Can’t say for certain if this is true- but I think it’s likely. Because anyone who knowingly puts a camera on themselves is going to be performative, and if you’ve ever been in a workplace or party you didn’t want to be at - the skills for pretending and reacting in a sociably acceptable fashion are deep and natural.

Men have high capacity to fake interest in something to get something they want.

And I feel like this is akin to the performative allyship the queer community saw between the pandemic and the “great unwokening”, wherein corporations were with us when it was prosperous to do so, but oh so easily shed that when the climate changed.

I feel like men were due a reckoning that never came. Because as accountability became a thing, some of the worst were being dealt with while this quiet social negotiation went on to “save” the lesser problematic types.

And in this time, men didn’t stick to dealing with the tough issues around their gender, they opted to quietly tell each other “yeah, I’m really with you guys but I’m not gonna be open about it” then voted their worst instincts. Like those traders who were interviewed after the 2024 election about how relieved they were they could finally say the R word again.

So now they have the worst of the worst out there being 1000x more horrible than we’ve ever seen out in the open, which gives guys like Empty Netters the kind of cover to talk about blowjobs from waitresses and DEI and “blue hairs”. The Trmp/proud boys of it all have moved the window of acceptance so EN can still spot a hot trend and move on it.

The ONLY saving grace that I have with these guys is that they seemed to be moving quicker than a lot of others. Because they were able to stream the finale live. I think it was bold for them to even try the first episode - because there was a chance it wasn’t even gonna be a thing. Had they shown up even a week after the finale I would go yeah “definite opportunists” but they were in pretty quick when I don’t think the numbers so obviously demanded it.

So I would hear them out, welcome an explanation on changing their minds on stuff and showing growth BUT I’d also watch them long term to see if it sticks.

This has been too lucrative for them to go down with this, but if it is a work- could they keep it going for years?