitors of Weave Wars: Sharon Shearer and Weaven Steven. They talk about their most memorable creations and how The Ricki Lake show catapulted their careers. Plus, hairstylist Clayton Hawkins (whose clients include Olivia Rodrigo, Dakota Johnson, and Emma Roberts) recounts the time he got mistaken for Ricki when he was 12 years old!

Twenty years before Bob the Drag Queen won the eighth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” he would run home after school to catch The Ricki Lake Show. And today, Bob joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about the show’s significance for queer people and people of color – especially drag queens. As a certified fan of The Ricki Lake Show, Bob introduces Kalen to the Ricktionary and talks about why the show was unlike any other on TV in the 90s. Bob also shares what he wishes he saw on the show, and Ricki talks honestly about what they could have done better.

You may remember her from “The Flintstones” or even the OG “A League of Their Own.” Three years after The Ricki Lake Show first aired, Rosie O’Donnell made her talk show debut. The Rosie O’Donnell Show featured the likes of...

The Ricki Lake Show never shied away from controversial topics. The most spicy and taboo topic of all? Sex! This week, iconic comedian, actress, and musician Margaret Cho joins Ricki and Kalen to talk about sex work, sex positivity, and how society’s views on all things sex have evolved since the 90s. She talks about her time as a phone sex worker, how working at a leather dildo shop kickstarted her LGBTQIA+ advocacy, and her memories of how The Ricki Lake Show handled sex-related topics in the 90s – and what she thinks a Ricki Lake Show episode about sex work would look like today.

The Ricki Lake Show was one of the few spaces LGBTQ+ people could see themselves on TV in the 90s, and could hear their stories told. Have things gotten better? Ricki and Kalen dig into representation in front of and behind the camera with Pose co-creator Steven Canals and past The Ricki Lake Show producer Dominick Pupa. They talk about what it means to see yourself on TV, creating safe spaces to work, and the responsibilities of representation. Plus, what is giving them moments of joy in the queer community.

The 90s were no stranger to toxic ideas about what people’s bodies should look like. While we may still struggle with anti-fat bias today, fortunately we also have icons like Tess Holliday. She’s a businesswoman, activist, one of the world’s most famous plus-size models, and Ricki’s good friend! In a deeply open conversation, Tess, Kalen, and Ricki talk about the pressures that come when your weight is your brand. They talk about the visibility of being plus-size and having an eating disorder, Taylor Swift’s scale scene in the “Anti-Hero” music video, and more. Plus, Tess talks publicly for the first time about a dream gig that almost happened but didn’t.

The best 90s self-care routine? For writer and podcast host Tracy Clayton, that was watching The Ricki Lake Show every day after school. The cultural critic talks about what makes the show so unforgettable, the importance of seeing Black representation on-screen, and how Ricki influenced her own career in media. Plus, Kalen tells us all about the best week of his life (two words: Queen Bey.)

Cameras, real people, and no script. Anything could happen. In this episode of Raised By Ricki from Lemonada Media, Ricki Lake and Kalen Allen are joined by Andy Cohen, executive producer of “The Real Housewives” and “Watch What Happens Live!”...

What made a good Ricki Lake Show guest? Personality and yes, a little bit of drama. But sometimes, they just warmed your heart right up – like Candice Cox. Twenty years ago, Candice met four of her siblings on The...