The Softies are MOVIE STARS?! 🎬 Samantha and JC are back with a chaotic new episode of Soft Launch all about JC’s first movie premiere, walking the red carpet, being happily married, and the celebrity rabbit holes that somehow lead from Jessica Simpson to Beyoncé to Papoose, Remy Ma, and Fat Joe.

JC takes us behind the scenes of his New York Latino Film Festival premiere and what it felt like seeing himself on the big screen for the first time. Then things get very married very quickly: broken refrigerators, Evie refusing to eat, lazy Sundays, wine, edibles, and why being married to your best friend can still have you ready to lose your mind.

And then… the edible kicks in. 🍷💀 The Softies spiral into Jessica Simpson, Ashley Simpson, Jaden Smith, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, live vocals, and eventually the Papoose, Remy Ma, Fat Joe and Terror Squad “Jezebel” conversation that gives this episode its name.

ONE THING ABOUT WE: the Softies are officially entering their movie-star era — and they have a LOT to say about it.

🎧 New episode of Soft Launch with Samantha Santos & JC Mendoza.

OUR VOODOO DOLL’S IN THE FRIDGE

Is Mercury in retrograde? Are the planets causing chaos? Or does somebody actually have a voodoo doll of us?! When it rains, it pours—and this week Samantha Santos and JC Mendoza are dealing with fleas, a broken refrigerator, spoiled groceries, a broken camera, and some seriously suspicious bad luck.

Soft Launch is back after a long hiatus, and apparently life decided to welcome us home by completely falling apart. Samantha and JC try to figure out whether this is just an unfortunate string of events or if astrology, horoscopes, retrograde, negative energy, or an actual CURSE is behind everything going wrong. They talk relationship chaos, gossip, comedy, rejection, personal growth, and the strange ways you start appreciating your life when everything suddenly becomes a problem.

Plus: the fridge dies, $85 worth of groceries is sacrificed, the repairman becomes the most important man in the household, the cameras stop working, and Samantha turns the bathroom into a personal spa because SOMETHING in this house has to go right.

Basically: if you've ever had one of those weeks where you thought, “What did I do to deserve this?”—this episode is for you.

00:00 — Soft Launch is back after a long hiatus
01:03 — One Thing About We: Somebody PLEASE stop messing with our voodoo doll
03:03 — The bad-luck streak begins with fleas in the house
05:22 — Cleaning everything and entering full anti-flea mode
07:12 — JC discovers the joy of vacuuming
09:04 — The laundry lottery and why folding clothes is apparently a man's dream
10:12 — The duvet cover becomes a marriage test
11:42 — Trying to defeat the flea infestation once and for all
12:49 — The refrigerator breaks at the worst possible time
13:19 — $85 of groceries becomes a casualty of the broken fridge
14:05 — The appliance repair nightmare begins
15:09 — The refrigerator technician becomes the most important person in our lives
16:30 — The fridge magically starts working when the repairman arrives
17:29 — No fridge, no ice, no breakfast, no peace
18:21 — When bad luck starts affecting the relationship
20:17 — The cursed week continues with a soupless Pad Thai
21:46 — Samantha explains her customer-service strategy
23:29 — Another food-order disaster: WHERE IS THE LOX?!
25:54 — The cameras break right before recording
26:51 — Touching Grass: Comedy starts turning around after a brutal week
27:03 — Brooklyn comedy, bombing fears, and giving flowers to funny comics
29:08 — Why talking shit behind people's backs is actually a love language
31:17 — Men LOVE gossip too—just call it sports
34:23 — Are we manifesting our own bad luck?
35:07 — Dealing with rejection, disappointment, and expecting the worst
36:13 — Therapy, self-worth, and being proud of your younger self
36:59 — Remembering the wins when you're stuck focusing on the losses
37:03 — JC opens for Damon Wayans Jr.
40:03 — Aight So Boom: WHERE ARE THE PLANETS?!
40:19 — Is astrology behind all this chaos? Mercury, the moon & the planets
40:41 — Samantha's bathroom makeover saves the week
43:37 — Creating a spa-like bathroom when everything else is falling apart
44:02 — Getting way too high while renovating the bathroom
46:13 — Mood lighting, eucalyptus, and turning a shower into self-care
47:14 — Finding things to be grateful for after a terrible week
48:42 — When summer ends and real adulthood begins
49:20 — Marriage, responsibility, and learning to be proactive
50:04 — Why Soft Launch is still building something special

🎙️ Soft Launch Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/softlaunch

📸 Samantha Santos: @makemelaughsam

📸 JC Mendoza: @peachfuzzpapi

📱 Soft Launch: @softlaunchpodcast

🎟️ Comedy Shows & Tickets: See Samantha and JC Live!

$15 Tickets to "In Rhythm" Comedy Show Sunday 9/27 at 8pm at New York Comedy Club, East Village Location

https://newyorkcomedyclub.com/calendar/coupons/4b36ddab86ac2fccffd448163f176f30b0b38d80

💌 Business & Brand Inquiries: softlaunchcomedy@gmail.com

NYC subway repairs are ruining Samantha’s life, Daejon Love allegedly scammed women out of millions while pretending to be a 49ers player, Dolly Parton has us emotional, and AI has gotten so good that apparently we’re supposed to investigate every cute animal video before believing it.

This week on Soft Launch, Samantha Santos and JC Mendoza discuss the absolute nightmare that is trying to get anywhere in New York City when the subway decides it simply does not feel like working. We also get into Daejon Love and his allegedly very successful career of convincing women that he was an NFL player, why you should never send a football player money, and whether getting scammed is technically your fault if the scammer was committed enough.

Plus, we debate unannounced FaceTimes, childhood trauma, Santa Claus, people getting hot and immediately forgetting how to act, and the terrifying reality that the sun is eventually going to explode. Most importantly, we’re tired of being judged for believing AI videos. If an otter saves another otter on my timeline, I’m supposed to just know that’s fake now? Be serious.

We’re touching grass, questioning reality, and doing our absolute best not to send Daejon Love any money.

Follow Soft Launch for new episodes every week.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Welcome to Soft Launch
00:25 - One Thing About We
01:02 - NYC Subway Repairs Are Ruining Samantha’s Summer
04:12 - The Four-Train Commute From Astoria to Brooklyn
08:24 - Growing Up Around the Sketchiest Characters in NYC
12:13 - Why Samantha Has Officially Had Enough of Brooklyn
13:18 - Samantha’s Secret Table Read and Accidentally Singing Too Well
15:25 - The End of Summer, PSL Season, and Jalen Brunson’s Birthday
18:41 - Performing Comedy for Rich People in Connecticut
22:46 - Why Some Comedy Venues Are Built Completely Wrong
26:21 - The Best Comedy Crowd of the Year and the Ups and Downs of Stand-Up
28:09 - Aight So Boom
28:12 - Remembering Dolly Parton and Her Incredible Legacy
31:39 - Daejon Love, the Fake 49ers Wide Receiver Who Scammed Women
34:28 - How Did Nobody Question the Daejon Love Story?
37:44 - Samantha and JC Admit They’ve Been Scammed Too
40:41 - Why You Should Never Follow a Crying Stranger Into the Woods
44:57 - Touching Grass
45:14 - Why Unannounced FaceTimes Are the New Showing Up at Someone’s House
49:49 - The Childhood Trauma of Learning the Sun Will Explode
51:46 - When Should Kids Find Out Santa Claus Isn’t Real?
54:33 - Why Newly Hot People Don’t Know How to Act
56:11 - AI Is Taking Over and We’re Sick of Being Judged for Falling for It
57:01 - Fake Otters, AI Videos, and Why Everything Online Looks Real Now
59:49 - When Real Disasters Look So Unreal You Think They’re AI
1:01:18 - Wrapping Up Episode 154