Front Burner - Why influencers won’t stop partying during the pandemic

Episode Date: August 13, 2020

Canadian YouTubers Nelk, known for staging controversial pranks, recently threw a so-called “bro-test” to fight for gyms to open back up in California, a state still dealing with thousands of new coronavirus cases every day. The event sparked widespread criticism for drawing a crowd of people who weren’t wearing masks. This “bro-test” is part of a larger trend involving influencers ignoring public health rules by having massive parties and group events. Kat Tenbarge is a digital culture reporter at Insider. Today, she explains why some internet stars won’t stop partying during the pandemic, and what it could mean for public health.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. That's the sound of a large crowd of boys and men pressed close together, most of them not wearing masks, fighting for gyms to open back up in California, a state still dealing with thousands of new coronavirus cases every day. They've called this their bro-test. Do you guys want the gyms to open back up?

Oh, yeah. Okay, okay, well, that's good, that's good. You think you're going to be able to make that happen today? I think so. The event was reportedly organized by the Nelk Boys, Canadian YouTubers known for controversial frat boy antics. And what Nelk is doing is part of a much bigger trend, involving influencers ignoring public health rules

by having massive parties and group events. This mansion party in Beverly Crest Monday night, it sparked a lot of attention, nearly 100 people, perhaps more at this party and no social distancing. Kat Tenbarge has been covering this story. She's a digital culture reporter at Insider and joins me now to explain why some influencers won't stop partying during the pandemic and what it could mean for public health. I'm Michelle Shepard. This is Frontburner. Hi Kat, thanks so much for joining me. Thanks so much for having me.

So we're going to start with these Canadian YouTubers, the Nelk Boys. And I have to confess, until this week, I didn't know who they were. So I did a bit of a deep dive, but can you tell us what they're known for? Yes, definitely. So the Nelk Boys, or sometimes they just go by Nelk, it's this Canadian YouTube group where you have a bunch of these boys. They're now like young adult men. And there's usually three of them who do these pranks and social experiments. And they record themselves filming people's reactions. A lot of them take place in public.

Hi, excuse me. my name is Trevor III and I've been waiting three and a half minutes for my coffee. Can you please bring out my coffee? All black. Thank you. I'm in a poor area right now. It is, I do feel uncomfortable. Polonis and One Oak Party at Coachella.

We've got the go ahead to be security. Instagram you can pull up. Take your glasses off, please. Oh, you're under 2K? Yeah, I think you need like at least 10K to probably get in here. And they've been doing that for seven years on YouTube and have built up a pretty sizable following. They have 5.4 million subscribers on that platform. And then they also have 3.4 million on Instagram. so this is their full-time career is making these videos and doing these types of stunts to get a rise out of people

this doesn't work out for Kyle and Jesse well the truth is they're gonna have a hard time finding work at Starbucks, McDonald's, Walmart or practically anywhere that requires a uniform we literally can't film in Ontario maybe Maybe every like, I think Canada is just we're too popular. Can you just give us a sample of one of their more popular ones? Some of the stuff I was looking at was kind of well, it's all kind of crude. And some of it's pretty misogynistic. Some of it looks like they're actually like illegal pranks. Yeah, definitely. And you're completely right. A lot of the themes of the pranks include some sort of sexual joke that makes the woman objectified or the root of the joke. Most recently, just a couple days ago on their Instagram, they posted this prank where they had a woman pretending to perform sexual acts on men in public, which was pretty degrading.

And some of their more popular pranks, if you go on YouTube and look at the videos that have gotten the most views, a lot of them have to do with like a prank that they did on cops where they pretended like they were doing drugs. I can't do this. I can't do this. Man, you have a bunch of coke in the back. I'm sorry, dude. I'm sorry, Kyle. And the thumbnail actually shows them getting arrested, which they have gotten arrested multiple times, and they've had police attention at a bunch of their stunts.

The people that they were pulling the prank on were also amused. Someone else was not so amused and called the police. Some lady citizens arrested us. And you stopped her? She was just like a board care. You couldn't just like get away? No, we tried, but then cops pulled up and then we just had to deal with it. But we'll be good.

Man. It's not our first rodeo. And they've done a lot of compilations, collecting their pranks over time. Those usually do really well. And they also, one of their most popular ones is just walking up to random women and like saying kind of gross sexual things about their bodies. But they have, I mean, in addition to having so many followers, they have some really big name followers to a couple of big Canadian celebrities.

Yeah. On Instagram, Drake follows them. And so does Justin Bieber. So, okay. Now that we know what they've done, let's talk about what they're doing right now to make headlines. Can you tell me a little bit more about this protest? now to make headlines. Can you tell me a little bit more about this bro test? Yes. So during COVID-19 restrictions all around the United States and until recently in Canada, the NELC boys have still been traveling quite frequently, which I suppose you could say is their work. Like that would be how they would justify it. But their work has mostly been going to different places and doing these types of pranks and stunts, which the protest was, I think, probably their most attention-grabbing stunt that they did recently,

where they went to LA and a fellow influencer there is a gym owner, and they put on this big crowd appearance, all of these fans of theirs. We want games! We want games! We want games! I think elements of it were 100% staged, but they basically got up on this car, and everyone was chanting and crowding around them. They were wearing masks. The people in the crowd weren't,

and one of them, like, his mask was hanging off of his face for a duration of, like, the video that they put together. And the reason that they were all there was they were acting like they were having this protest to reopen the gyms, which was like the substance of them chanting. You can go to the liquor shop, you can go to the store, but we can't go to the gym. You know, the CDF does everything but promote good physical health and fitness. But it was very ludicrous and exaggerated. It was really like

a stunt that was designed to get people's attention and not to actually accomplish this task. What else have they been doing that that goes against the public health guidelines that we have right now for COVID-19? So in addition to those types of public stunts where you don't have people adhering to social distancingts where you don't have people adhering to social distancing guidelines and you don't have people wearing masks, and of course, L.A. is a place where there are a lot of COVID cases right now. Today, Dr. Barbara Ferrer addressed the issue of the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases in the county. Gatherings of people from different households are such a bad idea

at this point in time. In addition to that, the unnecessary traveling, and they've also been attending a lot of parties and collaborating with a lot of other social media creators and influencers, which has been a huge trend across the industry, is continuing to do these in-person collaborations. And another trend that we have noticed is this crop of influencer parties that have been occurring, particularly in the LA area where many of them live. Well, let's talk about one of those. I was watching this crazy video last night from a place called the Hype House. Can you tell me what that is? So on TikTok, which is of course the most popular app right now, the buzziest, the most

name worthy, a lot of the most popular creators on TikTok, the buzziest, the most name worthy. A lot of the most popular creators on TikTok have joined together to create these collaborative houses. They usually take place in like this gaudy LA mansion that a brand or a management company pays for. And all of these creators who are usually like, I would say the age range is probably 15 to 25. You'll have big groups of them come together and live or live part-time in these houses and create content together. It's a content house. It'd be like living in a movie set. It never stops. I will wake up to people filming TikToks on my balcony. We have a house of 20 people that post three to four times a day. Like we're talking

about over 150 videos every single day from just our team. And the most popular one, the one that really popularized the trend of it is the Hype House, which up until somewhat recently, you had the biggest star on TikTok, Charli D'Amelio and her sister Dixie. They were a part of the house, but they eventually left. A lot of other big name TikTok creators are a part of this house. And a lot of them have relationships with one another and houses will feud with one another. So it's this really interesting content driver for them. And I was reading that it got so bad that the mayor of LA, Eric Garcetti, actually announced that he would authorize the city to shut off power and water

to any house that was hosting these big parties. I'm authorizing the city to shut off Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Service in the egregious cases in which houses, businesses and other venues are hosting unpermitted large gatherings. These large parties are unsafe and can cost Angelenos their lives. It started to get a lot of attention, particularly because this summer, I would say, has been a really dramatic one for the world of influencers, even by normal standards. And you had a lot of big A-list influencers kind of retracting a little bit and not doing anything particularly showy in the past couple of weeks and months. And so in the absence of a lot of

the big names that we see usually occupying our screens, these parties started to get a lot of attention because people were noticing more than ever, these influencers are still collaborating with each other in person. The numbers in LA are still on the rise and they're still throwing these massive parties, which has become a pretty regular part of influencer life. But when you have the era of COVID and social distancing guidelines, and you're still getting together maskless for these parties, not only are people going to notice, but government authorities are going to notice.

Local officials, they are certainly getting very serious about this. And they say it really is all based on science, based on numbers that they have seen spike in the last few months. Now specifically this goes out to young adults. I really could not believe that an event like this was taking place. We expect everyone in our community to act responsibly because we're in this together and we just cannot show such disregard. such disregard. Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. their own household income. That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. What happens at these parties? Like aside from getting together and showing, you know, videos of them like all

doing taking selfies and posing. I mean, I have to confess, I didn't watch for too long. But what generally what generally goes on? And what's the point of them? So in addition to just being a party, these are young people, largely college aged. In addition to just being Oh, it's someone's birthday, we're throwing a party, someone just had a someone's birthday we're throwing a party someone just had a song release we're throwing a release party or just a social event these parties are also really important for influencers to network with one another this is how they meet up this is how a lot of the drama and feuds that kind of invigorate their public personas a lot of them stem from incidents at these parties or connections that are made at these parties. A lot of times someone who is an influencer who really works the LA party circuit will like stage photos with their influencer rivals or take pictures with their

friends and things like that will come out of these parties. So they're more than just events and they're more than just cute dress, cute selfie, whatever. They're also an important tool for influencers to have their career. And for some of our maybe older listeners or people who don't really know this world, can you put into context how famous these people are? Like they're actually massive celebrities for a whole generation, right? Absolutely. I think one of the big misconceptions about influencers is that online isn't real life and people don't really care about them in the same way that they care about actresses and singers. But particularly among younger people who are the target audience for these types of people and their shenanigans, these are the celebrities of their era. When you look at name recognition for male celebrities among the younger Gen Z demographic, big YouTubers are up there with

top athletes and movie stars. And in a similar way that the tabloid press operated in the early 2000s, with people like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, these influencer drama accounts and people who little like YouTube sleuths and people of that variety who like follow all of this and post this drama online for consumption. That's like the tabloid media for the younger generation. And it's big money too, right? Oh, absolutely. Not only is there a lot of money in being an influencer, Charlie D'Amelio and Addison Rae from TikTok, these are two of the former Hype House members. These people pulled in millions of dollars last year.

And you have to remember, they weren't even famous the year before. Charli D'Amelio was a normal 15-year-old girl. So for me, I actually had like the one video to go viral that kind of started it all. It was a duet of this woman, Move With Joy, who makes easy dances. Here we go. Step, step, flip, flip.

Shoulder, shoulder, hip, hip. And then almost overnight, she became this massive TikTok sensation who was pulling millions of dollars in marketing. I just want to run down some numbers here. In less than a year, you have almost 35 million followers on TikTok. That's great.

You have over 2 billion likes. Billion. Wow. And not only do the influencers make a lot of money from this, but the people who talk about influencers and the drama channels who make videos about them, they make enough money to make a living as well. So I totally get why these postings can be entertaining and addictive.

And especially right now, you would think the appeal would be even more so because we're forced into isolation and we're on our phones a lot. But can we talk a little bit about why they're doing it now, like their strategy? Because there's bound to be a bit of a backlash too, during the pandemic doing this. Aside from risking the spread of a backlash too, aside during the pandemic doing this. Aside from risking the spread of COVID-19, they face fines or arrests.

So what do you think the business model is that's driving influencers to break the rules? So if we go back to the Nelk Boys with their protest that they staged, for example, one thing you'll notice if you watch the video that they put together is that the bro test had a dual motive. It was not only to bring attention to themselves, but they also used it as an opportunity to market their merchandise. We'll have some full send fitness subs. The subs are launching the same day as the bro test. And the whole point of the bro test was to raise their profile just in time for these products to launch. And that's kind of how other influencers have used this as an opportunity for growth in that when your name is in everybody's mouths, regardless of whether they're criticizing you or praising you, that still ultimately meets your end goal of gaining attention and notoriety. So in addition to using it as an opportunity to promote yourself,

you also have people staging or almost marketing drama in a way like their personal lives, which coincides with these types of parties, and which can even be like, oh, people are mad at me for throwing this party. But this is getting me mentioned in the news. And it's getting me mentioned on these drama accounts. And that is something that will come in handy when I have my next makeup launch or product line or whatever it may be that they have in store. It's almost like sort of an online reality TV show that just keeps going. Yes. Not only is it obviously great reality TV fodder, but we're seeing this really interesting phenomenon where the reality TV show is already happening.'s playing out on instagram and youtube and on tiktok and that in its own way

is probably more successful and all-encompassing than any linear reality tv show can be just went off a few minutes ago as it does every morning you're probably wondering james why do you look like you got hit by a bus why are you still in bed why don't you have clothes on i promise those things all have answers and that is because today i am filming a day in the life video and i'm honestly really really excited for it i have to say i think it's my greatest nightmare to live in one of these houses with 20 influencers oh yeah one thing that's really fascinating is that their neighbors have had to deal with quite a lot tay Taylor Lorenz for the New York Times recently reported on one of these TikTok houses. The neighbors had Sony noise complaints and just

described this like war zone that descended on the end of their street with all of these teenagers. So Kat, we talked about the Nelk boys and the and protests earlier and the hype house. Is there any evidence that these influencer events are now vectors for COVID infections? Have we seen any cases coming out of that or proof that it's being spread? So we actually have concrete examples of people within these social circles who are testing positive for COVID and then posting about their experiences online. One YouTuber in particular posted a vlog of him on the phone with the medical professional who told him his diagnosis. And then while the

camera rolled, he called some of the other influencers, which included Jake Paul, who he had been with in the days preceding this positive test. And literally on the phone, he's telling Jake Paul for, assumedly, since we've watched all of this happen, the first time, in real time, he's telling him he just got a positive COVID test. And Jake Paul basically says, I don't care. I'm not worried about it. So Jake Paul is one of the influencers who threw a big party where people weren't wearing masks. And he's one of the most well-known names, isn't he? Oh, 100 percent. He has millions and millions and millions of followers. And when he does things like this, they make a big impact. Controversial YouTube star Jake Paul under fire this morning

for recklessly defying the rules in the city of Calabasas. They're holding on to the bulldozer like it's a bull. The video showing dozens of people packed into the 23-year-old's mansion in the upscale hills of Calabasas. And have any of these people expressed any remorse for behaving this way? Yes, they're usually very calculated statements or apologies, but we have seen a few of the big names who have been going to these parties apologizing. James Charles did a YouTube video that showed him getting ready to go to this Hype House birthday party. And then he ended up cutting the actual footage from the party out of the video and putting in a slide that had a statement where he was like, this was a very reckless and stupid thing to do. I really apologize. I won't be doing this again. But then I read somewhere that some of them apologized today, but then go out to another party tomorrow. Oh, absolutely.

I think Tana Mongeau is one of the American influencers who has done that. She was one of the people who was going to so many parties. And she, her brand is very very like I'm a socialite and she apologized and then within days people spotted her on another influencer's Instagram story in the background at yet another Hype House party. So they're called influencers for a reason and in this in this climate are you actually seeing this kind of content have real impact on how it plays out, not just in these parties, but out in the world and among their followers? There is definitely a real danger in that some of these people like

Jake Paul have historically cultivated a young fan base. And young YouTube fan bases are often really impressionable. There's a reason why these people make so much money through marketing. It's because they actually do a great job advertising things to their audiences. I also think based on gauging people's responses in the YouTube fan community, it seems like the general response to seeing these influencers partying has been critical, but with a note of like, it's hard to judge them for something that so many people around the country are doing. And I think the influencers behavior is a real reflection of just attitudes among young

people in the country at large, because in cities all over the country, bars are either open or they're reopening and people are going and people are going to house parties and COVID is spreading that way. So I definitely think they're modeling bad behavior, but I also don't think they're the only ones doing this. They just happen to have the spotlight on them. Well, Kat, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it. Of course. Thanks so much for having me. Before we go, I should note that we did reach out to the NELC boys for comment, but have not received a response. And I've got some news to update you on. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blachet said on Wednesday that he will try to trigger a federal election by tabling a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons this fall.

That is, unless the Prime Minister resigns, along with Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Katie Telford, Trudeau's Chief of Staff. The question becomes, which is worse, keeping them and this government in place or creating temporary distortion in the management of the crisis in going into an election, which might replace them with people better suited for the job. Blanchet told reporters at a press conference that he's lost confidence in Trudeau's minority government. He took issue with how they managed their pandemic spending, as well as the We Charity scandal. That's all for today. I'm Michelle Shepard. Thanks for listening to FrontBurner, and we'll see you tomorrow.

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