Might Delete Later - Ep 5: Phil Wang

Episode Date: June 25, 2020

Taskmaster and Live at the Apollo star Philly Philly Wang Wang joins Gina and Stevie to talk first posts and worst posts this week. Don’t worry, we won’t keep him long.👉🏼Remember you can find all posts discussed on Instagram @mightdeletelaterpod and we're on twitter too @mightdeletepod. Follow Phil Wang on Instagram @wangpix and Twitter @PhilNWangFollow Gina on Instagram @ginamartin and Twitter @ginamartinukFollowing Stevie on Instagram @5tevieM and Twitter @5tevieMWant to help us make more episodes? Support Might Delete Later at https://supporter.acast.com/mightdeletelaterHosted by Gina Martin and Stevie Martin.Photo by Joe Magowan.Artwork by Zoe Harrison.Edited by Clarissa Maycock.Recorded at Sony 4th Floor Creative.Produced by Plosive Productions.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/mightdeletelater. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you love Might Delete Later? I bloody hope you do. You can support our show by using the new ACAS supporter feature. It's up to you how much you give and there is no regular commitment. Just smash that link in the show description and support us now so we can keep making this podcast. Thank you. Hello and welcome to Might Delete Later, the show where we look at our favourite people's social media feeds and ask them why did you tweet that? I'm Gina and I really like social media.

And I'm Gina's sister, Stevie and I. Hate it. This episode, which was recorded before the lockdown, very crucial, is with one of my favourite comedians and great friends, Philip Wang, also known as Phil Wang. Phil's been on TV loads, from 8 out of 10 Cats to The Countdown to Taskmaster and Live of the Apollo. And he also did an excellent viral video based on that weird Tom Hiddleston advert that I've watched about 400 times. His Radio 4 show Wang Spanning is also excellent. And yeah, like I say, he's my nice friend. Oh, I especially like this episode because Phil's first tweets were incredibly pure and it reminded me and probably all of us of how carefree we were in those first days of Twitter. Yes, before it became a screaming cess pit. So I've been on it quite a lot recently.

Have a listen and check out our Instagram app. Might delete later pod see the post Phil refers to in the episode. Enjoy the wang! Have a nice wang time. So first things first. We're going to do a little feature we do at the beginning of every podcast. What is the thing you would delete this week in the world? Stevie Martin. No, I want you to go first. Okay. Because I'm going to do one that's like...

Because I have a really good one. Okay. Right. If I go into another cafe and ask for vegetarian sausages and they serve me what is effectively mashed potato in a tube, I'm going to kick someone in the neck. When you go. go and get like, I know exactly what you mean, and it's nothing like a sausage.

No, it's just go out and get a Linda McCartney. Yeah. Make it feel like meat. That's why I want it, because I've wanted meat and I can't eat meat, so make it feel like meat. Otherwise, that's just potato and a chew with peas in the middle of it. And it makes me sick. You can see what this is a big ask. Yeah. I don't want meat, but I want to be like meat. I know, but I feel like if we can go to the moon, we can handle that. Corn? If we can go to corn, we can handle it. Just buy some corn sausages, Phil. Is corn good enough? Yes. It delicious. Okay. I like corn a lot, but I'm not from a vegetarian perspective, I like it because it's clean, it's quick and it's nutritious.

Oh, you really listen to the recent campaign that was like, it's good for you and you can run faster if you eat it. Really? That's good because my wanting to delete thing is very similar to yours, but not the same. It's just in the same family. Yeah, this is true. Like you are. Oh, my God, we are from the same family. We are. All three of us.

When I, I'm also vegetarian. In fact, I'm vegan. Don't even ask me about it, but you can if you like. I go and get a vegan roast. I'm vegan by eating. What? I buy very expensive eggs to make myself feel better. That the chickens have like golden buttholes. Okay.

Wait, the chickens, they don't poop eggs, do they? My thing I would delete... Apparently the carbon footprint of chicken is negligible. Brilliant. They've got very tiny feet. My thing I would delete is I would... You know, when you get a roast dinner, and it's vegan and it's gluten-free or whatever you want, and the meat, you're like, oh, it's...

Looks like it tastes like meat. Great. This is going to be like a proper roast dinner. Yes. And then they squeeze a juo over it rather than gravy. It's like, it's like a coo-a-culee. No, it's like a beetroot juice. Beat root juice.

Yeah, it's so annoying. And it's red and it looks, or it's fruity or it's berries. And you can't get it with a fork. You can't get it a fork. And it's, that's not what anyone wants on their roast. No. Gravy, you don't want juu, and also juu is nothing. It's just juice.

It's savory juice. Say, would you like some blackcurrant juice over your roast. And then you'd like some blackcurrant juice over your roast. you'll know how stupid it is that you've even asked me that question. I thought Ju was like, is it like an intense gravy or a light gravy? Light. It's a watery, yeah.

It's watery, fruity mess. We just want vegetarian and vegan choices to be better. Bisto, Bisto vegetarian gravy is excellent. Just pour that over it. Bistow chicken gravy is suitable for vegetarians. It's got chicken in it. No, it's flavored like chicken, like the pot noodle. Okay, this is great.

Phil, what would you like to delete? I think I would like to delete the phrase I won't keep you. Oh, that's good. Last night I was walking down Soho. And I walked past, I think, of Soho house, and in the smoking area just behind a little fence, sat was a friend's brother.

And he was sat smoking, and he went, oh, Phil Wang! And I noticed he sat with this very beautiful woman. And they're just hanging out. And I reach over the fence and I shake his hand like the print and the pauper. And I just went over these spikes. I go, oh, this sounds, this looks dangerous, doesn't it? And I said, how are you?

And then there's his awkward pause. And he went, well, I won't keep you. I hate that. And it's like, I know I'm keeping you. Yeah. My life is not as nice as your life right now. I'm walking alone down a dirty street. You just impaled your arm on a spike.

You're bleeding everywhere. I've lost an arm. And you're having a lovely sig with a lovely laid. Obviously, I'm keeping you. Yeah. So there's this... There's a little power thing there as well. It's like, I won't keep you.

Because there's like, I'm in control of this conversation. I won't keep you. Carry on with the little life for one. And you're like, oh, thank you so much. I will. Great. Also, because this is the awkward pause, it's basically what they're saying is, this conversation is going nowhere.

So I am going to think of a way to stop it. But I'm going to be so magnanimous about it. It's too obvious. I'm going to say, I'm not keeping you. You're like, oh, I won't keep you. But like, no, I'm not keeping you. You just start that way. Just really make it awkward for everybody.

Yeah, that is a good one. I like that. So before we get into your posts, Phil Wang, that you picked up for us today. You've got three to show us. We're going to ask you a little question. So how do you feel about social media in general? If it was a person, how would you describe it? I guess as a person's social media is that awful friend who goes,

Do you know what they said about you? Yeah. And they're like, ha ha ha. And then when the other person comes, like, hey, babe. And then they're kidding. Yes. And then like, do you hear about what they did? Yeah.

When they leave. I guess that's like, social media is a bitchy, your bitchy, uh, superficial friend. Yeah. But you, but you like, you like hanging out with them. It gives you a little jo de vivre. There's a, there's a frisson about having them around. But you wouldn't trust them. What does the fron?

What does it? Yeah, I think that's what they do. Poucant. That's puissant. Oh, puissant. Not to be confused with Poussin, which is a small chicken. Oh. Yeah. So, like, social media is your little fish and small chicken when they're out.

That's what you said. I love it. Yeah, that's basically what it is. Right, we've asked you to pull up your first ever social media post of your choice. So, first tweet, what is your first tweet? Slash one of your first tweets. Because you got quite touched and moated. I looked these up last night and I started tearing up.

Did you? I did a little bit. Because they're so rude. He's so innocent. Oh, right, yeah. Oh, right. Yeah, they just, they're so offensive. I just started crying.

And how old are you at this point? In 2019? 19. Yeah. Which I looked by thinking, yeah, I was pretty grown. Yeah, but you're a little baby when you look back at this age, don't you? You're like, I was such a young little sweet person at 19. A little, yeah.

So what was your first ever tweet? The first ever tweet was signing up for Twitter. Bring on the Hord. Oh, I'm glad there's a D. Yes. Oh, a D? As in it sounds like you're going to say, Bring on. Oh, I went very hot then.

I was like, I've missed that one when I was looking at it. I was just so cute. You're so innocent. Looking back at this last time, I was like, this is strange. Why was I? And none of these tweets have any likes. No. And then I realized, oh, I had linked my Twitter to my Facebook.

Oh, yes. Because I was still doing Facebook statuses. And they would just go straight to Twitter. Yeah. And I think this puzzled you looking. added my fourth ever tweet was need Twitter followers and then in inverted commas phil and wang my name why was like why have you done that because I'm obviously only the people that follow you are looking at that you dumb bitch yeah and that's got one like that's like a

sympathy like having that one someone's been good like pepping you up on that one yeah you've liked it yourself back one of my favorite ones you did at the beginning was god I'm good at thermo fluid mechanics yeah studying engineering at the time so a lot of these are to do a lot of these are to do a lot of these are to do with engineering and playing my friend Chris at pool. Yes. What I love is he just mentions the name Chris quite a lot, but doesn't tag Chris in. We don't know who Chris is. There's one about your exam and you mentioned how you were saved by Angel Chris. Oh no, it's a different guy.

So another Chris. Greg Dickens. Greg, yeah. Fucked up Royal at my first exam, but have since been comforted by an angel in a ski vest called Greg Dickens. Yes, I mean, he was just a guy at uni who was very like, bright, smiley guy, and I'd done very badly in an exam, and I was walking around sad, and he said, what's wrong, and gave me a hug. You did tweet about it.

And I tweeted about it, not at him, I've just presumed everyone knows who Greg Dickens is. It's adorable. And that's like you've gotten kind of acid trip on that one when you didn't remember. Do you remember when you first started and first, like, got Twitter, how you felt about tweeting? Because I remember being like, just being like, well, I guess I'm giving it a go,

but I didn't really know what it was for, why I was doing it. Well, no one did, really. And we just did it because everyone else was doing it, right? Yeah, I mean, Twitter didn't know what it was for. And it took a while for people to figure out what they wanted. And I remember Ashton Coucher was the first person to ever hit a million followers. Really? Oh, that's a big day for Ashton.

Jesus Christ. You basically just tweeted what was like in front of your eyes, what you were just done. This one that you went where you just go like, mock time, because you're just in a mock exam. I don't know. I don't know. to your mock exam being like, better let the people know. It's mock time. What it was?

It felt like Facebook was just King's College, Cambridge. It was because it had a network. So you could only sign up if you were a part of that network and you had a relevant email. Yeah. So it was a subject. And I swear in the time it wasn't as mad as it looks now and that people were interacting on Facebook and that people like going, oh yeah, the mocks come in. Have you? Like, but now with strip down, thrown onto Twitter, I look low.

Yes. And crazy. So do we all. So, right. We've asked you to also pull up a social media post that you really regret, which I find interesting because it's quite a recent one. It happened this week. If you're listening to the podcast, possibly not this week. This will very much date when we recorded the podcast.

You will remember this meme slash picture slash horrific thing. Yeah, so it's, what's just happened in Parliament is that Boris Johnson has ejected 21 MPs and lost his first vote in the Commons, which was for, oh, the Brexit, the label, won't it? Yeah. And there's a, it's a photos of Jacob Rees-Mogg lounging on the Commons benches have circulated, and there's one I saw of him, which I liked, is himself quite innocently smiling and looking up at the ceiling. And then I thought, oh, he's such a creepy guy And that's such a creepy smile And so I tweeted that photo with the caption When I remember this crisps in the fridge

And it's good You can go Like we're going to put up all of the Instagram or visual images On our social media feed So go to Instagram and have a look at Phil Which I think is funny Because it's like I'm also creepy like him

I have crisps in the fridge And this is a face of creepy person Yeah, we'll get to the fridge later But Yeah But why do you regret it? Because I saw that when you just posted it because I have no life and I just stare at your Twitter feed.

No, it came up by when I was on there and I laughed. No, honestly, it's fine. I was actually doing something so I'm fine. I liked it and it made me laugh. And I thought, no more of it. I just thought, there's Phil banging out some hot content as ever. Some hot con. But a lot of people have taken it of face value

and think that I have revealed the terrible secret that I actually keep crisps in the fridge. People are really upset about the fridge thing. I'm just so upset. People have replied going, in the fridge. Even a couple of comedians,

which is very disappointed, have gone, come on, Phil, in the fridge. It's a joke! Right? So what's infuriating is the realization that people have this little trust in me

or this little imagination or think that I am weird and foolish enough to reveal something about myself. But I don't understand... Or attempt a meme. Because Jacob Rees-Mogg clearly keeps his crisps in the fridge because he's a creep.

Yes. But obviously you don't. And then looking at it, I've just gone, when you remember this crisper in the fridge, should put when you remember this crisper in the fridge. But that's the thing. It's meant to be a joke and you're not meant to agonize over these things, but what happens is you tend to agonize over them

because you get so much of the same response. And you're like, it's meant to be taken on face value is a funny thing, but then you feel bad about it, like you want to change it and evaluate it. Like one sentence you wrote as a joke once in your life? And this is comparatively so low stakes compared to the things that people have tweeted and regretted. But it's just been playing over in my mind and thinking, because I just kept getting notifications from idiots going, in the fridge, which is the most boring thing of. And so I was like, oh, I should just delete it.

But then that looks like I've been rumbled. Yeah, yeah. You do keep... Which is a far worse thing to do. And then I thought maybe I'd tweet a thing undergoing, oh, people are fucking idiots. But then that looks like, oh, I've realized I look silly, and now I'm going to pretend that it was intentional. And then everyone would be like, why is so bothered about it, mate?

You can't win. At this point, don't we all wish we could go back to mock time? And no one likes it. But here's the thing. You can just turn off all the notifications for one to eat. And so I've just not seen anything about it. And it turns out life moves on. It does.

It does. It does. It does say a wide thing about when, because you've obviously got, you've kind of jumped up in your followers. you've got so many now. And so you must get constant responses and constant. So when you were on like Taskmaster or when it was be constantly, your phone must be constantly going out of.

How has that changed your relationship with Twitter? Do you like it more now you're getting, you're not shouting into the void or is it more stressful? Right. Ah, it's an interesting question really. The feeling is that I'm peering over an edge that is higher than it was before. Yes. You know, so that sense of almost falling over is much more intense than it used to be.

So when you tweet something, you're like, is it going to be okay? That sort of feeling, do you mean? A little bit, yeah. And just to be reminded sometimes that this many people are actually looking at it, it can be quite shocking. On the whole, I've learned to let things go more. That's good. That you can't reply to everything.

I used to reply to every single thing. I thought it'd be rude not to. I'm there now. So I'm trying to respond to everyone 50,000 followers, and I'm still trying to reply to every DM or even comments and stuff because I feel like if someone said that to me in the street, I should give them the time of it. It would be weird if you just went, mm, and just turned away.

But I need to get over that. It is different. It is different. Yeah, you have to learn that. If you like it, then don't people think. Yes, I think they do, but I think it's also dependent on what you do. So, like, especially with me because my work is so to do with social climate and people's problems and stuff. So I don't get, like, you keep your crisp in the fridge.

I get this horrific thing happened to me. What do you think? Yeah. So it's really hard to not respond to everyone. But I'm learning to prioritize better because I just think you have to for your own mind. Otherwise, you just... Mental health is so important. Imagine sending like 5,000 letters a day.

You just wouldn't do it. You just couldn't do it. You have to. And it's weird when it changes, though. It does change your relationship, I think, with your phone a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, and it changes your perception of yourself as well. It's not this, you're no longer a person, an individual on social media, interacting with other people.

You're suddenly this, I don't know if brand is the right word, but you're a... Yeah, I agree. Conglomerate. Oil company. I guess public figure is the... most accurate term for it, your public figure now, which is different. And so, and the rules are different and what is expected of you is different. And so that's what I'm coming to terms with it. Yes. I heard a quote by Aaron Grande's the day, which I thought was great. And I won't

know it verbatim. But she did say, something along the lines of. Something along the line of, thank you next. No. She did say that she said, I understand, she was talking to her followers because they got angry about something she'd done. And she said, I understand that when you think about me, you think about me as a picture or a video clip or an outfit. But you have to remember that I'm not 2D. I'm a 3D person with lots of other stuff going on. And I think when you get to a certain point, people think of you as a snapshot of a person.

So I am the girl in a red suit who is like, I'm going to change a lot. That's what I am to people. Phil keeps crisps in the fridge. Exactly. Phil keeps crisp in the fridge. So you become like a less nuanced version and therefore the interactions become less nuanced too, I think.

Yes. Which is kind of interesting. Yes. Yeah. And fun, it's really great. Honestly, it's really great as well. though. But on a more positive note, what's a social media post that you're like really proud of?

You must have had like a proud one. Yeah, so this is... I'm surprised if you don't pick the Tom Hiddleston video. Oh, I thought about doing that. Because that's the greatest video I've genuinely ever seen. Really? Thank you so much. I thought about that, but it seemed maybe obvious because that's my most successful post of anything by far.

It's actually like probably the most anyone has seen of me do anything. Because the views got up to four and a half million. on that video, just on Twitter. If anyone who hasn't seen it, it's Phil has intercut himself with that creepy Tom Hiddleston video, sort of making it out that Tom is just like, Tom, it's just downstairs in his house.

And go on Phil's, just go on Twitter and search Phil Wang, Tom Hiddleston, and scroll until you find the video. You don't have to scroll very far. People are still talking about it. It's so good. Sorry, Greg. That was just a Sunday in Australia well spent, it turned out.

I mean, really was spent. Yeah, I mean, it's done more for me. my career than like a lot of like TV shows and it's tours and whatever it's so weird it's so weird this is what Stevie says about the video you did the time lapse of your tour toys in a spider epic she's like it's the most successful piece of work I've ever done and it took me 20 minutes 20 things just fall into your lap like when someone says I love the tom Hiddleston video even though I put work and like writing I guess into it I don't think of it as like this piece of work that I made you did like radio four series and you've got like full Edinburgh shows that you have to take like six months to

And then you're like, that was like a bit of fun, but actually, I mean, isn't it great that that can do that? Yeah, yeah. I mean, it sounds so precious now for me to speak about in any name. It's just honest. And I'm really glad that people like it. And I think it is funny. But it just feels like something I, a nice thing I found on the floor and went, hey, guys, look at this. And everyone went, yeah, yeah.

He is king. So I'm proud of that video. But go on. What's the one that you're actually proud of? But I guess why I haven't chosen that is that it's not so unique to social media. It's essentially a sketch. I made. A piece of social media that I'm proud of is some a series of Instagram posts. Oh my God, I love this so much. I did where it was just a photo of me looking quite grumpy

in a mirror with a hat that says wang on it and I've just and I've included the hashtag Eurasian hotties because it's a friend got me onto this this this account that is called Eurasian hotties and it's a semi creepy but I I've still not unfollowed them, a collection of Eurasian girls in bikinis and stuff. Yeah. And I thought, I'm also Eurasian, so I'll put a hashtag Eurasian hotties. And then I realized, oh, wait, I might be now in the collection Eurasian hotties.

So I had a look, and there I am. Just in the middle of all these women, you're hot. Oh, these bikini's women. I mean, it's a grid of beautiful Eurasian girls in bikinis. And then if you just look to the bottom right corner, There's me, just grumpy in a jacket and a hat. And it says Wang. And just says Wang.

And then under that, I've commented, wow, can't believe I haven't been using hashtags this entire time to shove my posts where they don't belong. And then the hashtag I've put that under is Buildings of New York. So then I looked up the hashtag for Buildings of New York. And in the grid of buildings in New York is a smaller grid of Eurasian girls and bikinis with me. If you look really closely, it's so good.

You've like hacked Instagram, basically. And then I went one more and went, so that one, I've commented, ha ha ha ha ha ha. And then hashtag veganism. And then so the final one in this series, if we go to veganism, there's this really hard to see grid, like a tiny, tiny grid of your Asian girls and me, in a slightly larger grid of buildings in New York, within a larger grid of vegan food and healthy women with long hair. It's so good.

And then I've commented there, he-he-he-he, okay, enough now. And that's where I did end. hashtag wormhole and I'm not actually sure that anyone else has done that before. I haven't heard of that. It's ex and just appearing on hashtag grids. It's so fun. And go deeper and deeper and deeper. I really enjoyed buildings of New York because that wasn't where I was expecting it to go.

No. And there's a real joy. Like I get a massive joy in using Instagram, especially stories because it's fairly rudimentary like, it's a fairly rudimentary platform. It's like pretty easy. It's like picture, words, hashtag, little pen to draw things on. And if you try and use the format to do something interesting or weird, I really loved doing that. Like I will always try and like do something interesting with a really crappy stripes or yeah. All of your instruments are really fun.

It's really fun. It's so great. Okay, so then the next thing we're going to do is a sort of as, it's vaguely quick farish. Is that there's a little section that we call follow and follow block, but it's basically what Gina calls Well, I call Snogmarry a void, but I know that's a really British version. I call Shagmary a kill. Yes. Snagmary a void.

That's a TV show, wasn't it? Yes. We just discussed this. Wasn't Ellie Taylor ended up hosting it for a bit? She was for a bit. Yeah. But basically, yeah, follow and follow block, but it's Shagmary Kill. Yes.

I'm just going to give you three. We're going to give you three things. And you have to go real quick. You can't think about it for a second. Okay. You have to go boom, boom, boom. Okay. Taskmaster, Live of the Apollo, A hour of 10 Catsters countdown.

Oh, so, um, um, oh, this is, this is dangerous for me. I know, career wise. Well, Dasmaster, I can't go back on, so the worst one. So block Taskmaster. Right. Because I didn't win a single episode. Oh, you did. Even in that suit.

You would have thought you would. Yeah. Yeah. Not enough effort in there. Um, what was it? Unfollow. Or follow. Unfollow.

Oh, go ahead. Follow. Follow. Is it 8 out of 10 cats? 8 out of 10 castors countdown. Does countdown? I think you're really good at the countdown. I like to enjoy that.

But I also want to be on Live of the Apollo again. Oof. I'm going to unfollow 8 out of 10 Cats does countdown because I know if Jimmy Carwood to hear this, he'd get the joke because he does a roast battle. And then follow Live the Apollo because we need to support our institutions. It's so true.

That's very good. It's so true. Lovely. Well, thank you so much, Phil. We won't keep you. We won't keep you. We won't keep you. Oh, I just got a little tingle down my spine.

Oh, lovely. Thank you so much. You're amazing. Thank you, guys. We-hoo. So all the bits that you heard from Phil Wang, the first tweet that was too pure, the post he regrets,

and also the post he's proud of it all on our Instagram at Mike Delete LaterPod. So go on there and play along. And also, please go deep into your own grids and tag us in with your embarrassing early Instagram posts. Or if you want to reply to yourself on Twitter, I'm on for it. We will definitely repost our favourites onto our own grids. And remember, don't get too precious about what you post online.

It's meant to be fun and you'll want those memories one day. But hey, if you're really worried then, you might as well delete later. Bye! Bye!