Theo Von has reassured fans that he “would never try to take [his] own life” after making headlines for comments he made following a particularly rough stand-up performance in New York.
The comedian and podcast host performed a stand-up set at the Beacon Theater in New York on Saturday, and attendees reported that a large chunk of the audience walked out during an apparently tumultuous set. Posts on Reddit described the show as a “failure of epic proportions” and said Von “seemed unrehearsed and disorganized” during what was meant to be a taping of a future stand-up special.
Fans became worried about Von after a clip went viral of the comedian saying to fans after his set, “I don’t know what to tell you about that, man, but I’ve been having a long month, I’m trying not to take my own life.”
In a recent episode of his “This Past Weekend” podcast, Von admitted that his performance at the filmed comedy show was “choppy” and “messier” than previous ones, and that he had been feeling “mildly manic” in the lead-up to the special.
“It wasn’t perfect, man. I’ll agree to that… I eat failure for breakfast, brother,” Von said. “And that’s OK, man. It’s part of the job. The first 10 years of doing comedy is failure. So much of my life, the best things that have ever happened in my life have been on the other side of failure.”
Von also addressed the suicide remark he made after the comedy show, repeatedly stating during the podcast, “I would never take my own life.”
He continued, “I’m grateful to God for his grace in my life. I love my siblings. I have so many friends and people that love me and people that I want to see their children grow up. I’m hopeful that I get to have a wife and meet my own children one day. Like, there’s a ton of things in my life that keep me alive and hopeful, right? I want to be able to have an impact in the world.”
Von is said to be working on his next stand-up hour for Netflix, following his 2016 special “No Offense” and 2021 follow-up “Regular People.” (Netflix did not respond to Variety‘s request for comment.) In the years since his last special, Von has exploded in fame. His podcast, “This Past Weekend,” is No. 2 on the Spotify charts, and has in recent months hosted guests like Donald Trump, JD Vance and Bernie Sanders.
In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Von was seen as a pivotal member of the so-called “manosphere” that helped widen Trump’s reach with young voters. While he has associated himself with the president, he does not often divulge his own political views. In September, he called out the Department of Homeland Security for including a snippet of Von in a social media video promoting the agency’s deportation numbers. “Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this,” Von wrote on X. “I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
Watch the full “This Past Weekend” episode below.
