Wikipedia

JP Sears

For the baseball player, see JP Sears (baseball).

Jonathan Patrick Sears,[1] known online as AwakenWithJP, is an American conservative YouTube comedian.[3][4][5] Sears produces satirical YouTube videos where he parodies lifestyle gurus, wellness coaches, and government policies.

JP Sears
Sears in 2023
Born
Jonathan Patrick[1] Sears

Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationInternet personality
Years active2012–present
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers3.06 million[2]
Total views540.9 million[2]
Last updated: September 8, 2024

Biography

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JP Sears was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio.[6] According to Sears, he was a class clown in his youth.[7] 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.[6]

Career

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Pre-2020 comedy career

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Sears screaming while demonstrating anger management scream therapy in 2013.

In 2004, Sears moved from Ohio to San Diego, California, to begin work as a professional life coach.[6] 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.[8] In 2013, he began uploading YouTube videos providing advice on new age topics.[6]

 
Sears as a hippie in a 2016 video skit

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.[6] His 2015 YouTube video titled "How to Become Gluten Intolerant" proved popular, receiving over 10 million views. 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.[8]

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".[7] 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.[9]

Sears was cited by Australia's ABC News as one of "a growing number of comedians satirising fad gluten-free and grain elimination diets".[10]

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".[11]

In 2018, Sears recorded a video roast about New Jersey[12] and then a similar roast filmed the same year about Boulder, described by Westword as "hilarious". Sears speculated about "running his own dog, Zephyr, for mayor". But columnist Michael Roberts ultimately concluded that Sears "could always run for mayor in Zephyr's place, especially given his high public profile".[13]

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.[14][15][16][17] News outlet Costa Rica Hoy observed that Costa Ricans familiar with Sears's satirical style would probably be amused by the video, while those who were unfamiliar with it would not.[14] 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."[16]

As of 2024, Sears also stars in The New Norm as Norm, a right-wing man who is opposed to the increasingly "woke" nature of America.

Post 2020 comedy

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During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Sears's content shifted towards support of conservative political views. In an interview with the Spokesman-Review, Sears remarked that he believed freedoms were threatened during the pandemic, which caused his political shift, though he was not political before. According to Sears, "During the spring of 2020, me being pro-freedom caused some backlash,” but said that becoming a conservative comic "turned out to be great for my career." Also according to Sears, there are fewer conservative comics, and therefore he has a "niche" audience.[18]

Sears began attempting to discredit some of the public health measures 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 spreading unfounded conspiracy theories".[19]

Political activities

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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".[20]

Sears performed at Republican politician Dan Crenshaw's Crenshaw Youth Summit in September 2021.[21]

Sears was the master of ceremonies at the Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington D.C., on January 23, 2022.[22] He spoke against vaccine mandates to around 10,000 protesters alongside Robert W. Malone, a fellow promoter of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation,[23][24][25] and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.[26][22] The New York Times characterized him as a "conservative conspiracy theorist"[27] and Vice News described him as an "anti-vaccine comedian".[28]

Personal life

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In September 2020, Sears announced that he and his wife were expecting a child.[29] As of 2021, he resides on a property outside Austin, Texas.[18]

In 2021, Sears stated, "Spirituality is super-important to me."[18] He has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, saying, "I don't feel that I'm at risk due to my age. To be quite frank, this is the most rushed vaccine in medical history."[18] As of 2023, Sears has become a devout Christian as stated in his video "I Changed My Mind About God".

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tuttle Twins Episode 7 - Premiere Livestream (Feat. JP Sears)". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b "About AwakenWithJP". YouTube.
  3. ^ Simons, Seth (December 30, 2021). "A Year in Comedy: Looking Back at 2021". Paste. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Brad (March 11, 2022). "NEARLY SOLD OUT: Comedian JP Sears Coming to Idaho in March". 95.7 KEJZ Townsquare Media. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "River Spirit Casino Resort to present JP Sears". Tahlequah Daily Press. January 27, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e 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.
  7. ^ a b Grzeszczak, Jocelyn (June 12, 2019). "Naples only "non-redneck" part of Florida, says YouTube comedian". Naples Daily News. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Jarry, Jonathan (November 19, 2020). "The Clown Prince of Wellness". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Ham, Larissa (August 11, 2016). "YouTube comedian or real life coach: who is the real JP Sears?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ Locke, Sarina (April 30, 2015). "Lower grain consumption has not stopped obesity in Australia". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  11. ^ Dimoff, Anna (March 31, 2017). "JP Sears visits Vancouver, finds his spiritual home in a Lululemon store". CBC. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Deminski, Jeff (June 25, 2018). "Watch New Jersey Get Brutally Roasted". WKXW. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Roberts, Michael (January 6, 2018). "JP Sears on His Hilarious Boulder Tribute Video and the Town's Ultra-Spirituality". Westword. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "La Satira de JP Sears Que Deja Muy Mal a Costa Rica". Costa Rica Hoy (in Spanish). June 29, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ a b "Getting Real With JP Sears in Costa Rica". Costa Rica News. July 11, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  17. ^ Carroll, Megan (January 16, 2020). "Internet comedian explains 'what Spokane people are like' in hilarious video". KREM-TV. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d Condran, Ed. 2021. "Conservative, anti-vaccine comic J.P. Sears to crack wise in Spokane for first time". The Spokesman Review. November 25, 2021.
  19. ^ Jarry, Jonathan (November 19, 2020). "The Clown Prince of Wellness". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  20. ^ Crockford, Susannah. 2021. "The 'Health Freedom Movement' Enters the Covid Era by Disseminating Medical Disinformation". Religion Dispatches. May 13, 2021.
  21. ^ Terris, Ben. 2021. "What if Republicans had a party and Trump wasn't there?". The Washington Post. September 14, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Britschgi, Christian (January 24, 2022). "D.C.'s Anti-Mandate Rally Devolves Into an Anti-Vaccine Rally". Reason. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  23. ^ Bartlett, Tom (August 12, 2021). "The Vaccine Scientist Spreading Vaccine Misinformation". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  24. ^ Gorski, David (August 30, 2021). "Yes, the FDA really HAS given full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine". Science-Based Medicine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  25. ^ Alba, Davey (April 3, 2022). "The Latest Covid Misinformation Star Says He Invented the Vaccines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ Merlan, Anna (January 20, 2022). "Joe Rogan's Friends Assemble in D.C. to Do Something They Say Isn't an Anti-Vax Rally". Vice. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  29. ^ "Comedian JP Sears". KATU-TV. September 1, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2021.

Further reading

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  Media related to JP Sears at Wikimedia Commons

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