Comedian Jeff Dye found himself at the center of online ridicule after launching—and quickly deleting—a GoFundMe campaign to help finance his move to Austin, Texas.
The fundraiser, which appeared just hours after Dye told Joe Rogan on his podcast that he was actively house-hunting in the area, was met with immediate backlash and accusations of shameless panhandling.
The irony wasn’t lost on critics who quickly unearthed Dye’s own past tweet declaring that “GoFundMes are supposed to be for emergencies only, and if or not, then it’s just organized begging and internet panhandling.” The comedian had essentially described his own future actions with uncanny precision.
After being torched online, Dye deleted the fundraiser within hours and attempted damage control on Twitter. He claimed the whole thing was meant to be “a funny joke” and that he expected “rich dudes would make big donations.”
He then “took the L,” refunded everyone who had donated, and stated that the backlash had made him “even more conservative than before.”
The incident appears to be part of a broader pattern for the 40-something comedian, who after two decades of trying to make it in Hollywood, is now pivoting to Austin’s comedy scene. During his three-hour appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Dye spent considerable time discussing his plans to relocate and echoing right-wing talking points, leading many to accuse him of attempting the “right-wing Joe Rogan grift” to become a regular at Rogan’s Austin venue, The Mothership.
The podcast appearance was marked by what observers called excessive “bootlicking,” with Dye praising Rogan’s comedy club as a meritocracy and sharing conservative viewpoints on various cultural issues. He complained about being criticized by fellow comedians at the Comedy Store for jokes about gay people and positioned himself as a victim of cancel culture.
Particularly revealing was Dye’s admission that he used to have Google alerts set up for his own name and regularly checks comments and videos about himself online. He even confessed to Rogan that he’s “afraid of clips”—short, out-of-context excerpts that can define public perception—a concern that seems prescient given his current predicament.
The failed fundraiser represents what critics are calling an “all-time low” for Dye, whose reputation was already struggling before the incident. His podcast, “Dye Hard,” which he plugged during the Rogan appearance, reportedly doesn’t crack 5,000 views per episode despite the high-profile platform.
Whether Dye will successfully reinvent himself in Austin’s comedy scene remains to be seen, but his botched crowdfunding attempt has certainly gotten him attention—just not the kind he was hoping for.