Producer Benny Blanco addressed questions about his personal hygiene after a moment on the debut episode of his podcast, Friends Keep Secrets, provoked a flood of online reaction. On the episode Selena Gomez, 33, leaned over and kissed Blanco’s foot while he rested it on a coffee table, prompting some listeners to ridicule the gesture and call his feet “dirty.” Blanco, 38, later discussed showering and scents with guest Ed Sheeran during the same podcast run, framing the exchange as light-hearted rather than defensive. The episode and the subsequent social-media response illustrate how intimate, offhand moments on celebrity podcasts can quickly become public controversies.
Key Takeaways
- Selena Gomez kissed Benny Blanco’s foot on the debut episode of Friends Keep Secrets; Gomez is 33 and Blanco is 38.
- That on-air gesture drew derogatory comments from some social-media users who described Blanco’s feet as “dirty,” sparking an online backlash.
- Blanco later addressed hygiene while speaking with Ed Sheeran on the podcast, and the two traded jokes about showering frequency and personal scent.
- Guests Lil Dicky (David Andrew Burd) and his wife Kirstin Batalucco contributed to a jocular exchange, including a comparison of belly-button scents.
- Blanco said he appreciated Gomez’s public display of affection, calling it meaningful and saying, “I liked that.”
- Gomez and Blanco began dating in July 2023, announced an engagement in December 2024, and married in September 2025.
- The episode’s coverage and reaction highlight how casual moments in celebrity media can be amplified and reframed by social platforms.
Background
Blanco and Gomez’s relationship has been part of a closely followed public timeline: they started dating in July 2023, revealed their engagement in December 2024 and married in September 2025. Both figures maintain high public profiles—Gomez as an actor and producer and Blanco as a hit record producer—so personal interactions between them attract broad attention. In that context, the launch of Blanco’s podcast Friends Keep Secrets created a new public venue where off-camera banter becomes recorded content and is likely to be dissected.
Celebrity podcasts increasingly blur private and public moments by design, offering informal glimpses that can drive listener interest and media coverage. Such formats encourage spontaneous conversation among hosts and guests; at the same time, they leave participants vulnerable to intense public scrutiny when brief, affectionate or awkward moments are replayed and quoted online. The dynamic often shifts discussion from the original intent—intimate or comedic—to debates about taste, privacy and decorum.
Main Event
During the podcast’s debut, Gomez leaned down from a seated position and kissed Blanco’s foot as he had it propped on a coffee table. Listeners who caught the moment reacted quickly on X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms, with some users offering disparaging remarks about Blanco’s hygiene. The exchange on-air was short and affectionate, and Blanco described enjoying the gesture, saying it made him feel good and expressing affection for Gomez.
Later in the episode, Blanco engaged Ed Sheeran in conversation about showering habits. Sheeran said he showers roughly once or twice a day, adding self-deprecatingly that he sometimes looks as if he “doesn’t smell good,” then complimented Blanco’s scent. Blanco replied in kind, acknowledging he is aware of his own aroma and saying he “smells good.” The tone throughout suggested camaraderie rather than confrontation.
Comedian Lil Dicky (David Andrew Burd) and his wife Kirstin Batalucco were on the show and joined a jocular segment where guests compared belly-button scents; that bit drew laughter but also fed into the online commentary about personal hygiene. The hosts treated the material as casual humor, and Blanco framed Gomez’s kiss as a private sign of affection that happened to occur in a recorded setting.
Analysis & Implications
This episode highlights the tension between an intimate media format and the rapid amplification of social commentary. Podcasts trade on authenticity and unguarded moments, which can create memorable content but also expose participants to immediate, often unnuanced public reaction. For celebrities, that trade-off is strategic: the same clip that provokes criticism can drive downloads and coverage.
From a reputational standpoint, the exchange is low-risk for the principals involved. Blanco’s remarks about showering and scent were casual and reinforced a narrative of mutual affection rather than scandal. For Gomez, the action was an expression of affection on a partner’s program; the backlash mostly consisted of fleeting social-media ridicule rather than sustained reporting of wrongdoing.
However, the incident exemplifies how social platforms can convert a personal anecdote into a wider cultural talking point about hygiene, gendered expectations of public behavior, and online shaming. Media managers and talent may increasingly anticipate such immediate feedback and either prepare clearer contexts for intimate moments or limit recording of certain interactions in public-facing formats.
Comparison & Data
| Event | Date | Subject Age |
|---|---|---|
| Start of relationship | July 2023 | Gomez 31–32 |
| Engagement announced | December 2024 | Gomez 33 |
| Marriage | September 2025 | Gomez 33, Blanco 37–38 |
The table places the podcast moment within the couple’s public timeline. Such chronological context matters because an audience’s familiarity with a relationship can shape how they interpret on-air gestures—what some see as affectionate others may construe as performative. For media analysts, repeated small moments can cumulatively affect public perception even when individually trivial.
Reactions & Quotes
Online reaction was polarized: many users dismissed the clip as harmless couple banter, while others circulated hostile remarks. These responses were typical of viral moments that mix affection and perceived oddity.
“I liked that.”
Benny Blanco (on Gomez kissing his foot)
Blanco’s concise comment was offered on the podcast as an expression of appreciation; he framed the action as meaningful and not intended to be provocative.
“I feel like I don’t smell good.”
Ed Sheeran (podcast guest)
Sheeran’s self-deprecating remark opened a broader, jocular exchange about scent and showering frequency that the hosts used to normalize the topic and deflate the online outrage.
“This is the most disgusting thing.”
Social-media user (posted on X)
That comment exemplifies the negative responses that circulated; it reflects opinion rather than verified fact about Blanco’s hygiene and was part of a wider set of disparaging remarks on social platforms.
Unconfirmed
- There is no independent verification that Benny Blanco’s feet were unsanitary; claims about “dirty” feet are based on listeners’ reactions and not on objective evidence.
- No official public-health or hygiene assessment was made; remarks about showering frequency were informal comments by guests on the podcast.
- The precise timing and platform release details of the podcast episode beyond media reporting are not independently confirmed here.
Bottom Line
The incident is a reminder that informal, affectionate moments in public-facing media can be reframed rapidly by social networks. Blanco’s later, light-hearted comments about showering and scent shifted the narrative toward humor and mutual teasing rather than apology or defense.
For public figures, the episode reinforces the calculus of podcast content: authenticity and intimacy can generate audience engagement, but also fleeting controversy. Observers should distinguish between verifiable facts and opinionated reactions circulating online, and expect similar small moments to repeatedly surface in celebrity media moving forward.