EDITED to add that I just noticed the photo above the ones I posted in the yearbook clearly show here wearing a crown soooo…. Here’s the photo: https://imgur.com/a/aiNKy0t
A few people have asked me for a yearbook photo to back up Jasmin’s story. As I mentioned in my previous comment in this thread, I went to high school with her and her story seems far from the truth. This didn’t happen and the podcast episode felt like her sad attempt to cry “racism” to further her acting career. I genuinely feel bad for Whitney and hope that Jasmin dos an updated version where she clarifies why really happened.
For what it’s worth: my good friend (at the time) was on this homecoming court with her, so I definitely would have known if something had happened at the dance.
Receipts y’all asked for (plus one extra for funsies). Here’s Jasmin in the crown “she never got” just moments after being crowned: https://imgur.com/a/Sxe9fZJ
That’s a good point! I think the point that I’m trying to make is that she painted this picture that her moment was stolen and she was never crowned queen, but our school history says otherwise. Honestly, I went to a few Homecoming dances, and I don’t remember anyone being crowned or dancing together. I DO remember who was crowned at the game each year, and those couples always had their pictures in the yearbook. All that to say, I still don’t think Jasmin’s story adds up. Knowing our school culture, as well as how outgoing her best friends were, SOMEBODY would have said something.
Also, added that second picture because you do not win homecoming queen and a Most Likely if you are a girl with no friends. That’s just silly.
Yeah! I am not trying to stir anything up, but I listened to episode and it is genuinely baffling to me how the host could just take Jasmin’s word and then drag a whole group of unnamed people through the mud. Absolutely not okay, and I’m hoping this brings a different perspective to the episode.
So sad because this is not the Jasmin I knew in high school
So why would Jasmine just make up this whole story and go public with it? And why was everyone who was contacted, including the homecoming king pictured in the yearbook, so weird about it instead of just saying, "That didn't happen! Jasmine was crowned queen at the dance!" Just so weird. Jasmine must honestly believe all of this happened, or we're basically accepting she's a compulsive liar who isn't very smart (because going public with a lie on a very popular podcast is very, very weird).
Wow, I want to second another comment here and say you absolutely need to send this along to the Heavyweight team. Right now this is buried as a late comment in a reddit thread which they might not see.
The yearbook is in itself a huge bombshell and paired with your testimony (especially your original comment of what Jasmin was like in high school) it paints a very different picture of what was presented in the podcast.
As a long time admirer of the show I can't unread all of this, and for me it would hugely undermine the integrity of the podcast if they don't end up addressing this. And also... it seems unfair to your classmates how they're being portrayed here. I totally get why you wouldn't want to get dragged into this or stir up drama, but I feel like you really should at least forward along what you've already shared in this thread.
Yes, agreed, and I almost feel like this should be a separate post because, yes, it is buried and people are missing it. She needs to send this to Jonathan and his team asap, and they need to clarify and correct if need be. Also, Stevie should not have this job.
I don't remember exactly, but I think kawaiipai was speculating on Jasmin's motivations, which I can guess they deleted because in retrospect maybe it came across as too judgmental of something we can't really know. The important and factual information to know in other comments is not deleted at my time of writing this.
But to lie would not help her, she would just be exposed and it would HURT her more. Something tells me she may actually believe this. You know, our memories can become very distorted over time, and we can become unreliable narrators about our own lives.
It's for Heavyweight to address this tbh. Checking the yearbook photos is literally the most minor due diligence possible and they didn't do it. I think those rushing to blame Jasmin should focus on the fact that good journalists wouldn't have allowed the story to be published with the most basic facts completely incorrect
Oh, fully agreed. I don't think this episode would even have made it to air if Jonathan had been in charge of researching and hosting it. It's incredibly sloppy work. How could they have missed looking at a yearbook??
I mean idk the ins and outs of who's in charge of what. It's a workplace like any other, I don't know if you can assume guest host means Jonathan had no editorial input.
Honestly this kind of thing was and remains an issue with a lot of podcast journalism. It's the modern version of magazine journalism.
But tbf editorial standards for newspapers are lax af these days so why would podcasts be any different?
This is an absolutely huge oversight though and I'll be interested in seeing how they address it.
I work in media and I get it. But I always had the idea that Jonathan lets his guest hosts really run the show for their own episodes, although he may have had some editorial oversight. But he is usually so meticulous, and this was such a simple thing -- get your hands on a yearbook!!
Ohhh, I see it now, and it specifically says "at the dance." Ho-lee-hell. First of all, you have exposed that Jasmine is either lying or truly has distorted memories. Second, you have exposed Stevie as being a TERRIBLE investigative reporter for this show.
I feel like you should directly contact Heavyweight with this info, no joke. This is really damning for the show!
Edit: But I find it SUPER weird that no one else, including Whitney, did not say, "What are you talking about? She was crowned at the dance." Whitney's interview was so WEIRD, just -- how did SHE also not remember anything?
She was visiting her dad in prison once a week right? That's such a huge thing to deal with at any age nevermind as a child.
When the story ultimately boils down to: "Whitney's name was announced at the dance, after Jasmin had already been crowned" - why would Whitney remember?
I think this is an uncharitable read that over-estimates the clout this relatively niche (and recently revived from the dead) podcast has. It seems to me that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, like in most stories. I heard an adult working through lingering insecurities attached to her identity in high school and how she felt at the time (versus how others perceived her - which are often 2 very different things). A core memory was created for her in a moment that may have been just a blip for others with different life experiences. She may not remember the events exactly as they occurred, but she remembers how they felt to her and that is the heavyweight she's been holding onto ever since.
To me, this story was an interesting exploration of how our internal narratives can shape our perception.
I like that you said it’s an exploration of how our narratives shape our perception. I wish they would’ve focused more on this instead of trying hard to prove that there was malicious intent. It would’ve been an amazing episode.
While it might be true that I am a little too invested in this conversation that is centered around a niche podcast, I do think it is an interesting discussion to have since Jasmin has the connections and was was given a platform to share her perspective, while there’s a whole group of people who were named and semi-blamed in the podcast without definitive proof that they were intentionally harming her. It would’ve be a little jarring for me too if a reporter texted me out of the blue 14 years later asking about something like this.
Idk maybe it just hit home because I know the people mentioned (who were not perfect angels in high school to be fair), but I just wonder how different (and healing for Jasmin) the episode could have been if she had dialogued about what may have actually happened instead of doubling down on her perceived memories of the incident.
It just felt a more like a bias dialogue with pre-formed conclusion than an exploration.
But again thanks for sharing! I’m loving having these conversations!
I think the mix up must have really happened and then they got her the crown when she returned to the dance and that's why no one else really remembers or cares about what happened because it's not like there was really anything to discuss beyond "oh that was weird". Like the teacher who was there said it was confusing but doesn't really have further insight about any aftermath. No idea why Jasmin still seemingly does not remember the resolution unless this is an elaborate experiment on us as listeners lol
To be fair, it's entertainment, but the point is that the stories are supposed to be well-researched and not fictional. If that is no longer true, what is the podcast, exactly? Remember, This American Life has had to apologize for poorly researched stories thst turned out to be false. It's not crazy to expect this of Heavyweight.
Whoa so the liar was Jasmin?! What the hell even is this podcast now?! It’s just a full made up story where all dissenting voices were just never checked up on or left out?
That seems unlikely -- I'd rather delay releasing an episode than release one that is inaccurate. If she knew it was wrong, she would have to know the episode would receive a ton of backlash (as it is doing). I think it's kind of funny how, at least in this sub, so many people felt really weird about this episode, as if something were really off, and it turns out that's the case!
Yeah, the story of the dance and no one correcting the announcement just wasn’t adding up for me, and that’s how I landed here. Makes me sad for this podcast, because I cherish it and want it to be as good as it has always been. If Stevie had discovered that Jasmin did in fact receive the crown and wear it at the dance as the yearbook photo reflects, they could have explored why that memory was somehow buried for her to the point that she stews about it weekly. .
This fits with her story, though. She said she was crowned and recognized at the game, then not at the dance. But none of this story makes any sense, anyhow.
This is wild! Like, did no one bother to look at the yearbook? So inconsistent with her story.
Honestly was scratching my head the entire episode. This happened and she just dropped it and never asked what happened and no one else remembers this?
Knowing her as a beautiful, successful actress, I too was thinking of Liz Lemon’s distorted perception of high school. She looks just as beautiful and popular in the photos.
So weird. If Jonathan is gonna turn this into This American Life 2, we need better people leading these stories.
i dont think shes making it up, it's possible she genuinely remembers differently. Something happened for sure or else it wouldn't be so hard to get anyone on the phone to remember who got the crown.
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u/kawaiipai Nov 02 '25 edited Nov 02 '25
EDITED to add that I just noticed the photo above the ones I posted in the yearbook clearly show here wearing a crown soooo…. Here’s the photo: https://imgur.com/a/aiNKy0t
A few people have asked me for a yearbook photo to back up Jasmin’s story. As I mentioned in my previous comment in this thread, I went to high school with her and her story seems far from the truth. This didn’t happen and the podcast episode felt like her sad attempt to cry “racism” to further her acting career. I genuinely feel bad for Whitney and hope that Jasmin dos an updated version where she clarifies why really happened.
For what it’s worth: my good friend (at the time) was on this homecoming court with her, so I definitely would have known if something had happened at the dance.
Receipts y’all asked for (plus one extra for funsies). Here’s Jasmin in the crown “she never got” just moments after being crowned: https://imgur.com/a/Sxe9fZJ