Nick Viall and his wife, Natalie Joy are facing fresh backlash over their podcast, ‘The Viall Files’ after a recent episode left listeners calling the interview “insensitive” and “unprofessional,” according to the Daily Mail.
The controversy centers around an episode of January 7 which was featuring Southern Charm star, Austen Kroll. Kroll appeared on the podcast to discuss season 11 of the Bravo series. But the conversation took an unexpected turn when Joy asked him about the tragic death of his sister, Kyle.
Kroll’s sister, Kyle, died in a childhood accident after falling off a cliff during a family hike in Chimney Rock, North Caroline. Kroll was just seven years old at the time and his sister was nine. He previously spoke about the tragedy during season four of ‘Southern Charm’, describing how it shaped his life.
In a clip from the podcast shared online, Kroll appeared uncomfortable when Joy suddenly brought up the incident and asked for details and asked questions like “What was this cliff?”, to which Kroll stumbled over his words before saying and replied, “I won’t even say the name of the town.”
Although the discussion later moved on to his relationships and the show, many listeners said the moment was disturbing.
“This is the problem with any influencer having a podcast, maybe get some training on how to do your job professionally and with class”, wrote the viewer.
“Honestly would sign petitions for you to end this podcast and never be able to interview anybody, you are TERRIBLE PEOPLE”, wrote another.
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Critics question qualifications
Pop culture commentator Jordy Cray, who has built a large following on TikTok, told the Daily Mail that he was ‘disturbed’ by the episode but was not surprised.
“For me, I just don’t think they’re that knowledgeable about the subjects they choose to bring on to their platform,” Cray said. “I mean, they have very impressive guests, but I don’t think they are well versed in whatever they’re discussing, and I don’t think that they’re equipped to handle the empathy that’s required in certain conversations.”
Another content creator, Josh Banfield also spoke to the Daily Mail. While he said he is hesitant to blame Joy alone, he questioned her experience.
“I am reluctant to buy into the narrative that the woman ruined everything,” Banfield said. “I think it is more a situation where Nick still says dumb things on a somewhat frequent basis, but it felt like he had started to learn and course correct some of the crazy things that he would say.”
He added that when Joy joined as a regular co-host, it appeared as if she “had no qualifications or understanding of how to talk about these things in an empathetic way.”
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Past controversies of Nick Viall and Natalie Joy
This is not the first time ‘The Viall Files’ has faced criticism. Less than two months ago, Viall and Joy were accused of “mom-shaming” reality star Whitney Leavitt after questioning how she would balance motherhood with a Broadway role in ‘Chicago’.
In the December 2, 2025 episode with Leavitt, Joy said that, “How is she managing being a mom? How is she managing, prioritizing being a mom and her kids who I imagine have some sort of schedule and routine? And I know their home base was Utah… I’m just so curious.”
Listeners argued the comments suggested Leavitt was not prioritizing her children. Others pointed out that a man in the same situation may not have faced the same scrutiny.
Despite the backlash in both cases, Viall and Joy have not issued public apologies. Viall did comment under one viral clip, writing, “We love Austin,” though he misspelled Kroll’s name.
“I think that the saddest part about all this is that I don’t think Nick or Natalie even care about the backlash, because all they care about is numbers at this point,” said Cray to the Daily Mail.