Photo Courtesy of www.firstcuriosity.com
On September 27, the popular comedy group, The Try Guys, announced the departure of Ned Fulmer, one of the four founding members, after he admitted to having a "consensual" workplace affair.
The Try Guys, founded by Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfeld and Eugene Lee Yang, is a YouTube channel where the four members test a wide range of activities, such as raising toddlers, wig making, tap dancing and much more. The four men created the show in 2014 while working for BuzzFeed, a digital media company, before leaving it in 2018 to start their own production company, 2nd Try LLC as well as their YouTube channel. Their channel, The Try Guys, has garnered almost 7.9 million subscribers and 2.2 billion views across all videos.
Ever since the group was a part of BuzzFeed, Ariel Fulmer, wife of Ned Fulmer, appeared in several of the group's videos. Ned married Ariel in 2014 and the couple has been happily married with two sons, Wesley Fulmer and Finley Fulmer. Moreover, Ned Fulmer is known as a family guy among his colleagues and fans. Much of his public persona is tied to being a husband and loving his wife. He successfully built a fanbase and brand around his marriage, which is why this scandal shocked many.
In a statement posted on The Try Guys' Twitter account, the group said, "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."
Prior to the statement posted by The Try Guys, the fans of the comedy group noticed Fulmer's absence in recent videos and in some cases, he was edited out of other content. His sudden disappearance from the group's content caused the fans to speculate and exchange theories about the situation; however, the situation got messy when a picture of Fulmer kissing Alexandria Herring, an associate producer of The Try Guys, circulated on the internet.
Shortly after The Try Guys posted their statement, Ned Fulmer took to Twitter, confirming the social media rumors alleging that he had cheated on his wife.
"Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship," Fulmer said in the post, "I am sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most of all to Ariel."
Fulmer's use of "consensual workplace relationship" is quite a way to say he cheated on his wife with someone who works for him. Based on his choice of words, he took no responsibility and noted the power dynamics in a work setting. After his statement was posted, a moral debate ensued on different social media platforms about relationships between a boss and an employee, with people saying that Fulmer should have never allowed the boundaries to be overstepped, whether both sides consented or not.
Following the scandal and statements from both The Try Guys and Ned Fulmer, Ariel Fulmer released a statement on her Instagram saying, "Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me - it means a lot. Nothing is more important to Ned and me than our family, and all we request right now is that you respect our privacy for the sake of our kids."
As of now, Alexandria Herring has yet to release a statement addressing the scandal.
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