Everything We Know About The Members Of The LOL Podcast
Thanks to trailblazers like Joe Rogan, streamers are giving legacy media a run for its money. Another case in point is the "LOL Podcast," which has attracted Gen-Z folks seeking their irreverent jocularity. On Spotify and Apple, with subsequent footage scrolling on YouTube and TikTok, the show features Cash Baker, his wife Kate, older brother Maverick, and mutual friend Harper Zimler hot-stoving on slice-of-life accounts as youths finally shuffling their adolescent coils.
"LOL" may have started during the summer of 2023, but it has since ranked seventh overall on Spotify and 45th in Apple's comedy category, featuring the four engaging in twice-weekly gabfests covering everything from dating to online trolls. The outing marks another crowning achievement for Cash and Maverick who've been entertaining millions on TikTok and YouTube since 2018, documenting pranks they've pulled on each other and producing syrupy pop videos with bizarre twists such as a kidnapping on their tune "Whatever It Takes " and female bounty hunters seeking the duo on "All My Life." But their ascent hasn't been without controversy, as Cash Baker once found out.
And while a Rolling Stone magazine cover still eludes them, the quartet has already experienced the side effects of online recognition, such as the time paparazzi besieged Zilmer at an Orlando hotel. "It was crazy," she recalled on one episode. "That was like the first time I ever was like, 'Wow, like I'm kind of famous!'" For the FOMO set, here's a look at what this frenetic foursome is like.
The LOL Podcast folks are huge on Tik-Tok
In a matter of months, the "LOL Podcast" staked its claim on social media, nabbing some 1.3 million subscribers and more than a billion views on YouTube, while Spotify has the show charting in the Top 10 weekly. Granted, they're nowhere close to the 148.7 million followers enjoyed by model and top influencer Charli D'Amelio on TikTok, yet their individual followings aren't too shabby in terms of their relative audience sizes, with Cash Baker (18 million), Maverick Baker (13 million), Kate Marie Baker (2.2 million), and Harper Zilmer (4 million) racking up impressive numbers.
The podcast stars frequently get asked about their revenue, but keep a tight lid on anything to do with their earnings. "They're normally my age and they're normally guys, but the first thing they see me and all they ask is how much money you make," Cash Baker said during an August 2023 episode. "Every single guy. It's just how much money do you make. Is that weird?" Of the four, Cash is the wealthiest influencer, reportedly worth $2 million, which explains why he was able to buy his brother Maverick a Tesla. The others earn considerably less. On a July 2023 LOL episode, Zimler revealed she still has a job picking up doggie droppings when Cash said she's better off as an influencer. "I'm not gonna say how much you make," he said, "but you make enough where you can quit poops."
Cash and Maverick's sister also has her share of fame
Just when Cash and Maverick Baker were on the verge of becoming sibling starts among the streamer set, another member of the family had already made her mark on more conventional media. That would be their older sister, Lani, a model who found herself cast in commercials for the likes of Chick-fil-A, Pantene, and Target. That was before her big break when she first became attache case eye candy on the game show "Deal or No Deal" in 2018. "The show was so fun, she said to the Henryettan. "I was nervous about being on it but I became best friends with all the girls. It was kind of like being in a sorority." But the holder of attache case No. 5 while wearing stilettos had its drawbacks during the taping of the show. "If we were selected early, we would go back stage and hang out and play cards," Lani noted. "Your feet are killing you if you aren't selected early."
She grew up with her influencer brothers in Henryetta, Oklahoma, where she immersed herself in modeling classes when she was 13, before deciding to take a chance on Los Angeles. Besides commercials and the game show, she also did various other modeling gigs with agencies. Now married, Lani was also bitten by the same influencer bug as her brothers and currently enjoys a TikTok following of 4.8 million fans, where she treats viewers to her domestic life.
Cash & Maverick signed a management deal
During their formative years online, Cash and Maverick Baker were starting to develop a faithful following by creating music videos and creating outrageous scenarios that included exploding watermelons, enduring an entire day while handcuffed to each other, and finding creative ways to get through the Covid-19 quarantine. It turned out that more than their young peers were paying attention. Investor John Shadidi, who had finished transforming his selfie app company Shots Studios into a business specializing in creating and selling videos to other platforms, also had an eye on the duo. He liked what the lads were posting on TikTok enough to sign them to a management deal in 2020.
"With their humor, creativity, and drive, they've become two of the biggest creators on TikTok," Shahidi told Variety. "I enjoy having creative meetings with both the brothers. They are not only creative but also come from a great family so it makes working with them so much more fun and inspiring. They remind me of my brother Sam and myself." Besides increasing the Bakers' exposure online, the deal involved helping them with a U.S. live tour to promote their videos that year and creating a merchandise line. Incorporating the brothers under the Shots umbrella meant the company's reach would have expanded to a viewership of 55 million on TikTok. At the time, the "LOL Podcast" wasn't even a dream although the company was planning to help Cash and Maverick develop a podcast.
Cash and Maverick are devout Christians
With banter that zooms past viewers faster than hummingbirds on amphetamines, the foursome comprising the "LOL Podcast" might tend to get animated at times, but without any mean-spiritedness or obscenities. Much of that might have to do with the Christian backgrounds of Cash and Maverick Baker. Cash in particular took a lot of backlash in 2020 when he said on one of his TikTok videos that it should be mandatory for non-Christians to read the Bible. "I know it's gonna make a lot of people hate me for preaching the gospel, but guys, I'm just trying to preach the truth on what the Bible says," Cash declared on one TikTok video.
Meanwhile, Maverick hasn't been so open about religion on his TikTok account, instead providing his perspective in the Christian-based "Truth and Love" podcast which he started co-hosting in November 2023. One episode had Maverick recalling his pain after a breakup, the only time he ever had a relationship hit the skids. "It was not fun," he said, "but I felt like in that time, I grew so much closer to God, too, just like leaning into the church, leaning into my friends, and grew my friend group and all that, and so much good came from it. And within a couple of months, it was like, 'Oh, I could see God's plan in this.' Like I'm growing into something better, even though I felt like I lost a lot."
Cash angered the LGBTQ community
While Cash Baker claimed that In 2020, he was preaching the gospel on social media out of love for his followers, he said a few other things that angry respondents quickly interpreted as hateful. A since-deleted TikTok video from August 5, 2020, revealed he had issues with aspects of sexual identity politics. "Me being a Christian, can I support the LGBT community? No, I cannot," he wrote, per Daily Dot. "So am I behind the LGBT community? Do I promote it? Do I encourage it? Absolutely not. But guys, you gotta understand. Everybody gets that so confused with us saying that we hate LGBTQ people and all that. But guys, no, that is completely, completely wrong."
Outraged, respondents erupted on social media with comments that included, "This squeaker has never once opened the spine of a bible of any religion," and "He ended his career with this one." The backlash hit the influencer hard, as he claimed that his hits per video had nosedived from a million to as low as 200,000. But Cash didn't limit his rants against the LGBTQ+ contingent; he had plenty to say about folks whose religions don't follow the Savior. "Making up false gods and prophets is a sin in the Bible," he said, per Pink News. "If you get mad at this video and you're telling me that I'm not respecting other religions, then you're not respecting my religion, because in my religion, it tells me to tell you that."
Kate married Cash right after she turned 18
One of the biggest sensations to hit TikTok in 2022 was the marriage of Cash Baker to his longtime girlfriend and future podcaster colleague Kate Marie at an outdoor wedding in Texas, where his other half was born. Best friends for nearly 10 years before getting serious, they couldn't wait to tie the knot, given that the two got engaged the previous December. They had to address concerns about being far too young to get hitched, as Cash was 18 when he got engaged, while Kate couldn't marry until she was legally eligible. Kate heightened the drama on Instagram, where she posted "Rumor has it Kate is getting married 2 days after she turns 18," followed by a comment that read, "All the rumors are TRUE."
On June 25, the couple made it official at an idyllic ceremony, with a marriage officiant holding court over the proceedings. "As they got older they lived very different lives," noted the officiant in a commemorative video. "Cash was working and Kate was in school playing softball and at times they felt that maybe they would never be together because of their circumstances but they continue to be patient and wait, still talking every single day." He added that Cash even moved to Texas to be closer to his loved one. Cash's brother Maverick readily acknowledged that the relationship between the two was meant to be. "It was impossible to keep them apart," he said.
Kate's fake pregnancy created a lot of confusion
Typically on the "LOL Podcast," Cash and Maverick pull the pranks. But one December 2023 episode had Kate revealing a real doozie that floored the rest of the gang. "I'm pregnant," she said causing husband Cash to erupt in a panicky denial as he tried to use humor to deflate the shock. "I don't know what you're saying!" as Kate repeated her apparent condition. "Overweight?" asked Cash. "Is this real?" chimed in Maverick, before Harper challenged her on that claim. "Is this real, Kate? Just tell us," she said. "No," responded Kate waving her arm in a gesture of dismissal, before everyone admitted they thought she was serious.
Kate may have played up the fake bun in her oven to show she could punk her colleagues as deftly as the rest of the lot. Or it could have been a continuation of a pregnancy rumor she created on Instagram and TikTok, the previous month, per Wealthy Peeps. While those videos don't appear to be active online, it turned out that the pregnancy theme has long been a running gag between Cash and Kate. One September 2023 TikTok video had Cash calling his mom that Kate was expecting, to gauge a reaction. Another video earlier that year in February had a disembodied voice accusing Cash of messing with Kate's birth control pills. It seems like the schtick still has a lot of mileage left in it.
Maverick has dated other social media influencers
While Cash Baker has only been with one woman since adolescence, namely his wife Kate, his brother Maverick has been more content to play the field. But he doesn't fancy himself as a particularly predatory bachelor, as he indicated on an episode of the religious podcast "Truth and Love," when the topic drifted towards hookup culture. "Guys and girls, there's no dating," he said, bemoaning the absence of the more old-fashioned approach towards courtship these days. "There's no 'Hey, can I pick you up at five," and go out on a couple of dates, and maybe wait until marriage, even. It's just like, 'Hey, I swiped right on you, wanna come over to my place?'"
Given that his line of work is focused on social media, it's not surprising that Maverick has dated social media influencers like Cailee Kennedy and Jordan Scott. In 2022, he did have a relationship with J. Belle Kimbrell, a model who represented Texas in the 2023 Miss America's Outstanding Teen Competition. But at this writing, Maverick is unattached. In January, his love life was put under the proverbial microscope during a "LOL" podcast when Kate asked him how many girls Maverick had kissed since his last girlfriend. He quickly responded with "Zero!" before adding, "I don't go around kissing people. I'm not Cash, that's not what I do!" Curious, Kate quickly posed the same question to her husband, who replied, "I'm married! What are you talking about?" Awkward...
Harper started a war online
Hell hath no fury like an influencer scorned, it seems. It all started when "LOL Podcast" co-host Harper Zilmer was losing her mind over Internet star Piper Rockelle not returning her texts. In a November 2023 edition of the show, Zilner challenged her to a donnybrook. "Are you scared or something?" shrieked Zilmer, wearing a boxing glove on one hand and holding her cell phone in the other. "Text me back or I'm going to fight you!" Weeks later, Cash and Maverick placated a livid Zilmer by producing a dis track called "Queen B" that featured the scrappy redhead lyrically attacking Rockelle. By January, the rap video quickly garnered millions of hits when things quickly got out of control.
According to YouTuber Anna Oop, the video upset Rockelle, and the negative comments she received didn't do her any favors. That's when checked her phone to discover Zilmer never texted her at all, but did a few back-and-forths with her on TikTok and decided to expose her agitator. A social media battle royale soon percolated with Team Harper and Team Rockelle throwing virtual shade at each other. Before things could get uglier on social media, and realizing that Rockelle regularly worked out with weights, Zilmer stopped the fight. "I didn't intend for the comments to go that far with hate towards Piper," she claimed on TikTok. "Because I thought everybody knew it was a joke because two teenage girls fighting would be cool to see."
Maverick is an avid country dancer
With all the pop and rap videos that Cash and Maverick Baker have released in the past few years, one would think the bros would prefer to bust a move on the dance floor. That might be true for Cash, but it turns out Maverick has taken a liking to two-stepping during his down time. He declared his love for country and western dance and as it turns out, he's pretty good at it. "Took home second place at the world championships this weekend!" he wrote on Instagram in January 2024. "So proud of my partner for all the hours she spent practicing and preparing for this. Can't wait for next year." The championship in question was the United Country Western Dance Council's sanctioned Country Dance World Championships held in Dallas, Texas at the end of 2023.
He had previously won a dance competition at a honky tonk bar in Dallas and shared his experience with his colleagues on the "Truth and Love" religious podcast he currently co-hosts. "[It was a] random song, random partner, and the luck of the draw," he recalled. "I don't remember what song we did. We got a slower one, though, so I got excited, because I do well with slower songs." When asked if he'd entertain the notion of cutting the rug on "Dancing With the Stars," Maverick had to think about it. "If my schedule allowed it and it made sense financially, yeah, I would do it."