Ashley Gavin Did It Again

[@greenhouseghostie]

It's so wild that the criteria for a good apology video now is 1) say the words "I am sorry", and 2) don't perform the ukelele or an interpretive dance.

[@ct5625]

I almost want to start a channel just so I might one day have the opportunity to make an apology video in which I refuse all responsibility while protesting my innocence and riding an elephant while dressed as a pickle.

[@jasminecurry5732]

​@@ct5625don't forget to victim blame while riding your unicycle 😅😂

[@julialena3150]

The bar is genuinely that low. I dont understand why people wouldnt also just hire a crisis pr person?

[@Katy-ys6rn]

The problem is, there was no joke, this wasn't even "crowd work". Hell, even Ashley has done plenty of "edgy" crowd work that was still funny and didn't cross a line. But this was simply an emotional, overaly aggressive, extremely personal, over reaction...and TO what, I still don't understand. It shouldn't have happened.

[@inacatt]

That's how I feel. Like it didn't come across as a joke or exaggeration, her screaming felt too real and personal.

[@laurie8857]

100! That interaction was just verbal abuse. Not art.

[@heatherwaycott1419]

She seemed annoyed that she loudly interrupted her flow.

[@queenautumnween2796]

I think the way she kept going and going and going was the part that got me. Like saying, "kill yourself" then doubling down after they said they've attempted saying, "try hard next time" and then saying her mom should've "aborted her" and then when she's leaving in tears saying, "I'm not her therapist, I don't care that you tried to kill yourself" (or something in that vain) is where it's like...more that crossing the line, it's erasing the line.

[@maryjanecollier]

​@starsiadraws after she asked everyone to laugh and be as loud ad possible.

[@friendlybane]

You can joke about anything, including su*cide. You just have to make sure that your jokes aren't at the expense of victims. This applies to anything bad or controversial: make fun of the idea of the thing or the perpetrators of the thing. Just don't make fun of the victims.

[@NepetaLeijonREAL]

Dawg who do you think is the perpetrator of a suicide

[@byrnetdown6076]

​@@NepetaLeijonREAL do you really not get what they meant or are you being purposefully obtuse?

[@NepetaLeijonREAL]

@@byrnetdown6076 I’m not that serious it’s just a silly comment

[@L1ncore]

You also have to like, make a joke. Not have a straight up meltdown on stage lol.

[@bockrottom4877]

​@L1ncore that's what I'm saying! A joke in poor taste is one thing but she literally just got mad.

[@t0tally3rica]

I was a really big Ashley fan for months. I saw her on KZbin shorts and fell down the rabbit hole. Chosen family became my favorite podcast and I saw Ashley live. I bought merch and posted about it and how excited I was to see her. She didn’t do anything at my show in New Brunswick NJ that was like the clips from Indy and I had a fun time. Shortly after her special came out , I noticed a shift in Ashley’s behavior. She went from acting truly humbled and grateful for blowing up to acting like a true diva. She started to express how upset and mad she was about the special not going viral. She would make a lot of “jokes” about how much free content she was giving us and how we basically owe her views on her special. I got a pretty bad taste in my mouth and had started turning off the chosen family podcast because her energy was throwing everything off. So yeah I’m not surprised this happened. IMO she’s bitter that she’s not bigger and taking it out on her audience and it all stems from her special not going viral. Like as if 2 hour comedy specials from mid sized comedians are always blowing up on KZbin Lmfao.

[@magickaldust1213]

This exactly. I agree with absolutely everything in this comment perfectly

[@RainwriterMusic]

I'm lucky to have not experienced this. Due to life I didn't really watch her a whole lot after the special so I didn't get to see her shift in behavior. I've always loved her comedy. It's a pretty crazy situation.

[@ozwelshcobs65]

An interesting perspective for sure and seems on point. Roasting people properly is an artform, and it is a fine line between being funny and bullying. Tone has alot to do with it and she is full on aggressive and her focus on her targets is over the top for it to be funny.

[@FathiaRezqy]

This is well put out. I feel the same every time she 'puts the blame' on us, the casual free content viewers. And yeah, it is weird for her to expect her special to blow up, considering she's not that big anyways. And thank you for sharing your experience ❤

[@t0tally3rica]

@@FathiaRezqy Happy to share. Be safe

[@AzuraFallen]

Her saying she let her emotions get the better of her makes it worse for me. It means she meant it in that moment. She was angry and she wanted to hurt that fan, disgusting. I thought at first that she made a joke that was distasteful at least but hurtful, I was wrong uck.

[@daintybeigli]

I’m confused … how is telling people to off themselves breaking down stigma and helping people feel less alone?!?! I’m all about dark humour, but that’s not what Ashley is doing here.

[@SapphireSeahorse494]

yeah, making jokes about suicide to break down the stigma would be joking about your OWN experience with suicidal thoughts and stuff. This is the exact opposite of that.

[@chase5436]

It's not. She's trying to save face. Which just means she hasn't learned anything.

[@emmyjulianne6850]

@@SapphireSeahorse494yes like taylor tomlinson. i love her so much

[@britneycampbell8696]

@@emmyjulianne6850was literally about to comment Taylor’s name I love her work so much i can’t wait for her next special to come out on Netflix

[@shannond1511]

Has anyone noticed she’s only this mean to women audience members? What gets me is a bunch of ppl reacted the same way to the same joke, yet she specifically picked out only one of them to harass. Love the thing with the blind woman, proves my point, she saw a woman that appeared like an easy target and it backfired for once. If ppl being blind triggers you, you’re definitely the problem

[@stormcloudsabound]

yeah, that’s a really good observation. like, way to reinforce misogyny as a lesbian 😅

[@ziggylegion1604]

@shannond1511 umm i think youre really misunderstanding what was going on there. what makes you think she was triggered by a random blind woman? lol

[@genericname8727]

I think her audience is mostly women so that’s likely part of that

[@ponykazy3725]

I saw a clip where she was attacking a fan who was on her phone, then she found out the girl was deaf and her cochlear implant broke last minute. 😬 Almost as if you shouldn't be looking for audience members to make fun of or call out, and shouldn't take things so personally. Sure, call out the hecklers, but these people arent hecklers.

[@stephaniecriner2796]

Yeah she's not nearly that aggressive with her gay and bisexual male audience.

[@moonfairy2325]

A friend of mine was a big fan and invited me to her show. I hadn't heard of her, but I'm a queer woman who likes raunchy humor, so I thought it'd be fun. She was the meanest comedian I've ever seen. It felt like she guilt tripped us the whole show for not laughing enough, and she would harshly ridicule those who didn't laugh loudly. I was so afraid she'd target me that I almost left, but then she yelled at someone else for leaving. So I just froze in fear and laughed as hard as I could (at unfunny jokes). My friend wanted to meet her, so I did that for her, then got tf outta there. Seeing her face again makes me feel icky. I feel awful for people who had such sickening things said to them, I hope they're all doing ok

[@lindseytallent2855]

I’ve been noticing her whole “don’t pull back on me” thing 100% feels like shaming and bullying people into laughing at whatever she says

[@moonfairy2325]

@@lindseytallent2855 Exactly, she used that phrase constantly to try and keep the audience on her side. I think it's supposed to be a running bit?? I didn't like it.

[@rindrr]

I knew this when she was on a podcast I like (Colleen Ballingers sister’s cast) I hate comedians who basically bully people. This isn’t funky chicken that it’s TRUE :< /g

[@rat_enthusiast]

I wanna comment something deep, but that shark hat/pink hair/floral shirt combo goes so hard. You’ve really blessed this platform tbh

[@FlyGurlie2010]

Be respectful, his name is Phineas

[@rat_enthusiast]

⁠@@FlyGurlie2010 FUCK I’m so sorry. Phineas, if you’re reading this, please forgive my ignorance

[@Petie718]

​@@rat_enthusiastalso he's fired

[@steviescribbles]

Everyone mark the date when Harry became a sponsored YTber. Our little guy is growing up

[@zljmbo]

and it's not temu nor raid shadow legends so that's an extra point

[@kvgiris]

@@zljmbo 7th of July in the year 2023, 3 years after the initial COVID outbreak in the Holocene epoch.

[@ziggylegion1604]

9/11 #neverforget

[@RosinaRosinaRosina]

kind of irrelevant but I misread this as "our little guy is throwing up" and it really made me laugh

[@abbyz13]

I found this channel like a month ago and I subscribed so fast. I can’t believe they don’t already have more followers

[@cas6359]

she’s always given me weird vibes whenever i cross over her videos. like i guess it’s just the aggressive nature that she’s going for but it still was weird. when you stand up on stage all day screaming at people for a living, you’re going to eventually think you can scream anything.

[@edenburnett8720]

Same. When I watch her podcast it seems like she’s trying to bottle up some anger and she could just explode at any moment

[@frenchiestfry9045]

@@alexr2172that’s a running bit haha, I think the listeners are addressed as bottom nation or something like that

[@gggthsb]

yeah, sometimes I come across a yt short of her and my reactions are always either, yeah 'ok that's a little funny' or 'ok that's just...weird' also she is so loud! The constant screaming on stage and at her audience just looks like she is trying to compensate her not that great humour with a harsh delivery.

[@cas6359]

@@gggthsb unfortunately. people think loud = funny.

[@veronica5lmaa]

Yeah, she's too aggressive in her videos and that's not my cup of tea

[@shannond1511]

Her “roasts” are not even clever, she literally just says mean things to you

[@SusieNation]

That’s the tricky thing about roasting; it’s has to be funny first and rude second.

[@tomatoo2486]

Interesting point about the crowd; I think handling a crowd is a lot like handling children, when a comedian gives attention to the loudest/ most disruptive person in the room, it teaches other fans that they can get attention by being annoying. (not saying that the people affected were doing anything on purpose, but it just creates this atmosphere I guess)

[@shannond1511]

If you’re not saying the person did that, idk what you mean

[@maddieb.4282]

@@shannond1511they’re making a general commentary on the nature of crowd work in comedy and how it’s become more prevalent in the last few years with viral content

[@maddieb.4282]

@@shannond1511but if that scope is a little too ambitious for you to handle that’s okay too

[@danimorgan2116]

@@shannond1511 I cant speak for them but I interpreted it as, for example, in ashley's circumstance, the popular clips are her roasting people who heckle her, so audience members are basically encouraged to make some noise or shout things out, or else she'd have no content either way (Harry kind of mentioned that), so they probably feel like they're contributing and helping her (completely understandable and inevitable). If it wasn't the person who posted the original exposé she would've screamed at (and probably retraumatized) someone else who was cheering or shouting out (as proven by others' stories)

[@kisban16]

@@danimorgan2116which is funny because she always complains that people who come to her shows have clearly never been to a comedy show before because they are scared to laugh out loud and think heckling the performer is ok.

[@rosa-acicularis7368]

Ashley's "comedy" is very mean-spirited and not very funny. I'm really sorry for the people who got that kind of treatment, it's humiliating. She shouldn't have gone as hard as she did

[@JH-kw8zy]

The first few clips of hers i was impressed by her crowd work just because she was so fast with it. But quickly I realized that she's just mean spirited. She's quick with it because she does it SO MUCH. A bully if ever I've seen one.

[@CaulkMongler]

It’s easy to think someone is good at something when they only post their good bits.

[@JH-kw8zy]

@@CaulkMongler very true!

[@mothmos]

she comes off as being abrasive with insecurity and anger issues, projecting it out onto people, masked as 'CoMeDy'

[@Oliviaandtrina]

It's so bizarre that in the apology she mentions that she's a suicide loss survivor. Personally it seems like just an excuse/justification. I am also a suicide loss survivor and I cannot imagine telling even 1 person to unalive themselves much less repeatedly telling multiple different people to do it. That wasn't a joke. That was real anger and vitriol.

[@Lucifersfursona]

“Well I’m actually a good lady because I lost someone to suicide” how would he feel if he saw you using his death to tell other people to kill themselves out of petty anger at your ~130 member audience comedy shows Ashley? Does your family know you’re using your brother’s tragic suicide to argue that you should be able to scream at suicidal people to try harder like ur a living breathing 8chan board? By saying that she not only disrespected SI and recovering suicidal people, but also the brother that ended his own life. I don’t think he fucking died so his living sister could try to exonerate her actions with his suffering.

[@RyRoc]

Just like racist folks who "can't be racist because my best friend's mom is half Japanese"

[@addie1080]

I'm a big fan of the chosen family podcast, she has a way different vibe outside of her standup. I really appreciate you talking about how audience interaction/'roasting' has become such a part of her brand this was always going to happen. I've been to a different standup show and left crying due to being singled out, but i wasnt told to kms. I feel so bad for the fan

[@arsena5209]

that's why people always say that if you don't want to be included in the stand up it's best to avoid sitting in the front rows, but regardless of where you were sitting I'm sorry that happened to you, I can imagine how horrible it must have felt, it's also absolutely horrifying to hear the way Ashley screamed at that poor lady like that too and the kys "joke", the first time I watched a video about it I couldn't even get through it and had to skip the parts with the clip of her screaming

[@addie1080]

@@arsena5209 the screaming is beyond awful, I feel bad for her! my situation was very different, I went to a very small stand up show and was right at the back. He was asking people questions and I was anxious/ avoiding eye contact. He asked me questions while I shook my head and felt a panic attack coming on but he wouldn't let up until I started crying. I was so embarrassed, my response was over the top because I hadn't been diagnosed with ptsd then and would panic quickly, I don't blame him! I'm much healthier now

[@raven_moonshine39]

I also mostly know her from both the chosen family podcast and her own and yeah she comes off as being so different off stage. I honestly hope that this is all just her getting too in her head over the algorithm and letting the bit get out of hand and she'll start to shift her comedy going forward. Because I really like Dad!Ashley and wish more people saw that side of her.

[@mc.2737]

​@@raven_moonshine39 they talked about it recently on chosen family and she's totally doubling down

[@juuuu0]

'Lin Manuel Miranda Sings' is comedy gold

[@marias9974]

love the cyberchase reference at the end there lol also you're right to say this isn't really a question of "what's okay to joke about?" because... that wasn't even a joke. she was just berating someone

[@CloveMoon]

I’ve never followed Ashley Gavin on any social media, so I was only exposed to her via youtube collabs or her guest spots on podcasts I listen to. I wasn’t a fan necessarily, but I didn’t mind her. Maybe a month or two ago, she was a guest on a sex and relationship podcast where she had a BIG reaction to the female host saying that she’d slept with women before. The host clarified that she doesn’t like to label herself, but Gavin kept telling this woman that she MUST identify as queer. Later in the episode, the host I think made reference to her own varying feelings on her gender presentation, causing Gavin to tell the host that she was “even gayer” than Gavin. I will not make assumptions about how the host felt about the interactions, but I know that I was majorly uncomfortable. I’m a lesbian, and I understand the feeling of consuming fictional media and thinking that it’s so obvious that a character is queer, if only they’d just admit it, but that is not an appropriate thing to say to a real-life person. Especially one that you don’t have a close relationship with. It really sucks to learn that she’s continuing to stoop.

[@Tea_Noire]

Idk why she assumed the host was queer, like maybe she slept with a few women when she was bicurious, but decided it wasn't for her after trying it?

[@Lucifersfursona]

The way she as a lesbian treats other lesbians, queer women, hell, women in general, is very strange and cruel to me as a queer person. She has a sort of het man approach to her queerness at least in her shows I find very uncomfortable. If she has internalized whatever she can deal with it without harassing other queer women 🙄

[@adi_Iastname]

@@Lucifersfursonavery this

[@Frankendiaz]

​@@LucifersfursonaYou know, this is the first time I've heard of Ashley Gavin and ive sort of fallen into a yt hole about this story and the whole time I thought the same thing. She has a het male attitude towards women. I just don't think she likes women (as people

[@megancurtis9502]

What’s the pod?

[@lizardlace9510]

I am a major stand up fan and have been to a lot of local comedy shows in my city. This means I have seen many comedians deal with hecklers (without the filtering of their choice to post clips online) I don’t think I’ve ever seen a comedian respond to a heckler by insisting they kill themself. I have seen some people handle it poorly but generally their tactic hasn’t been to just shout harassment like that at the heckler. I am biased because I have my own comedic taste and preferences, however, I think that type of crowd work is generally shitty.

[@cbryerma]

okay wait. i actually saw her in person in this small bar in ny and i. did not find it funny. but i ran into her while she was talking to this group of girls outside and my friend went over to say hi. she singled me out cause i had a pillow with me that i had bought and i responded and everyone laughed. and she kept trying to joke about the pillow but no one would laugh and it was so fucking funny

[@nikkibleh8045]

Yeah she said she was "mean up here and nice out there" but I didn't get much niceness lol maybe I'm not hot enough 😂

[@Lucifersfursona]

That’s amazing. Like when one person keeps trying to make bigoted jokes and the whole rest of the room just. Doesn’t. They just 100% do not at all and it’s beautiful

[@Lucifersfursona]

@@nikkibleh8045 if you were her type all you would have gotten is her screaming “no!!!!! I’m not going to sleep with you!!!!” like she’s arielle goddamn scarcella

[@faith-on-the-internet]

wooww the actual audio from the show is horrible. i think the biggest distinction is that she wasn't really.. joking? sure, she can say that the exaggerated response of telling someone to k* themselves in this case was a joke, but the reaction and the severity of the interaction actually happened. she actually screamed and raised her voice at someone who paid to be there, insulted them severely, and then told them to k* themselves. like.. where is the joke? personally, i don't find the premise of telling someone to k* themselves funny, but the joke would've come off y'know, more jokey, if the premise wasn't that she was pretending to absolutely loathe the woman in the audience. especially since it was at the expense of an actual victim.

[@ct5625]

The thing I find interesting is that she doesn't seem to understand that her low viewership on her special isn't because her fans aren't loyal enough, it's because her shorts are viewed by people who can only take that kind of comedy in snippets that she's carefully edited. Maybe, just maybe, her comedy isn't that good and her fans know it? Maybe a short is all they want because they know they're going to have to sit through an hour of repeated jokes and predictable audience abuse? I've seen a couple of her shorts entirely by accident, and from those I quickly worked out her "shtick" and knew it wasn't for me (this was before the whole audience abuse thing). Yes, I'm gay, but it's not my entire identity and watching someone spend a whole hour trying to be "edgy" about the fact that they're lesbian isn't anything I'm interested in. Drew Lynch is a good example of doing comedy on social media right. Most of his KZbin shorts get under 50K views, but his recent hour long special got 260K, his previous special got 800K, the one before that got 2.2 million. I fully expect those numbers on the recent ones to climb over time, because he's genuinely funny, he can be a little edgy, but he does it as an actual clever comedian not as a means to shock or insult people. She's her own worst enemy. Her comedy and format doesn't work for a majority of people, but instead of working out that she's the problem she blames her audience for it. That might be because she's an abuser by nature. Nothing is ever the abusers fault, blame is always deflected, "you made me do it" is like a mantra to these people.

[@nikkibleh8045]

My thing is... why would we watch your special if we already paid to see you live and say the exact same things. Not only that but... I did go to a show of hers and realized wow... I don't find her very funny. So definitely didn't want to rewatch it lol. Especially because she can't read a room. Maybe the audience doesn't suck, maybe the jokes aren't landing.

[@Saebub]

Love drew lynch!

[@Lucifersfursona]

Comments that go hard.

[@barilllapasta]

Saw her in Philly last year and she spent the first entire half of her set yelling at the audience for not... laughing the right way? And told about 1 actual joke which was in fact the 9/11 joke. It was possibly the worst show I've ever been to.

[@patiencekillz]

i’m very conflicted about the ashley situation bc i adore(d) her podcast we’re having gay sex and i think that’s genuinely when she’s at her funniest, but hearing the audio from the indy show is actually terrifying and i can’t imagine being in that audience and especially being the person being yelled at

[@L1ncore]

I feel like shes much funnier on the podcasts she’s on, probably because she actually knows the people shes making jokes around there.

[@patiencekillz]

@@L1ncore that’s a good point

[@shannond1511]

So what are you conflicted about? Liking her podcast doesn’t mean she didn’t do what she’s being accused of

[@ripley2995]

I’m a fan of the podcasts too. I’m giving her the BOTD and hope she can grow from this.

[@melima_]

​@@L1ncore I also prefer her podcast and her stand up special compared to her crowdwork

[@meganmahaffey5421]

My brother killed himself when i was in middle school. It took years and years to work through the trama and to get through the bullying I went through. Now 31, I use comedy to help get me through hard times. It’s my way of healing and getting past the pain. There are very few things that are off limited when it comes to jokes; suicide is at the top of my list. Comedians have to be careful about how they serve there jokes because the wrong serve will make it seem intentional. There is a right and wrong way to go about things. There are plenty of other things to joke about that your audience can laugh about with you.

[@lyricbot8513]

"Someone wooing you when you don't want to be wooed, what, is Mr Collins in the crowd?" is an underrated joke

[@kyillme]

It makes me so happy you got your first sponsor!! I love that your hair, shirt, and pigeon portrait are all color coordinated!

[@thekneesbee]

Finally a company realizes Harry James Miller should have a sponsor. Love the new hair, can't wait to hear your take on this.

[@joelman1989]

This take is by far the best I’ve seen on the situation. It really gets to the heart of the issue in a way no one else I’ve seen has.

[@CaulkMongler]

It’s just kinda like… really simple, honestly. The audience member was SO SUPPORTIVE as to go with the flow the first time and say “yeah, I did try to kill myself teehee~” and Ashley is so unskilled I bet it threw her entirely off and the only thing she could think of was to keep beating down on the single point again and again.

[@camiladeoliveira2390]

That little smile after he talked about the first sponsor was so cute 🥺 I'm so glad your chanel is growing

[@mrspreminger]

Omg slay for getting a sponsor

[@haliec]

Congrats on the sponsor Harry!

[@gggthsb]

I think her biggest problem is, that even tough she wants the audience to be loud and chime in and stuff, she is not good at actually talking or interacting with them. They scream something and she respinds with 'you are so annoying, go kill yourself' What exactly is/was the plan here other than sparking controversy? Because none of that is comedy in any way.

[@brightshining]

Yeah, she gets thrown off ... and I think that momentary lack of control or needing to get back on track bothers her quite a bit actually, or brings her a lot of anxiety, as seen here -- a loss of her position of authority or control over the crowd, so to speak, that I think she doesn't feel she is able to regain quickly enough to get her flow back She takes getting thrown off or not having her crown under her control perfectly quite seriously, I think

[@Gingersnaps1978]

She wants to be the “bad boy of comedy” so bad. Desperate

[@arsena5209]

and she's like 34 or something too, yikes

[@Gingersnaps1978]

@@arsena5209 as a 44 year old, I can confirm that this is very 34 year old behavior

[@arsena5209]

​@@Gingersnaps1978 you know/have known some real shitty 34 year old people then

[@dannmevoyalv2407]

That's a good description of her, yeah. I remember I once watched one of her YT shorts and she went all in on a dyke for being a "hey mamas" lesbian and being flirty and all that, essentially for going for that Bad boy aesthetic, when... Isn't she the same? Lmao she needs to do some self-reflection

[@CaulkMongler]

Right? You’re only allowed to get away with stuff as much as you can make it funny and she doesn’t even try… it’s just yelling

[@hoomhoom9835]

she’s extrenely unfunny, bullies people under the guise of it being “her shtick”, but no one legitimately finds it funny. She’s so odd.

[@SophieHeflebower]

i mean, i agree that she’s unfunny, but saying no one finds it funny is just wrong. you don’t have to think it’s funny, but people laugh at her shows and her tiktoks go viral. they think it’s funny.

[@hoomhoom9835]

@@SophieHeflebower oh my god!! Thank you captain obvious!! Do you want a cookie?

[@SophieHeflebower]

@@hoomhoom9835 my bad dude. you just made a very sure statement that confused me. hope you’re well.

[@Tanrna]

​@@hoomhoom9835For someone who doesn't like bullies you're kind of an asshole.

[@rcmpoffdayintah4738]

​​@@SophieHeflebowerotta say... for a video about bullying alot of the comments on here are really mean lol. Have a good rest of your day

[@orthenight]

Thank you for actually doing research into Ashley and not just what people are saying on Tiktok. I really appreciate this well researched nuanced video.

[@marinamaltez5464]

Omg you have a sponsor I'm so proud!!!

[@shannond1511]

She says “I include crowd interaction” this whole thing is literally about you randomly deciding it wasn’t ok for a crowd member to interact with you, that’s exactly what you flipped out over…so how do ppl know when crowd interaction os ok or not if you randomly flip from one to the other on a whim?

[@micheller3251]

Y'all, when someone shows you their true color, it doesn't matter if they add "you know where my heart's at". Trust their behaviour, not their post-getting-criticized bs.

[@gracevidal-hall6230]

I've never watched one of your videos before but I was so proud of you that I didn't skip a single second of your first ever sponsorship segment.

[@thedestroyasystem]

I genuinely love your commentary on the unsustainability of her model of comedy. It doesn’t make Ashley any less in the wrong, but I do think it provides valuable perspective and context that I haven’t heard any other youtubers covering this situation touch on.

[@HamiGirl1]

16:16 i literally keep forgetting pete davidson is a real person... i was like damn i dont remember that choices episode lol

[@crownhearthands]

Not the "you know my heart"😆

[@katt1206]

she has such a weird obsession with convincing people they're gay too, that's what turned me off. at first I thought it was a fun jab at stereotypes but then I realised she really thought these people couldn't be straight

[@juliachristian9515]

Mr Collins joke was elite!

[@harryjamesmiller]

pride and prejudice gang rise up

[@moonieland]

I did kind of like Ashley, but my issue with her started when she posted a video about her basically infantilizing an autistic person. As an autistic person, I feel really grossed out by people treating me and others like we're children when we're not. This just pushes that Ashley may have some serious issues with anger.

[@clashcitywannabe]

when she popped up on my tik tok doing an apology video I really thought she was doing a Colleen Ballinger parody at first lol

[@kairos-049]

It’s a pretty alright, textbook PR apology… until you realize how much it doesn’t match the magnitude of what she said and how many people she did this to.

[@benrickinmarks3639]

I feel like it's easy to joke around with your audience without resorting to what she said

[@caro31099]

“Typically very funny” but overreacted that time. Gotta slip herself a compliment during an apology

[@luvuberrymuch49]

Yeaaaaa lmao honestly I think she's just trying to save her career as much as possible. She's gotten pretty vulnerable on her podcasts about how long she's been working to find success in comedy, she's pretty desperate to make it her career. It's really too bad she had to get herself cancelled in the most mean and avoidable way possible 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@arabwaluigi5248]

She said “fun”

[@ripley2995]

Fun not funny. I took it to mean fun for both audience and performer, and that the Indy show was an example where it wasn’t fun for the audience.

[@arsena5209]

she said fun as in enjoyable, the opposite of what that one (apparently more than that even) show was

[@sickleds]

@@luvuberrymuch49 You should see how often on her twitter she finds her old tweets and replies "This deserved more." It's embarrassing lmfao

[@pllanettary]

babe wake up new harry james miller video just dropped

[@sadlystuckinreality]

The crowd cheering along is so strange to me. Like that reaction was so beyond normal to have to someone cheering at your show.

[@user-ld6th3vw8e]

okay "lin manuel miranda sings" got me good

[@reiluvi]

omg congrats on your first sponsor!! btw when she appeared on my fyp she was always so irritating and dense, always making me uncomfortable

[@finnianyu2895]

can’t believe we coulda gotten 10 minutes of colleen parody…… f in chat for the lost harry media

[@EF-kk3vh]

hoping for the eventual release of 10 minute colleen parody (From The Vault)

[@Ethan-qs7fo]

Here to add some prayers 🙏🙏

[@cursecuelebre5485]

I know a lot of comedians who do get angry at people who interrupting and distracting their show which I understand. But to continuously saying something very horrible over and over again very angrily is not a joke anymore and not appropriate. I seen comedians joking harshly or even snap at hecklers but still save the show by addressing but moving on clearly Ashley doesn’t understand that.

[@JulEnglefaris]

You can be raunchy and crude without personally attacking specific audience members and telling them to die

[@benismcgee8216]

another banger video from the biggest youtuber and famous viner harry james miller

[@harryjamesmiller]

vine compilation soon

[@hthumbs4072]

This is the first time I've stumbled across your channel and (I'm sure you get this a million times a day) you give me big Drew Gooden vibes, but with more of what seems to be a Nick is Not Green-esque choice of topics. I love Drew and Nick (and pretty much all the large commentary creators lol), so I am pumped to find your channel!

[@Number_6ix]

Congrats on the sponsor! Shark hats for everyone!

[@annamittal8319]

This was the first vid of yours I’ve seen: super informative while holding my attention and your news segment and other cutaways were charming! New subscriber alert

[@Unhappytimeaper]

I am glad that Ashley’s questionable commentary/jokes are finally being spoken about. I personally saw some of her stuff and while I didn’t think too much of it at first most of the jokes ended up coming off very,, distasteful. Between various ableist jokes piling up in clips to what I often felt was dismissive or semi-harmful jokes regarding things like bisexuality or somewhat overstepping comments about the crowd members sexuality that go to far (either in poor taste to straight attendees or even just strange framing of jokes regarding other lesbians) to me it felt worrying to see how she interacted with the crowd for what her shows seemed to be. It truly does suck that she acts this way, no one deserves to be treated like that or spoken regardless of what your comedy is. It’s hurtful, damaging, not funny, and just mean-person who never grew up style. I personally don’t have a problem with insult comedians, I think they can be really funny and do a good job to take potential humor is very quick moments. But what she does is not insult comedy. It’s bullying, it’s distasteful and proves that just because you can be funny with friends (such as the podcast) you might not inherently be funny. Whatever it is I hope the audience members who have experienced this can find some peace for what is just a horrible memory and Ashley can either learn to be better or get off the platform. Edit; I saw another comment mention this and wanted to add I also do really think it sucks that while I think most of her shows are women/fem-leaning audience members I have seen plenty of clips of men also being, well mocked. Even more if it was their girlfriend or partner (fem-leaning) taking them to the show in which the butt of the joke would still be the partner and how ‘no way she’s straight’. What the point is though is that regardless it seems Ashley does target women, both ones who might appear vulnerable or those who cheer too loudly (even post request to do so). It does make all of this I think suck even more knowing that women and fem-leaning/presenting people are a much more risk or target for her jokes when that’s the community you claim to care about? It just honestly sucks to see it.

[@SimpleTruth1309]

We had friends coming to Virginia for a visit, and were considering taking them to the Funny Bone in Richmond to see Gavin’s show. We’ve cancelled that idea and will NEVER give her the satisfaction of attending one of her disgusting shows. She claims that she has mental issues, and that seems to be apparent.

[@resident-evil-jerma5389]

the audience member didn’t do anything wrong. oh no! being a little annoying! saying something at a show where the comic is known for crowd work! and instructed you to say something! like… saying that to an audience member is never okay but it’s not like the audience member said something sexist or homophobic or something like that. no harm was done by the audience member, she was asked to be loud. genuinely wild behaviour

[@steviescribbles]

Things like the MR. COLLINS reference is why you’re my favorite

[@chelseayell9885]

It made me snort 😅

[@michaelausloos3853]

Thank you. Just heard of the controversy, and clicked on this link for commentary. Enjoyed the information and your opinions on this.

[@octosalias5785]

I think a lot of comedians wouldnt even blink seeing this at a show because they are openly savage and will berate anyone suspected of being a heckler. Of course, as with the guy who played Kramer on Seinfeld, just because other comedians dont care if you fight the audience you cant just say nasty mean ugly things because youre mad at someone in the audience.

[@itisyerdad]

I don't think you understand how comics view hecklers and crowd work.

[@octosalias5785]

@@itisyerdad Elaborate? Ive seen enough to know when a comic is having fun and when they are legitimately angry at being interrupted. I was at East Village CC and saw Nick Dipaulo tear up a couple for being too drunk, and he was clearly annoyed and mean but he also had fun with it. Then theres yelling like this lady was.

[@gFamWeb]

Honestly the best video I've seen on the topic. Hits most of the points, lays out the timeline. Good job!

[@GSFL1]

Omg so excited for your first sponsor!! Great video as always

[@Ronniethegoblin]

Congratulations on getting your first sponsor!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@ThatLaurenThing]

The colleen situation has been beaten to death over the last week but I’m not gonna lie the discourse dodge Durango bit got me

[@SilverTongueScriptures]

Idk she said in her pod that she was sad people werent looking into her work more but then she would turn around and hound incoming people/fans in the comments if they asked (even if they werent directed her but to other commenters) where to find her tickets/more content and she would legit act like they were dumb or lazy for not already knowing and would make rude not so passive aggressive replys, leading a bunch of more people to dog pile on to whoever asked in the first place (this was especially prevalent when she first started the text alerts for her tour dates)

[@christinalo7883]

I just want to say I’m really happy that you got your first sponsor for this video! I stumbled across your Diana the Musical video earlier this year, and since then I keep coming back to your channel to watch more of your content. It’s great to see you keep growing and giving us more great videos, and I hope you keep it up!

[@mariayoung7799]

first ever sponsor!!! So awesome!!! Been here for a bit and I’m happy you are getting the recognition your art deserves

[@propogandalf]

Just want you to know how much I appreciated that Mr. Collins/Pride and Prejudice joke. So good!!

[@lytome]

our boy got his first sponsorship 🥺 congrats harry, keep going! i love your content

[@4LLT0G3TH3R]

In her apology she says she "let her emotions get the best of her", wondering what those emotions were? Seems like a lot of performers get into their work because of ego issues. They get off on the perceived power of having all attention on them and the moment that is diverted to someone else, they can't deal and mentally implode. Lashing out at someone professing their love for you is weak ish, and making a room full of people watch your tantrum is middle school bully behavior.

[@disneygirl8694]

So I’m a fan of her podcast but not her stage presence. Like during the podcast she mentions it’s “a bit” she does on stage that it’s overly aggressive. Yet she’s very defensive / sensitive about KZbin comments, so I def think she needs to tone it it down but idk if she’s open to that criticism 😢

[@lesdyxiatoo]

Same! Really like the podcast but the “bit” that requires her to be rude to the audience at her shows could benefit from a few…adjustments? She could still have a persona, but it shouldn’t be so inconsiderate. Or she could even redirect that energy towards people in her stories so the audience is involved in the shit talking, doesn’t feel targeted/harassed, and can actually enjoy her mean act.

[@luvuberrymuch49]

I feel the same way, I like Ashley on her pods but when she's on stage i don't know why she feels the need to be mean. Her regular level of unfazed and sarcastic/witty is so much funnier than literally antagonizing fans and that super lame 9/11 joke throughout her special. I don't find it offensive it just genuinely wasn't funny, the only thing worse than a joke about a mass tragedy, is an unfunny joke about a mass tragedy 😅

[@voldkae]

This is the first video of yours I've come across - I'm glad I did! Congrats on the sponsorship

[@cbryerma]

also!! glad to see your channel grow!! your videos are always a delight even if theyre about stuff like this

[@AmBruhRose]

What makes me really sad is all the people in her comments defending it and saying people are overreacting. I just don’t see how you can be such an unempathetic person to not see an issue with repeatedly telling multiple people to k*ll themselves.

[@AmBruhRose]

Also, as a little aside, the bit where if her crowd work backfires she’ll always wrap the cord around her neck always rubbed me the wrong way but then my brother actually k*lled himself by hanging himself with an extension cord and now it’s just incredibly triggering. That was the initial reason I stopped watching any of her stuff and now all this.

[@hollileslie8105]

I’ll admit that when I was there I was laughing in the audience along with other people. I wasn’t sitting directly near Olivia so I didn’t hear the whole exchange. I feel like it’s also kind of different when you’ve been watching someone behave a way for an hour and that’s the established norm. When I heard the audio it was so much worst than what I remember and I realized I didn’t hear everything she said. And it’s also worst hearing it sober minded and outside of the environment lol

[@mc.2737]

She gave a reaction about the whole thing on a podcast that is on KZbin if you look it up, where she basically retracts her whole apology, saying that the audio that leaked was heavily edited and that the woman was heckling her (explains that clapping too hard with hands up the air and whooing too hard is actually heckling in her opinion) and that she was actually very obviously joking and that the woman was obviously a recent fan (because she checked on insta that she wasn't following her friends and her podcasts or whatever, which is totally not unhinged behavior lol) so she didn't get her comedy. I had to quit listening when she began complaining that people were being too hard on her because she's queer and a woman, because she can't see the irony of her saying that after she publicly humiliated a woman for being 'too loud'. I'm late to this story but damn I used to like her and I'm appalled

[@misti-step]

love the bird wall art you have a+

[@NotHorror]

WOOOO congrats on the first sponsor!! I personally don't mind in-video ads, because I know they support the creator and they are so normalised now, that people stopped caring anymore

[@thesillygooseshow]

Like I know it's a strategy, but every time you're super nice at the end asking so kindly to like the video, I can't help but do it. Love your videos xx

[@rushmoom42069]

had no clue that this was going on! my fyp is just oceangate & colleen/trisha/adam. thanks for updating! i found ashley on tiktok and immediately followed. i thought she was hilarious and we stan lgbtq representation. she BEGGED people to watch her special (she replied to SO many comments asking them to watch her special). so i finally did and i didn’t really like it. 70% was of her explaining how she doesn’t want to be know as just the “gay comedian” and then makes a bunch of gay jokes. i found the self righteous distancing to be extremely annoying and i’m like “just tell me more funny stories!” it then inspired me to watch matt riffe’s special bc i’ve been liking his tiktok stand up content. i turned it off 10ish minutes in bc i found him so annoying & rude. side note, i 100% ADORE bill bur’s netflix show but i cannot stand him as a human and hate his stand up stuff. so either full stand up specials suck or i’m way too picky… idk. maybe it’s too much personality and intimateness that i’m not a fan of.

[@lesdyxiatoo]

If you’d like some fun stand-up recommendations that are funny-story-telling driven, I’d recommend Fortune Feimster and Urzila Carlson. Pretty fun sets imo. Sorry to hear you’ve gotten hold of the more crass and abrasive stand-up sets, luckily they’re not all like that 😊 also, both the comedians I recommended are lgbtq!

[@xoyouaremysunshinexo]

I don’t think you’re picky! You’ve just come across social media comedians lol. There are comedians who use social media, and then there are “social media comedians”. Social media comedians build a platform solely to develop an audience to feed their comedy to. It’s very much like how influencers get tons of followers and then end up releasing songs and books and whatever else. They get the followers from something else and then push their comedy later. It’s not so much about the talent, but about their following. That’s why it’s hella confusing when you watch their specials or see them live and it’s not funny at all lol. Whereas comedians who use social media already are doing well on the ground and then use their platform to reach a wider audience. I hope this makes sense lol. I like WHGS, but I’ve never been able to get into Ashley’s comedy.

[@lesdyxiatoo]

@@xoyouaremysunshinexo ohmigod you hit the nail on the head w that explanation. Absolutely agree. I also feel like that’s why some traditional comedians experience a dive in their career, it’s no coincidence that that happens right around the time when they start trying to mimic the social media comedians and every set feels like a Disney Channel show’s poor set up towards a fart joke they’re gonna clip on their socials for weeks on end lol.

[@phosphenevision]

how is it an overreaction if she did that multiple times in other shows? sounds like a behaviour at that point

[@maddieb.4282]

Loving the pink hair!!! And love love love your eclectic content but it’s super fun when you cover “tea” situations

[@nikkibleh8045]

She complains a lot on her podcast about things too. Like how shes funnier than other people and deserves more than shes getting. Matt Rife for one. Anytime Mak brings up how much she loves him. Or how she doesnt want to be known as the lesbian. She also says "im mean up here and nice out there. Im like the reverse ellen." And honestly.. idk lol. I was so excited to go to her show but it just wasnt funny to ME and felt the need to fake laugh (basicslly felt the need to perform for her) because about 50% of the show is her yelling at the audience to be better. It felt like a waste of time.

[@pincksugar]

Wow... I did not expect to see this today. I am sorry for all those who were told such harsh words. You are amazing.

[@lollypopfiend]

Wow. "I know how painful being told to kys is, so I make sure to say it to as many people as possible!"

[@cursed_moss]

most underrated youtuber ever. ily harry, keep it up!

[@ggsmith45]

The segway into the sponsor was golden great job

[@namchurritos]

hello finneas or phineas!!! also another banger from harry

[@harryjamesmiller]

phineas is going to take over the channel in a few months

[@hhoges9895]

She “sometimes” includes crowd work…from what I’ve seen she includes it all the time and also berates the audience if they don’t interact enough…

[@mynameisreallycool1]

I'm tired of this trend of comedians victimizing themselves and pretending that they "can't say anything anymore" because they'll "instantly get cancelled", and they rant and lecture towards their audience about how they are apparently so "overly sensitive" just because they're not popular or their jokes didn't get laughed at. One thing I like about Pete Davidson is that he actually tells the edgy jokes, instead of claiming to be edgy while just complaining about nonexistent people complaining about their "edgy" jokes that weren't even that edgy and then being like, "Ohh I'm so gonna get cancelled for this! I'm so crazy for saying this, aren't I?"