Comedian Jeff Dye is addressing the controversy surrounding his short-lived GoFundMe campaign, which he launched to help finance his relocation to Austin, Texas—only to delete it hours later amid a torrent of online criticism.
The fundraiser appeared shortly after Dye’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he discussed house-hunting in Austin and his plans to become part of the city’s burgeoning comedy scene.
What Dye characterized as “a funny joke” quickly backfired when social media users unearthed his own past tweet criticizing crowdfunding campaigns.
“GoFundMes are supposed to be for emergencies only, and if or not, then it’s just organized begging and internet panhandling,” Dye had previously written, words that would return to haunt him with remarkable precision.
In his defense, Dye claimed he expected wealthy supporters to make substantial contributions as a humorous gesture. “I expected rich dudes would make big donations,” he explained while attempting damage control on social media. However, the backlash proved overwhelming, prompting him to refund all donors and remove the campaign entirely.
The comedian acknowledged his misstep by saying he “took the L,” while also suggesting the experience had pushed him further toward conservative politics. The incident has raised questions about whether Dye is genuinely relocating to Austin for creative opportunities or attempting what critics have labeled a calculated pivot to appeal to right-wing audiences.
Recently, Kevin Brennan called Jeff Dye to confront him over the GoFundMe controversy. In the video, Dye tried once again to explain the thought process and admitted that he had gotten a little ahead of himself.
He revealed that his initial excitement about relocating wasn’t entirely grounded in financial reality. “I was maybe talking out of school saying that I was going to move to Texas because I was all excited about looking for homes and my eyes are bigger than my wallet… the truth is I probably can’t afford what I’d like over there,” he said.
Despite the backlash, Dye claims he’s been oddly amused: “The fact that everyone went crazy is I’ve been giggling so much like reading my tweets… LA comedians didn’t understand what I like… you’re like jeepers relax freaks.”
Interestingly, Dye says he even checked with ChatGPT before launching the fundraiser.
“First I asked ChatGPT… is GoFundMe just for like people you know that lost a leg… and ChatGPT is like no people do them all the time,” he explained. This—combined with examples of other comedians using GoFundMe for silly projects—led him to believe the stunt would be taken lightly.
His expectation was that wealthy fans would get the joke and chip in. “My fan base… they’ve got money… a lot of like conservative rich people like my comedy. I thought it was going to be this kind of like um we’re all afraid of big scary Gavin Newsom let’s flee California… I thought it was gonna be funny… I thought my rich fans would be like yeah Jeff enjoy Texas and give me some scratch.”
However, the reality was very different. Dye says the campaign was swarmed by “a bunch of f**king reddit trolls and fat lesbian comics.” The overwhelmingly negative reaction prompted him to shut it down. “Kev took mine down just because it seemed like an overwhelmingly negative response… I don’t need the money… I was doing it as a little goofy.”
Dye also admitted that if the GoFundMe had actually hit its $25,000 goal, things might have played out differently: “If I’d have gotten the full amount yeah I would have kept it… I’d have laughed and been like a successful troll.” But since the outrage overshadowed the joke, he refunded everyone and deleted the campaign.
When asked if he would’ve been obligated to move had he reached the funding goal, Dye admitted he hadn’t fully thought it through: “I guess I don’t know how it works… I didn’t think about it much… do you think my fans would contribute? They don’t want me in L.A.”
For now, Dye says he’s still browsing homes in Texas—but the houses he wants remain just out of reach. “The truth is the ones I want I can’t afford… or maybe I will be able to figure it out… but as of right this second I’m not doing nothing… just doing stand-up comedy having fun.”
Despite the high-profile platform Rogan’s podcast provided, Dye’s own show, “Dye Hard,” continues to struggle with viewership, reportedly failing to reach 5,000 views per episode. The failed fundraiser has undeniably brought Dye attention, though critics argue it’s done more damage than good to his already struggling reputation.
Kevin Brennan (Neal’s Brother) calls Jeff Dye in Australia to get to the bottom of the GoFundMe grift
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