#Angela gets shit for it bc she's a woman. I guarantee it.

[smosh-fessions]

I’ve been watching Smosh for a long time and still don’t understand Shayne’s mass appeal. I think like this from the “Shayne carries Smosh” kind of comments. I like him a lot, but I do not think he’s really even top 5 funniest in the cast. He’s definitely good at elevating other people’s bits but a lot of that factors into him having a very distinct laugh that presumably amplifies the cast’s confidence. I haven’t felt too attached to his own humor since around maybe 2020. Admittedly that was still when he was more unhinged, but even then I always thought it was kind of crazy how people would say he was the “only” funny cast member (comments used to pedestal him way more than anybody, still do but less intensely). I think large praise for Shayne is definitely deserved when talking about how thoughtful of a guy he is, for example. But it’s usually not that from the larger audience, really only the frequent viewers. Often if a nostalgia-based viewer who isn’t too big on the whole cast mentions Smosh, they’ll say Shayne is the only funny “new” member. It’s kind of irked me how him being favored so much for “carrying” the channel felt like everyone else was being viewed as inadequate. Angela’s kind of been getting the same treatment recently, but I do think she deserves a lot of credit because I noticed Smosh’s success and fandom reached a huge surge once she became more popular (in addition to Anthony returning). But she often gets way more hate for the same reasons people admire Shayne.

Also I know that the people at Smosh also admire Shayne a lot, but it’s still crazy to me how much he is praised for the simplest things at times. If he and Arasha (who I find severely underrated) told the exact same joke the same way, the whole room would probably erupt specifically after Shayne says it just because he’s Shayne. I know I’m alone on this and I don’t dislike Shayne. I’m glad he is acknowledged for his talents. I just don’t really get it in comparison to the others.

They talked about this on the assumptions he was on. Angela explained that he feels like the backbone of Smosh specifically because he elevates everyone else. He gives people a chance to do what they want rather than bulldozing them, which he could easily do. He knows when to step back, and he knows when to punch up a joke.

A lot of cast members definitely deserve more credit but I think shayne gets so much because he's quite a chameleon. He blends well into every group he's put in.