Podbit · Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast
A Las Vegas man built an online body-positive paradise for plus-size women — and allegedly couldn't keep his hands to himself. The crew digs into the wild story of Stefan Wilhelmi's 'Paradise,' which became an ABC documentary called 'Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Paradise.'
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At 0:26 · chapter starts 0:00
The episode opens mid-thought, with Matt immediately introducing the story of Stefan Wilhelmi's 'Paradise' — an online body-positive community for plus-size women that, according to public allegations, devolved into manipulation and exploitation. Matt found the story while digging through the news and correctly predicted it wouldn't break into mainstream coverage. The crew reads from the official Paradise website, which still operates and includes a dedicated 'Allegations' page where Wilhelmi has posted a chronological timeline of his legal defense. Shawn Gardini reveals the community is the subject of an ABC documentary, 'Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Paradise,' and that Wilhelmi is suing TikToker 'Piggy Stardust' for libel and defamation [1] — Matt McCusker "A Las Vegas man built an online body-positive paradise for plus-size women — and allegedly couldn't keep his hands to himself. The crew dig…" 00:26 . The conversation is part genuine fascination with the true-crime angle and part extended pool fantasy, as Matt and Lemaire Lee speculate about the physics and sensory experience of a pool full of plus-size women. The segment establishes the episode's loose, free-associating hang energy.
Stefan Wilhelmi ran an online body-positive plus-size women's community called Paradise in Las Vegas that devolved into allegations of manipulation, exploitation, and coercive dynamics.
The documentary about the Paradise scandal, 'Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Paradise,' aired on ABC, not Netflix.
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