Eugene Lee Yang

Eugene Lee Yang (born January 18, 1986) is an American filmmaker, actor, author, activist, and internet personality. He is known for his work with BuzzFeed (2013–2018) and for being the co-founder of the comedy group The Try Guys (2014–2024) and its company 2nd Try LLC.

Yang is also known for his work with various human rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy charities such as The Trevor Project.

Early life and education Yang, the only son of South Korean immigrants Min-yeong Lee and Jae-hong Yang , was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Pflugerville, Texas. He discovered he had some Chinese and Japanese ancestry in addition to his mostly Korean roots after taking a 23andMe DNA test. He has two sisters.

Early on, he lost his Texan accent by the prodding of his sister, who told him he might face difficulties getting into Ivy League schools. explaining that his doubts regarding gaining acceptance in mainstream media stemmed from the lack of queer and Asian American representation in films: However, a seventh-grade teacher recommended that he should consider studying filmmaking. He attended the University of Southern California He graduated with a B.A. in cinema production in 2008.

BuzzFeed In 2013, he started working for the video branch of the internet media company BuzzFeed, which had earned over 70 million views, and Women's Ideal Body Types Throughout History, which was viewed over 40 million times and remained one of Buzzfeed's most watched on YouTube. According to Glamour, "Yang's videos work because they're funny-with-a-message riffs on all-American cultural touchstones—like high school vs. college, awkward private moments, and pet ownership. But he's also not afraid to tackle issues surrounding race—especially when it comes to the Asian American community."

Yang became a recognized name on social media, taking on challenges, Yang was the first Try Guy to leave Buzzfeed, as his contract ended first.

On May 4, 2019, The Try Guys announced that they were publishing a book called The Hidden Power of F*cking Up, which was published June 18, 2019, and became a New York Times Best Seller. In the same video, The Try Guys also announced their tour, which took on an "'80s rock-band theme," and their podcast, which is called the "Try-Pod."

In October 2020, the Try Guys endorsed Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.

In May 2024, Habersberger and Kornfeld revealed that Yang would be concluding his activities with the Try Guys following their upcoming season of content.

Television and film In 2019, Yang made a guest appearance on NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine, portraying Theo Lorql.

In 2023, he starred in the animated Netflix film Nimona as Ambrosius Goldenloin.

Novels Yang has announced that his YA fiction writing debut will be a two-part queer fantasy epic called The Unders, with the first book scheduled to release in spring 2025.

Activism

In July 2022, Yang hosted a fundraiser with Beto O'Rourke, a gubernatorial candidate in Texas.

Asian American representation Yang advocates for equality, and the lack of interest in casting Asian American men as audiences are exposed to desexualized secondary roles or comedic sidekicks. in which he starred, listed a slew of racial stereotypes and daily microaggressions. Marcie Bianco wrote in her critique, "The microaggressions detailed in this BuzzFeed video don't have to do with the size of the Asian population, but rather highlight how stereotypes are perpetuated by generalizations. Perhaps sometimes useful shorthand, these generalizations turn into ugly and limiting stereotypes that foreclose the possibility of people knowing each other as individuals."

In another related video, If Asians Said the Stuff White People Say, in which he starred together with Los Angeles-based writer and comedian Jenny Yang, featured Asian Americans asking questions and making comments to white characters that were considered uncomfortable for Asian Americans. In her review, Lauren Davidson wrote, "That's the first racist stereotype turned on its head in BuzzFeed Yellow's latest video, which shows, with that classic trick of role reversal, how ridiculous Asian typecasting has become."

On March 17, 2017, he produced Asian Men Re-Create Iconic Underwear Ads, which explored the theme of Asian men as sexually inferior. The video recreated iconic ads of underwear using average Asian male models.

In 2021, The Try Guys posted a fundraising documentary, We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Hate, which Yang discusses the history of hate crimes against Asian Americans in response the rise in attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many prominent Asian Americans are featured in the video, such as Andy Kim and Lisa Ling. As of December 2023, they raised over $140,000 for the Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Community Fund. On October 31, 2018, he published the video My Dad's First Drag Show (Featuring Kim Chi), where he adopted a similar approach to exploring drag culture by inviting his father and stepmother to a drag show.

He also executive produced and hosted Buzzfeed's Queer Prom five-part video series that documented the journey of eight high school seniors who attended the company's first LGBTQ-themed prom together with other students.

On October 11, 2018, commemorated as the 30th year of National Coming Out Day, he took over the website of the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, publicly sharing his experience growing up as a young queer man and advocating for LGBTQ representation in the media. Furthermore, he collaborated with The Trevor Project, a non-profit LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, to raise awareness on the incidence of suicide among LGBTQ youth and in inviting volunteers in the video Eugene Volunteers at the Trevor Project, which was posted on December 3, 2018.

He previously referred to himself as "queer" and "LGBT." However, on June 15, 2019, Yang explicitly came out as gay in a music video. Two days later, Yang released an accompanying video documenting the video's creation, his feelings, and his thoughts surrounding his coming-out process.

Personal life On June 15, 2019, Yang came out as gay in a YouTube video that has donated over $150,000 to The Trevor Project.

Filmography

Film +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released

Television

Awards Yang won several awards for his work with The Try Guys. Additionally, on June 20, 2016, he was awarded Unforgettable 2015 Male Breakout Star of the Year. In October 2019, he was awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. In May 2020, he was given the Phenom Award for LGBTQ+ Activism from the Shorty Awards for his work with The Trevor Project, for whom he has hosted multiple fundraising events and raised over $150,000 through his coming-out video. Yang was one of the first honorees given the 2021 YouTube Channel Changer Award for his work for racial justice through his documentary and fundraiser, We Need To Talk About Anti-Asian Hate.