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Sam Hyde

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For the English boxer, see Sam Hyde (boxer). For the folklore character, see Sam Hide. For the politician, see Samuel C. Hyde.

Sam Hyde
Hyde in 2016
Birth nameSamuel Whitcomb Hyde
Born (1985-04-16) April 16, 1985 (age 40)[1]
Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.
Medium
EducationCarnegie Mellon University
Rhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Years active2007–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Notable works and rolesMillion Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace
Websitemde.tv

Samuel Whitcomb Hyde (born April 16, 1985) is an American comedian. He is a co-founder of the sketch comedy group Million Dollar Extreme (MDE), alongside Nick Rochefort and Charls Carroll. Hyde co-created produced the series World Peace, and is a host of the reality series Fishtank.[2]

Hyde has been involved in several public pranks and internet hoaxes. His transgressive style, including its use of homophobic, antisemitic and racist themes and his public support of far right figures has garnered significant public controversy, and he has been heavily linked with the alt-right.[3][4][5][6]

Life and career

Hyde was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1985, and was raised in Wilton, Connecticut. After graduating from high school in 2003, he attended Carnegie Mellon University for one year,[7] before transferring to the Rhode Island School of Design,[8] graduating in 2007 with a BFA in filmmaking.[9]

Million Dollar Extreme

Main article: Million Dollar Extreme

Hyde, along with fellow comedians Nick Rochefort and Charls Carroll, founded the sketch comedy group Million Dollar Extreme (MDE) in 2009, and began uploading videos to YouTube. The channel content consisted of pranks, iPhone monologues by Hyde, as well as "strategically offensive acts of (sometimes public) provocation and anti-sketches".[10] Pranks that were uploaded to the channel included Samurai Swordplay in a Digital Age: in which Hyde lampooned the American anime fandom under the pseudonym "Master Kenchiro Ichiimada" at a convention in Vermont, and Privileged White Male Triggers Oppressed Victims, Ban This Video Now and Block Him in which Hyde read aloud several pages of homophobic 'research' at a comedy club in Brooklyn: prompting walkouts among the audience.[11][12]

In 2014, Hyde started a fake Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the creation of a "pony dating simulator" for bronies.[13] Devotees of the show who ostensibly took the project seriously pledged a total of $4,161 to the fundraiser before Hyde cancelled it.[13][14]

TED talk

Sam Hyde's prank TED Talk, "2070 Paradigm Shift" in 2013.

National attention focused on Hyde in 2013, when he was booked to deliver a talk at TEDx, titled "2070 Paradigm Shift", at Drexel University.[13] Hyde took the stage dressed in a maroon sweatsuit and a Roman style breastplate and greaves and delivered a speech in which he advocated for underwater vegetable farming, wiping Israel off the map, killing the elderly, and using trash as money.[15] The talk was described by Forbes as a satiric impersonation of a "Brooklyn tech hipster,"[13] and The Washington Post described it as subversive brilliance, interpreting the work as a takedown of the TED talk concept.[16]

Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace

With this increased exposure, Adult Swim premiered a television program in August 2016, Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace. The show was co-written by Hyde, and he acted in it along with the other members of MDE.[17]

The series consisted of six eleven-minute episodes that contained anti-sketches, deliberately cheap performances, amateur acting and video segments including pranks. Sketches were deliberately provocative, with characters suffering violent abuses such as crashing through walls and tables, and being subjected to misogynistic and racists discourse. Hyde and Adult Swim emphasized the show's ironic nihilism, but journalists such as Buzzfeed's Joseph Bernstein drew attention to the show's popularity with the alt-right, and raised concerns that the ironic nihilism could be, and was being interpreted as racist, sexist and antisemitic.[18] Following an internal battle in the Cartoon Network (the channel that hosts Adult Swim) over the show's content,[19] it was cancelled after one season.[20] Hyde alleged that this was due to his vocal support for Donald Trump.[21]

In an email to The Washington Post after the cancellation, Hyde stated that the show included "a secret signal to the KKK, which is actually where a lot of my YouTube ad revenue comes from"; he also insisted that he was not being sarcastic, and that while he had kept the connection a secret, he could openly talk about the KKK once the show had been cancelled.[22] In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in the aftermath of his series' cancellation, when questioned if he held a bias towards minorities, Hyde replied: "No, I wouldn’t say that. I would say that I’m probably as racist or as biased as the average regular white guy or the average regular black guy."[23]

2017-present

In 2017, Hyde pledged $5,000 towards the legal defense fund of Andrew Anglin, the founder and editor of neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer.[24] The Southern Poverty Law Center sued Anglin for allegedly organizing a "troll storm" against a Jewish woman in Montana. When Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times questioned Hyde about the donation, Hyde asked Pearce if he was Jewish and went on to say that $5,000 was "nothing" to him. Hyde also stated: "Don't worry so much about money. Worry about if people start deciding to kill reporters. That's a quote. For the reason why, you can say I want reporters to know I make more money than them, especially Matt Pearce."[24]

Fishtank

Hyde launched a live reality web show Fishtank (also known as fishtank.live). This is a 24/7 interactive reality show where a number of contestants cohabitate and interact with viewers in real time for six weeks.[25] The program has been compared to the Big Brother television franchise for its format,[2][26] while others have compared it to the Stanford prison experiment for its content.[27]

Misidentification hoaxes

Sam Hyde in 2016. This and similar photos have been used by internet trolls when reporting Hyde as the perpetrator of mass shootings and terrorist attacks.

Fans of MDE responded to the trolling content of the show by using photos of Hyde, its creator, to convince multiple media outlets of his involvement in mass shootings.[28] Hyde has played along with this, as part of his anti comedy stance.[29] Some have argued he instigated the hoaxes himself through troll Twitter accounts.[30]

The hoaxes, which typically included photos of Hyde brandishing a semi-automatic weapon and with a slightly altered name to appear more "authentic", reappeared so often on social media that The New York Times characterized "Sam Hyde is the shooter" as "an identifiable meme."[31]

The first instance of the prank was the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting. CNN mistakenly included Hyde's image on their coverage of the shooting.[32] Hyde was also labelled as the perpetrator in high profile shootings such as the Pulse nightclub shooting,[33][34] Sutherland Springs church shooting (where he was misidentified by Representative Vicente Gonzalez[35]) and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.[32] Hyde has also been erroneously blamed for many other small scale and large shootings,[29] as well as the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.[36]

Reception

According to academics Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx, Hyde's act is a form of trolling passed off as satire, with the argument that offensive statements can be made to evoke a suitable emotional backlash. In this way the response is itself performative. One group within the audience react to what they see, whereas the others in the audience become part of the trolling, enjoying the indignation they see in others.[37] Advocacy group Hope not Hate have described Hyde as a "far-right activist with a history of racism, homophobia, misogyny and spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories", and argue he uses "a veneer of satire to create uncertainty around his actual beliefs".[6] According to Sienkiewicz & Marx, as of 2024 Hyde had made it "increasingly hard to believe his anti-Semitism is anything short of sincere by continuously railing against Jewish comedians whom he believes conspire to blackball him", describing his 2017 donation to Andrew Anglin as "[saying] the quiet part out loud".[38]

Boxing

Sam Hyde
Other namesThe Candyman
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[39]
Reach81 in (206 cm)
StanceOrthodox

Hyde enjoys boxing and helped train Canadian YouTuber Harley Morenstein for iDubbbz's charity boxing event Creator Clash. On August 27, 2022, Hyde made his boxing debut, defeating Australian social media star James "IAmThmpsn" Thompson during the 2 Fights 1 Night event.[40] Throughout fight week press conferences, Hyde adopted an Irish persona dubbed "The Candyman". In this persona, he spoke in a thick Irish accent, wore bizarre Irish-related clothing and a mask, and read candy-centric poems. Hyde defeated Thompson in the third round by TKO. After the fight, Hyde called out left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker by threatening to murder him at his house, while remaining in-character as the Candyman, saying "I am going to stalk him and become obsessed with him, and wear his makeup, and his dresses, and use his skin as a coat like the ancient Irish did."[41]

He later went on to train comedy rapper Tyler Cassidy for his match against Chris Ray Gun for the second Creator Clash, scheduled for April 15, 2023. Weeks prior to the event, Cassidy was removed from the lineup of fighters, with William Haynes taking his place, sparking controversy and boycotts from fans of both Hyde and Cassidy.[42] Cassidy accused iDubbbz of removing him from the card due to personal grudges against Hyde that stem from the filming of the documentary Getting Away With It.[43] According to Cassidy and many fans of both creators, a potential major factor was that he had previously made jokes about subscribing to iDubbbz's wife's OnlyFans.[44] In a video uploaded by iDubbbz titled "Addressing the Froggy Fresh Drama", he criticizes Hyde for relentlessly harassing him, his wife Anisa Jomha, and other influencers who have fought on Creator Clash, such as Nathan Barnatt.

Publications

Books

  • How to BOMB the U. S. Gov't: The OFFICIAL Primo(tm) Strategy Guide to the Collapse of Western Civilization, with Nick Rochefort and Charls "Coors" Carroll. COM98 LLC (2016). ISBN 0997917601, 978-0997917604.[45]

Filmography

Television

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Sam Hyde (@Night_0f_Fire)". Twitter. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Begay, Mesha (May 8, 2023). "New Mexican man participates in 24/7 stream contest show 'Fishtank'". KOB.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Battle Over Adult Swim's Alt-Right TV Show". The Atlantic. November 17, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  4. ^ Strauss, Matthew (October 12, 2017). "John Maus Speaks on Involvement With Canceled Alt-Right Adult Swim Show". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 20, 2024. Its creator, Sam Hyde, is also an outspoken proponent of the alt-right
  5. ^ Peters, Mitchell (October 7, 2023). "Doja Cat Gets Backlash After Wearing Shirt With Photo of Alt-Right Comedian Sam Hyde". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2024. wearing a shirt with an image of alt-right comic Sam Hyde, who reportedly has ties to the neo-Nazi movement
  6. ^ a b Lawrence, David (September 12, 2022). "Sam Hyde: the antisemitic troll making a comeback through influencer boxing". Hope Not Hate. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Rullo, David (March 31, 2025). "Alt-Right comedian to appear at Hop Farm Brewing Company". jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  8. ^ Bernstein, Joseph (August 25, 2016). "The Alt-Right Has Its Very Own TV Show On Adult Swim". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "100 Notable Alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design". EduRank.org. EduRank. August 11, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  10. ^ Williams, Christian (April 23, 2013). "Take in the work of the comedy provocateurs in Million Dollar Extreme". AV Club. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  11. ^ "GamerGate's Archvillain Is Really A Trolling Sketch Comedian". BuzzFeed. February 24, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  12. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (December 8, 2016). "Sam Hyde Speaks: Meet the Man Behind Adult Swim's Canceled "Alt-Right" Comedy Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d "How 4chan Tricked The Internet Into Believing This Comedian Is A Mass Shooter". Forbes. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "Dark Skyes -- an EPIC brony dating sim (Canceled)". Kickstarter. Kickstarter PBC. March 6, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  15. ^ Sienkiewicz & Marx 2024, p. 157.
  16. ^ Petri, Alexandra (October 13, 2013). "The most glorious TED Talk takedown you will witness before 2070". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  17. ^ "Adult Swim Announces New Shows, Specials, and Pilots from John Kraskinski, Brett Gelman, Dan Harmon, and More". Splitsider. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  18. ^ Sienkiewicz & Marx 2021, pp. 101–102.
  19. ^ Donovan, Dreyfuss & Friedberg 2022, p. 178.
  20. ^ Wright, Megh (December 5, 2016). "Adult Swim Cancels Its "Alt-Right" Show 'Million Dollar Extreme'". Vulture. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  21. ^ "'Million Dollar Extreme' creators say Adult Swim canceled their show for supporting Donald Trump". Fox News. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  22. ^ Weigel, David (December 23, 2016). "The story behind the sudden cancellation of Adult Swim's Trump-loving comedy show". Washington Post. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "Sam Hyde Speaks: Meet the Man Behind Adult Swim's Canceled "Alt-Right" Comedy Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Neo-Nazi website raises $150,000 to fight Southern Poverty Law Center lawsuit". Los Angeles Times. June 7, 2017.
  25. ^ Williams, Kenneth (April 23, 2023). "What is Fishtank? A 24/7 stream contest gone rogue". win.gg. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  26. ^ Masiello, Shawna (May 12, 2023). "Fishtank: the best reality TV show that will never air". POPTOPIC. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  27. ^ Laghos, Mario (May 16, 2023). "Are we the fish? | The disturbing reality of Fishtank Live". whynow. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  28. ^ Aspray 2019, p. 155.
  29. ^ a b Webber 2018, p. 302.
  30. ^ Boatright et al. 2019, §6.
  31. ^ Bromwich, Jonah (November 6, 2017). "Sam Hyde and Other Hoaxes: False Information Trails Texas Shooting". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  32. ^ a b Bell, Chris (October 2, 2017). "Las Vegas: The fake photos shared after tragedies". BBC News.
  33. ^ Hicks, Liza (July 2019). "Watch: Why Sam Hyde Goes Viral After Every Mass Shooting". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  34. ^ Abraham, Ellie (March 28, 2023). "Why does a Sam Hyde meme go viral after every mass shooting?". www.indy100.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  35. ^ "WATCH: Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Says Sam Hyde Is Sutherland Springs Shooter". Heavy. November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  36. ^ Gilbert 2025, p. 166.
  37. ^ Sienkiewicz & Marx 2024, p. 159.
  38. ^ Sienkiewicz & Marx 2024, p. 161.
  39. ^ HEAVYWEIGHTS COLLIDE | Sam Hyde vs. Iamthmpsn Full Fight (Video). YouTube: DAZNBoxing. August 28, 2022.
  40. ^ "KSI vs. Swarmz undercard: Complete list of fights before main event in 2022 YouTube boxing match". The Sporting News. August 24, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  41. ^ "The un-cancellation of Sam Hyde". UnHerd. August 31, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  42. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (April 11, 2023). "YouTubers square off in the boxing ring for Creator Clash 2". NBC News. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  43. ^ Cadorniga, Callie (March 29, 2023). "Froggy Fresh Will No Longer Be a Part of Creator Clash 2 — What's Going On?". Distractify. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  44. ^ Blisso (April 7, 2023). "The Creator Clash Meltdown | Froggy Fresh Drama Explained". Bliss Index. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  45. ^ "How To Bomb The US Gov't, Dummy". The Royal Studio.
  46. ^ Bernstein, Joseph (November 16, 2016). "Adult Swim Talent Want The Network To Cancel Its Alt-Right Comedy Show". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  47. ^ Minsker, Evan; Phillips, Amy (December 8, 2016). "Bands Featured on Adult Swim's Cancelled "Million Dollar Extreme" Disavow Show". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 8, 2016.

Bibliography

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