We have all heard the name Ned Fulmer quite a lot in the last few days. He is now a former member of the Try Guys, which is a viral YouTube channel. Who, thanks to Reddit, was caught in a scandal that leaked earlier this week. The original Reddit post has now since been deleted but, with the efforts of the internet you are quite literally able to find it on every platform.
The original post consisted of a small video of Ned Fulmer and Alex Herring at a club in New York City. In the video the two are seen to be kissing/making out with each other in full view of the public. Both were in committed relationships at the time. Alex had recently gotten engaged in February of 2022 while Ned had been married since June 2012. The original post shows direct messages between the person who caught them on video and Alex’s fiancé Will Thayer.
When this conversation first started to get attention on Reddit most were suspicious but, could not say the man in the video was Ned, considering it was quite blurry and dark. However, after a few hours the Try Guys posted to their Instagram: “Ned Fulmer is no longer working with the Try Guys. As result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together. We thank you for your support as we navigate this change.” This statement was followed up by Ned’s own post to his Instagram “Family should have always been my priority, but I lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship. I’m sorry for any pain that my actions may have caused to the guys and the fans but most important of all to Ariel. The only thing that matters right now is my marriage and my children, and that’s where I’m going to focus my attention.” Lastly we have a statement from Ariel Fulmer, Ned’s wife “Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me – it means a lot. Nothing is more important to me and Ned than our family, and all we request right now is that you respect out privacy for the sake of our kids. Alex Herring and Will Thayer have yet to make and formal public statements regarding the issue.
You may be wondering just who Alex Herring is during all of this. Alex is the associate producer at 2nd Try LLC. meaning she is the associate producer for the Try Guys. This makes the situation much more complicated and upsetting. Due to her position, Ned Fulmer is her boss making him have a clear position of power over her. Now I am not assuming or speculating if their relations were consensual or not however, due to this nature it puts the company and Ned at liability. Mentioned in Ned’s statement the relationships was consensual but, until we have a formal statement from Alex we can not be sure.
While looking into this situation I found myself feeling uncomfortable. Diving into others personal lives seemed wrong. I understand all of this is very public information due to the people involved having platforms. Therefore, I only included the very basic and public information in this report. I however, do think we are missing the bigger picture. A lot of times when celebrities have affairs we see them with those who are either not famous and seeking fame, those who are younger than them, and or those who work under them. This calls for a deeper look through of those situations as all of them mentioned have power dynamics involved. I again do not claim to know anything about the dynamics of Ned and Alex’s relationship I only know what has been laid out for me.
We as a society are extremely quick to judge those who look like they have done morally wrong. However, we currently do not have all the facts to this relationship nor were we behind the scenes. We need to remember to keep in mind sometimes things are not as clear as they seem. I hope in future situations we can think before attacking people as soon as news breaks out because of this.