I do believe he does message them directly. I imagine he does it through Instagram though, rather than their personal numbers (but who knows - there are no boundaries here as we know).
I also reckon they must get fed up of him constantly messaging them and digging for info, but they need to keep him close because he is their link to so much. He promotes them, defends them, raises money for them, buys gifts for them… they can’t afford to lose him I don’t think. They know all the subs rush to him for information. If they piss him off, I think it could be pretty damaging for them
Thanks
@Misbehaving