Eugene Lee Yang

Eugene Lee Yang (born January 18, 1986) is a South Korean-American filmmaker, actor, producer, author, director, activist and internet celebrity, best known for his work with BuzzFeed (2013–2018) and being one-fourth of the YouTube group sensation The Try Guys (2014–present).[1][2] Eugene Lee Yang is also known for his work with various human rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy charities such as The Trevor Project.

Eugene Lee Yang
Born (1986-01-18) January 18, 1986
Pflugerville, Texas, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
OccupationActor, producer, director, writer, director, author
Organization2nd Try, LLC
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationYang Yu-jin

Early life and education

Yang, the only son of South Korean immigrants Min-yeong Lee (이민영) and Jae-hong Yang (양재홍), was born and raised in Pflugerville, Texas. He is the middle child with two sisters, Christy Yang and Whitney Yang. Growing up in Pflugerville, Yang’s family was one of the few Asian Americans in their community. He struggled with body image issues and low self-esteem as, in his own words, no one looked like him, and suffered bullying due to his appearance.[3][4]

Early on, he lost his Texan accent by the prodding of his sister, who told him he might face difficulties getting into Ivy League schools.[5][6] Initially, he was skeptical going into films,[7] explaining that his doubts on getting mainstream acceptance stemmed from the lack of representation of Asian American in films and for being queer.[1]

"I was a very insecure, self-conscious kid, and as an artist even more so. I always assumed that my otherness was a curse — that I would be held back by my Asian and queer identities. My time online has shown me that the viewers will respond most to authentic storytelling."[1]

At school, he engaged in artistic activities including visual arts, illustration, theater, choir, and dance.[8] However, a seventh-grade teacher recommended that he should consider studying filmmaking. He later went to the University of Southern California[1] and, during his studies, wrote and directed six short films discussing wide-ranging social and political topics, including mental health care, gay marriage, and school shootings.[9] He graduated with a B.A. in cinema production in 2008.[8] On June 15, 2019, Yang came out as gay in a video titled "I'm Gay" which he wrote, directed, and choreographed with the song "A Moment Apart" by Odesza. [10]

Career

Early career

After college, Yang did freelance work producing music videos, and writing and filming commercials for five years.[6]

BuzzFeed

In 2013, he started working for the video branch of the internet media company, BuzzFeed,[1] at the recommendation of a colleague who saw his potential in creating short format videos.[8] He was given free control on experimental video productions and exploring new modes of storytelling.[1]

A few of his works were centered on stereotypes, body issues, and Asian American identity,[1] producing If Disney Princes Were Real,[11] which had earned over 70 million views, and Women’s Ideal Body Types Throughout History, which was viewed over 40 million times and remained one of the Buzzfeed's most watched, on YouTube. According to Glamour, "Yang's videos work because they're funny-with-a-message riffs on all-American cultural touchstones—like high school vs. college, awkward private moments, and, pet ownership. But he's also not afraid to tackle issues surrounding race—especially when it comes to the Asian American community."[12]


The Try Guys
Main article: The Try Guys

Reaction to some of his early works was positive particularly on their distinct candor and reliability, which led to more provocative sketches such as The Try Guys,[1] which was established in Buzzfeed in 2014,[3] together with co-stars Ned Fulmer, Keith Habersberger, and Zach Kornfeld. The show is a mix of social commentary and humor depicting scenarios such as men going through labor pains and prostate cancer check at a doctor's office.[1] The cast initially were hesitant about stepping out from behind the camera as they had limited experience being talents, but they continued producing videos for the show after receiving positive feedback.[13]

Yang became a recognized name on social media, taking on challenges,[5] such as the first season's first episode, "Guys Try Ladies' Underwear For the First Time".[3] The New York Times considered him as the breakout star of The Try Guys.[1]

On June 16, 2018, he and the rest of the cast of The Try Guys announced that they had left BuzzFeed and established 2nd Try LLC, a company that they own and manage.[14] The 2nd Try LLC gained all rights to The Try Guys brand.[14] Yang was the first of The Try Guys to leave Buzzfeed, as his contract was up before the other Try Guys.

On May 4, 2019, The Try Guys announced that they were publishing a book called The Hidden Power of F*cking Up, which was published June 18, 2019, and became a New York Times Best Seller.[15] In the same video, The Try Guys also announced their tour which took on a "80's rock-band theme" and their podcast which is called the "Try-Pod".

In October 2020, the Try Guys endorsed Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.[16]

Television

In 2019, Yang made a guest appearance on NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, portraying Theo Lorql.[17]

Themes

Asian American representation

Yang advocates for equality,[4] representation and diversity in his projects,[7][8] tackling racial issue surrounding Asian American identity[12] and the lack of interest in casting Asian American men as audiences are exposed to desexualized secondary roles or comedic sidekicks.[4]

The Buzzfeed video parody, Awkward Moments Only Asians Understand,[18] in which he starred, listed a slew of racial stereotypes and daily microaggressions. Marcie Bianco wrote in her critique, "The microaggressions detailed in this BuzzFeed video don't have to do with the size of the Asian population, but rather highlight how stereotypes are perpetuated by generalizations. Perhaps sometimes useful shorthand, these generalizations turn into ugly and limiting stereotypes that foreclose the possibility of people knowing each other as individuals."[19]

In another related video, If Asians Said the Stuff White People Say,[20] in which he starred in together with Los Angeles-based writer and comedian Jenny Yang, featured Asian Americans asking questions and comments to white characters that were considered uncomfortable for Asian Americans.[21] In her review, Lauren Davidson wrote, "That's the first racist stereotype turned on its head in BuzzFeed Yellow's latest video, which shows, with that classic trick of role reversal, how ridiculous Asian typecasting has become."[22]

On March 17, 2017, he produced Asian Men Re-Create Iconic Underwear Ads, which explored the theme of Asian men as sexually inferior.[23] The video recreated iconic ads of underwear using average Asian male models.[24]

LGBTQ

Yang is the only openly gay member among the cast of The Try Guys,[3] which also produced LGBTQ-themed videos such as season 1 episode 3 The Try Guys Try Drag for the First Time.[25] On October 31, 2018, he published the video, My Dad’s First Drag Show (Featuring Kim Chi),[26] where he adopted a similar approach into exploring drag culture by inviting his father and stepmother to a drag show.[3] Yang has adopted the drag queen persona named Cheyenne Pepper, and Mayhem Miller from season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race is Pepper's drag mother.

He also executive produced and hosted Buzzfeed's Queer Prom five-part video series[27] that documented the journey of eight high school seniors who attended the company's first LGBTQ-themed prom together with other students.[28]

On October 11, 2018, commemorated as the 30th year of National Coming Out Day, he took over the website of the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, publicly sharing his experience growing up as a young queer man and advocating for LGBTQ representation in the media.[29] Furthermore, he collaborated with The Trevor Project, a non-profit LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, to raise awareness on the incidence of suicide among LGBTQ youth and in inviting volunteers in the video Eugene Volunteers at the Trevor Project, which was posted on December 3, 2018.[30][31]

He previously referred to himself as queer and LGBT. However, on June 15, 2019, Yang explicitly came out as gay in a music video.[10]

Two days later, Yang released an accompanying video documenting the creation of the video, his feelings, and his thoughts surrounding his coming out process.

In 2019, he announced that he is in a relationship with Matthew McLean, with his boyfriend accompanying the Try Guys to Australia.[32] In 2020 McLean revealed they'd been in a relationship for 8 years, living together for seven of them.[33]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Comfort Girls N/A Director; writer[34]

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Theo Lorql 1 episode; "Four Movements"[17]

Awards

Yang won several awards with his work with The Try Guys. Additionally, on Jun 20, 2016, he was awarded Unforgettable 2015 Male Breakout Star of the Year.[35] In October 2019, he was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. In May 2020, he was given the Phenom Award for LGBTQ+ Activism from the Shorty Awards for his work with The Trevor Project, for whom he's hosted multiple fundraising events and raised over $120,000 through his coming out video.[36]

See also

References
  1. Montague, Zach (April 19, 2018). "BuzzFeed's Eugene Lee Yang Mixes Humor With Social Commentary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  2. YANG, LEE (February 17, 2015). "How Buzzfeed's Eugene Lee Yang Became One Of The Most Recognizable Faces On The Internet". Kollaboration.org. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  3. Necci, Marilyn Drew (November 1, 2018). "Watch The Try Guys' Eugene Lee Yang Take His Conservative Dad To A Drag Show". GayRVA. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  4. Lee, Stephanie S. (August 28, 2015). "BuzzFeed's Eugene Lee Yang Plans To Change Hollywood, One Naked Video at a Time". Mochi Magazine. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  5. Garner, Glenn (October 22, 2018). "Internet's Boyfriend: Eugene Yang Talks Streamy Awards and Otherness". www.out.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  6. "Eugene Lee Yang: "That Asian Guy" On Buzzfeed". Kore Asian Media. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  7. "BuzzFeed's Eugene Lee Yang On Authenticity, 'Try Guys,' and Embracing Your 'Asian-ness'". NBC News. August 11, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  8. Yang, Lee (February 17, 2015). "How Buzfeed's Eugene Lee Yang Became One of the Most Recognizable Faces on the Internet". Kollaboration.
  9. "Film Independent TALENT: Eugene Lee Yang". talent.filmindependent.org. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. "I'm Gay - Eugene Lee Yang". The Try Guys. YouTube. June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  11. "Kore Asian Media | Kore Asian Media | Page 80". Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  12. "Eugene Lee Yang's Taking on Asian American Stereotypes One Viral Video at a Time". Glamour. February 27, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  13. Yamanaka, Jasmine (October 20, 2015). "The Try Guys: on life, Buzzfeed and each others' butts". Highlander. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  14. Klein, Jessica (June 21, 2018). "The Try Guys Leave BuzzFeed To Launch Independent Production Company". www.tubefilter.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  15. Hale, James Loke (June 28, 2019). "The Try Guys Are No. 1 New York Times Best-Sellers With First Book 'The Hidden Power Of F*cking Up'". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  16. https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/521537-youtube-stars-the-try-guys-endorse-biden-for-president
  17. Patton, Rebecca. "These "Gina Moments" From Her Last 'Brooklyn 99' Episode Were So Touching, Even Rosa Cried". Bustle. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  18. BuzzFeedViolet. "Awkward Moments Only Asians Understand". Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  19. Bianco, Marcie (December 15, 2014). "One Video Shatters Society's Stereotypes About Asian-Americans". mic.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  20. As/Is. "If Asians Said The Stuff White People Say". Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  21. "if asians said the stuff white people say". Critical Media Project. August 21, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  22. Davidson, Lauren (June 9, 2014). "Watch What Happens When Asians Say the Things White People Say to Them". mic.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  23. BuzzFeedVideo, Asian Men Re-Create Iconic Underwear Ads, retrieved January 13, 2019
  24. Voss, Brandon (March 26, 2017). "Asian Men Slip Into Iconic Underwear Ads And Look Incredible | NewNowNext". newnownext.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  25. BuzzFeedVideo, The Try Guys Try Drag For The First Time, retrieved January 13, 2019
  26. The Try Guys. "My Dad's First Drag Show (Featuring Kim Chi)". Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  27. "Buzzfeed's Queer Prom". Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via YouTube.
  28. Suarez, Andrew (June 9, 2017). "VIDEO: BuzzFeed debuts touching new "Queer Prom" series | GLAAD". glaad.org. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  29. Campaign, Human Rights. "Eugene Lee Yang Does Twitter Takeover for National Coming Out Day". Human Rights Campaignaccess-date=2019-01-13.
  30. The Try Guys. "Eugene Volunteers At The Trevor Project". Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  31. Powers, Jessa (December 3, 2018). "Out YouTuber 'Try Guy' Eugene Lee Yang Is a Trevor Project Hero". advocate.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  32. The Try Guys Become Zookeepers For A Day • Try Australia, retrieved November 10, 2019
  33. "Eugene's Boyfriend Reveal - You Can Sit With Us Ep. 20 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  34. "Comfort Girls". Center for Asian American Media Fest. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  35. "Unforgettable 2015 Male Breakout Star of the Year: Eugene Lee Yang". Kore Asian Media. June 20, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  36. "LGBTQ+ Stars Swept the Shorty Awards 2020". www.out.com. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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