'Pop Crime's Kiki Monique Talks Celebrity True Crime, 'RHOSLC' Legal Drama (Exclusive)

Kiki Monique is always in for a celebrity legal deep dive. The host of Betches Media's Pop Crime and @thetalkofshame on social media meshes her love of true crime with her passion for pop culture, digging deep into everything from Tupac Shakur's murder to the current lawsuit taking Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fans for a ride. Ahead of Thursday's new episode of Pop Crime, Monique opened up to PopCulture.com about the origin of her podcasting passion and even weighed in on Bravo's mysterious Beauty Lab + Laser drama. 

Monique had been enthralled by pop culture since she was a kid. "I had a subscription to every gossip tabloid magazine, and I got that honestly from my mom," she told PopCulture. "She had subscriptions to Star, National Enquirer, so I would be reading these along with her." Monique never knew she could make her passion a profession, however, until the pandemic hit, and she figured, in her own words, "Well, there's nothing else to do."

Things really began to snowball for Monique with the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation lawsuit, which began in 2022 and captivated the world. While she hadn't initially planned to cover much of the trial, Monique's followers kept asking for a deep dive, resulting in her mega-popular day-to-day recaps of what was happening in court. "I mean, this was a very long trial, so I don't think people had the time commitment," she explained. "I luckily did." 

Combining an interest in true crime with celebrity news was the perfect recipe for Pop Crime, Monique continued, as a lot of general true crime stories can be "very heavy-weighing," while celebrity lawsuits hit a little less hard. "When it comes to celebrities, they have champagne problems," she explained. "So even though it could be some heavy stuff, we're able to kind of watch it as more entertainment."

Taking herself physically to Los Angeles-area courts and familiarizing herself with court documents, Monique has found herself a niche that's garnered the attention of everyone from lawyers to laypeople. "I'm not a lawyer and most people aren't, but they're very interested in the law, and so if I could break it down to them in a very layman way – the way I want it broken down to – it's really interesting," she said.

It's all for the better when Monique's love of Bravo can combine with her special skill set, as it has recently with the lawsuit between RHOSLC star Heather Gay's Beauty Lab + Laser and Gay's co-star Monica Garcia. While Gay's business originally sued Garcia over alleged nonpayment in August, Garcia countersued in September, claiming in a later filing that the company had "botched" her nose and lip injections. With fans speculating the lawsuit plays into the Bermuda trip drama teased later this season, Monique noted, "It'll be interesting to see how it plays out."

With the end of 2023 coming fast, Monique is combing through the "craziest legal scandals" of the year for a special year-end wrap-up on Pop Crime, and she's also been guest hosting Reality Checked on Radio Andy for SiriusXM – diving into everything Bravo and beyond. Listen to Pop Crime (presented by Betches Media) here and Reality Checked here.