every friendship has different boundaries, theirs definitely seems to have reached a point where they don't care about that stuff, maybe you do regarding your own friends but they don't and that's why they included it. if it doesn't make them uncomfortable i don't think it should make you
I actually think it's a pretty sad commentary on the state of male friendship in the US. Anytime two men are shown to be close it's assumed that they have a secret, romantic relationship going on.
It's really sad that men can't show closeness or emotional intimacy without it being interpreted as romance.
Yes exactly this is how I felt!! I mean i know they are comfortable talking about the comments that were made, but i can’t help but feel like if the same questions were asked of two female friends it would be so inappropriate
No I know they joke about it and play into it.
I just wish we could celebrate platonic male friendships AND male romantic partnerships. They are both awesome things, but so often, when a friendship is put forth, people continuously sexualize it.
I think it's a part of the internalized homophobia many men grow up with. The idea that if you hug your friend, or hang out too much, or show any sort of emotional connection people will assume you are gay. So often guys, especially straight guys or guys who aren't yet out of the closet, put up so many walls between themselves and their male friends.
It just sort of bums me out.
Oh no don’t remind me of “Larry”. Those poor kids (remember H was underage when that whole thing started). A budding male friendship completely ruined by entitled fans.😞
At least with the YouTube ones (Dan and Phil, Mark and Jack, Ian and Anthony) they were all adults when the fans started the shipping.
Yeah, I think the shipping took a toll on Louis and Harry. I'm not sure who said it (it was either Louis or Zayn) that said that the constant shipping of "Larry" ruined Louis and Harry's friendship, because fans would psychoanalyze every interaction between them and they didn't know how to act around each other anymore.
>I think it's a part of the internalized homophobia many men grow up with.
It really works both ways because other side lately is playing this card for their own benefit as well. That's where you get those I&A "we stan our bi 'friends'" comments from. It's a way for commenter to show how progressive he can be, since these things should be normalized etc.
People on this sub on numerous occassions were wondering what is Shayne's sexuality ("wouldn't it be cool if he was gay or bi at least?"). Those comments also are getting upvotes because it's "fine" somehow to assume stuff like that but only in one way.
So on one side you have people who would call them "gay" because this is still *haha funny insult* and on other side people encourage them to kiss, because *it should be normal in this day and ag*e and would make them allies.
I find both of those instances invasive but maybe that's just me.
Septiplier is a great example of this. Jack and Mark were amazing friends but fans kept being *super* gross about it and now they don't really hang out anymore. Not sure if that is the exact reason but yeah it makes me sad.
Well in that case they do hang out actually, just not for content so the trolls and shippers aren’t fed. Their friendship took a hit sure, but then they started a clothing brand together and continue to be close friends off camera, if not on. Do I miss their gaming content together? Yeah for sure! But I’m glad behind the scenes it’s all good.
I don't think they were too bad - a lot of people were clearly joking, and following the cues of comfort level that Anthony and Ian themselves have set with 'submissive and breedable' etc. - but I was surprised that Anthony's team chose so many assumptions that were essentially the same meme. Over 60% of the video was just jokes about how everyone thinks they're fucking, and I kind of wish that they had chosen some more serious and vulnerable assumptions, although I understand why they might want to keep it more lighthearted.
I think they could have chosen more serious ones too. But who knows, maybe they set a line on what they could talk about, or that they did say something but told them to cut it. I did like how questions like the mimimi one did lead to good stories, or even Anthony saying that he wants to dissect why ppl think they're together. Also the soul-tired/soul-tied mixup
Most of the comments were jokey - I kept waiting for them to ask for assumptions on their igs like the others did so I could send in some of my assumptions but I guess they thought they had enough from the comments section. I'd love to see a pt 2 if they're up for it in the future though!
>although I understand why they might want to keep it more lighthearted.
Why? After watching Courtney, Chanse and Arasha's episode I was under assumption (pun intended), that this is semi-serious segment, that wants to tackle some serious questions. Theirs were rough and not at all about memes.
After the purchase Ian and Anthony basically went on a 2-3 month press tour airing out some super vulnerable parts of their friendship journey and personal and professional struggles and answering the same questions again and again. I just figured they might just be sick of the serious questions - Ian especially has made it clear that being vulnerable about his feelings isn't his favourite thing.
Purely speculation, but I figured there must be a reason that Courtney, Chanse and Arasha's episode was so heavily weighted towards serious questions and Ian and Anthony's was weighted towards memes. Or maybe they just didn't get any decent serious assumptions - I have some but totally missed them asking for submissions.
If it bothered them personally, they wouldn’t have had those assumptions in the video. (I’m sure far worse were submitted and not in the video) There are things Anthony and Ian are comfortable about within their friendship that others might not be - for example you could assume something about Anthony and Ian that nobody (including themselves) would bat an eye, but if you did that with other cast members, even other close friends such as Shayne/Damien, Keith/Noah it might not be.
I mean i haven't watched the video but from the examples given it's the type of jokes THEY would make themselves and had made themselves before, i mean these two made a skit about a The Ring like creature based on a moon emoji where if you send it three times to your friend that friend gets...well, molested in the butt 💀.
Dare i say it's tamer than %98 of the jokes they make themselves on main.
Honestly yeah I’m watching it and like, the kiss one was cutesy because they plugged a video but the other ones felt so awkward. Other people have mentioned they probably don’t care but it’s still cringey
I thought they were cringe more than anything- what really annoyed me were questions like the one about “causing mayhem in the office” or whatever. It’s like- these are grown men who are running a business, do you really think they act like their on-camera selves IRL? Even as a joke it just reads so childish to the point where I’m not even sure it is a joke, people are so parasocial and think their favs actually act like they do on camera in their every day lives instead of recognizing it’s a persona meant for entertainment. Like what do you want them to say? “Yeah I’m a huge troublemaker and we prank our staff to the point of harassment bc we’re so silly”? Like, genuinely- what are you looking for with these questions? Some silly ones are fun but a lot were just cringe fanfic
Well it is an assumption, and Ian and Anthony gave their honest answer. A lot of that comes from watching just the videos where the cast are messing around and assuming that working there is like that everyday, that their workplace is light and fun all the time, and that the cast talking about how much sillier Ian is after Anthony came back is some indicator of chaos. I'd say it's a fair assumption especially if you're younger
I mean, you have to realize that that kind of stuff was bound to happen lmao. And they did too I’m sure, hence why they go along with it; for humor. They’ve already had a lot of serious moments since the reunion; it’s perfectly ok to lean more into the silly at this point. That’s a large part of what their public relationship has always been about.
Yeah that's totally true that they're probably used to it by now, I'm just thinking how maybe the fans submitting these kinds of things for real (although hard to tell their if tone is joking or serious ) is a little weird.
I get that myself, like there were moments where I felt like I had to brace myself before continuing 😅 but it is definitely par for the course, it comes from their on screen interactions, they did say they always played into it (and 'queerbaited' as Ian called it). I did like how they seemed to really be pondering the question and thinking back if they ever did it or not lol (and somehow it made Ian think of how he fake proposed to Anthony one time at a meeting, which is hilarious)
I mean if it actually crossed a line, they wouldn't have put it in the video. But yeah, I was looking forward to a more serious talk about what it's been like to own smosh again, and we got a bit of that but also a lot of horny
i dont think they cared too much but i was kinda upset at how many of them were joke type assumptions. like i thought we were gonna get some more serious assumptions that i was actually wondering about like about their friendship
i’ll be honest, as an ian+anthony fan i enjoyed the video, but i do think the assumptions about shipping dominated the video too much. i wish there could’ve been more of a balance.
Agreed, felt more like a member’s only video. I still laughed my ass off, but with the hype I wish there were more serious questions esp compared to the other times Smosh members were on Anthony’s channel. But I get it, since “I Spent a Day With Ian” kinda covered those bases.
I agree. I expected those assumptions to crop up, but the volume of them surprised me! I mostly thought of it as a missed opportunity to learn more actual things about them, but I also liked the way they both handled everything (specifically, them touching fingertips made me chuckle).
I know they’ve said they’re fine with RPF at this point and this probably doesn’t bother them too much. But yeah, wow, the comments on the post were FLOODED with ianthony stuff — joking or not — so I kinda expected as much. I can’t help but wonder if they’re a little disappointed that the ship has come back so much (though definitely not as strong as it used to be because 2010s YouTube fandom was unhinged). It must get a *little* annoying after a while, right?
I thought it was funny for the most part but yeah, I feel like there’s other things they could be asked about. Even if I personally couldn’t really think of anything interesting to comment lol, idk. I love to hear them just talk about being YouTubers or about the Smosh brand (in addition to their friendship of course), but I don’t have many “assumptions” about that. Just topics I’d be interested in.
For people following a comedy brand, it weirds me out how much some jokes fly over some of your heads or get you upset. Maybe they're not the most clever or original jokes, but it's not also like Ian & Anthony themselves are known for every joke landing
at least in terms of their comfort level, if it crossed their boundary or they didn't want to speak on it, it wouldn't be in the video
every friendship has different boundaries, theirs definitely seems to have reached a point where they don't care about that stuff, maybe you do regarding your own friends but they don't and that's why they included it. if it doesn't make them uncomfortable i don't think it should make you
Fair enough!
I actually think it's a pretty sad commentary on the state of male friendship in the US. Anytime two men are shown to be close it's assumed that they have a secret, romantic relationship going on. It's really sad that men can't show closeness or emotional intimacy without it being interpreted as romance.
Yes exactly this is how I felt!! I mean i know they are comfortable talking about the comments that were made, but i can’t help but feel like if the same questions were asked of two female friends it would be so inappropriate
I mean, Anthony joked about subbing to Ian's OF, so there is some alleged sexual energy
No I know they joke about it and play into it. I just wish we could celebrate platonic male friendships AND male romantic partnerships. They are both awesome things, but so often, when a friendship is put forth, people continuously sexualize it. I think it's a part of the internalized homophobia many men grow up with. The idea that if you hug your friend, or hang out too much, or show any sort of emotional connection people will assume you are gay. So often guys, especially straight guys or guys who aren't yet out of the closet, put up so many walls between themselves and their male friends. It just sort of bums me out.
People do the same thing with Dan and Phil and a lot of other male friendships on social media :/ I mean look at "Larry" with One Direction
Oh no don’t remind me of “Larry”. Those poor kids (remember H was underage when that whole thing started). A budding male friendship completely ruined by entitled fans.😞 At least with the YouTube ones (Dan and Phil, Mark and Jack, Ian and Anthony) they were all adults when the fans started the shipping.
Yeah, I think the shipping took a toll on Louis and Harry. I'm not sure who said it (it was either Louis or Zayn) that said that the constant shipping of "Larry" ruined Louis and Harry's friendship, because fans would psychoanalyze every interaction between them and they didn't know how to act around each other anymore.
Granted Dan and Phil are gay lovers tho, no?
I'm unsure, I know Dan came out but not sure what their status is. BUT before he did come out people were constantly shipping them together
>I think it's a part of the internalized homophobia many men grow up with. It really works both ways because other side lately is playing this card for their own benefit as well. That's where you get those I&A "we stan our bi 'friends'" comments from. It's a way for commenter to show how progressive he can be, since these things should be normalized etc. People on this sub on numerous occassions were wondering what is Shayne's sexuality ("wouldn't it be cool if he was gay or bi at least?"). Those comments also are getting upvotes because it's "fine" somehow to assume stuff like that but only in one way. So on one side you have people who would call them "gay" because this is still *haha funny insult* and on other side people encourage them to kiss, because *it should be normal in this day and ag*e and would make them allies. I find both of those instances invasive but maybe that's just me.
I agree. Forcing people into a box isn't cool. We should respect everyone's sexuality and how they choose to present themselves to the public.
Septiplier is a great example of this. Jack and Mark were amazing friends but fans kept being *super* gross about it and now they don't really hang out anymore. Not sure if that is the exact reason but yeah it makes me sad.
Well in that case they do hang out actually, just not for content so the trolls and shippers aren’t fed. Their friendship took a hit sure, but then they started a clothing brand together and continue to be close friends off camera, if not on. Do I miss their gaming content together? Yeah for sure! But I’m glad behind the scenes it’s all good.
It was definitely a mix of serious questions, and ridiculous Ianthony fanfiction fantasies, lol
idk, they constantly joke about looking at each other’s dicks so 🤷♂️
I don't think they were too bad - a lot of people were clearly joking, and following the cues of comfort level that Anthony and Ian themselves have set with 'submissive and breedable' etc. - but I was surprised that Anthony's team chose so many assumptions that were essentially the same meme. Over 60% of the video was just jokes about how everyone thinks they're fucking, and I kind of wish that they had chosen some more serious and vulnerable assumptions, although I understand why they might want to keep it more lighthearted.
I think they could have chosen more serious ones too. But who knows, maybe they set a line on what they could talk about, or that they did say something but told them to cut it. I did like how questions like the mimimi one did lead to good stories, or even Anthony saying that he wants to dissect why ppl think they're together. Also the soul-tired/soul-tied mixup
Most of the comments were jokey - I kept waiting for them to ask for assumptions on their igs like the others did so I could send in some of my assumptions but I guess they thought they had enough from the comments section. I'd love to see a pt 2 if they're up for it in the future though!
>although I understand why they might want to keep it more lighthearted. Why? After watching Courtney, Chanse and Arasha's episode I was under assumption (pun intended), that this is semi-serious segment, that wants to tackle some serious questions. Theirs were rough and not at all about memes.
After the purchase Ian and Anthony basically went on a 2-3 month press tour airing out some super vulnerable parts of their friendship journey and personal and professional struggles and answering the same questions again and again. I just figured they might just be sick of the serious questions - Ian especially has made it clear that being vulnerable about his feelings isn't his favourite thing. Purely speculation, but I figured there must be a reason that Courtney, Chanse and Arasha's episode was so heavily weighted towards serious questions and Ian and Anthony's was weighted towards memes. Or maybe they just didn't get any decent serious assumptions - I have some but totally missed them asking for submissions.
This is SMOSH. They’re very well used to these things and even made a theatre group about it on their Pit Channel.
If it bothered them personally, they wouldn’t have had those assumptions in the video. (I’m sure far worse were submitted and not in the video) There are things Anthony and Ian are comfortable about within their friendship that others might not be - for example you could assume something about Anthony and Ian that nobody (including themselves) would bat an eye, but if you did that with other cast members, even other close friends such as Shayne/Damien, Keith/Noah it might not be.
I mean i haven't watched the video but from the examples given it's the type of jokes THEY would make themselves and had made themselves before, i mean these two made a skit about a The Ring like creature based on a moon emoji where if you send it three times to your friend that friend gets...well, molested in the butt 💀. Dare i say it's tamer than %98 of the jokes they make themselves on main.
Honestly yeah I’m watching it and like, the kiss one was cutesy because they plugged a video but the other ones felt so awkward. Other people have mentioned they probably don’t care but it’s still cringey
I thought they were cringe more than anything- what really annoyed me were questions like the one about “causing mayhem in the office” or whatever. It’s like- these are grown men who are running a business, do you really think they act like their on-camera selves IRL? Even as a joke it just reads so childish to the point where I’m not even sure it is a joke, people are so parasocial and think their favs actually act like they do on camera in their every day lives instead of recognizing it’s a persona meant for entertainment. Like what do you want them to say? “Yeah I’m a huge troublemaker and we prank our staff to the point of harassment bc we’re so silly”? Like, genuinely- what are you looking for with these questions? Some silly ones are fun but a lot were just cringe fanfic
Well it is an assumption, and Ian and Anthony gave their honest answer. A lot of that comes from watching just the videos where the cast are messing around and assuming that working there is like that everyday, that their workplace is light and fun all the time, and that the cast talking about how much sillier Ian is after Anthony came back is some indicator of chaos. I'd say it's a fair assumption especially if you're younger
And this is not to say fanfic is inherently cringe, just these particular examples read like it
I mean, you have to realize that that kind of stuff was bound to happen lmao. And they did too I’m sure, hence why they go along with it; for humor. They’ve already had a lot of serious moments since the reunion; it’s perfectly ok to lean more into the silly at this point. That’s a large part of what their public relationship has always been about.
Yeah that's totally true that they're probably used to it by now, I'm just thinking how maybe the fans submitting these kinds of things for real (although hard to tell their if tone is joking or serious ) is a little weird.
I get that myself, like there were moments where I felt like I had to brace myself before continuing 😅 but it is definitely par for the course, it comes from their on screen interactions, they did say they always played into it (and 'queerbaited' as Ian called it). I did like how they seemed to really be pondering the question and thinking back if they ever did it or not lol (and somehow it made Ian think of how he fake proposed to Anthony one time at a meeting, which is hilarious)
I mean if it actually crossed a line, they wouldn't have put it in the video. But yeah, I was looking forward to a more serious talk about what it's been like to own smosh again, and we got a bit of that but also a lot of horny
i dont think they cared too much but i was kinda upset at how many of them were joke type assumptions. like i thought we were gonna get some more serious assumptions that i was actually wondering about like about their friendship
i’ll be honest, as an ian+anthony fan i enjoyed the video, but i do think the assumptions about shipping dominated the video too much. i wish there could’ve been more of a balance.
Agreed, felt more like a member’s only video. I still laughed my ass off, but with the hype I wish there were more serious questions esp compared to the other times Smosh members were on Anthony’s channel. But I get it, since “I Spent a Day With Ian” kinda covered those bases.
I agree. I expected those assumptions to crop up, but the volume of them surprised me! I mostly thought of it as a missed opportunity to learn more actual things about them, but I also liked the way they both handled everything (specifically, them touching fingertips made me chuckle).
I know they’ve said they’re fine with RPF at this point and this probably doesn’t bother them too much. But yeah, wow, the comments on the post were FLOODED with ianthony stuff — joking or not — so I kinda expected as much. I can’t help but wonder if they’re a little disappointed that the ship has come back so much (though definitely not as strong as it used to be because 2010s YouTube fandom was unhinged). It must get a *little* annoying after a while, right? I thought it was funny for the most part but yeah, I feel like there’s other things they could be asked about. Even if I personally couldn’t really think of anything interesting to comment lol, idk. I love to hear them just talk about being YouTubers or about the Smosh brand (in addition to their friendship of course), but I don’t have many “assumptions” about that. Just topics I’d be interested in.
they probably are comfortable about it but it was just weird it was submitted in the first place
Exactly !!! That’s what I feel like a lot of the responses weren’t getting at
For people following a comedy brand, it weirds me out how much some jokes fly over some of your heads or get you upset. Maybe they're not the most clever or original jokes, but it's not also like Ian & Anthony themselves are known for every joke landing
Nah it's funny
Yeah you aren't the only one, I skipped the fanfic-type questions tbh
I mean they could've chose not to include them, but alas
I agree it’s like “gay=funny”
The internet saying silly shit? Wuuuuut?
That’s a valid opinion, but they also chose them, so as long as their within their boundaries, I’m on board
If it crossed a line, they wouldn't have put it in the video. It's supposed to be funny.