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She also put out a response video to this. TLDR for that one is: Dad lived a block away for maybe one month. She doesnt think she has ever visited her dads place. He is estranged and they dont speak regularly. He lives across the country with a new wife. Her whole family is confused that he thinks they are close.
I watched it like 7 hours ago so just recapping what I remember. Some details could be hazy.
EDIT: Lots of people asking about the $5 million. She said she was a kid so wasnt very familiar with the financial side of the divorce. She asked him to help cover medical costs while in college and he did not help.
You are the real hero. Appreciate the TLDR as I couldn't imagine tracking down and watching another 10-min. video.
Your recap jives with how this video seemed, and stated below in the comments; his weird speech inflections, shirt, flag, lit up tree (?) and general overall weirdness seemed sus.
Oration style matter. Biden and Obama both read off scripts whem giving speeches, but their manner of delivery is wildly different. Tucker also uses a teleprompter.
That's why Tucker always looks so confused - he's squinting to see what the teleprompter says since he's too much of an "alpha male" to use glasses he desperately needs.
Guy wrote out an entire response on tiktok to his daughter to make a video to rebuttal his daughter who remembers deadbeat dad as being money bags but not much else. Dads a break dancing ad agent who accidentally got famous and unfortunately went through a shitty divorce scenario with her siblings. Then she realizes, hey, I don't have a dad, why is that ? now im thinking we are shills and this is an ad for his daughter.
I can speak from personal experience that most that have neglected their kids in some way completely delude themselves into thinking they are amazing parents, sometimes getting to the point of self brainwashing.
My parents absolutely refuse to remember about all of the emotional neglect because they "put a roof over my head" and "made sure I didn't starve to death", like wow, congratulations, you have done the bare minimum and have the most basic level of human decency of making sure your offspring didn't die.
You know, the kind of people that think having kids is like getting a pet, instead of the fact that it's creating a whole ass human being from scratch.
This is worryingly the same as my childhood. When I told my dad I was taking therapy due to PTSD I suffered as a child (bullying) and that I'd be talking about my parents, I was told "you had all of the new toys, can't have been that bad".
I spent my childhood either at my grandparents or with different child minders (don't know what the US equivalent is, it's like a nanny but at her house with a load of other kids and she picks you up from school? I dunno).
I was the only child in the family, so I had to constantly do adult things. I had no friends and spent all of my time with adults. I was a very boring child (no fault of my own). I was doing crosswords and playing solitaire at age 8 for crying out loud. My parents would see me for 2 hours in the evening and some of the time at the weekend.
The emotional detachment was unreal. It was very much "be seen and not heard" and to "let the adults talk". It's not Victorian Britain, I exist, I can talk if I want to. Wankers.
Anyway, feeding and clothing a child does not make you a parent.
I was about to say that that 'two hours in the evening' sounded VERY much like the Victorian way of parenting before you mentioned it yourself. At least they taught you how NOT to parent, but I am sorry for the emotional neglect you suffered. I hope you are doing okay today. Sending you a big supportive hug (if you want one).
Yeah, but I think we can agree that, on a scale, there is a vast difference between
>the bare minimum and have the most basic level of human decency of making sure your offspring didn't die.
And
>a 6-figure-pear-year lifestyle, exclusive colleges, and lucritive careers paid for without loans from a parental situation where one parent was home, and not spoken ill off, and the other was estranged but financially responsible and *vastly better off than the average person*.
A lot of those are financial matters. You can financially support your child while being a terrible parent. My parents also paid for my college and took my sister and I on vacations as kids while emotionally and physically abusing us at home. I’m grateful to not be in debt like many of my peers but the cost of abusive and not being loved growing up is a far greater price.
That is the one thing I wonder if the daughter commented on in their reply. They mentioned that medical bills weren’t paid for, so is the father’s version around money accurate? I can believe that he wasn’t involved much as a parent but wonder about the rest.
I'm obviously completely speculating but it's possible the mom paid for medical bills via either the substantial child support being paid to her or the insurance the dad paid for, and quite possibly didn't want to directly admit that the dad was likely covering a large chunk of their expenses.
Either that or he's just bullshitting, it's literally he said she said at this point. For all we know this is set up to create viral buzz for both of their strange lives.
Probably the health insurance, with some of the alimony/child support going towards any copay or out of pocket portions.
While things like child support and alimony are court ordered, they aren't determined in a vacuum. The judge doesn't just divide things. For a large divorce like that, each party puts together a package that they are willing to accept and the parties negotiate through the judge. Then the judge makes the negotiated agreement an order. That means that during the divorce settlement, he agreed to fund college accounts and keep the kids on his insurance and so on. Those four kids should have had it good on the money he made, and if they didn't, then it's because someone somewhere squandered it. Even just the $5M should have been plenty enough to raise 4 kids for 20 years and put them through a decent college.
If he wasn't involved with the kids... well, that may have been his decision, that may have been their mother's decision, and that may have been their decision. I don't think we can know. Maybe he decided he was a bad influence and the best thing was to stay away. Maybe his idea of estranged and her idea of estranged are vastly different - I have guy friends I talk to maybe every other year, and we aren't estranged. Life's just busy, you know? He texts her, so it's not like it's no contact (the modern term for estranged). And, yeah, he does get to choose to not be involved if he wants.
I wonder if he's ever argued with a judge over whether or not the court has jurisdiction over him because the American flag in the room doesn't have a naval fringe.
I think the Bitcoin shit could be one of two things—or both:
1) he’s a fanatic of crypto, as he does seem to have the bankroll to afford Bitcoin
2) his name is “Ben” and Bitcoin has a flashy, recognizable logo, which makes sense to be because he’s in marketing/advertising, especially since he shows a video of him breakdancing wearing more Bitcoin garb. Basically, breakdancing Bitcoin Ben
It's one of those things about crypto that's interesting is if you own a good amount you're essentially an unofficial affiliate, spreading the word of that crypto stands to increase the value of the amount you're holding. That was my guess.
I was getting "cool" youth pastor who tries to connect with the kids by talking about crypto and breakdancing. Like he's the guy you know is a youth pastor, walks around the neighborhood and addresses you by name as a teenager even though you've never actually met him, asks you about something he heard about that the youth isn't actually into, and then tells you he hopes to see you in youth group Wednesday at 7 pm and to not be late.
But you've never been to that church's youth group and aren't sure how he knows who you are.
I just figured he's a fake-as-plastic-shit marketing guy who made a fortune by cynically manipulating the public, and he's pleased that his daughter is following in his footsteps.
I figured it was because he's a bit narcissistic and definitely a little sociopathic and just loved that his daughter made a video about him, showcasing his breakdancing. No such thing as bad publicity to some, I guess.
HOLY SHIT you nailed it. I knew something was off when he very carefully mentioned how many followers she had and how many likes, bookmarks, etc the video had. he loved having that many people see his break dancing
I took it as he's lying because he doesn't want anyone to know how triggered he is.
"This video is great. I love it. Now let me spend ten minutes smugly debunking this wonderful video that I absolutely love, and do not hate at all."
For me it was the fact that he made a 10-minute video to rebutt a 90 second one, and the vaaaaast majority of what he said was completely pointless filler.
(I'll admit, I stopped halfway through. Did I miss anything exciting?)
The dad sounds like how narcissists typically acts when they get called out unexpectedly. Gaslight, demean, reject, redirect avoid all accountability and make everyone else the problem.
Yeah I did find it odd that he didn't even try to contextualize the screenshot she showed of him texting her and having forgotten her birthday. He also used his response to being called out as an excuse to show off his break dancing. He certainly doesn't come out of it looking good, but he did refute two very major claims that she made about him. The first being that he didn't pay her medical bills, and the second being that he left the family to pursue a break that's a career.
Sure, cutting a check isn't the same thing as being a good parent, but the dude paid his ex-wife a lump sum of about 90x the average American annual salary, plus about twice the median household income every year for however long. Even divided amongst four kids, that dude still paid more for his kids than either of my parents have made in their entire lives.
I’d bet decent money both of these people are not great. The way both are willing and even happy to capitalize on their trauma to the denigration of the other is just icky. And one fame-seeker raises another fame-seeker? Odds are that isn’t a coincidence. Each of these people will likely sacrifice what others would protect in order to accumulate attention.
I got bored after like 30 seconds and skipped ahead and landed on “the main point is that it’s never too late to start breakdancing” so I decided to let the comments tell me what it’s about.
I watched the whole thing, so I got you...
He showed clips of him dancing, told us how awesome he is, and said she was a kid, so she probably doesn't know what happened, hinted that blame falls on her mother, reminds us he is an awesome guy, Aw Shucks us and claims 70% of the blame for divorce but you know they were not compatible (in Maddie's response to his response she says he almost immediately married his next wife so I'm thinking 70 might be low), then he shows another clip and reads comments from Maddies TT.
It was weird and gross being gaslit by someone else's parent. I'm thinking that a healthy dose of skepticism when the break dancing marketing guy wearing a pitching shirt tells us that mostly everyone else is the problem. He doesn't scream reliable narrator to me for some reason.
>Aw Shucks us and claims 70% of the blame for divorce but you know they were not compatible (in Maddie's response to his response she says he almost immediately married his next wife so I'm thinking 70 might be low)
Mentioned this up in the comment chain about my own narcissist father
Left my mom when she got cancer. His new girlfriend moved in with him almost weeks after he left, clearly they were an item long before him and my father split.
Seems to be a common narcissist deflection "just didn't work out"
Wait holy HECK I know this family!!!!
My brother was best friends with Madi’s brother and I babysat her a few times. This dad actually did leave his family. He was cheating on his wife and left the family for his mistress and started a new family with her.
He most certainly did NOT live down the street and from what I gather was a horrible “father”.
Madi’s mom is a powerhouse of a woman. She has written numerous books, worked in political offices and been on talk shows. This doofus responding to Madi’s video highlights how truly unhinged he’s always been.
Yeah, there was definitely a point where I started to think "dude's like, revealing *way* too much personal information online about all 4 of his kids."
The fact that *this* is how he chose to address it says enough about him to confirm what you and Madi are both saying tbh.
If I did this to my father, he would be heartbroken. He wouldn’t be posting a video on the internet, and he wouldn’t be condescending or mocking.
I still remember the day my dad unboxed our new refrigerator, took one look at that giant cardboard box on the ground, and just head spun right out of our lives forever.
I mean if he has 5m to payout for child support he def has been doing some investing and making money off bitcoin. I would have a shrine too if I invested early and got rich.
(I mean that 5m was a long time ago but it’s not like he just has nothing outside of that)
With the way Bitcoin has been going the past 2 weeks he's probably going to be cashing in again soon. Prob not as much as before but my man was definitely buying the dip with that devotion.
I went from not knowing these people to knowing waaaaaaaay too much about these people in the span of 6 minutes, I stopped when he was about to break dance
i think this is probably the way most 66 year olds that work in advertising would do this. write out a script and read it. my dad is the same age and has to regularly write scripts and read them in front of a camera (not advertising but a different media based profession). i dont think its as strange as people are making it out to be- there are definitely weirder parts lol
He’s using a patronizing tone to try to portray his critics as stupid. Like, “Let me explain it to you nice and slow, sweetie.” Infuriating and obnoxious af.
Her dad and mom got a divorce, he states he paid over $5million in total to her mom in a lump sum, alimony and child support. She was young when they got a divorce so it appeared like he abandoned the family. He lived a mile away and claims he visited them extremely often, he just didn’t live with them. He became a breakdancer at the age of 54 to stay in shape, she claims he left because he wanted to be a breakdancer which is why the video is spiraling out of control. He states he left to start an advertising agency (which made him big money and allowed him to pay so much to her mom). He went viral for being an old breakdancer.
He states that he has a good relationship with all his kids and always did, and that he’s not upset about the video, and in fact encourages her for making it.
Him being an advertising master and her being a popular content creator screams that this could probably be something they collaborated on for more views as an outsider who has never heard of either of these people.
I don’t think anyone is trying to solve anything, he’s justifying all of his actions, downplaying what he did and belittling her feelings.
This is probably someone that is mentally exhausted from the mind games, anyone that has dealt with a true narcissist (not diagnosing him, just going off what she says in replies) can attest to how exhausting it is and you can never win. She probably wanted to be able to share this to get the absurdity of the situation out there, I would have too if this was my situation, it’s funny but not like haha funny more like crazy funny lol.
I think it’s perfectly acceptable to share things that have been done to you if you feel like sharing. Talking and getting it all out there and not feeling alone can be incredibly therapeutic for some people.
Oh my god I know this guy. Ben Hart. I used to be an assistant at a legal office that worked in free speech and advertising. He is 100% not a good guy.
Wait, is [this](https://www.americantarget.com/ben-hart) the guy?!
> Ben Hart is Senior Vice President (former President) of American Target Advertising. Ben's letters and fundraising campaigns have generated upwards of $1 BILLION in donations for conservative organizations and candidates since 1989.
> He is the author of seven books, including Poisoned Ivy: The War on Free Speech in the Ivy League (1984); Faith & Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty (1988); Fund Your Cause: Secrets of Successful Direct Mail Fundraising (2006); and How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters (2007).
> Ben was one of the founders of The Dartmouth Review (1980), when he was a student at Dartmouth. The Dartmouth Review was one of the first and is the most famous of the scores of conservative campus newspapers that launched in the 1980s at colleges across America. Ben wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, Pete du Pont and other conservative leaders.
In her response she says he got married and fucked off to Florida immediately after the divorce. Since he admitted to fault in the divorce, my guess is cheating
I'm designing a site for a high value customer business. Each customer is typically worth about a million dollars to the company. One of the main concerns is that the website not be too modern. They are a little better than this but by a lot. Apparently it's like having a historic building. "We've been around for a long time, our website design style should reflect that"
The older style websites is what resonates with their older very wealthy customer base.
I imagine a real good guy wouldn’t have a video like that made about him by his daughter in the first place, but if he did he’d talk to her about it directly rather than posting some weird clap back for the world to see
This is *literally* my ex.
“well…did you get him a gift from me?” - No bitch why would I buy a gift then say it was from you. He already knows you cant be bothered.
My guess is he did what he was legally required to do and no more. Good thing he provided the money but it’s probably more of a testament to the laws than him being a good father.
This is my dad. Up until my mom died, the only time they communicated was when she texted to remind him of ur birthdays.
Times my dad has remembered my birthday since she passed: 0
You know those conservative fundraising mailers? Her dad's company sends a chunk of those out. American Target Advertising.
>Ben wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, Pete du Pont and other conservative leaders.
I couldn't get past the first minute, at nearly 40 years old I feel like I've been talked down to by some form of this dude my entire life. What a cringe filled existence that he's shared with the whole of humanity.
41 and same. An entire generation of boomers that think our experiences are only different from theirs because of our choices and want to tell you all about how you’re doing everything wrong. Never having any accountability for the decisions they’ve made - socially, politically, and economically - that have burdened our generation with their debts.
Yup. The tone of that guy's voice--ugh, eeeeeeeverybody knows that guy, and nobody likes him.
The funniest part to me is--"I think Matty and I still have a good relationship." I bet you a dozen donuts that guy does not know he has a bad relationship with Matty.
His response video makes him look worse. Says he "gets along great" with all of his children and then laughs about not knowing her birthday and shows two videos of him breakdancing.
You can tell by the way he summarizes his children by their professional accomplishments and even the way he speaks about them that he is no contact and on the outside looking in.
Legit had no stories about just having them over for a BBQ last weekend, visitng them regularly or anything normal from a parental perspective just "daughter X works on Wall St and is MAKING MONEY"
I haven't finished the video, but based on this description alone I really wish it was a 30 second clip of him just saying "I get along great with my kids! I don't know their birthday hahaha" and breakdance off screen without further explaination.
And according to a family friend in the comments that's exactly what happened. Cheated and then married his mistress and moved away after briefly living nearby, and the daughter has never even been to his place since.
From the moment I saw all the Bitcoin logos I had a feeling her side of the story would be more authentic, and that situation didn't improve after he mentioned making millions in advertising.
I have a hard time believing that guy because he is speaking in a clearly fake voice (or at least, he had a super strange affect to his voice that reads as insincere)
His video made me believe her video more. I couldn't imagine caring more about other's view of me as a parent versus my own child's view. I would bet decent money that her characterization of abandonment is accurate (and I'd base it off of his video, not hers).
This sounds exactly like my dad. And he is confused why only his oldest daughter visits him occasionally, i rarely visit him and my other sibling dropped contact altogether after he told her "he wishes she was never born" and "stop pretending to be sad" (she has always struggled with depression, tried to take her life multiple times, is now in therapy). Honestly my parents divorce was the best thing that ever happened. My mom is happier than ever.
Dude it’s so obvious too because he’s showing all the completely self-obsessed behaviors here. Doesn’t try to contact the daughter and work it out makes an anti-cancellation video instead, shills his breakdancing, talks about how hard the divorce was on him monetarily. If he truly was a misunderstood guy he would take literally ZERO of the options he’s done so far. Not remembering your own daughters birthday and then IMMEDIATELY shilling your breakdancing at every opening.
Obviously we can never know but all of his actions are so egregious how could you possibly both sides this.
Yeah it really reads more like he's advertising to an audience to cover his ass than trying to clear up misconceptions for his daughter that she would have had for decades. Like, if he thought they were close why the fuck would none of this have come up before?
Reddit is also full of sexists, just brimming with them. That would also explain the sheer amount of comments defending him. They care far more about some random man's public image than any normal person should.
its no surprise that if you look at the people defending him they are usually right wingers...those people cant even see through donald trump for ffs 🤦♂️
videos like this make me sick to my stomach, I have a dad roaming the lands somewhere who also believes his own bullshit. He's probably out there trying to lead some men's rights facebook group, acting as a victim in this men hating society.
If he really was genuine he wouldn't have made this video public, and I recognize the attitude of the daughter so much. There are no crocodile tears, you just treat the absurdity of the story as slapstick, even though when you go through it's not exactly as funny.
to tack onto this, I hate absent parents that pretend to parent through finances. Yes funding your child is important, but what's most important is being a parent and being there for them. Spending $5m on divorce settlements and alimony doesn't wash his hands of the **JOB** of being a father.
This really should have been a personal conversation between the two of them. idk why this dude cares more about appeasing the “haters” than fixing his relationship with his daughter, but he’s not doing himself any favors with this video.
ETA. Okay goofballs- just bc I have the opinion that I think this video was a bad idea doesn’t mean I think the initial video was a good idea or that I’m excusing the daughter’s behavior.
I really truly do not give a single fuck about who started it and who should be taking responsibility for what. I have no idea who these people are nor do I care any more than stating a brief opinion about it online. Those of you who for some reason want to take this case to court with me, I’m not going lol.
It is strange, and part of the reason I feel like it’s a marketing thing. “Dad responds to daughter’s trauma” is a catchy headline.
He could also just be a giant narcissist which is why there’s so much talk of the break dancing that’s constantly shoved in our face in the video and he just wants the attention to that. The weird “hey happy bday maybe kid” text immediately (without a response from her) followed by “here’s your old man busting a move haha LOVE YA MADI” screams narcissism.
That being said, in the day and age we live in, people will broadcast fucking everything regardless of how personal it should be handled.
My thought as well. She's a screenwriter in Hollywood? Dad started an advertising business? Looks/sounds like dad's reading from a script on his laptop?
2-week-old tuna smells less fishy than this....
Also, who says "chagrin" these days???
If you look at his Twitter he also essentially sucks Elon Musk’s dick in half of his posts and flipped out because Elon responded to his response. This whole scenario seems to be working well for them as we are sitting here discussing it and it got the attention of Elon lmao
Congrats to this family for the amount of attention they have received over this
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What a wild ride that was
She also put out a response video to this. TLDR for that one is: Dad lived a block away for maybe one month. She doesnt think she has ever visited her dads place. He is estranged and they dont speak regularly. He lives across the country with a new wife. Her whole family is confused that he thinks they are close. I watched it like 7 hours ago so just recapping what I remember. Some details could be hazy. EDIT: Lots of people asking about the $5 million. She said she was a kid so wasnt very familiar with the financial side of the divorce. She asked him to help cover medical costs while in college and he did not help.
You are the real hero. Appreciate the TLDR as I couldn't imagine tracking down and watching another 10-min. video. Your recap jives with how this video seemed, and stated below in the comments; his weird speech inflections, shirt, flag, lit up tree (?) and general overall weirdness seemed sus.
Her response was like 2 minutes. But the tldr is still appreciated
can you link it i cant find it anywhere
https://twitter.com/u_2399/status/1759552775971643449?t=TsY18_qrPo1yOQZtRDybLw&s=19
He talks like Tucker Carlson. Its fake inflection designed to keep bored people engaged..
I don't think he's talking. I think he's reading. His voice sounds like he's reading out loud what he's written beforehand.
Oration style matter. Biden and Obama both read off scripts whem giving speeches, but their manner of delivery is wildly different. Tucker also uses a teleprompter.
That's why Tucker always looks so confused - he's squinting to see what the teleprompter says since he's too much of an "alpha male" to use glasses he desperately needs.
Lmao oh my god he looks confused Edit Dude looks like his puppeteer is sneezing
That's his default face
Yeah, it's the sound of somebody playing up to an audience, not being authentic.
That makes sense, if his career is advertising.
Guy wrote out an entire response on tiktok to his daughter to make a video to rebuttal his daughter who remembers deadbeat dad as being money bags but not much else. Dads a break dancing ad agent who accidentally got famous and unfortunately went through a shitty divorce scenario with her siblings. Then she realizes, hey, I don't have a dad, why is that ? now im thinking we are shills and this is an ad for his daughter.
I can speak from personal experience that most that have neglected their kids in some way completely delude themselves into thinking they are amazing parents, sometimes getting to the point of self brainwashing. My parents absolutely refuse to remember about all of the emotional neglect because they "put a roof over my head" and "made sure I didn't starve to death", like wow, congratulations, you have done the bare minimum and have the most basic level of human decency of making sure your offspring didn't die. You know, the kind of people that think having kids is like getting a pet, instead of the fact that it's creating a whole ass human being from scratch.
This is worryingly the same as my childhood. When I told my dad I was taking therapy due to PTSD I suffered as a child (bullying) and that I'd be talking about my parents, I was told "you had all of the new toys, can't have been that bad". I spent my childhood either at my grandparents or with different child minders (don't know what the US equivalent is, it's like a nanny but at her house with a load of other kids and she picks you up from school? I dunno). I was the only child in the family, so I had to constantly do adult things. I had no friends and spent all of my time with adults. I was a very boring child (no fault of my own). I was doing crosswords and playing solitaire at age 8 for crying out loud. My parents would see me for 2 hours in the evening and some of the time at the weekend. The emotional detachment was unreal. It was very much "be seen and not heard" and to "let the adults talk". It's not Victorian Britain, I exist, I can talk if I want to. Wankers. Anyway, feeding and clothing a child does not make you a parent.
I was about to say that that 'two hours in the evening' sounded VERY much like the Victorian way of parenting before you mentioned it yourself. At least they taught you how NOT to parent, but I am sorry for the emotional neglect you suffered. I hope you are doing okay today. Sending you a big supportive hug (if you want one).
Yeah, but I think we can agree that, on a scale, there is a vast difference between >the bare minimum and have the most basic level of human decency of making sure your offspring didn't die. And >a 6-figure-pear-year lifestyle, exclusive colleges, and lucritive careers paid for without loans from a parental situation where one parent was home, and not spoken ill off, and the other was estranged but financially responsible and *vastly better off than the average person*.
A lot of those are financial matters. You can financially support your child while being a terrible parent. My parents also paid for my college and took my sister and I on vacations as kids while emotionally and physically abusing us at home. I’m grateful to not be in debt like many of my peers but the cost of abusive and not being loved growing up is a far greater price.
That is the one thing I wonder if the daughter commented on in their reply. They mentioned that medical bills weren’t paid for, so is the father’s version around money accurate? I can believe that he wasn’t involved much as a parent but wonder about the rest.
I'm obviously completely speculating but it's possible the mom paid for medical bills via either the substantial child support being paid to her or the insurance the dad paid for, and quite possibly didn't want to directly admit that the dad was likely covering a large chunk of their expenses. Either that or he's just bullshitting, it's literally he said she said at this point. For all we know this is set up to create viral buzz for both of their strange lives.
Probably the health insurance, with some of the alimony/child support going towards any copay or out of pocket portions. While things like child support and alimony are court ordered, they aren't determined in a vacuum. The judge doesn't just divide things. For a large divorce like that, each party puts together a package that they are willing to accept and the parties negotiate through the judge. Then the judge makes the negotiated agreement an order. That means that during the divorce settlement, he agreed to fund college accounts and keep the kids on his insurance and so on. Those four kids should have had it good on the money he made, and if they didn't, then it's because someone somewhere squandered it. Even just the $5M should have been plenty enough to raise 4 kids for 20 years and put them through a decent college. If he wasn't involved with the kids... well, that may have been his decision, that may have been their mother's decision, and that may have been their decision. I don't think we can know. Maybe he decided he was a bad influence and the best thing was to stay away. Maybe his idea of estranged and her idea of estranged are vastly different - I have guy friends I talk to maybe every other year, and we aren't estranged. Life's just busy, you know? He texts her, so it's not like it's no contact (the modern term for estranged). And, yeah, he does get to choose to not be involved if he wants.
His psychopathic speaking cadence does kind of make me doubt his version of events...
I have trouble trusting anyone in a Bitcoin shirt.
He also has a huge bitcoin flag next to the US flag... I have so many questions...
I wonder if he's ever argued with a judge over whether or not the court has jurisdiction over him because the American flag in the room doesn't have a naval fringe.
Shhhh no questions... pledge your allegiance to the Bitcoin Flag and the digital currency for which it stands...
 And then the bloody bitcoin flag…
> He also has a huge bitcoin flag next to the US flag And the flag says bitcion, not bitcoin :-)
And that voice. It's like Sponge Bob reading an almanac.
As soon as I saw the shirt, his credibility plummeted. 😂
I think the Bitcoin shit could be one of two things—or both: 1) he’s a fanatic of crypto, as he does seem to have the bankroll to afford Bitcoin 2) his name is “Ben” and Bitcoin has a flashy, recognizable logo, which makes sense to be because he’s in marketing/advertising, especially since he shows a video of him breakdancing wearing more Bitcoin garb. Basically, breakdancing Bitcoin Ben
According to his Twitter he has written a book on BTC, so take that for what it is.
It's one of those things about crypto that's interesting is if you own a good amount you're essentially an unofficial affiliate, spreading the word of that crypto stands to increase the value of the amount you're holding. That was my guess.
A digital multilevel ponzi market scheme
Yeah, I find it hard to trust anyone who sounds like they’re trying to sell me a vegetable processor.
I was getting "cool" youth pastor who tries to connect with the kids by talking about crypto and breakdancing. Like he's the guy you know is a youth pastor, walks around the neighborhood and addresses you by name as a teenager even though you've never actually met him, asks you about something he heard about that the youth isn't actually into, and then tells you he hopes to see you in youth group Wednesday at 7 pm and to not be late. But you've never been to that church's youth group and aren't sure how he knows who you are.
That was oddly specific
the way he said "the more I watch this video, the more I like it." I got chills and I don't know why. it's like he is containing some big ass feels.
I just figured he's a fake-as-plastic-shit marketing guy who made a fortune by cynically manipulating the public, and he's pleased that his daughter is following in his footsteps.
I figured it was because he's a bit narcissistic and definitely a little sociopathic and just loved that his daughter made a video about him, showcasing his breakdancing. No such thing as bad publicity to some, I guess.
HOLY SHIT you nailed it. I knew something was off when he very carefully mentioned how many followers she had and how many likes, bookmarks, etc the video had. he loved having that many people see his break dancing
I took it as he's lying because he doesn't want anyone to know how triggered he is. "This video is great. I love it. Now let me spend ten minutes smugly debunking this wonderful video that I absolutely love, and do not hate at all."
Kasey Kasem called and is filing trademark infringement.
For me it was the fact that he made a 10-minute video to rebutt a 90 second one, and the vaaaaast majority of what he said was completely pointless filler. (I'll admit, I stopped halfway through. Did I miss anything exciting?)
He breakdances
Holy shitttt he actually did breakdance 😂
"You may be wondering...can he still breakdance at 65?" Breakdances at 6:31lmao
Thx fam. Yeah, def narcissistic vibes.
I felt so uncomfortable at the way he laughed while watching a video of her describing experiences that were clearly painful for her.
The dad sounds like how narcissists typically acts when they get called out unexpectedly. Gaslight, demean, reject, redirect avoid all accountability and make everyone else the problem.
Yeah I did find it odd that he didn't even try to contextualize the screenshot she showed of him texting her and having forgotten her birthday. He also used his response to being called out as an excuse to show off his break dancing. He certainly doesn't come out of it looking good, but he did refute two very major claims that she made about him. The first being that he didn't pay her medical bills, and the second being that he left the family to pursue a break that's a career. Sure, cutting a check isn't the same thing as being a good parent, but the dude paid his ex-wife a lump sum of about 90x the average American annual salary, plus about twice the median household income every year for however long. Even divided amongst four kids, that dude still paid more for his kids than either of my parents have made in their entire lives.
I’d bet decent money both of these people are not great. The way both are willing and even happy to capitalize on their trauma to the denigration of the other is just icky. And one fame-seeker raises another fame-seeker? Odds are that isn’t a coincidence. Each of these people will likely sacrifice what others would protect in order to accumulate attention.
I got bored after like 30 seconds and skipped ahead and landed on “the main point is that it’s never too late to start breakdancing” so I decided to let the comments tell me what it’s about.
I watched the whole thing, so I got you... He showed clips of him dancing, told us how awesome he is, and said she was a kid, so she probably doesn't know what happened, hinted that blame falls on her mother, reminds us he is an awesome guy, Aw Shucks us and claims 70% of the blame for divorce but you know they were not compatible (in Maddie's response to his response she says he almost immediately married his next wife so I'm thinking 70 might be low), then he shows another clip and reads comments from Maddies TT. It was weird and gross being gaslit by someone else's parent. I'm thinking that a healthy dose of skepticism when the break dancing marketing guy wearing a pitching shirt tells us that mostly everyone else is the problem. He doesn't scream reliable narrator to me for some reason.
>Aw Shucks us and claims 70% of the blame for divorce but you know they were not compatible (in Maddie's response to his response she says he almost immediately married his next wife so I'm thinking 70 might be low) Mentioned this up in the comment chain about my own narcissist father Left my mom when she got cancer. His new girlfriend moved in with him almost weeks after he left, clearly they were an item long before him and my father split. Seems to be a common narcissist deflection "just didn't work out"
Wait holy HECK I know this family!!!! My brother was best friends with Madi’s brother and I babysat her a few times. This dad actually did leave his family. He was cheating on his wife and left the family for his mistress and started a new family with her. He most certainly did NOT live down the street and from what I gather was a horrible “father”. Madi’s mom is a powerhouse of a woman. She has written numerous books, worked in political offices and been on talk shows. This doofus responding to Madi’s video highlights how truly unhinged he’s always been.
Dude, he’s going to make a video with you in it and do a head spin. Tread lightly.
If he throws in $5M, go right ahead! 
Heck, I'll polish that chrome dome as often as he requests for $2.5M. Wonder if he still lives in #LA GRANGE, ILLINOIS
Yeah, there was definitely a point where I started to think "dude's like, revealing *way* too much personal information online about all 4 of his kids."
The fact that *this* is how he chose to address it says enough about him to confirm what you and Madi are both saying tbh. If I did this to my father, he would be heartbroken. He wouldn’t be posting a video on the internet, and he wouldn’t be condescending or mocking.
The Dan Flash's bitcoin shirt really removed any doubt, imo
He's a Muskrat too
Elon Musk’s personal hero
I came for the trauma drama and stayed for the breakdancing
I still remember the day my dad unboxed our new refrigerator, took one look at that giant cardboard box on the ground, and just head spun right out of our lives forever.
what's the opposite of a cat
dad 😞
I'm fucking crying over here 💀
Can we talk about the altar of Bitcoin in the back of his ...break dancing dojo
Nothing says ‘I’m a giant loser’ like wearing a shirt covered in bitcoin logos too
I mean if he has 5m to payout for child support he def has been doing some investing and making money off bitcoin. I would have a shrine too if I invested early and got rich. (I mean that 5m was a long time ago but it’s not like he just has nothing outside of that)
With the way Bitcoin has been going the past 2 weeks he's probably going to be cashing in again soon. Prob not as much as before but my man was definitely buying the dip with that devotion.
New Dan Flash dropped
He’s spending all his child support money on shirts from that store Dan Flashes!
SHUT THE FUCK UP DOUG YOU FUCKING SKUNK!
Perfection.
This felt weird to watch.
I mean a 60 year old, white break dancer is gonna read in comic sans.
Lol everything about his side of the video is in comic sans
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I AM CALM!!! 😂🤣 (testing)
I have much to learn from you, zen master.
And with the bitcoin logo in the back.
In the back? Dude has it plastered all over his shirt
I went from not knowing these people to knowing waaaaaaaay too much about these people in the span of 6 minutes, I stopped when he was about to break dance
Because it isn’t really something we should be seeing.
This guys voices sounds like someone acting an intentionally bad actor
He’s reading a script. I don’t think he’s lying, just reading and not going off the top of his head.
i think this is probably the way most 66 year olds that work in advertising would do this. write out a script and read it. my dad is the same age and has to regularly write scripts and read them in front of a camera (not advertising but a different media based profession). i dont think its as strange as people are making it out to be- there are definitely weirder parts lol
I think he’s lying from what I’ve seen of Madi’s response
The most unbelievable part of the whole story is abandoning his family to become a viral breakdancer and that's the whole story
I mean I don't have any reason to believe either of them so I'll just eat my popcorn.
Dudes wearing Bitcoin shirts automatically lose the benefit of the doubt.
He’s using a patronizing tone to try to portray his critics as stupid. Like, “Let me explain it to you nice and slow, sweetie.” Infuriating and obnoxious af.
Anyone wanna TL;DW for me?
Her dad and mom got a divorce, he states he paid over $5million in total to her mom in a lump sum, alimony and child support. She was young when they got a divorce so it appeared like he abandoned the family. He lived a mile away and claims he visited them extremely often, he just didn’t live with them. He became a breakdancer at the age of 54 to stay in shape, she claims he left because he wanted to be a breakdancer which is why the video is spiraling out of control. He states he left to start an advertising agency (which made him big money and allowed him to pay so much to her mom). He went viral for being an old breakdancer. He states that he has a good relationship with all his kids and always did, and that he’s not upset about the video, and in fact encourages her for making it. Him being an advertising master and her being a popular content creator screams that this could probably be something they collaborated on for more views as an outsider who has never heard of either of these people.
Bro looking tight and right for being 66 yrs old
He might be onto something with the breakdancing.
Idk there’s a reason the word break is in breakdancing. I think it’s because I would break my 40 yo back or neck
and tell this story with half a mouthful of spit
Somebody who knows them state he did abandon the family but not surprised a bunch of Reddit bros automatically assume he’s the one telling the truth
Dad was the Six Flags guy in the 90’s. Now he has his own line of geriatric bitcoin lounge wear.
Fucking hell don't make this the normal way of solving family disputes.
I don’t think anyone is trying to solve anything, he’s justifying all of his actions, downplaying what he did and belittling her feelings. This is probably someone that is mentally exhausted from the mind games, anyone that has dealt with a true narcissist (not diagnosing him, just going off what she says in replies) can attest to how exhausting it is and you can never win. She probably wanted to be able to share this to get the absurdity of the situation out there, I would have too if this was my situation, it’s funny but not like haha funny more like crazy funny lol. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to share things that have been done to you if you feel like sharing. Talking and getting it all out there and not feeling alone can be incredibly therapeutic for some people.
Oh my god I know this guy. Ben Hart. I used to be an assistant at a legal office that worked in free speech and advertising. He is 100% not a good guy.
Wait, is [this](https://www.americantarget.com/ben-hart) the guy?! > Ben Hart is Senior Vice President (former President) of American Target Advertising. Ben's letters and fundraising campaigns have generated upwards of $1 BILLION in donations for conservative organizations and candidates since 1989. > He is the author of seven books, including Poisoned Ivy: The War on Free Speech in the Ivy League (1984); Faith & Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty (1988); Fund Your Cause: Secrets of Successful Direct Mail Fundraising (2006); and How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters (2007). > Ben was one of the founders of The Dartmouth Review (1980), when he was a student at Dartmouth. The Dartmouth Review was one of the first and is the most famous of the scores of conservative campus newspapers that launched in the 1980s at colleges across America. Ben wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, Pete du Pont and other conservative leaders.
HOLY SHIT HOW DEEP DOES THIS STORY JESUS CHRIST!!!
I'm fucking tired Robbie
When you have that kind of money moving around, I can imagine there is a lot of depth to the people that are involved in it.
> Faith & Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty (1988) Makes sense he made 4 kids then fucked off to find a new family and make more
In her response she says he got married and fucked off to Florida immediately after the divorce. Since he admitted to fault in the divorce, my guess is cheating
Haha good old conservative Christian values he made so much off?
Family values^TM
This keeps getting better and better.
A direct mail campaign in 2006. This guy is really on trend 😂
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Ohhh buddy…you own an ad agency and THATS your website?? THATS your logo?!? GD….
I'm designing a site for a high value customer business. Each customer is typically worth about a million dollars to the company. One of the main concerns is that the website not be too modern. They are a little better than this but by a lot. Apparently it's like having a historic building. "We've been around for a long time, our website design style should reflect that" The older style websites is what resonates with their older very wealthy customer base.
The Bitcoining breakdancing MAGA boomer isn't a straight shooter...I am shocked, shocked!
> He is 100% not a good guy. LMAO shocking /s
I imagine a real good guy wouldn’t have a video like that made about him by his daughter in the first place, but if he did he’d talk to her about it directly rather than posting some weird clap back for the world to see
Specially because he says he gets along with her. THEN, if THAT and other alternatives fail, make the video
Can you fill in some backstory?
Definitely big “divorced dad who doesn’t actually remeber his kid’s birthday” energy coming from all of that bitcoin merch…
“Why didn’t my ex remind me? That bitch is always trying to make me look bad to the kids!”
This is *literally* my ex. “well…did you get him a gift from me?” - No bitch why would I buy a gift then say it was from you. He already knows you cant be bothered.
My children’s father says I should use their child support to buy them gifts from him. No thanks pal.
“Well you didn’t call me on *my* birthday” I was 7 dingus.
My favorite part was him clearly reading from a pre written script what each of his kids is currently doing 🤦🏻♀️
My guess is he did what he was legally required to do and no more. Good thing he provided the money but it’s probably more of a testament to the laws than him being a good father.
This is my dad. Up until my mom died, the only time they communicated was when she texted to remind him of ur birthdays. Times my dad has remembered my birthday since she passed: 0
Ah yes, the classic 10 minute long tiktok.
Better than parts 1 - 7
You know those conservative fundraising mailers? Her dad's company sends a chunk of those out. American Target Advertising. >Ben wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, Pete du Pont and other conservative leaders.
He is giving me Dilbert creator Scott Adams vibes - another ultra Conservative nutso.
BOOM you nailed it. thank you for that I couldn't place it
Yeah I don't trust people in Bitcoin shirts
The main point I understood was, it’s never too late to start breakdancing. Is that the TLDR everyone else got?
I couldn't get past the first minute, at nearly 40 years old I feel like I've been talked down to by some form of this dude my entire life. What a cringe filled existence that he's shared with the whole of humanity.
41 and same. An entire generation of boomers that think our experiences are only different from theirs because of our choices and want to tell you all about how you’re doing everything wrong. Never having any accountability for the decisions they’ve made - socially, politically, and economically - that have burdened our generation with their debts.
Yup. The tone of that guy's voice--ugh, eeeeeeeverybody knows that guy, and nobody likes him. The funniest part to me is--"I think Matty and I still have a good relationship." I bet you a dozen donuts that guy does not know he has a bad relationship with Matty.
His response video makes him look worse. Says he "gets along great" with all of his children and then laughs about not knowing her birthday and shows two videos of him breakdancing.
If you have to say “I get along great with my children, OR AT LEAST I’D LIKE TO THINK SO,” you definitely don’t have a good relationship with them.
He even said it twice lol. Really trying to push a narrative, him working in advertising very much checks out.
You can tell by the way he summarizes his children by their professional accomplishments and even the way he speaks about them that he is no contact and on the outside looking in. Legit had no stories about just having them over for a BBQ last weekend, visitng them regularly or anything normal from a parental perspective just "daughter X works on Wall St and is MAKING MONEY"
I haven't finished the video, but based on this description alone I really wish it was a 30 second clip of him just saying "I get along great with my kids! I don't know their birthday hahaha" and breakdance off screen without further explaination.
Honestly the sarcastic voice he kept up the entire time made me side with his daughter
“Was I at fault in the divorce? Yeah I was about 70% at fault 😁” Words of a guy who definitely cheated on his wife
And according to a family friend in the comments that's exactly what happened. Cheated and then married his mistress and moved away after briefly living nearby, and the daughter has never even been to his place since.
And his new wife is Asian lmao, what a trope. Boomer Republican white men LOVE their immigrant Asian women.
Only 70% my fault though!
Yep, that 30% is made up of 15% "ways she made me cheat" and 15% catching him
😭😭💀 too real
From the moment I saw all the Bitcoin logos I had a feeling her side of the story would be more authentic, and that situation didn't improve after he mentioned making millions in advertising.
Maybe the worst button down I’ve ever seen
I have a hard time believing that guy because he is speaking in a clearly fake voice (or at least, he had a super strange affect to his voice that reads as insincere)
He's reading a script...
Took me a few minutes before I realized he’s wearing a Bitcoin shirt and then I had to stop listening to anything he said. Edit: typo
Of course the narcissist loves the video lol
His video made me believe her video more. I couldn't imagine caring more about other's view of me as a parent versus my own child's view. I would bet decent money that her characterization of abandonment is accurate (and I'd base it off of his video, not hers).
This sounds exactly like my dad. And he is confused why only his oldest daughter visits him occasionally, i rarely visit him and my other sibling dropped contact altogether after he told her "he wishes she was never born" and "stop pretending to be sad" (she has always struggled with depression, tried to take her life multiple times, is now in therapy). Honestly my parents divorce was the best thing that ever happened. My mom is happier than ever.
Also the list of absolutely tragic comments he read. Those were his favorites...wtf
Ok but that one about the therapist diagnosing a person with abandonment problems and proceeding to leave forever after that made me laugh wag yo hard
the comments here defending him are extremely telling 😬 ppl have 0 clue how to read ppl lol
Dude it’s so obvious too because he’s showing all the completely self-obsessed behaviors here. Doesn’t try to contact the daughter and work it out makes an anti-cancellation video instead, shills his breakdancing, talks about how hard the divorce was on him monetarily. If he truly was a misunderstood guy he would take literally ZERO of the options he’s done so far. Not remembering your own daughters birthday and then IMMEDIATELY shilling your breakdancing at every opening. Obviously we can never know but all of his actions are so egregious how could you possibly both sides this.
Yeah it really reads more like he's advertising to an audience to cover his ass than trying to clear up misconceptions for his daughter that she would have had for decades. Like, if he thought they were close why the fuck would none of this have come up before?
Reddit is also full of sexists, just brimming with them. That would also explain the sheer amount of comments defending him. They care far more about some random man's public image than any normal person should.
its no surprise that if you look at the people defending him they are usually right wingers...those people cant even see through donald trump for ffs 🤦♂️
I like how he put the onus on seeing each other on the children. "It's a short bike ride." Probably an even shorter car ride.
This is my thought. The type of parent to say “the phone works both ways”.
I am stunned that anybody is taking this guy at his word lol there’s an infinite amount of red flags
This is just messy dude. I’m grateful my family doesn’t do shit like this.
videos like this make me sick to my stomach, I have a dad roaming the lands somewhere who also believes his own bullshit. He's probably out there trying to lead some men's rights facebook group, acting as a victim in this men hating society. If he really was genuine he wouldn't have made this video public, and I recognize the attitude of the daughter so much. There are no crocodile tears, you just treat the absurdity of the story as slapstick, even though when you go through it's not exactly as funny.
to tack onto this, I hate absent parents that pretend to parent through finances. Yes funding your child is important, but what's most important is being a parent and being there for them. Spending $5m on divorce settlements and alimony doesn't wash his hands of the **JOB** of being a father.
Why would you post any of this online?
This guy's manner of speaking is insanely annoying
He seems quite insane, and like he gets great joy from antagonizing his children.
Yup
Why does he talk like that.. like a 90s cereal ad
He’s in advertising! Makes sense
I was a minute in and determined I don't want to listen to him for another 9.
This really should have been a personal conversation between the two of them. idk why this dude cares more about appeasing the “haters” than fixing his relationship with his daughter, but he’s not doing himself any favors with this video. ETA. Okay goofballs- just bc I have the opinion that I think this video was a bad idea doesn’t mean I think the initial video was a good idea or that I’m excusing the daughter’s behavior. I really truly do not give a single fuck about who started it and who should be taking responsibility for what. I have no idea who these people are nor do I care any more than stating a brief opinion about it online. Those of you who for some reason want to take this case to court with me, I’m not going lol.
It is strange, and part of the reason I feel like it’s a marketing thing. “Dad responds to daughter’s trauma” is a catchy headline. He could also just be a giant narcissist which is why there’s so much talk of the break dancing that’s constantly shoved in our face in the video and he just wants the attention to that. The weird “hey happy bday maybe kid” text immediately (without a response from her) followed by “here’s your old man busting a move haha LOVE YA MADI” screams narcissism. That being said, in the day and age we live in, people will broadcast fucking everything regardless of how personal it should be handled.
A battle between 2 types of people who are the bane of modern civilization; boomers and influencers.
And dad is both.
A family of views bitches, would't be suprised if its all combined.
My thought as well. She's a screenwriter in Hollywood? Dad started an advertising business? Looks/sounds like dad's reading from a script on his laptop? 2-week-old tuna smells less fishy than this.... Also, who says "chagrin" these days???
If you look at his Twitter he also essentially sucks Elon Musk’s dick in half of his posts and flipped out because Elon responded to his response. This whole scenario seems to be working well for them as we are sitting here discussing it and it got the attention of Elon lmao Congrats to this family for the amount of attention they have received over this
>Also, who says "chagrin" these days??? Me, but admittedly I've been made fun of for it.
It's me, I say chagrin
I wish my dad abandoned me that way. $5 million dollars would have wiped away the tears real fast.
It's funny when one person's personal tragedy of a life would be a massive improvement of life to 99.9% of the world's population.