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It was recently revealed to us olds that YouTube and other social media stars are actually more popular with teens than celebs old enough to be funny old aunt/uncle. Some of these stars are but teens themselves, and in the internet era it’s not surprising that video stars untether from network wisdom are very popular. One well known star is 16-year-old Nash Grier, kind of the Bieber of Vine, with millions of followers and loops. He’s also part of a tour now hitting comic-cons with a recent appearance at Wizard World, and an upcoming one in Salt Lake City. The latter has led to some protest however, as some of his videos are accused of being racist, sexist and homophobic, such as the one below. In case you can’t figure out how to turn it n, it shows Grier screaming a gay slur at an AIDS ad. It’s the kind of clueless thing teenagers do in private, now sharable the world over, god help us.

There’s been some blowback about him being a guest at Salt Lake City Comic Con, interestingly. BUt organizers have defended him as a guest:

Dan Farr, Salt Lake Comic Con’s founder, told City Weekly in a recent phone interview that Grier and his Fam Tour are a solid addition to this year’s lineup and will likely bring in a new, younger crowd—you know, people who love watching his videos telling young girls how to look sexier for men (December 2013), throwing a spoon down a set of stairs and saying that’s how Asians name their babies (April 2013) and explaining to his followers that HIV/AIDS is exclusive to the LGBT community.


Although Nash deleted the below, he’s still been caught being homophobic:

Nash apologized for the HIV clip, claiming he’d been “in a bad place”when he posted the video, since deleted, in April of last year. Yet that “bad place” seems to have been more than a few-month phase: He’s also purged multiple pejorative tweets about “homos” or being a “damn queer” that once littered his Twitter feed, as well as a post from May 2012 that read, “Gay rights? Nahhh.”


Normally this kind of thing might stay a teapot tempest, but, once again, as comic-cons get bigger and bigger, they’re going to get more and more scrutiny.

I’d be curious to know how the Grier brother tour went over at recent Comic-Cons. The whole teen you-tube star demo doesn’t seem to have much crossover appeal with nerd world…but I’ve been wrong before.

7 COMMENTS

  1. They were at WW San Antonio. There was a large and continuous crowd around their booth(s) during the 4 hours I was there. While WW tucked them into a corner, the shrieking was persistent. The crowd mostly kept to itself and was made up of an audience that really didn’t show any interest in the rest of the convention. I’m also pretty sure these chuckleheads were responsible for a good portion of the income of the day I attended as moms were paying whatever it took to get their tween and teen daughters to settle down (lots of crying and overwrought emotions). Only one person I spoke to knew who they were. Mostly, I took it as a sign that WW is heading towards a model of “pop-culture con” to diversify the audience and drive up ticket and VIP ticket sales. For what it’s worth, yes, it was annoying and seemed very out of place. I am way too old to pass judgment on “Vine celebrity”, but there’s a dissertation to be written about the financial ecosystem of young women, enabling parents and whatever the hell is going on here.

  2. Just watching that one video, I can see why he’s popular. Kids love being offensive, just because they know that offensive words tick people off. It’s the height of immaturity.

    If teenagers want this kid, they can have him. This is the type of “celebrity” they have at cons?

  3. What a wiener! How immature! I would be embarrassed if I were his parents. Actually if I was his parent, I’d shoot myself.

  4. There were a couple comments on SLCC’s FB page about the bad behavior of the Fam Tour and their fans while AT the show, and they SLCC deleted them.

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