Transcript

The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis

From Megyn Kelly · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 17 min · 3,007 words · 30 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis", an episode of Megyn Kelly published January 1, 2026 (17 min, about 3,007 words). It mentions 16 people, works and ideas, including Shane Fox, Anthony Strangis, Bear Stearns, International Culinary Center, John Hanks Alexander.

What this episode is about

Sarma Melngailis shares her experience of falling victim to manipulation from a deceitful partner, despite her impressive educational background and professional success. She emphasizes that her story highlights a broader issue of emotional manipulation that can affect anyone, urging the importance of understanding and recognizing such dynamics to help others protect themselves from similar situations.

Key takeaways

  • Manipulation loves sophistication: Even Wharton grads aren't immune to subtle mind games.
  • Dinner of Deceit: Falling for lies is a Michelin-star con at a slow-cook pace.
  • Confidence scams prefer gourmet marks: A fine palate and a fine target align.
  • Educated? Entertained! Intelligence, not immunity, from intricate deception by con artists.
  • Frauds feast on self-assurance: Unreal tales cook slowly until they taste all-too-real.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 6:00: John Hanks Alexander
  2. – 9:00: One Lucky Duck
  3. – 12:00: Anthony Knight, Gourmet (magazine), Shane Fox, The Wall Street Journal
  4. – 15:00: Shane Fox
  5. – 16:34: Daily Wire, Daily Wire Plus

Notable quotes from "The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis"

  • Doctor who said he had figured out a way to do prosthetic Bonita Alexander to do prosthetic tracheas on people. And long story short, he was a big fraud. and he convinced her…
    about John Hanks Alexander · at
  • Clean, nutritionally dense food can be, not just in the restaurant, but through the brand One Lucky Duck, where we had products that were sold through Whole Foods and kids…
    about One Lucky Duck · at
  • People that I worked with had subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and I had a subscription to Gourmet Magazine and Food and Wine. That might have been a clue I wasn't going into the right field.
    about The Wall Street Journal · at
  • So then enters the guy who is kind of the other star of the Netflix documentary who was going by Shane Fox.
    about Shane Fox · at
  • Meaningful, and grounded in faith. The Pen Dragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin, is a new seven-part series from the Daily Wire based on the novels by Steven R.
    about Daily Wire · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

Books & papers

Companies & orgs

Sponsors

Full transcript with timestamps

to give a twoline encapsulation of your story to the audience. As I understand it, you're very well educated. You went to Wharton. You worked at Beer Stern's Bane Capital. Then you went to the French Culinary Institute. You learned how to be a serious chef. You opened up this banger of a restaurant with raw food, pure uh food and wine. Everyone in New York loved it. It was going really well. And then you met this man. this man who came into your life who was somewhat sketchy and notwithstanding your sophistication bit by bit he eroded your sense of self your understanding of what was real and before you knew it you had lost everything is that a fair summation of how this thing went down

yeah that was an incredible summation that was you know better than I can do it in a concise way but yeah that's what happened. And what I've learned is that my story was an extreme version of something that happens to people a lot more than people realize. And I know this now from all the messages I've gotten in my DMs since the show came out and since it became much more public, is that this type of manipulation can happen a lot more than people realize. And it also can happen to men and women alike. And so part of my telling of the story is to um you know is to really help educate people how it happened. And that was the most important part that the show on Netflix left out and that the filmmakers left out is any explanation of how this happens, which is what would allow people to help protect themselves.

And which is so unsatisfying because what's most interesting about the story to many of us is how someone as sophisticated and well educated and successful as you would fall for this guy's lies. That's what we all want to know, right? Because in our heads we want to say, "Oh, I would never." But I mean, I have covered enough of these stories to know, "Don't ever say that." Because nine times out of 10, the person being targeted has a bio not unlike yours. For some reason, these conmen go for the sophisticated smart types.

Yeah, absolutely. It's, you know, the similar with cults, you know, they they actually need somebody who's got a certain level of intelligence because it's almost like you can't train a, you know, you need you need somebody who's got a certain level of intelligence to be able to pull off this long slow manipulation. Um, and I mean, I've spoken to people who have PhDs and clinical psychology, attorneys even, who've been had their world turned upside down in a way that they never expected. And so again, that's what I write about in my book is really taking the reader along with me through this sort of nightmarish journey about getting manipulated over time and really trying to um you know as honestly as I could even in places where I felt it didn't reflect well on me to help people understand how this happens and also the psychology behind it. And that's really also what was left out of the show.

Do have you ever have you ever um heard the story of I'm going to mess up her. Is it Anderson Bonita is her first name? NBC journalist who got lured in by this doctor who said he had figured out a way to do prosthetic

uh Bonita Alexander uh to do prosthetic uh tracheas on people. And long story short, he was a big fraud. and he convinced her that they were going to go and be married in Rome by the Pope even though she was divorced and also she she's a newswoman. You can't find more cynical mofos than news producers and she got lured in and and what she said at the end Sarma is something that you of our interview you might relate to which was because she's also very smart. He needed her to be smart because that's where the Jones came from. Like it wasn't going to be fun for him if she were too easy a mark.

Yes. I mean, part of what I think part of why this can happen is because certainly, you know, whether it's my wiring or whatever it is, but I almost couldn't it's like I couldn't fathom that somebody could be so diabolical. And also his motivation, it wasn't that clear because, you know, it's not like in the end of this he walked away with all of this money that he took from me. He just, you know, spent it, gambled it away. That wasn't the point for him. The point for him was

the thrill that he and people like this get from the takedown, you know, because I'm not a psychologist, but when you're wired a certain way and you don't have empathy and you go around in this world, it's like life is a game. And to manipulate people is, I think, what gives people like this a rise. And so, you know, again, the bigger the takedown, the bigger the high they get, I suppose. And that's really the point of it is is the destruction.

Well, and I want people to remember this. I want people to remember Bonita, again, a hard-nosed NBC journalist who was doing journalism at the, you know, the toughest levels he can, who was convinced by this fraudster that the Pope was going to marry them in the Vatican. Notwithstanding the fact that she was divorced and that Bill Clinton was going to go and Barack Obama was going to go and the only reason she found out it was all a lie is a friend at NBC was like, "Uh, Bonita, we checked the president's schedule. He's not going even the Pope's not even going to be in Rome on the date of your wedding.

Hello." And the and sort of the the mask finally started coming off and she started realizing she'd been totally manipulated. So the point is simply while the lies may sound so obviously outrageous to those of us on the outside, these fraudsters build slowly to gain your trust

and control over you before they really start with the huge whoppers to where you know you're really believing what looks like to the outside world obvious nonsense, but when you're in it, you're so far removed from your original self, it's it can happen. So okay, let's talk about how it happened to you. So, you're you did the corporate stuff using your Wharton degree and then like everybody you decided you hated that. You go to uh culinary school. You open up this raw restaurant and it's a hit. It's like doing really well in Manhattan. This is what the early as.

Yeah. It opened in 2004. And um it was a beautiful restaurant. What I was so proud of is that it wasn't a restaurant for, you know, it was a raw vegan restaurant. It wasn't a restaurant for vegans. It was a restaurant for everybody and you know the the food that we made. Now I realize kind of how ahead of its time it was because this was 15 years ago and it really was about clean ingredients. There were no fake meats. There was no processed food whatsoever. So you know and and there were no you know 15 years ago there were no seed oils. So, it was really about uh showing people how incredibly good really truly clean, nutritionally dense food can be, not just in the restaurant, but through the brand One Lucky Duck, where we had products that were sold through Whole Foods and kids loved them, which meant a lot to me. So, um you know, and and this was my whole life's purpose. It wasn't like I just started a business and

wanted to make money. This was my life's purpose was hopefully being able to have a positive impact. And you know it was a beloved restaurant because people came there and there was you know it was very important to me that there was zero judgment. We weren't dogmatic about anything. So half the staff or more probably weren't vegan. Most of our you half our customers it wasn't like that. There was no you know we weren't like annoyingly dogmatic about it. There was no judgment whatsoever. It was just sort of showing people how good this can be.

And you know we were doing great with it. and and I had all these opportunities to expand and take it global and open in other locations, but I was running it on my own in a way and very overwhelmed and I now understand more about my psychological wiring too that um you know I just I always needed a trusted partner to help me grow the business and I didn't have that and I was overwhelmed and then also went through a painful breakup and was at a particularly vulnerable vulnerable moment when this man slid into my DMs as I

they can smell it. They can smell vulnerability. They absolutely know how to explain women who are down and it can go the other way, too. But it's in this case, it's a man taking advantage of a woman. All right, so right, you're just out of a relationship that didn't work out. You're growing your business, but that's tough. It's challenging on any individual and uh but it's succeeding. And there's a little bit of this. I'm going to show some Netflix clips because it's just interesting how they documented some of the we can see the B-roll of the restaurant and so on.

Let's take a look at SAT 51 which is about the beginning of your career. My undergrad major was economics and I feel like I got there by process of elimination. So I went to UPEN Wharton and Philadelphia. I think what happened is when I was there it was like what is everybody else doing? Everybody's gunning to go work in investment banking. I got hired by Bear Sterns. Somebody that I'd worked with said to me, "Do you really like this work? I mean, is this what you really want to do?" And my first thought was, "Do you like it? I don't do people like it?" He sort of confronted me on that. Nobody [clears throat] else had had really done that. He said, "You seem to be interested in food."

people that I worked with had subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal and I had a subscription to Gourmet Magazine and Food and Wine. That might have been a clue I wasn't going into the right field. I left after a year and a half. At that time, I I wasn't under any pressure to get a job financially. So, I went to culinary school. I finished at the French Culinary Institute in 99 and then focused on working in food. Now, I understand you don't love this clip. What What is it about this that that's off?

Um, well, that clip I didn't have any issues with. It was the the parts that I had issues with were mostly what they left out of the series, including any explanation of the psychology of it. And uh and then they misused a call at the end and they they move they actually moved my words around. So

hold on because the audience isn't ready for that yet, but we will definitely get there. Okay, so there you are. You're making the restaurant. The the documentary calls attention to the fact that Tom Brady, Jazelle, uh Alec Baldwin came in and actually wound up hitting on you, but you weren't really in a place where you thought you could do that. This is before at least was like

there was some sort of a vibe going there. It was potentially an option, but didn't happen. I mean, he's got his own issues, but they're not quite as bad as the one you the man you wound up with. Um, so then enters the guy who is kind of the other star of the Netflix documentary who was going by Shane Fox.

Um, but actually has a different name. Anthony, is it Burggalis? No. Uh, his name his name was Anthony Strangers. He's since changed it to Anthony. Sorry. Strangers. He's changed it to Anthony Knight, which I always point out just because if anybody out there comes across a dude that a very large dude uh named Anthony Knight. He's he legally changed his name, I think, to try to hide further. Yeah.

How did you meet him? What was his name when you met him? Uh well, he said his name was Shane Fox. And I met him through Alec Baldwin through our Twitter conversations, which is part of why, you know, I write about Alec in my book and our relationship. And then how, oddly enough, I met it was just through DMs and Twitter. Alec had just joined Twitter. And I think that this guy just got lucky enough that he got there early. And so Alec followed him back which in a way gave him at least some kind of ared credibility that made him a little bit more I don't know legit. So I wasn't quite as suspicious as as I might have been otherwise. And that's something that people like this always look for is any kind of sort of validation that they can get. And

how how did he explain to you that his name wasn't Shane Fox? Um well that came out later but you know he crafted this whole sort of persona that he you know worked in these clandestine operations which of course is the perfect cover if somebody's a con artist because you know they have an immediate excuse to not explain anything. Um and so eventually I found out his real name but when that happened by the time that happened I was already ins snared and uh and and also by that time it was as if you know well of course that's not my real name. Of course, I have to have, you know, different identities because of what I do or whatnot. I mean, a load of crap.

But at the time, um, I Sarma, did he love bomb you? Cuz usually that's what these guys do.

Yes. In my case, it wasn't so much love bombing as it was more like validation bombing. Because what this man did, it wasn't that I was so in love with him or it was about some sort of romantic delusion. It was more that he knew he had clocked me as somebody where what meant the most to me in the world was this business and what I wanted it to do for the world. And and then at the same time he figured out what all of my weaknesses and vulnerabilities were. And so what what people do like this and I think cult leaders do this as well is they they present to you your goals and ideals and and the best version of you and what you want to be ultimately and and then somehow attach themselves to it as if the only way to get there is through them. So I would say in my case it was more of like I don't know it's like a validation bombing like sort of overwhelming me with feeling like he recognized and understood what I wanted

to do and understood all of my hopes and dreams and my frustrations and that he would be able to remove all of those frustrations and enable me to grow my business into the business that I wanted it to be without you know the influence of sort of unsaavory investors or because I was in a position where a lot of people wanted to come help me expand the business, but they were not the right people or they were predatory in one way or another.

Well, the restaurant industry is is notoriously sketchy and you don't know who to trust.

So, I can see how it would be difficult to understand like is this somebody whose money I want? Is this somebody whose partnership I want? Yeah.

Enters this guy who's charming. You didn't then know about his criminal history or what he'd done to another woman. So, I get it. you're, you know, kind of willfully blind to some of these things about him. Many women go through this when they're, you know, first coupling with a man who may be the answer to their problems. Every once in a while, something comes along that reminds us of the power of storytelling. Something bold, meaningful, and grounded in faith. The Pen Dragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin, is a new seven-part series from the Daily Wire based on the novels by Steven R.

Lawhead in the series as pagan gods fall silent and empires collapse. One man's faith lights the spark of a civilization reborn. It's a story about courage, order, and moral clarity. It's the kind of story Hollywood does not make anymore. Through blood, faith, and sacrifice, Merlin becomes the bridge between myth and history and shapes the destiny of kings. The Pen Dragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin premieres exclusively on Daily Wire Plus on January 22nd, 2026. Watch the new trailer now at penragonseries.com. Thanks so much for watching. If you like what you just saw, hit the subscribe button for more clips and full episodes.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest), Sarma Melngailis (Guest), Steven R. Lawhead (Guest).

What is "The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis" about?

Sarma Melngailis shares her experience of falling victim to manipulation from a deceitful partner, despite her impressive educational background and professional success. She emphasizes that her story highlights a broader issue of emotional manipulation that can affect anyone, urging the importance of understanding and recognizing such dynamics to help others protect themselves from similar…

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

16 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Shane Fox, Anthony Strangis, Bear Stearns, International Culinary Center, John Hanks Alexander, One Lucky Duck. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The TRUTH About the "Bad Vegan" Story, From the Woman at the Center of the "Con" Sarma Melngailis"?

The episode runs 17 min; the transcript is about 3,007 words in 30 timestamped sections.

More from Megyn Kelly

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.