First John Mulaney, then Adam Levine… and now NED FULMER!? It’s the end of an era for The Try Guys. The four-man troupe decided to part ways with Fulmer upon discovery and confirmation of cheating allegations between Fulmer and employee, Alexandria Herrig, after a photo had been leaked on Reddit during memorial day weekend of Fulmer getting intimate with another woman. “Try Guys” quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter, and rumors began to spiral.
The real kicker is that Fulmer had branded himself as a “wife guy” for nearly the entirety of the troupe’s existence. The Try Guys’ Eugene Yang, Keith Habersberger and Zack Kornfield released a video statement earlier this week that addressed the matter while providing transparency in the decision-making process and the timeline of events that transpired.
“From the jump, we were acutely aware of just how contrary this was to the values of the company we built and those of everyone who works here,” Yang said. “This is something we took very seriously, we refused to sweep anything under the rug. That is not who we are and not what we stand for.”
The video is taking the internet by storm as there have been huge names in the news within the last few months accompanied by cheating allegations that were not addressed to the same extent, let alone by individuals who have no direct responsibility in the matter. The Try Guys decided to remove Fulmer from the troupe and future videos on Sept. 16 after undergoing a three-week HR review process. Fulmer will also be omitted from upcoming merchandise releases.
“We chose not to rush into the announcement for a few reasons,” Habersberger said in the new video. “Namely, there are real people who have been affected, and while we consider this a company matter, there’s just also a family at the center of this.”
In a new episode of Trypods, a podcast created by The Try Guys, producer Miles Bonsignore asks Habersberger and Kornfeld if they would have kept Fulmer as a cast member had the affair not been so public. The two immediately responded, “no.”
“Very simply, he would have been removed,” Habersberger said. “It would not have been this public spectacle, we would have tried to avoid that for the sake of the other people involved but it happened how it happened.”
The Try Guys started out as a segment on BuzzFeed’s YouTube channel in 2014 when they made a video trying on women’s underwear for the first time. They left BuzzFeed and created their own YouTube channel in 2018. Since then, their independent channel has grew to 7.8 million subscribers.
“We’re losing a friend, we’re losing someone we built a company with, have countless memories with,” Kornfeld said. “It’s weird. We’re sorry this ever happened.”
Since the release of their video addressing the situation, The Try Guys have compared this decision to a breakup. The reality is that Fulmer’s actions, being so public, has given viewers a glimpse of all parties affected in a cheating scandal besides that of the cheater. Families, friends and colleagues are all at risk of harassment and rumors.
“Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship,” Fulmer said on Twitter. “I’m sorry for any pain my actions 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.”
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