After making headlines for comments that followed a particularly rough stand-up performance in New York, Theo Fong reassured fans that he “will not try his own life (of his own).”
The comedian and podcast host ran a stand-up set at New York’s Beacon Theater on Saturday, with participants reporting that the majority of the audience had left during the apparently turbulent set. A Reddit post described the show as an “improved proportions failure,” saying that Fong “appeared to be unrehearsed, confused” during what was meant to be a taping for a future stand-up special.
Fans worried about Fong after the comedian told the fans, “I don’t know what to tell you, but for a long time I’ve tried not to take my life.”
In a recent episode of his “this last weekend” podcast, Fong admitted that his performance on the filmed comedy show was “cranking” more than his previous ones, and that he felt “mild man disease” towards the special.
“It wasn’t perfect, man. I agree with it… I’ll eat a mistake at breakfast, brother,” Fong said. “And that’s fine. It’s part of the job. The first decade of comedy is a failure. A lot of my life, the best things that have happened in my life were on the other side of failure.”
Fong also addressed the suicide statement he made after the comedy show, repeatedly saying during his podcast that “I will never take away my life.”
“I am grateful to God for the grace of my life. I love my brother. I have many friends and people who love me. I want my children to grow up. I hope my wife has a wife and see her own children.
Von is said to be working on Netflix’s next stand-up hour following a special “No Attack” in 2016 and a 2021 follow-up “Regular People.” (Netflix did not respond to variety requests for comment.) Since his last special, Fon has exploded with fame. His podcast “This Last Weekend” was number two on the Spotify charts and has hosted guests such as Donald Trump, J.D. Vance and Bernie Sanders in recent months.
Heading into the 2024 election, Fon was considered a pivotal member of the so-called “Manosphere” that helped widen Trump’s reach with young voters. He has associated himself with the president, but he often does not expose his own political views. In September, he called on the Department of Homeland Security to include a snippet of Phone in a social media video promoting agency deportations. “I did not approve of using this,” Fon writes to X.
Check out the full “this last weekend” episode below.
