Cringeworthy pro-Harris ad showcasing male support features professional actors
A new and viral political video featuring men declaring they are "man enough" to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is stacked with Hollywood actors and comedians.
A grassroots ad published last week by a former producer for Jimmy Kimmel has racked up millions of views on social media as critics lambaste the video supporting Harris as "the cringiest political ad ever created." The director behind the video said it was made for a group called Creatives for Harris, adding that even while the video is tongue in cheek, the message of the video "is true."
The video was not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee, according to a disclaimer in the 90-second video, but is shot as if it's an official campaign ad.
It features six alleged manly men who claim they are so masculine that they eat "carburetors for breakfast" and aren’t "afraid of bears," while saying they also don't fear women and will support Harris for the Oval Office.
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The video was slammed by conservatives and other critics on social media, who questioned last week if the video was a parody and claimed Democrats "have no idea how actual men speak."
FOX Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino, for example, remarked, "It's so bizarre that those on the political left, who for years proselytized the hoi poi that men can be women and women can be men, that men can compete in women's sports because we are all genderless creatures, now think they have credibility to say what a real man is all about. Sorry you blew it years ago."
"Must-see Kamala ad," Claremont Institute fellow David Reaboi quipped. "Not only do they have no idea how actual men speak, they couldn’t find any convincing male actors."
The original YouTube page for the video details that the men who appear in the unofficial ad are cast members for the video, listing the actors' names: Winston Carter, Chris Gibson, Lanre Idewu, Tony Ketcham, Mike Leffingwell and Wayland McQueen.
Fox News Digital found IMDB pages for the actors, with most appearing in bit roles for Hollywood films or starring in low-budget films or short videos.
Winston Carter, the actor who played a heavyset man in a cowboy hat, for example, has performed in a handful of low-budget movies and short videos going back to 2011, according to his IMDB page. Actor Tony Ketcham, who plays the elderly man who is unashamed of his love of "West Side Story" and support of Harris, also has an IMDB page showing credits for bit parts in movies such as "Ghost World," where he played the role of "alcoholic customer" in the 2001 film, and an episode of the "X-Files" that same year.
Lanre Idewu, in the video, plays the gym-going guy who is "man enough to deadlift 500, and then braid the s--- out of" his daughter’s hair. He has an extensive IMDB page with credits from a 2006 episode of "Arrested Development" to working as a producer on a Christmas Hallmark movie. Idewu has also posted photos to his social media pages with Democratic elected officials, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
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Two of the actors in the video are members of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational comedy group, in Los Angeles. Wayland McQueen played the role of a farming-type man surrounded by bales of hay and is listed as a current member of the comedy brigade, where he’s performed since 2008. Social media users who also investigated the actors in the ad found McQueen has reportedly tweeted about identifying and acknowledging "white privilege."
Mike Leffingwell, who declares in the unofficial campaign ad while standing next to a horse that he’s "sure as s--- not afraid" of women, is another member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, according to the comedy group’s website. His bio on the page reads, in part, Leffingwell "has written cartoons for Dreamworks and Netflix, jokes for the Onion and The Late Late Show, and a series of Shorty Award-winning commercials for Tubi. On TV he has appeared on The Goldbergs, Conan, and commercials for many exciting products."
The sixth man listed as an actor for the video, Chris Gibson, also appears to be an actor, with Fox Digital finding a handful of IMDB pages touting actors with that name, but could not confirm which allegedly belongs to the man in the ad.
Some social media users pointed out over the weekend that the video featured actors playing manly men who support Harris, sparking a new round of criticisms online.
"The campaign is so fake, they even have to fake the fake enthusiasm. They’re so bad at this. Do they honestly not know that The Google exists? Wow," one X account posted in response to a thread detailing the actors in the video.
"This explains why Progressives don’t know what a real male is," another posted.
"Everything they do is fake," another said.
The ad was created by Jacob Reed, who has worked as director for "Funny or Die" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" He told Fast Company last week that the ad was made for Creatives for Harris, which is a grassroots group of producers, writers and ad executives who support Harris.
Reed wrote on Substack that the video is "more sketch comedy than political ad," before adding that "what these men are saying is true."
"With the rise of role models like Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff on the national stage, I think the left is finally finding its footing on how to talk about masculinity — I think we’re overdue for a redefinition of what it means to be a man in America and I hope this campaign can start to shape that conversation. Because even though it’s more sketch comedy than political ad, what these men are saying is true – except being afraid of bears. A bear will straight-up kill you," Reed posted, describing those who worked on the project as "volunteers."
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Fox News Digital attempted to contact the actors via their social media accounts or by email on Sunday, but did not immediately receive replies. Fox News Digital also reached out to Reed by email, but did not receive a response.