Two years ago, I started interviewing people in the theater world about the problems within that community.
All the subjects of the interviews remained anonymous to encourage people to speak directly and plainly without worrying that there would be consequences down the line.
(Of course, even then, some people felt like outing themselves and getting in hot water, but we're going to leave that water under another bridge.)
When I decided it was time to bring the series to a close, it was partly because I thought it had run its course, and partly because I had a new topic I wanted to tackle.
While I've had my issues with theater and the people who do it, I've never felt like I didn't belong there, whereas from the moment I came out, I've never truly felt like a part of the gay community.
To be clear, that probably has way more to do with me than the community, but it's something I wanted to explore, and I knew how I wanted to do it.
The theater interviews were always conducted with people who didn't live anywhere near me, and there was a reason for that. We like to think that if we can attach a problem to someone we know, we can fix the problem, and I've never found that to be the case. Problems within systems are not caused by any one person, but the system itself. That's the case in theater, and I believe it's the same for the LGBTQI+ community.
So I picked a city far from my own, and I started reaching out to gay men in that city. I spent a few months following as many of them as I could on social media, and then I began asking if I could interview them. The goal was to see if we could address some of the issues of the modern gay community and get to the heart of those issues while hopefully find some solutions.
Today I'm going to be speaking with a friend in the Community who has a wild accusation to make about a local playboy.
Here's the interview:
ME: Hi Silas.
SILAS: Hi Mr. Broccoli.
ME: You and I have actually known each other for quite some time.
SILAS: This is true.
ME: I won't say how.
SILAS: I asked you out in 2007 and you said 'No.' Continue.
ME: You didn't ask me out.
SILAS: I asked you to--
ME: You asked me to come visit you and I was like 'I'm not going to visit this person I barely know.'
SILAS: I was your first big fan. Remember?
ME: You like the '100 Boys' blog. I remember that.
SILAS: You owe everything to me.
ME: Check's in the mail.
SILAS: Thank you. Venmo, bitch. It's 2021.
ME: So I've done some investigating--
SILAS: Can you tell the people reading this that I'm the reason you chose the city you're writing about?
ME: Then I'd have to say what city it is.
SILAS: Not necessarily.
ME: You did tell me there were some crazy things happening in the Community, yes.
SILAS: You're welcome. Continue.
ME: When did you move there?
SILAS: 2014.
ME: And you are how old?
SILAS: I turn none of your business next month.
ME: On the 14th, right?
SILAS: Yes, the 14th.
ME: Great. And when 35 West came up in the last interview, you were the person I thought might know something about that.
SILAS: The Scandal Building.
ME: Now, do you know Parker?
SILAS: I know about Parker, yes.
ME: Have you been to any of his parties?
SILAS: During COVID? No, I like breathing without a ventilator. Thanks.
ME: Okay.
SILAS: You think I'm catching COVID for cheap liquor and boys with tribal tattoos?
ME: But we're not talking about Parker this week.
SILAS: We are not. Because Parker is not even the person at 35 West I think you need to know about.
ME: Who do I need to know about?
SILAS: There is a man who lives there that we will call--What are we going to call him?
ME: Let's pick something boring.
SILAS: Scott.
ME: Scott isn't boring.
SILAS: What do you want to--
ME: Scott's okay. Use Scott.
SILAS: Scott moved here about three years ago, and he has dated--I would say--every catch in town.
ME: Like all the cute guys?
SILAS: All the cute guys. All the men with good jobs. The hard-to-get boys. All of them. He's dated all of them.
ME: Okay.
SILAS: And nobody knows how.
ME: How he gets them?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: Are we about to have a problematic discussion?
SILAS: I don't know. Are we?
ME: Is this going to be one of those things where you ask how a guy who isn't cute got a cute guy to date him? Because as someone who's often the not-cute guy in the relationship, I find that mean.
SILAS: No! Oh god, no. It's not that. He's not bad looking. I think--The thing about--What are we calling him?
ME: Scott.
SILAS: The thing about Scott is that he's--I would say he was bleh? None of the good things about him make up for the bad things about him, and he's, um, overly confident in himself despite not being--
ME: Special?
SILAS: Yes, that's it. He's not special. He can be rude. He likes to hear himself talk.
ME: Same.
SILAS: (Laughs.) Yes, you do.
ME: Sometimes I just talk to myself as a little treat to myself.
SILAS: Good for you. They have medication for that now.
ME: And you're a therapist so--
SILAS: (Laughs.) I thought this was anonymous.
ME: You think they're going to be able to find you based on me saying you're a therapist?
SILAS: You're making me nervous.
ME: As a therapist, how have you diagnosed him?
SILAS: I am not a therapist and Scott is not a client of mine.
ME: Okay, but if you were a therapist--
SILAS: I don't think there's anything wrong with him that rises to the level of me giving him a diagnosis. I think he can be a narcissist, but a lot of people are. The thing that I first picked up on was how everyone that dates him or spends time with him talks about it after the fact.
ME: Yeah, I was going to say, if you want to find out why these people are dating him, just ask them.
SILAS: So I have.
ME: Of course you have.
SILAS: I am also an investigator.
ME: I recall that.
SILAS: That one you can look up. Silas the Investigator.
ME: You talked to these guys--
SILAS: I talk to them, and none of them can tell you why they dated Scott.
ME: Meaning it was just this unexplainable attraction to him?
SILAS: Oh no. No, no. Like, they do not know what happened to them.
ME: I'm confused.
SILAS: They talk about meeting him. They talk about feeling like they wanted to do anything he wanted them to do. Then when he breaks up with them--
ME: So he breaks up with them?
SILAS: Always.
ME: Okay.
SILAS: Then when he breaks up with them, they're not even sad about it. One of them was saying--One of them, Kevin, has never dated anyone here. Like, religiously, they do not date people.
ME: What religion?
SILAS: F**boi.
ME: Oh, I thought any straight guys could join that religion.
SILAS: He never dates anyone and he was ready to move in with Scott until Scott broke it off.
ME: Is there an element of, you know, like--One catch endorses you by dating you so then every other catch wants a piece of you?
SILAS: I don't think so, because I'm friends with someone who saw Scott dating this guy, and--We were out for drinks--and he said 'What does he see in Scott? I would never date him.' A month later, they're dating.
ME: Did you ask him at the time what changed his mind?
SILAS: I did. He couldn't explain it to me.
ME: Even as they were dating?
SILAS: Even as they were dating.
ME: But isn't that just kind of what love is?
SILAS: No, that's deception.
ME: I can tell you're upset that this guy does so well--in terms of dating. I'm just not sure there's any deception going on here.
SILAS: He's taking away their free will.
ME: How?
SILAS: By hypnotizing them.
ME: Okay, now you have my attention.
SILAS: Don't do that thing where you make me sound crazy.
ME: You just accused a man of hypnotizing people into dating him. You already sound crazy.
SILAS: Kevin, I did my research.
ME: Okay, convince me.
SILAS: He used to be a hypnotist.
ME: Like professionally?
SILAS: I did a deep dive into his social media--
ME: Okay.
SILAS: In college, he was into hypnotism and he used to--He was in a fraternity and he would do it at fundraisers. There are videos of him doing it.
ME: But hypnotizing people is really difficult. You can't just--
SILAS: There are videos of him doing it at parties--
ME: But that's if you're susceptible to it.
SILAS: Maybe dumb gay men are highly susceptible to it. We're susceptible to everything else.
ME: It's true. We're the only people who believe Ben Platt passes as a high school student.
SILAS: I believe he is hypnotizing these men into liking him.
ME: But wouldn't it wear off after awhile? It's just the power of suggestion.
SILAS: He must be re-hypnotizing them.
ME: What? Every night before bed, he holds the little watch in front of their face and makes them believe he's Regé-Jean Page?
SILAS: How come none of these men can tell you why they liked this man?
ME: Nobody who dated Pete Davidson can tell you why they liked him either. That doesn't mean he's hypnotizing them.
SILAS: And they all have memory loss?
ME: These guys have memory loss?
SILAS: Yes. One paid for the two of them to go on a vacation together. He does not remember anything about the vacation.
ME: How much were they drinking?
SILAS: I don't know, but nobody gets black-out drunk for a week.
ME: Come visit Providence. I think we can convince you otherwise.
SILAS: One man stopped speaking to his best friend because the friend didn't want him dating Scott. This was his friend of ten years. Then they break up. Scott starts dating the friend! Then the three of them start dating. These two were like brothers. They weren't going to date each other or share another guy. He breaks up with them and now they're all ****ed up, because they don't know why they did any of that.
ME: Silas, I need you to take a step back from this and understand that this man did not hypnotize anyone.
SILAS: So he knows how to do it, but you think he's not doing it?
ME: Hypnotism is a parlor trick. You can use it to get someone to jump up and down while meowing like a cat. You can't get somebody to love you.
SILAS: You said it--It's the power of suggestion.
ME: Maybe he's just--I'll meet you halfway. Maybe he's very manipulative.
SILAS: This would be a form of manipulation. Heightened manipulation.
ME: No, that's like a superpower. You're describing a Marvel villain.
SILAS: How do you explain the memory loss?
ME: I don't know. They're probably exaggerating.
SILAS: How do you explain one of the guys changing his name?
ME: Changed his name?
SILAS: He said Scott didn't like his name so he changed it.
ME: His first name?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: Again, maybe this guy is a master manipulator.
SILAS: He's not--Okay, I'm going to say it.
ME: Don't say it.
SILAS: He's not cute enough to be a master manipulator.
ME: Silas.
SILAS: You still have to get people in the door, Kevin. If you're not that cute, they don't go in the door, and you can't manipulate them. That's just the real world. That's how it works. We're gay men. We're shallow. You are not manipulating somebody with a six pack unless you are, you know--
ME: Regé-Jean Page.
SILAS: Regé-Jean Page, yes. You are not changing your name for anything less than that. And his personality sucks. And he smells bad.
ME: What do you mean?
SILAS: He doesn't shower. He tells people that.
ME: Like ever?
SILAS: I don't think so. The man smells. Proudly.
ME: Can I see a picture?
SILAS: I sent you his profile. Go look at it.
ME: Give me a second.
(SILAS waited while I checked my phone and saw the link to the profile. I looked at the profile.)
ME: This is him?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: Are all these guys people he's dated?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: Um.
SILAS: Right?
ME: No, something's wrong here.
SILAS: Thank you.
ME: He's not bad looking--
SILAS: That's what I said--
ME: But--No. Wait. Which one changed their name?
SILAS: Go down to the photo where he's in New York.
ME: That's the guy who changed his name?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: Wait, no. What's happening here?
SILAS: Kevin.
ME: No.
SILAS: He's hypnotizing them.
ME: That's not a real thing.
SILAS: And he is so mean to them after he breaks up with them.
ME: He broke up with all these guys?
SILAS: All of them.
ME: Are these crocs? Does he wear crocs?
SILAS: All the time.
ME: And he doesn't shower?
SILAS: Yes.
ME: I am--This is weird.
SILAS: There's your new story.
ME: How many guys has he dated?
SILAS: Dozens. I'm not even counting the hook-ups.
ME: Have you seen him talking to people? Like have you witnessed it firsthand?
SILAS: I will not go anywhere near that man. I am a Catholic and the devil is real.
ME: But somebody has to have heard him or--
SILAS: I don't know. You could find out.
ME: I can't look into this. This is ridiculous.
SILAS: This could be an issue of consent.
ME: Is anyone saying he drugged them, blackmailed them--
SILAS: No.
ME: So it's not an issue of consent.
SILAS: But if, when somebody is coming onto you or trying to get you to date them, you have your free will taken away--
ME: You keep saying that, but none of these guys sound coerced.
SILAS: You're being a problem right now.
ME: How?
SILAS: Because this is about believing people when they say they were taken advantage of.
ME: I'm not saying they weren't. I'm just saying--How?
SILAS: Something must have happened.
ME: But what?
SILAS: You gotta look into this.
ME: I cannot look into this.
SILAS: Then he's going to strike again.
ME: He's going to make somebody else change their name and date their best friend?
SILAS: I think this is scary. I am scared.
ME: Are you scared he's going to come for you next?
SILAS: Let him try. I have a pocket Bible on me at all times.
ME: Rebuke.
SILAS: Rebuke Satan. Yes. Continue.
ME: Okay, I will--Oh my god. I guess I'm looking into this.
SILAS: You better Venmo me when it's a movie.
ME: This is going to be the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life.
SILAS: What about the pugs?
ME: Including the pugs.
SILAS: Call me if you need me.
ME: Oh, I will.
SILAS: Love youuuu.
ME: Love you too.
Silas has referred several men to Kevin regarding The Hypnotist. Kevin still thinks the whole thing is profoundly idiotic, but stay tuned.
For more information about The Community series, sign up for the Epic Patreon by going to www.Patreon.com/EpicTheatreCo where new episodes of The Community Podcast are posted every Thursday.
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