When Brazil suspended Twitter (now X) in its country, one thing was on users’ minds: the Stan accounts.
Boasting more than 21 million users, Brazil is sixth in the world for Twitter use. The country is also known for having loyal fandoms, with many fans running “Stan” accounts on the social media platform. As a result of the ban, many people’s favorite accounts went silent, with some posting farewell messages prior to being cut off.
The word “Stan” is both relatively new historically and a long-used slang term. For those of us who’ve been through the Slim Shady era, we know it references Eminem’s 2000 single, “Stan,” which features a sample from pop artist, Dido.
The track is about an obsessed fan named Stan, who goes to extreme lengths to get Eminem’s attention. A cultural phenomenon as far as slang goes, “Stan” is now nearly completely divorced from its source, with users no longer needing context to understand the term is connected with obsessive fandom.
One fandom, however, was safe from what we now know as the Brazilian Massacre.
Meet Caleb, who runs Kathie Lee and Hoda No Context
Kathie Lee and Hoda No Context is a tribute page to Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb’s reign on the Today Show’s fourth hour. Run by Caleb Stark, the Twitter account has reached 14,678 followers as of this writing. In September, Caleb launched a companion Instagram account, which now boasts 725 followers.
Caleb has a penchant for daytime TV’s glory days—the ‘90s and early ‘00s—and considers Kathie Lee and Hoda’s unfiltered hour as part of those days.
“I missed that type of television,” he said. “[Now,] there’s no live TV without an earpiece. We have The View still, but it’s so different from what it used to be.”
He points to viral culture and the pressure to develop content that’s an immediate hit instead of entertaining an audience.
“There wasn’t the thought in people’s heads that we need to make some sort of television that’s going to go viral.”
Perhaps that’s why his Twitter account is hitting a nerve with users. Kathie Lee and Hoda simultaneously represent nostalgia and novelty.
This positive reaction to the account, however, didn’t happen immediately. Caleb said he launched Kathie Lee and Hoda No Context roughly a year ago and posted content intermittently.
“I have a real job outside of posting Kathy Lee and Hoda clips,” he said. “So, it was dependent on when I was busy at work.”
Now that he has a growing audience that expects daily content, Caleb plans two-to-three weeks from the posting date.
Award-winning journalist Hoda Kotb shines
Hoda Kotb is responsible for Caleb’s virality.
“People seem to love the ones of Hoda showing music to Kathie Lee.”
He takes a beat to think.
“Yeah, the Hoda segments.”
It’s hard not to like Hoda (and show editorial integrity while writing about her). Her road to The Today Show is a very dedicated and decorated one.
Born in Oklahoma to Egyptian parents, Hoda obtained a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Tech. She took reporting roles in various markets during her early career, heading to Mississippi after college, followed by Illinois, Florida and New Orleans.
Her big break happened in 1998 when she joined her NBC family as a Dateline correspondent. During her near-decade tenure with the program, she racked up some of journalism’s top honors: an Edward R. Murrow award in 2002 and a Peabody award in 2006. So, when she joined Kathie Lee in 2007, her professionalism was very much intact.
“You can see how their dynamic changes over time compared to when the show first started,” Caleb said. “Hoda was more straight-laced and didn't really know what to do with Kathie Lee. Three years from then, she's completely bought into what's happening and just like, ‘I'm here with Kathie Lee and I'm just going to have fun.’”
This fall, Hoda announced her departure from The Today Show as lead co-anchor and fourth-hour co-host. In total, she’s logged 26 years at NBC, however, nothing has hit the same since she was with Kathie Lee.
“They were speaking their own foreign language for all of us to see,” Caleb said.
Pushing positivity as a Stan account runner
If you’re chronically online you know Stan accounts don’t always have the best reputation. Caleb knew this and was intentional when he decided to step into the Stan world via Kathie Lee and Hoda.
“My whole attitude going into it is like, I don't want to throw someone under the bus,” he said. “I don't want to start a Stan war. I'm just here to make people laugh.”
He also has a different relationship with his content.
“I enjoy pop culture and celebrities but I also don't feel connected to strangers like other people do.”
He continues.
“It's hard for me to put [myself in the shoes] of a 20 year old whose entire existence is posting about Taylor Swift. I can't compute how that's even possible.”
Luckily, any user confrontations and criticisms he comes across are typically humorous and harmless. Like the user who accused him of being NBC.
“No, this is just some guy in his bedroom running it.”
There was another user who assumed he was from the wrong country.
“I did get accused of being American the other day.”
A user quote tweeted Kathie Lee and Hoda No Context and said “Thank god this account wasn’t hit in the Brazilian Massacre.” Another user replied and said “How could this be anyone but an American?’”
“And I'm like, well...I am a Canadian, thank you very much,” Caleb said. “We have NBC in Canada.”
He does admit, though, that he is just the facilitator and Kathie Lee and Hoda are the real stars.
“I feel happy that it makes people happy. But I also don't feel… I don't know, a sense of personal accomplishment or anything. Just because it's not my content. I'm just the guy who's going and finding the clips.”
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