More and more, the counterculture is breaking into the mainstream. Two weeks ago (and again yesterday), Gary from Nerdrotic and the Critical Drinker appeared on Piers Morgan’s YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, to discuss the Oscars and Hollywood in general. Two days ago, Gary got another big mention, this time on The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan’s guest was comedian Kurt Metzger, who mentioned his friend Gary and the Drinker’s appearance while discussing the inanity of Barbie being nominated for Best Picture. You can see the clip about Gary below:
Holy shit!
Gracias @kurtmetzger! pic.twitter.com/Kd0gQQZRIC— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) March 27, 2024
Someone from the 199 getting mentioned on The Joe Rogan Experience is another indication that online commentators like Nerdrotic, the Critical Drinker, and Geeks + Gamers have become more than just a niche reaction to entertainment media’s decline. Joe Rogan didn’t seem to know who Gary was, and I’m sure much of his audience didn’t either, but it’s likely at least some of his viewers – and he gets around 11 million per episode – looked up that Piers Morgan episode and saw a couple of guys who maybe see Hollywood the same way they do. That’s been one of the driving forces behind these brands for years: making normal people feel like they’re not alone. And the more people who discover them, the more the mainstream has to take notice. Piers Morgan seeking out Gary and the Drinker is indicative of that; he wouldn’t have even known who they were a year or two ago, but now, as Kurt Metzger said, he wants popular YouTube personalities to bolster his show. If you’ve been following these channels for a long time, it’s inconceivable. And yet, it’s not the first time it’s happened; remember when Alaqua Cox accidentally referred to the MCU as the “M-She-U”? Pepperidge Farm remembers:
There were other instances as well. Eric July appeared on Fox News to promote the Rippaverse, his million-dollar comic book company. Jeremy and Ryan of Geeks + Gamers were in a video on The Daily Wire discussing wokeness in video games. If these outlets are talking about the community, you can be sure plenty of other people are paying attention, even if they don’t let on. Beyond the raw numbers of a given video or channel, it’s becoming clear that they represent the perspective of a significant portion of the entertainment audience, and with the series of failures in movies and video games in the past couple of years, the mainstream can’t afford to ignore them anymore.
How cool would it be if Gary and the Drinker let their hair down with Joe Rogan for a couple of hours?
If Gary got invited to go on The Joe Rogan Experience, that would be awesome!
Gary goes hard. Some of the things FNT and crew say even make me wince. Like, it stings. It’s stuff even I would not say. It’s like a non-stop roast with those guys. Ruthless savages.
I thought I was edgy, but not even close.
You could tell how much he wanted it. He wanted that Million followers much more than others. He pushed hard. Even after, went on a bunch of other shows. Pretty impressive.
Gary really channeled the power of ECHO’s ancestors in order for that extra push to a million.