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Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who is Theo Von? The 'manosphere' podcaster with Trump in Qatar
Podcaster Theo Von performed a set for U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday where he joked about doing drugs on a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy, and compared the Qatari hosts' attire to Klansman robes. His appearance preceded President Donald Trump's visit to the Al-Udeid Air Base. The comedian's remarks drew laughter and some groans from the service members in attendance and also some questions about why he was there. 'Dad, you've got to do an interview with a guy named Theo Von,' Trump said in his own remarks Thursday, recalling his son Barron's urging to do Von's podcast last year. 'I said, 'Who the hell is Theo Von?'' Here's what you need to know about Von. Who is Theo Von? Theo Von, born Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, is a 45-year-old stand-up comedian and podcaster who did an extended one-on-one podcast interview with Trump during the presidential campaign in which they discussed addiction and the opioid crisis. Born and largely raised in what he describes as the 'stray animal belt' of Louisiana, and legally emancipated at 14, Von's first taste of the spotlight was on MTV reality shows, including the 'Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour' and 'The Challenge.' He also competed in 'Last Comic Standing,' and won the Comedy Central show 'Reality Bites Back' over comedians like Amy Schumer and Tiffany Haddish. He has hosted the hidden camera show 'Deal With It' and has had various acting roles, including in 'Inside Amy Schumer' and the Chris Pratt movie 'The Tomorrow War.' Why is he famous? Things really took off for Von when the self-described 'white trash' creator found podcasting. In 2016, he started a longform video podcast called 'This Past Weekend,' which, as of 2024 per Spotify's year-end charts, was the fourth-biggest podcast on the streamer globally, with nearly 54,000 monthly listeners. A frequent guest on another popular podcast, 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' Von speaks candidly about addiction and recovery and has over 7.6 million followers on TikTok. He has comedy specials on Netflix and is currently touring around the U.S. and Canada. Von, often described as 'the next Joe Rogan,' is part of the so-called manosphere, a rising online community of hypermasculine influencers and comedians who rebuff 'cancel culture' and offer crudeness in its place Von was also one of the founders of 'King and The Sting,' a podcast that ran from 2018 to 2022, and featured Brendan Schaub and comedian Chris D'Elia, who has denied sexual misconduct allegations. Why is he in Qatar? That was the question of the day on social media, but Von has a lot of experience performing for the troops. He's been part of five USO tours. Where does he sit politically? Von seems loath to pin himself down to a certain side, and he tries to balance his guests accordingly, although it's tempting to make assumptions based on association. Over the weekend, he was photographed having dinner with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in Miami. The pair attended his 'Return of the Rat' show alongside Trump media adviser Alex Bruesewitz. New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica watched over 60 hours of Von's podcast and saw various standup sets in an attempt to answer the question: 'Is Theo Von podcasting from the right or the left?' 'That depends from where you're looking,' Caramanica wrote. Who goes on his podcast? It seems like everybody makes a point to chat with Von these days, including politicians, Oscar-nominated actors, titans of business, athletes, comedians, documentarians and investigative journalists. Recent guests have included Mark Zuckerberg, Ben Affleck, Morgan Wallen, Chelsea Handler, popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and David Spade. Last year, he hosted Rogan, Timothée Chalamet, JD Vance (when he was campaigning for vice president), Sen. Bernie Sanders and Ed Sheeran. He told Tom Green that he tried to host Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as well. The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Winnipeg Free Press
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Who is Theo Von? The ‘manosphere' podcaster with Trump in Qatar
Podcaster Theo Von performed a set for U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday where he joked about doing drugs on a mixed-race baby and the sexuality of men in the U.S. Navy, and compared the Qatari hosts' attire to Klansman robes. His appearance preceded President Donald Trump's visit to the Al-Udeid Air Base. The comedian's remarks drew laughter and some groans from the service members in attendance and also some questions about why he was there. 'Dad, you've got to do an interview with a guy named Theo Von,' Trump said in his own remarks Thursday, recalling his son Barron's urging to do Von's podcast last year. 'I said, 'Who the hell is Theo Von?'' Here's what you need to know about Von. Who is Theo Von? Theo Von, born Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, is a 45-year-old stand-up comedian and podcaster who did an extended one-on-one podcast interview with Trump during the presidential campaign in which they discussed addiction and the opioid crisis. Born and largely raised in what he describes as the 'stray animal belt' of Louisiana, and legally emancipated at 14, Von's first taste of the spotlight was on MTV reality shows, including the 'Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour' and 'The Challenge.' He also competed in 'Last Comic Standing,' and won the Comedy Central show 'Reality Bites Back' over comedians like Amy Schumer and Tiffany Haddish. He has hosted the hidden camera show 'Deal With It' and has had various acting roles, including in 'Inside Amy Schumer' and the Chris Pratt movie 'The Tomorrow War.' Why is he famous? Things really took off for Von when the self-described 'white trash' creator found podcasting. In 2016, he started a longform video podcast called 'This Past Weekend,' which, as of 2024 per Spotify's year-end charts, was the fourth-biggest podcast on the streamer globally, with nearly 54,000 monthly listeners. A frequent guest on another popular podcast, 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' Von speaks candidly about addiction and recovery and has over 7.6 million followers on TikTok. He has comedy specials on Netflix and is currently touring around the U.S. and Canada. Von, often described as 'the next Joe Rogan,' is part of the so-called manosphere, a rising online community of hypermasculine influencers and comedians who rebuff 'cancel culture' and offer crudeness in its place Von was also one of the founders of 'King and The Sting,' a podcast that ran from 2018 to 2022, and featured Brendan Schaub and comedian Chris D'Elia, who has denied sexual misconduct allegations. Why is he in Qatar? That was the question of the day on social media, but Von has a lot of experience performing for the troops. He's been part of five USO tours. Where does he sit politically? Von seems loath to pin himself down to a certain side, and he tries to balance his guests accordingly, although it's tempting to make assumptions based on association. Over the weekend, he was photographed having dinner with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in Miami. The pair attended his 'Return of the Rat' show alongside Trump media adviser Alex Bruesewitz. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica watched over 60 hours of Von's podcast and saw various standup sets in an attempt to answer the question: 'Is Theo Von podcasting from the right or the left?' 'That depends from where you're looking,' Caramanica wrote. Who goes on his podcast? It seems like everybody makes a point to chat with Von these days, including politicians, Oscar-nominated actors, titans of business, athletes, comedians, documentarians and investigative journalists. Recent guests have included Mark Zuckerberg, Ben Affleck, Morgan Wallen, Chelsea Handler, popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and David Spade. Last year, he hosted Rogan, Timothée Chalamet, JD Vance (when he was campaigning for vice president), Sen. Bernie Sanders and Ed Sheeran. He told Tom Green that he tried to host Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as well.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Matt Good, I Mother Earth togther at casino
It's a Canadian '90s-rock two-fer when singer-songwriter Matt Good joins alt-rock band I Mother Earth at the Club Regent Event Centre on Nov. 6. Each act will play a full electric set of their own material and then a combined acoustic set. Tickets start at $49 and go on sale May 15 at New York comedian Sam Morril brings The Errors Tour to the venue on Oct. 5. The popular standup is a staple on late-night talk shows and has appeared on such shows as Last Comic Standing, America's Got Talent and Inside Amy Schumer. He can be heard on the We Might Be Drunk podcast with Mark Norman; his new special, Sam Morril: You've Changed, is streaming on Prime Video. Tickets start at $44 and go on sale May 16 at
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Is comedian Fortune set to divorce wife? Allegedly couple has parted ways; Find out more!
Actress and comedian Fortune Feimster has allegedly separated from her wife. The renowned comedian known for her shows 'Last Comic Standing' and 'The Morning Show' and also for starring in ' The Mindy Project ' as Colette has recently separated from her wife of four years. The couple has split Fortune has allegedly split from her wife of four years, Jacquelyn Smith , recently and has also been planning to file for divorce. The separation of the duo comes as a surprise, as the two had been together for 9 years and had married in 2020. As reported by TMZ, the couple have now separated, and Fortune is planning to file for divorce from her partner. No information has been shared regarding the split publicly; however, as per a close source, the comedian has been openly sharing the information within her inner circle of people. Media channels have reached out to Fortune's team to get a statement in the matter; however, they have not received any reply in the matter as of yet. The estranged couple has not made any public statement or appearance regarding the matter either. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo About the comedian and her estranged partner Feimster has been working in the entertainment industry since 2000, when she officially made her debut in 'Last Comic Standing'. The comedian has writing credits to her name, has performed in various comedy shows and has even starred in films and TV shows as an actress, making her a versatile person in the industry. Jacquelyn Smith, at the time when she met Fortune, worked as a kindergarten teacher; however, after getting together with the comedian, she started focusing more on Fortune's career as well. Smith became one of the executive producers of the show 'Good Fortune' and for the special 'Sweet & Salty'. Fortune first met her wife, Jacquelyn, in 2015; the two got together and then got engaged in 2018. They were officially married in 2020 after 5 years of being together.
Los Angeles Times
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Felipe Esparza on being a Mexican vegan and joking about meaty topics in new special ‘Raging Fool'
Before Felipe Esparza became a star comedian traveling all over the world at his leisure, it was a struggle for the L.A. comic to get around without a car. For years, he got to all his gigs by public transit, hopping buses and trains to local clubs until he could afford his own set of wheels. That all changed after he won NBC's 'Last Comic Standing' in 2010. He leveled up, began touring the country, then the world, and never looked back. Since his big break, Esparza has also ventured into acting, with roles in such movies as 'You People,' 'Daddy Daughter Trip' and 'Guest House.' He has also appeared on TV shows including 'Gentrified' and 'The Eric Andre Show.' His raw, personal narrative-like jokes delve into topics that are dark and taboo, like domestic violence, the sex lives of married couples, drug and alcohol abuse and other dysfunctions growing up in a Mexican family. Esparza also hosts the comedy podcast 'What's Up Fool?' which has been one of the top comedy podcasts for the last 10 years. Esparza recently spoke with The Times about his fifth full comedy special, 'Raging Fool,' which premieres Tuesday on Netflix. Tell us about your new special, 'Raging Fool,' and how it differs from your last Netflix special in 2020. The jokes are different but I'm still dealing with the same topics. Family issues, marriage, drugs, sex, s— like that. But when I filmed my last special, 'Bad Decisions,' which was shot in two days — I did one show in English and the next night in Spanish — the timing was unfortunate. It came out, and I was just going to tour, then two days later the COVID pandemic broke out. We had the lockdowns and everything, so that kind of sucked, but it came out online and got a good response from people. But, with my new special, 'Raging Fool,' I feel like I get to tour this material now, it's a fresh start. You're touring the U.S. now, as part of the At My Leisure Tour, but last year you were international. What was it like touring outside the country as a stand-up? Did you find there to be any differences in audiences? Touring standing up anywhere is just fun. I love doing shows. But last year, part of my tour was in England, Dublin, Amsterdam and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. The cool thing is that I would think my audience would change when I leave the country and play different places, but it's funny how it doesn't. Just to show you that there are Mexicans, Hispanics and Latinos in all parts of the globe, every major city pretty much at this point. For instance, just two examples: There's a huge population and community of El Salvadorans in Alberta, Canada, and also in Alexandria, Va., in the States. So yeah, all over there are people who speak Spanish and appreciate the humor I do, and the shows are always fun and we have a good time. You made some jokes in your last special about being a vegan, but are you really a vegan? Yes, I am really a vegan. I've been a vegan since 2011. What happened was that I was on the Atkins diet but doing it totally wrong. I was eating nothing but meat and cheese. Tons of just carne asada, carnitas and al pastor, steaks, burgers and lots of cheese. But I f— up by not drinking any water. It caused me some very painful health problems; I had horrible constipation for a week, and so after this episode I just decided to give up all meat and became a vegan. My wife was raised vegan by her mom. But then when she met me, she stopped being vegan, because I introduced her to Jack in the Box and In-n-Out and all kinds of fast food and other junk food. So she wasn't a vegan anymore. But then around 2011 I became a vegan once more when I decided to try it and we both have been vegan since. Here in the San Fernando Valley where I live, there are a lot of Mexican restaurants that cater to vegan people. They make vegan meats and vegan cheese. This one spot, El Cocinero in Van Nuys, makes homemade vegan carnitas out of jackfruit and homemade vegan cheeses, all the best Mexican food but with vegan options. Vegan food years ago used to be horrible. You'd eat a head of lettuce, white rice and a sandwich of pickles. My mom was scared when I told her I would be vegan. 'Ay mijo que vas a comer?' [What will you eat, my boy?] Your wife works with you producing your podcast and comedy specials, so how do you balance family personal time and work? I don't know how we balance it but it just happens organically. Naturally, we just make it work. She produces my podcast and also my comedy specials, which is hard work behind the scenes. We've been together since 2006 so she saw me and knew me before I won 'Last Comic Standing,' and before I was famous. She knows the rhythm of my jokes she helps me write. Your comedy contains some dark personal stories. Do you find stand-up comedy to be therapeutic? Oh yeah, I absolutely do. I am still alive because of my stand-up comedy, for sure. I speak about some really dark twisted stuff in my life in my comedy onstage, in the new special and in previous ones. It's stuff I would not talk about in any other setting unless it was my therapist. Like for example, I do this one joke about how my mom got beat up by my dad when I was younger. It took me a long time to do that joke, but I finally did it in front of my mom and she laughed and I knew then it was OK. It was very cathartic and therapeutic for her to watch me do this joke, it was very powerful. Humor is definitely a lifesaver. How do you feel about censorship as a comedian? Do you think comedians have total freedom of speech to joke about any topic? I think as a comedian, you can make a joke about anything you want. But you gotta be prepared to take the consequences of your words. You can't forget that part. This one time early on in my career, many years ago, I was asked to do a clean comedy show with no vulgarity, and so I didn't cuss, but I did some jokes about racism and religion and I said the wrong thing, and it pissed some people off and the microphone was cut off. It had a lot to do with the content, not necessarily just cursing. But it's important that as a comedian you know the audience, especially when you get hired for private or corporate events. Now, though, if I'm hired or when I do shows, people know when you hire me you get what you get. If you know my shows you know I'm gonna make jokes about drugs, sex, marriage, race, religion and more. I'm gonna use vulgarity. But, as a stand-up comic, I've evolved from a one-liner to a comedian that tells stories, and it's some really dark stuff but it's all funny. Do current events and politics play into your stand-up comedy routines at all? Well, yes, but not too overtly. I don't like to be way too political, but I do touch on immigration and race somewhat in a soft way to make people laugh. For instance, in this one joke, I mentioned how white people don't work all month at their jobs, then send money back to Scotland or Ireland. White people don't have immigrant relatives from Germany or Belgium showing up at their door with blankets saying they need a place to live. If I get people to laugh at some of these topical jokes, then that's a good thing. I made things funny now, with the current events. One thing we proved in this last election is that you can't put Hispanics and Latinos in the same category anymore. We're not all the same brown people. There are some Mexicans that want other Mexicans and Central Americans deported from the country. It's insane. But overall, I try not to take the angle where I come out saying all whites are racist and kill all white people, because that's not really funny, there isn't really a joke there. I try to make little jokes about these topics and get people to laugh. Aside from your tour, are there any other acting roles or movie parts on the horizon for you? Oh yeah, I am gonna be on the ABC series 'Shifting Gears' with Tim Allen. It's an episode where I play a mechanic. It's very cool, because it's a paying acting gig. ... The funny thing is I don't know anything about tools or cars. Sometimes in Hollywood it's not who you know, it's who you smoke weed with in the back of the Improv.
