Meet Stripper News, the Internet’s Favorite Club Correspondent

When I DM’d Diney, who goes by a mononym, the puppet enthusiast, legacy media disruptor, and CEO of Stripper News was fresh out of the salon and eager to talk shop. Diney’s project is exactly what it sounds like: a news program delivered by strippers. “We’re trying to equally delight, inspire and educate,” she explains. Part grassroots reporting, part political commentary, part late-night conversation in a back room, Stripper News is thoughtfully researched, written, edited, and presented by Diney and her whip-smart team of fellow sex workers, including Andrea Werhun and Robin Banks. Diney is interested in how “the labour of being perceived, choosing how to be perceived, and being strategic about it” make manifest in both sex and media work—two industries people often take for granted with goods they’re unwilling to pay for. In this week’s installment of Search History, we caught up with Diney about clubwear-inspired interview looks, reporting on politics with no sleep (and little budget), and why she made a sugar daddy puppet named Mister D.

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ESMÉ HOGEVEEN: Hey, Ms Diney! Is now a good time to chat?

DINEY: Hiiiii yessss I’m ready 🎤 

HOGEVEEN: A/S/L?

DINEY: Omg. Age: a mystery (I always tell clients at the club to “guess” and then I go with whatever they say)/Female/Toronto.

HOGEVEEN: So fair! Asking age is actually kinda rude.

DINEY: Not at all! I think it’s fun to play with that perception in the club.

HOGEVEEN: I know you had a salon day. Can you share a picture?

DINEY: Yesss the monthly salon visit, which takes so much time 😭Also, shameless merch plug. It’s a job in itself (aesthetic maintenance). I definitely resent the time it takes but I’m locked into the cycle now.

HOGEVEEN: This t-shirt is fab—is this new merch for Stripper News?

DINEY: Ya. I made these shirts in Feb but I’m launching them soon. There’s something funny and important about everyone wearing big bold “Stripper News” everywhere. I wore it to a Jays game recently and got so much attention. So many men were saying, “Damn that’s probably a better news source than most,” as I walked through the crowd lol.

HOGEVEEN: It is such effective advertising when you see a cool person wearing something you haven’t heard of. Can you summarize Stripper News for those who may be unfamiliar? 

DINEY: That’s a good Q! I mean, so much is in the name already. We’re really trying to bring stories we’re interested in as individuals and highlight the news as best as we can. I think Stripper News is playful as it is serious. It is for the people! Tune in if you want to see us trying to equally delight, inspire and educate 🗞️ Also, we want to have hosts from as many clubs as possible. Currently most of our lil team is Toronto and NYC-based.

HOGEVEEN: You recently covered Zohran Mamdani’s primary campaign, which was so cool—and inspiring for Toronto people because, across North America, we need that dem socialist reform. What was working on that story like?

DINEY: It was exciting and also hectic!! Ruby (___lawyerbae) and I had been talking about covering Zohran for a while. She had pitched it and was writing emails, but we weren’t hearing back so I came to NYC and we literally tracked him down 😅 We were going from one place to another trying to find him. Now we have contact with his press secretary and we want to do a bigger piece because I think the energy in NYC around it is so electric. I loved this theme of “dreaming big” and why people tend to doubt that we can want more from politics, which Zohran and Chi Ossé and others are proving that we can do. Oh also, I literally didn’t sleep that weekend cuz I had to edit it before the election.

HOGEVEEN: What part of reporting do you think the average person underestimates? 

DINEY: I think the average person probably underestimates how much time and care is involved with reporting—just as they underestimate how much is involved with being a sex worker.

HOGEVEEN: For real. People don’t wanna pay for news or porn 😰 

DINEY: So true, but we will force them to do both lol. The labour of being perceived, choosing how to be perceived, and being strategic about it. Using wit, being scared, and being relentless are all things that are relevant to both being a sex worker and also in the media. The more we care about these things and put our resources into them the more positive influence we have.

HOGEVEEN: I was just chatting with friends about how everyone’s down to tip servers (as they should) but not down to pay for media. It’s such a weird double standard.

DINEY: That’s a really good point. I think it’s because we think we can deny our need to consume sex/media, but you can’t hide that you eat. I wonder if there’s ways to encourage people to accept and honor it in their lives…It would make us better consumers of both sex and media. 

HOGEVEEN: On that note, can you share a screenshot of your Notes app or recent Google searches? 

DINEY: The news I consume is all over the place because I’m trying to get it from all angles and sometimes also by accident. Convos/memes/social/broadcast. We have a Discord where we just dump a bunch of headlines in it but that’s top secret 😉 Lmao idk if this makes sense but this was notes from a recent hang that has story ideas in it.

HOGEVEEN: May I ask how you choose your interview looks? Can you share some pictures of recent fave fits (either yours or other SN correspondents)?

DINEY: I love the disarming nature of it. It truly is the strip club interaction that most people don’t experience—what gets said in a private room. And personally, all looks are just what I wear to the club! I want to make some more custom pieces.

HOGEVEEN: Aww 👏🏻 was this at the Zohran event?

DINEY: It was!

 

 

HOGEVEEN: Are there any fave memes you can share?

STRIPPER NEWS: Two memes I made recently off of memes my friends reposted. Stripper News is call-and-response with society lol

 

HOGEVEEN: Are there any juicy stories you have in the works?

DINEY: Like, so many. But people have to just tune in and see 😉 “What will they cover next” is such an important part of the magic, but we truly want to cover as much as we can and explore a variety of topics. I’d love to throw some Stripper News parties/travel in there so that we can dance, but also do some talks. Stay tuned for that and for Stripper News filming in your city 😉

 

HOGEVEEN: Is it more fun to strip in Toronto or NYC?

DINEY: For NYC and Toronto, I’ve noticed similarities and differences but overall I would say, much like a night of stripping, you just don’t know what you’re gonna get. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s the same with people’s willingness to be interviewed. I’m curious what it will be like when we take it to London and L.A. Okay, I have some more photos.

 

HOGEVEEN: Ok, tell me about this puppet pls!

DINEY: Yes, Mister D. He is my sugar daddy lol. He funds all my projects 😉 I love him. And I like to share him!

HOGEVEEN: We love him for loving you! Thank you, Mr D.

DINEY: Yes ❤️ I had him made because I pitched a project where I would be talking about sex/life and I wanted a cohost. I decided, who better than a puppet sugar daddy to give another perspective? And now there’s so much I wanna do with him.

HOGEVEEN: Humour is so critical to SN.

DINEY: Agreed! Humour/sex/chaos/intimacy. I think SN is just an example of how much sex work and intimacy and humour can tackle different topics.

HOGEVEEN: If you could go on a media retreat with three legends from stripping, journalism, or both, who would they be?

DINEY: I recently started deep diving on Nardwuar… Maybe Moses Znaimer, who started Speakers Corner. Speakers Corner is a huge influence. I’d like to talk to Lorne Michaels about theatre troupes and organizing lol. Also, I think talking to sex icons would be interesting—especially people who have felt empowered or stuck by their sexual identity in society. Pam Anderson. 

HOGEVEEN: Canadian Princess.

DINEY: Yesss. I’d love to talk to Elmo. Hahahaha. I’d love a big round table of all my favs and all the dancers I know. Ruby, Andrea, Robin, Luna are all geniuses and all the dancers that continue to be added into SN. A big party—our club regulars, Pamela, Elmo, Lorne Michaels, Steven Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Nardwuar.

HOGEVEEN: What are you going to do this evening with your fresh hair?

DINEY: I’ve been so busy, I literally want to go on a walk and stare at the water 😦 I have a submissive who begs to clean my apartment and might come clean while I edit later. Perfect evening?

HOGEVEEN: Omg. Two birds, one scone.

DINEY: I might need time alone, who knows? Maybe just me and Mister D. 

HOGEVEEN: Lucky bloke.

DINEY: 🙂