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| During the ] in 2020, Sears began to attempt to discredit some of the public health actions taken against COVID-19 and promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Science communicator Jonathan Jarry of the ], ] described Sears as part of the ], combining conspiracy theories and New Age spirituality. He notes that Sears has promoted claims about COVID-19 such as that ], has referred to masks as "face suffocators", and had a video removed by YouTube for "for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories".<ref name=MCGILL>{{Cite web|last=Jarry|first=Jonathan|date=November 19, 2020|title=The Clown Prince of Wellness|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/clown-prince-wellness|access-date=January 18, 2021|website=]}}</ref> | During the ] in 2020, Sears began to attempt to discredit some of the public health actions taken against COVID-19 and promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Science communicator Jonathan Jarry of the ], ] described Sears as part of the ], combining conspiracy theories and New Age spirituality. He notes that Sears has promoted claims about COVID-19 such as that ], has referred to masks as "face suffocators", and had a video removed by YouTube for "for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories".<ref name=MCGILL>{{Cite web|last=Jarry|first=Jonathan|date=November 19, 2020|title=The Clown Prince of Wellness|url=https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/clown-prince-wellness|access-date=January 18, 2021|website=]}}</ref> | ||
| In February 2021, Sears appeared as a speaker at the Health Freedom Summit, an online event featuring speakers "promoting anti-vaccination, anti-mask, and pro-homeschool views".<ref name="HEALTH-FREEDOM-SUMMIT-RD">Crockford, Susannah. 2021. ". '']''. May 13, 2021.</ref> | |||
| Sears was the ] at the Defeat the Mandates rally in ] on January 23, 2022.<ref name="Reason">{{cite web |last1=Britschgi |first1=Christian |title=D.C.'s Anti-Mandate Rally Devolves Into an Anti-Vaccine Rally |url=https://reason.com/2022/01/24/d-c-s-anti-mandate-rally-devolves-into-an-anti-vaccine-rally/ |website=Reason |access-date=April 4, 2022 |date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> He spoke against vaccine mandates to around 10,000 protesters alongside anti-vaccine activist ] and mRNA vaccine skeptic ].<ref name="NEWYORKTIMES">{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |title=Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/health/fauci-omicron-peak.html |access-date=April 3, 2022 |work=]|date=January 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Reason" /> He was characterized in coverage of the rally published in ''The New York Times'' as a "conservative conspiracy theorist".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |title=Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/health/fauci-omicron-peak.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> | Sears was the ] at the Defeat the Mandates rally in ] on January 23, 2022.<ref name="Reason">{{cite web |last1=Britschgi |first1=Christian |title=D.C.'s Anti-Mandate Rally Devolves Into an Anti-Vaccine Rally |url=https://reason.com/2022/01/24/d-c-s-anti-mandate-rally-devolves-into-an-anti-vaccine-rally/ |website=Reason |access-date=April 4, 2022 |date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> He spoke against vaccine mandates to around 10,000 protesters alongside anti-vaccine activist ] and mRNA vaccine skeptic ].<ref name="NEWYORKTIMES">{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |title=Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/health/fauci-omicron-peak.html |access-date=April 3, 2022 |work=]|date=January 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Reason" /> He was characterized in coverage of the rally published in ''The New York Times'' as a "conservative conspiracy theorist".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |title=Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction.' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/health/fauci-omicron-peak.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=January 23, 2022}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 16:45, 18 May 2022
American Internet personality and YouTuber For the baseball player, see JP Sears (baseball).
| JP Sears | |
|---|---|
 Sears in 2020 | |
| Born | Jonathan PatrickSears Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Internet personality |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| YouTube information | |
|---|---|
| Channel | |
| Subscribers | 2.44 million |
| Total views | 304 million |
Last updated: April 4, 2022 | |
JP Sears, known blog handle AwakenWithJP, is an American YouTuber and comedian. Sears is known for his satirical YouTube videos in which he parodies lifestyle gurus and wellness coaches, and offers comedic life advice. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sears advocated against mask and vaccine mandates.
Early life and education
JP Sears was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio. According to Sears, he was a class clown in his youth. He attended Bowling Green State University, but withdrew after several months to begin studying holistic culture at the Ohio life coaching school Journeys of Wisdom.
Pre-2020 comedy career
In 2004, Sears moved from Ohio to San Diego, California to begin work as a professional life coach. Prior to his appearance on YouTube, Sears operated the website holistichealthandfitness.com, which featured links to supplements and the website of alternative medicine proponent Joseph Mercola. In 2013, he began uploading YouTube videos providing advice on new age topics.
In 2014, Sears relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, after which he changed the tone of his videos from serious life coaching to satirical life coaching. He received notable attention in 2015 for his YouTube video titled "How to Become Gluten Intolerant". In the video, Sears delivers lines such as "If you're ready to have a ravenous appetite for impossible standards and dogmatic feelings of victimization, then let's get started on what you need to do to become gluten intolerant" in a deadpan and sarcastic manner typical of his YouTube content's approach to satire.
Sears primarily performs as a satirist. In an interview with the Naples Daily News, Sears said he uses comedy to share "sincere life advice" and balances "the sincere and the satirical" while eschewing the idea that "you're either serious, like Deepak Chopra, or you're only joking around like a comedian". Sears has rejected being categorized as either "sincere" or "humorous", explaining that he is both and the premise of the question is like asking "do you have a right hand or do you have a left hand?" According to Sears, all of his parody is drawn from aspects of his own life.
Sears was cited by Australia's ABC News as one of "a growing number of comedians satirising fad gluten-free and grain elimination diets".
In March 2017, Sears recorded a segment with CBC Radio's "Early Edition" in which host Samantha Garvey joined him in a tour of Vancouver's "most spiritually trendy spots".
Following a 2018 video roast Sears recorded about New Jersey, WKXW's Jeff Deminski called him "too funny not to share". In a similar video roast filmed the same year about Boulder—described by Westword as "hilarious"—Sears speculated "about running his own dog, Zephyr, for mayor", though, columnist Michael Roberts ultimately concluded he "could always run for mayor in Zephyr's place, especially given his high public profile".
Sears has also produced satirical roasts of Spokane, Phoenix, Portland, and other locations; however, a 2017 satire of Costa Rica was less well-received by residents and Sears subsequently pulled the video from his channel and issued an apology after it was criticized by Costa Rican ambassador to India Mariela Cruz. Costa Rica Hoy observed that Costa Ricans familiar with Sears' satirical style would probably be amused by the video, while those who were unfamiliar with it would not. The Costa Rica News, an English-language newspaper in Costa Rica, observed that "this is a great lesson in cultural differences, what made JP's popularity in the States, the use of satire and parody is not going to be a successful tactic in Latin America ... JP did realize that he had erred and sought to rectify his actions in a very public way ... Needless to say, JP will not be doing any videos about Costa Rica, he will be sticking to subjects he knows well."
Political activities
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Sears began to attempt to discredit some of the public health actions taken against COVID-19 and promote COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Science communicator Jonathan Jarry of the Office for Science and Society, McGill University described Sears as part of the conspirituality trend, combining conspiracy theories and New Age spirituality. He notes that Sears has promoted claims about COVID-19 such as that Vitamin D provides protection against the disease, has referred to masks as "face suffocators", and had a video removed by YouTube for "for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories".
In February 2021, Sears appeared as a speaker at the Health Freedom Summit, an online event featuring speakers "promoting anti-vaccination, anti-mask, and pro-homeschool views".
Sears was the master of ceremonies at the Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington D.C. on January 23, 2022. He spoke against vaccine mandates to around 10,000 protesters alongside anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and mRNA vaccine skeptic Robert W. Malone. He was characterized in coverage of the rally published in The New York Times as a "conservative conspiracy theorist".
Personal life
In September 2020, Sears announced he and his wife were expecting a child.
References
- "Tuttle Twins Episode 7 - Premiere Livestream (Feat. JP Sears)". YouTube.
- ^ "About AwakenWithJP". YouTube.
- ^ Ellison, Heath (January 24, 2018). "Local viral video star JP Sears finds success in comedy and sincerity". Charleston City Paper. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Grzeszczak, Jocelyn (June 12, 2019). "Naples only "non-redneck" part of Florida, says YouTube comedian". Naples Daily News. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ Jarry, Jonathan (November 19, 2020). "The Clown Prince of Wellness". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- Ham, Larissa (August 11, 2016). "YouTube comedian or real life coach: who is the real JP Sears?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Locke, Sarina (April 30, 2015). "Lower grain consumption has not stopped obesity in Australia". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Dimoff, Anna (March 31, 2017). "JP Sears visits Vancouver, finds his spiritual home in a Lululemon store". CBC. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Deminski, Jeff (June 25, 2018). "Watch New Jersey Get Brutally Roasted". WKXW. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Roberts, Michael (January 6, 2018). "JP Sears on His Hilarious Boulder Tribute Video and the Town's Ultra-Spirituality". Westword. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ "La Satira de JP Sears Que Deja Muy Mal a Costa Rica". Costa Rica Hoy (in Spanish). June 29, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Mitchell, Garrett (March 29, 2018). "YouTuber JP Sears explains 'Phoenix People': Locals either love it or feel totally burned". Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ "Getting Real With JP Sears in Costa Rica". Costa Rica News. July 11, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Carroll, Megan (January 16, 2020). "Internet comedian explains 'what Spokane people are like' in hilarious video". KREM-TV. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- Jarry, Jonathan (November 19, 2020). "The Clown Prince of Wellness". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
- Crockford, Susannah. 2021. "The 'Health Freedom Movement' Enters the Covid Era by Disseminating Medical Disinformation". Religion Dispatches. May 13, 2021.
- ^ Britschgi, Christian (January 24, 2022). "D.C.'s Anti-Mandate Rally Devolves Into an Anti-Vaccine Rally". Reason. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- Chang, Kenneth (January 23, 2022). "Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- Chang, Kenneth (January 23, 2022). "Fauci cautions against overconfidence but says the U.S. wave looks like it's 'going in the right direction.'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- "Comedian JP Sears". KATU-TV. September 1, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
Further reading
- "J.P. Sears: The Truth Behind His "How To Become Gluten Intolerant" Video". The Good Men Project. April 9, 2015.
- "Meet the "New Age" Stephen Colbert". Religion Dispatches. March 30, 2015.
- "An Interview With His Enlightenedness the Ultra Spiritual JP Sears". Yoga Journal. December 22, 2016.
- Sears, JP (March 7, 2017). How to Be Ultra Spiritual: 12 1/2 Steps to Spiritual Superiority. Sounds True. ISBN 9781622038213.
- Schawbel, Dan (December 7, 2017). "JP Sears: His Quest To Create An Emotionally Healthy World". Forbes.