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SNL Faces Backlash After ‘Try Guys’ Cheating Scandal Skit

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This weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” episode featured a comedy skit about the Try Guys cheating incident. The skit is receiving backlash for minimizing the relationship between a boss and a subordinate as internet drama.

Ned Fulmer, a now ex-member of the YouTube sensation, had an affair with one of his employees. The group, which consisted of four members, parted ways with Fulmer after “an internal review” of what he described as a “consensual workplace relationship.”

Fans knew Fulmer as the “wife guy” because he often mentioned his wife during channel videos.

In the skit, Ego Nwodim plays a CNN anchor, and Brendan Gleeson, who was hosting the show, plays a correspondent. SNL cast members Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes and Bowen Yang played Try Guys Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, and Eugene Lee Yang.

While reporting from in front of the White House, Gleeson’s character gets interrupted by the news that the remaining three Try Guys have released a statement in response to the controversy.

“CNN can confirm that the Try Guys have released an official YouTube video clapping back at ex–Try Guy, the wife-guy Try Guy. He disrespected the brand by making out with one of the Food Babies at the Harry Styles concert,” his character says.

Like many others who came across the Try Guys story, Nwodim’s “CNN anchor” did not fully grasp the nature of the controversy or identify the Try Guys. Gleeson’s “correspondent” then tries to explain the situation as Nwodim’s “anchor” tries to understand.

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Eventually, CNN gets the “Try Guys” on the line, and Yang, playing Eugene, angrily says Fulmer “committed the heinous act of having a consensual kiss and not telling us, his friends.”

Nwodin’s “anchor” later says, “wow, so the full story is that your friend had a side chick, and you fired him?”

Internet users are upset by how the SNL writers framed the situation, as it seemed like the skit was ridiculing the remaining three members for their emotional response to the affair. Others pointed out how the skit does not meaningfully acknowledge the power dynamics and legal repercussions of a boss’s relationship with his employee.

One Twitter user called out the writers for mocking the three remaining members instead of Fulmer.

“CEO of a company cheats on his wife with a subordinate, is fired because of the power imbalance/workplace harassment, and his colleagues get emotional discussing it.

SNL: Let’s roast those guys and not the CEO – no big deal! All men cheat! Beyonce got cheated on too!”

In a previous episode of a podcast run by the Try Guys, Fulmer had mentioned that he had a friend who worked as a writer at SNL, prompting many to suspect his friend helped skew the narrative in his favor.

Keith Habersberger’s wife, Becky Habersberger, also pointed this out in a tweet.

“Anyone remember the Trypod episode where he talks about his Yale friend who writes for SNL…asking for a friend.”

A commenter under a YouTube video of the skit, named Max Ride, noted that the company has “20 non-millionaire employees that could lose their jobs if the company gets sued.” The video instead mainly characterized the three men as having an unwarranted overreaction to the situation.

“After the other three guys found out about this, they went through a three-week internal review with lawyers because Ned opened up the company to a shit ton of legal issues. They terminated his contract as well as their seven-year friendship with him (this was before the internet found out).”

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Summarizing the leadup to the media attention, he said that “they didn’t want it to be a big deal, but the internet figured out that they had edited him out of videos, and the texts of him cheating got leaked, so it became more public than they originally expected.”

“The reason for the shock is because his entire online persona was about loving his wife, so the internet felt blindsided. However, and this is important to note, he didn’t get fired because he cheated; he got fired because he slept with his employee. The reason they have to edit him out of all the videos was because they couldn’t ‘profit’ off of his image after he was fired as this would, again, open them up to a shit ton of legal issues. Overall this entire scandal boils down to an asshole making an incredibly stupid decision, not even trying to hide it, and potentially blowing up the hard work of 20+ people, including his own.”

part ways

The Try Guys Part Ways With ‘Wife Guy’ Ned Fulmer After Workplace Affair

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The Try Guys announced on Tuesday that they are cutting ties with one of their members, Ned Fulmer, after he admitted to cheating on his wife with one of his employees. Fulmer was known by fans to be the “wife guy” and even wrote a cookbook titled “The Date Night Cookbook” with his wife, Ariel Fulmer.

The viral YouTube group had four members: Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, Eugene Lee Yang and Fulmer. The group created content together while at Buzzfeed, where they were former employees. Eventually, they left the platform in 2018 to pursue their own production company and YouTube channel, which has more than 7.8 million subscribers.

Ned confirmed the cheating allegations with a statement on Instagram.

“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship. I’m sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that’s where I am going to focus my attention.”

The other woman is rumored to be Try Guy’s associate producer Alexandria Herring.

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Fans of the series started to feel that something was wrong when Fulmer was missing from the channel’s last three videos. Members of the series’ subreddit shared photos of stills from finished video shoots containing Fulmer, causing them to speculate that he had been getting edited out of the videos. Fulmer was present in a photo from the group’s filming of an episode where Habersberger tried the entire Caesars Palace menu in Las Vegas. The final video did not contain Fulmer at all.

Ariel Fulmer, who hosts a podcast called “You Can’t Sit With Us” with the other partners of the group’s members, was absent from its previous two episodes. Fans noted how the timing coincided with an announcement from the group last week that they would only be releasing one episode per week instead of their usual two until the end of October.

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A few weeks prior,  a post titled “Ned,” authored by user “hamilton390,” had appeared on the Try Guys subreddit on Sept. 3, alleging that “multiple people have seen Ned around NYC this week making out with women at the local bars.” The post received only a few comments, all skeptical of the claim. One commenter wrote, “source: I made it up.” In response, “hamilton390” sent one of the commenters a series of screenshots of Instagram direct messages. It was later revealed that “hamilton390” was Herring’s fiancé Will Thayer.

In the screenshots, Thayer received a message from someone who saw Herring kissing Fulmer in a dive bar near NYU in New York City. The message read that the user “saw her making out with ned from the try guys,” and the timing of the sighting aligned with dates when Fulmer and Herring were known to have been in NYC. The user also sent Thayer some blurry videos for proof. Thayer thanked the sender and replied, “just spoke to Ariel for an hour.” Thayer scrubbed his Instagram of photos of Herring before unfollowing her. Fulmer and Herring also unfollowed each other, reinforcing fans’ suspicion that Herring was the woman in the videos.

The Try Guys confirmed that they removed Fulmer from the group with a short message.

“Ned Fulmer is no longer working with The Try Guys. As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together. We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.

movie

Thailand’s Gay-Romance TV Dramas Reviving Tourism Industry

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A recent wave of Thai television dramas known as “Boys Love” (BL), or the “Y” series, has grown in popularity in Thailand. The genre of show portrays some sort of gay romance, which has attracted a large audience across Asia in recent months.

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Small Movie Theatre

The Irishman: A Near-Perfect Gangster Epic

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Director Martin Scorsese has implored audiences not to watch his latest crime epic, The Irishman, on a smartphone. And while many viewers of the director’s latest film are likely to ignore this advice, Scorsese’s request is well-founded. At three-and-a-half hours long, The Irishman can be difficult to watch in one sitting — but the cinematic experience on offer is best enjoyed on a big screen, whether it’s projected on a movie screen or displayed on a large TV. Scorsese has drawn criticism lately for his comments about Marvel movies, which he’s characterized as “not cinema,” comparing them to amusement park rides, entertaining and full of spectacle but lacking in substance. And while his comments have angered fans of the immensely profitable superhero genre, they also speak to Scorecese’s understanding of the potential of cinema as an art form and its ability to speak to audiences on a deep, human level. Scorsese’s commitment to artistry is evident not only by his extensive catalogue of critically-acclaimed crime dramas, but by his career-defining work on his latest epic.

Spoilers for The Irishman follow.

The Irishman is based on the true story of Frank Sheeran, a hitman for the mafia who claimed to be responsible for killing the famous Jimmy Hoffa, a labor union activist who disappeared in 1975. While the nature of Hoffa’s disappearance in real life remains a mystery, Sheeran’s account is perhaps the most compelling explanation, as details of his story are corroborated by evidence, though most if not all of the other witnesses to the killing were dead by the time Sheeran confessed to author Charles Brandt shortly before his death. Brandt’s book, “I Heard You Paint Houses,” forms the basis of Scorsese’s film, and the director took great lengths to ensure that the movie closely follows Sheeran’s recollection of events. Whether or not you believe that the film accurately portrays historical events, including details surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, depends on whether you trust Sheeran’s retelling of the events of his life and Brandt’s memorialization thereof.

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Regardless of its questionable historical accuracy, though, The Irishman shines as a meditation on the reality of aging, death, and how the decisions a person makes come to define the stories of their lives, for better or for worse. Sheeran is not a particularly sympathetic character — he expresses no remorse for his many killings, some directed by the military and others by the mob — but the film succeeds in emotionally engaging the viewer with the protagonist nonetheless. This is in no small part thanks to Robert De Niro’s excellent portrayal of Frank Sheeran’s life over a period of decades, as the legendary actor imbues his character with an emotional depth and complexity rivaled by few other performances in recent memory. 

Scorsese pioneered the widespread use of expensive de-aging technology to allow the 76-year-old De Niro to portray a character several decades younger, and the implementation has received a mixed reception. While the effect is not entirely convincing and can at times even be a little distracting, it works for the most part, though it is at times clear that the aging principal cast struggle to mimic the vibrancy of men half their age throughout the film. It’s easy to look past this minor deficiency, however, and as the film’s narrative largely explores the concepts of aging and death, the at times geriatric performances of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci fit the film’s narrative framing of an elderly man sitting alone in a nursing home reminiscing about his past.

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Irrespective of how you feel about the visual effects, the actors’ performances are phenomenal, and add to the remarkable depth of the film’s writing and direction. Ultimately, while most of the events of the film revolve around Sheeran’s participation in the mob and his relationships with his mentor Russell Bufalino and the egotistical, hot-headed Jimmy Hoffa, I would argue the real point of the film is its examination of the importance of family life. Sheeran had four children, and while these characters don’t prominently factor into the events of the narrative, the emotional weight carried by Sheeran’s neglect of his children is immense. Sheeran’s daughters must grapple with the violent reality of his lifestyle and profession throughout the picture, mostly in the background, resulting in an ongoing rejection of their father that culminates in their disowning of him as he becomes an elderly man. After nearly all of the people close to Sheeran die, only his family remain, but his efforts to reconnect with his daughters fail as they have effectively disowned him. By the end of the film, Sheeran is left in a nursing home, talking about his daughters with a nurse who barely pays attention to his stories. Ultimately, the film plays a trick on the audience; while it seems at first to be about the mob, the Teamsters union, and the larger-than-life Jimmy Hoffa, it reveals itself by its conclusion to in actuality be about the inevitability of death and the importance of family ties.

This level of depth and thematic complexity is what has led The Irishman to receive near-universal critical acclaim. Though it premiered as a limited theatrical release, the movie is now available exclusively on Netflix, which incidentally turned out to be the only company willing to fund Scorsese’s experimental epic. Critics are speculating that The Irishman could sweep the Oscars, and many have speculated the film is a strong contender for Best Picture. If you’re willing to set aside the three-and-a-half hours necessary to engage in Scorsese’s latest film, you’ll be rewarded with a work of nearly-unparalleled emotional weight and tragedy.

Glacier in Alaska

John Green’s YA Novel “Looking for Alaska” Adapted for Hulu Miniseries

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For years, John Green has authored young adult novels which have received widespread acclaim, not only from his audience of young readers, but from critics around the world. The author’s success has led to the adaptation of several of his stories on the big screen; in 2014, Green’s book about teenagers with cancer who fall in love was adapted into a feature film, and the following year, Paper Towns, a romantic mystery comedy-drama film based on the 2008 novel of the same name, found its way to movie theaters around the world. Both films were financial successes, with the former movie receiving generally positive reviews and the latter film receiving mixed reviews. Their success has led to renewed interest in adapting Green’s other works, including his first novel, the Printz Medal winner Looking for Alaska, which is about a burgeoning romance between two teenagers at a boarding school that ends in tragedy.

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John Green sold the film rights to Paramount Pictures in 2005, just a year after the novel’s publication, with the belief that it would never be adapted into a film. Paramount had shelved the project for years, due to a lack of interest, but started looking more seriously at the prospect of adapting the novel after the success of the film version of The Fault in Our Stars. In 2015 Paramount commissioned a screenplay of the book, and had begun actively casting the film, but plans to produce the movie were canceled indefinitely. In 2018, it was announced that Hulu would be producing an 8-part miniseries based on the book, and John Green announced the lead cast, with Kristine Froseth playing Alaska and Charlie Plummer playing the book’s main character, Miles. Production of the series has been completed, and all eight episodes are set to premiere tomorrow, October 18, 2019, exclusively on the Hulu streaming platform.

Initial reviews of the miniseries, which were released today, are mostly positive. Caroline Framke of Variety thought that the miniseries “wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve,” as its precocious and pretentious cast of teenage characters rings true to the experience of life as a teenager, even if the characters’ superiority complexes start to grate on the viewer. Nevertheless, she praised the miniseries for fleshing out its secondary characters, even though she felt the series’ protagonist was uninteresting. Though she felt that the series’ depiction of Alaska hewed closely to tropes of the genre, as she represents a variation of the infamous “manic pixie dream girl” archetype, the show uses its eight-hour runtime to expand on her character enough to make viewers genuinely interested in her character.

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Jordan Julian, of The Daily Beast, was even more laudatory, claiming that the series is even better than the book, and characterized the show as “beautiful and idealized, foreboding, and entirely relatable to anyone who recalls the intensity of being a teenager.” According to Julian, the show excels in a genre that’s “notoriously difficult to get right,” as she felt that the characters’ dialogue was “natural and self-aware,” and applauded the show for developing Alaska’s character beyond the male narrator’s interpretation featured in the book. Kristine Froseth, of Hollywood Reporter, also praised the series, though she felt that the series “struggles to crack the title character.” Like the other reviewers, Julian praised the series’ decision to keep the events set in 2005 rather than updating the timeline for a modern audience, as this decision both solves the problem of characters not engaging with cell phones and social media as well as invokes a sense of childhood nostalgia among the series’ adult audience, helping them to connect with the youthful mindsets of the cast.

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone gave the show a similarly positive review, awarding it four out of five stars. Sepinwall thought the show gave Green’s characters “the respect they deserve,” as they are portrayed by a talented and charming cast of young actors. Not every reviewer, however, was so positive. Kevin Yeoman of Screen Rant complained that the miniseries failed to “escape its own artificiality,” arguing that the show came off as neither realistic nor significant. Yeoman felt that the characters were incompletely written, having a set of personality quirks rather than cohesive personalities. 

You can watch the trailer for Looking for Alaska here. 

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