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On Thursday, we reported that former Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Cathy Frye accused Crime Junkie hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat of stealing material from a series she wrote called Caught in the Web. Flowers has responded to that accusation.
And her response to what Frye claims does not have her accepting any responsibility for doing anything wrong.
In a statement sent to Variety, Flowers said: “We recently made the decision to pull down several episodes from our main feed when their source material could no longer be found or properly cited. Since then, we’ve worked to put additional controls in place to address any gaps moving forward. Our work would not be possible absent the incredible efforts of countless individuals who investigate and report these stories originally, and they deserve to be credited as such. We are committed to working within the burgeoning podcast industry to develop and evolve its standards on these kinds of issues. Our research process is thorough, rigid, and exhaustive, and those familiar with Crime Junkie are aware that we make clear references to the use of other sources and that comprehensive notes and links to all sources are made available on our show’s website.”
Crime Junkie has grown to become the number one true-crime podcast. A huge accomplishment in a crowded field of great content. Before the plagiarism accusation, the Crime Junkie hosts had over 43,000 Patreons and were making serious money, enough for Flowers to quit her day job. It will be interesting to see if their fans stick with them through this controversy or move on.