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How The Most Hated Man in Comedy Lost Everything

Explore Dane Cook's rise from obscurity to comedy superstardom through Myspace and internet marketing.

Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.

Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.

Key Takeaways

  • Innovative use of early social media was key to Dane Cook's rise.
  • Direct fan engagement can build a loyal audience without traditional industry backing.
  • The 1990s comedy industry shift created challenges for stand-up comedians.
  • Digital platforms enabled new paths to comedy superstardom.
  • Mainstream respect can lag behind commercial and fan success.

What the video covers

  • Dane Cook debuted on Letterman in 1997 and developed a unique comedy style.
  • Despite early TV exposure, his career stalled in the early 2000s amid a tough comedy industry landscape.
  • The 1990s comedy downturn and dominance of sitcom comedians made it hard for newcomers without Hollywood ties.
  • By 2003, Dane had limited success but released his album Harmful If Swallowed with little promotion.
  • He leveraged the launch of Myspace in 2003 to directly market his comedy by personally engaging fans online.
  • Dane built a massive digital following by sending personalized messages and sharing clips on Myspace.
  • He also used platforms like Napster and LimeWire to distribute his comedy audio, reaching college-aged audiences.
  • His grassroots online marketing led to sold-out college shows and the creation of a fan symbol, the 'Sufi' hand sign.
  • Dane’s internet success culminated in the HBO show Torgasm and a major tour with unexpectedly large audiences.
  • Despite commercial success, he struggled to gain respect within the traditional comedy community.

Answers

Questions about this video

How did Dane Cook use Myspace to boost his comedy career?

Dane Cook signed up on Myspace shortly after its launch and personally messaged thousands of fans, sharing clips and links to his comedy sets, which helped him build a massive digital following and sell out large venues.

What challenges did Dane Cook face in the comedy industry during the 1990s and early 2000s?

The 1990s saw a downturn in comedy clubs and a shift toward sitcom comedians gaining fame, making it difficult for stand-up comedians without Hollywood connections like Dane Cook to break through via traditional channels.

What was significant about Dane Cook's album Harmful If Swallowed?

Harmful If Swallowed contained iconic bits that resonated with young adults and college audiences, and although it initially lacked promotion, it gained popularity through internet distribution on platforms like Napster and LimeWire.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:00
Speaker A
Dane Cook does not make me laugh at all in any way, shape, or form. How can any comedian get as famous as Dane Cook has with no jokes? He doesn't make me laugh, but that doesn't mean he's not funny. He doesn't get credit. He came up with a new genre, sort of style of comedy. That guy is a total trailblazer. This guy is a monster talent that can kinda do anything. Dane Cook made his network television debut on Letterman in 1997. When I was little, my dream, all I wanted to do was take karate. I used to run around my house. Come on. Nobody could have predicted that this guy would become the biggest comedian in the world just a few years later. The next day after that Letterman set, Dave noticed a shift in his performances. He trusted himself more, more movement, more emotion, whatever it took to get laughs. For me, it was tough growing up because I love sex. I always, you know what I mean? The thing is, it's just I'm crazy for it. I just, you know, I'm, I don't know. One year later, Cook would appear on the new show Premium Blend on Comedy Central, a stand-up comedy TV show that helped amplify numerous comedians in the late 90s, including Dave Chappelle, Gabriel Iglesias, and Amy Schumer. Then in 2000, Dane got a half-hour special on Comedy Central Presents. It seemed like he was on the right trajectory to becoming a mainstream success, but his career reached a standstill after that special. Some of you might think it's because he wasn't funny. He got enough exposure to a large audience through TV, and they decided they wouldn't be paying money to come see him live, which could be true. However, comedy as a whole was in a rough spot. The late 70s and 80s witnessed a comedy boom that the world hadn't seen before. George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy are just a few of the many icons who dominated that era. However, the 90s saw a huge downturn. Comedy clubs were closing all over the country, and the Comedy Central TV channel was yet to be established. Most successful comedians in the 90s usually got their notoriety through television sitcoms. Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, The Jamie Foxx Show, All-American Girl, Drew Carey Show, the list goes on and on and on. These comedians would earn a fan base, then embark on a large stand-up tour for the audience that loves their TV show. Now obviously, in the 90s, you can't just produce your own show and upload it to TV, so comedians who didn't have Hollywood connections needed to grind for years. They would do short stand-up sets in comedy clubs all over the country and slowly build their reputation. Dane was willing to do that old school grind. He hoped that one of his open mics he would catch the attention of a talent manager with connections or a network looking to cast him in a massively popular TV show. But by 2003, he basically had nothing to show for besides being the intro for Smash Mouth's All-Star music video. I am the waffler with my griddle of justice. I bash the enemy in the head or I burn them like so. Dane had also just released his comedy album Harmful If Swallowed and had nobody to promote it to. It was time to take his career into his own hands, and this decision would launch him into superstardom. But first, let me tell you about today's sponsor, War Thunder. War Thunder is the most extensive vehicle combat game ever made. You can play over 2,000 tanks, planes, helicopters, and ships in compelling combined arms PvP battles. Every vehicle is modeled incredibly accurately to create a truly immersive experience. War Thunder sports high-quality graphics and detail in 4K resolution, as well as authentic sound effects and atmospheric music. Whether you're a history buff or a fan of modern technology, War Thunder has something for you. With vehicles from the 1920s to present day, you can play for free now on PC, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and previous-gen consoles. I personally enjoy the accurate details they put in the vehicle models. Use my link in the description to start playing War Thunder today for free. If you use my link to start playing on PC, there's a large bonus pack including multiple premium vehicles, a premium account, and so much more. Thanks, War Thunder. August 1st, 2003, a new social networking service called Myspace launched, and after a few months of it being public, Dane decided he would give it a shot. He signed up and immediately started spamming clips and links to his short comedy sets, which were hosted on his website danecook.com. Just like comedians today post 30 seconds to multiple minutes of a set on TikTok, Dane did the same thing on his website long before every social media was riddled with spam messages that link to identity theft criminals. People would actually engage with someone posting a link that says, "Check this out." Dane gained thousands of friends very quickly on Myspace. They were called friends, but it's the same thing as followers. He began sending them messages, and I was like, yeah, this new thing Myspace, I get on there, I take my 2,500 people, and one night I come home from the Laugh Factory, and I spend the whole night, I think I probably respond to 2,500 people like, "Welcome to the video," by their name. "Hey Carla in Iowa, I saw your birthday last week. Happy birthday. Here's a link," and I start sending people. I spend the whole night. I go home every night for four years. I shook every hand digitally with every fan and sent links to pretty much every single person until I had millions of followers and could not do it anymore. Dane was doing the door-to-door sales equivalent of marketing his comedy online one by one. He created a digital empire on a site that was being grossly underestimated by the entertainment industry. On top of Myspace, Dane also saw the value in putting audio versions of his comedy on sites like Napster and even LimeWire. Little by little, over the next year, fans purchased or more likely illegally downloaded his Harmful If Swallowed CD, which contained iconic bits like the BK Lounge, Monopoly, Not So Kool-Aid, and Tire in the Face. He would put me on drive-through every night. Why do people insist on yelling at the drive-through? You know, it's modern technology. I'd be there with my little headset. "Hi, welcome to Burger King. May I take your order?" This material is considered by fans to be his best still to this day, and many others still have no idea why people thought it was funny. Dane's humor was very much built around young adults, and since college kids were the vast majority of people using the internet, he was in the right place. He quickly started selling out 2,000 to 2,500 seat venues, primarily at colleges in the U.S. He created a hand-signed slash logo as a symbol for his fans, reminiscent of Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella. This was dubbed the super finger or Sufi. According to Dane, this is when your middle finger alone does not convey the intensity of your emotion. He got a little bit of mainstream attention too, if you count being the sausage mascot in Mr. 3000. "Come here, help me out, please. Can you give me a hand?" By 2005, Myspace was the most popular social media site in the world, and Dane was the most popular comedian on the site. He had momentum, and he was on the cusp of something big. He set up a 20-day tour and hired a production team to film it so he would have more content for his social media pages. Torgasm was initially a webisode that ended up getting purchased by HBO and turned into a legitimate TV show. During Torgasm, Dane realized just how powerful the internet was. He booked a show at Penn State expecting 3,000 fans but had to get moved to the Bryce Jordan Center because they sold 12,000 tickets. The material he was practicing on this tour was his second comedy album and special, Retaliation. Despite his huge internet following and multiple sold-out shows, Dane wasn't respected in the comedy world. A week before I released my second album Retaliation, a week before, we couldn't get one publication to write about it. Spin, Rolling Stone, like anybody, nobody. All he had was his Myspace fans, and because of them, Dane Co
00:12
Speaker A
doesn't get credit he came up with a new genre sort of style of Comedy that guy is a total [ __ ] Trailblazer this guy is a monster [ __ ] talent that can kinda do anything Dane Cook made his
00:23
Speaker A
network television debut on Letterman in 1997. when I was little my dream all I wanted to do was take karate I used to run around my house come on nobody could have predicted that this guy would become the biggest
00:42
Speaker A
comedian in the world just a few years later the next day after that Letterman set Dave noticed a shift in his performances he trusted himself more more movement more emotion whatever it took to get laughs for me it was tough
00:54
Speaker A
growing up because I love sex I always you know what I mean the thing is it's just I'm crazy for it I just you know I'm I don't know one year later Coke would appear on the new show premium blend on Comedy Central
01:18
Speaker A
a stand-up comedy TV show that helped amplify numerous comedians in the late 90s including Dave Chappelle Gabriel Iglesias and Amy Schumer then in 2000 Dane got a half hour special on Comedy Central presents it seemed like he was
01:31
Speaker A
on the right trajectory to becoming a mainstream success but his career reached a standstill after that special some of you might think it's because he wasn't funny he got enough exposure to a large audience through TV and they
01:42
Speaker A
decided they wouldn't be paying money to come see him live which could be true however comedy as a whole was in a rough spot the late 70s and 80s witnessed a comedy boom that the world hadn't seen before George Carlin Richard Pryor Steve
01:55
Speaker A
Martin Eddie Murphy are just a few of the many icons who dominated that era however the 90s saw a huge downturn comedy clubs were closing all over the country and the Comedy Central TV channel was yet to be established most
02:08
Speaker A
successful comedians in the 90s usually got their notoriety through television sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond Home Improvement The Jamie Foxx Show All-American Girl Drew Carey Show the list goes on and on and on these comedians would earn a fan base then
02:22
Speaker A
embark on a large stand-up tour for the audience that loves their TV show now obviously in the 90s you can't just produce your own show and upload it to TV so comedians who didn't have Hollywood Connections needed to grind
02:33
Speaker A
for years they would do short stand-up sets in comedy clubs all over the country and slowly build their reputation Dane was willing to do that old school grind he hoped that one of his open mics he would catch the
02:44
Speaker A
attention of a talent manager with connections or a network looking to cast him in a massively popular TV show but by 2003 he basically had nothing to show for besides being the intro for smash mouth's All-Star Music video I am the
02:58
Speaker A
waffler with my griddle of Justice I bash the enemy in the head or I burn them like so Dane had also just released his comedy album harmful if swallowed and had nobody to promote it to it was time to
03:11
Speaker A
take his career into his own hands and this decision would launch him into super stardom but first let me tell you about today's sponsor War Thunder War Thunder is the most extensive vehicle combat game ever made you can play over
03:24
Speaker A
2 000 tanks planes helicopters and ships in compelling combined arms PVP battles every vehicle is modeled incredibly accurately to create a truly immersive experience War Thunder sports high quality graphics and Detail in 4K resolution as well as authentic sound
03:40
Speaker A
effects and Atmospheric music whether you're a history buff or a fan of modern technology War Thunder has something for you with vehicles from the 1920s to present day you can play for free now on PC Xbox series X and S PlayStation 5 and
03:53
Speaker A
previous gen consoles I personally enjoy the accurate details they put in the vehicle models use my link in the description to start playing War Thunder today for free if you use my link to start playing on PC there's a large
04:04
Speaker A
Bonus Pack including multiple premium Vehicles a premium account and so much more thanks War Thunder August 1st 2003 a new social networking service called Myspace has launched and after a few months of it being public Dane decided he would give it a shot he signed up and
04:19
Speaker A
immediately started spamming clips and links to his short comedy sets which were hosted on his website danecook.com just like comedians today post 30 seconds to multiple minutes of a set on Tick Tock Dane did the same thing on his
04:32
Speaker A
website long before every social media was riddled with Spam messages that link to identity theft criminals people would actually engage with someone posting a link that says check this out Dane gained thousands of friends very quickly on MySpace they were called friends but
04:46
Speaker A
it's the same thing as followers he began sending them messages and I was like yeah this new thing Myspace I get on there I take my 2500 people and one night I come home from the Laugh Factory and I spend the whole night I think I
04:56
Speaker A
probably respond to 2500 people like welcome to the video by their name hey Carla in we're in Iowa I sought your birthday last week happy birthday here's a link and I start sending people I spend the whole night I go home every
05:09
Speaker A
night for four years I shook every hand digitally with every fan and sent links to pretty much every single person until I had millions of followers and could not do it anymore Dane was doing the door-to-door sales equivalent of
05:21
Speaker A
marketing his comedy online one by one he created a digital Empire on a site that was being grossly underestimated by the entertainment industry on top of Myspace Dane also saw the value in putting audio versions of his comedy on
05:35
Speaker A
sites like Napster and even LimeWire little by little over the next year fans purchased or more likely illegally downloaded his harmful of swallowed CD which contained iconic bits like the BK lounge Monopoly not so Kool-Aid and Tire in the face he would put me on drive
05:51
Speaker A
through every night why do people insist on yelling at the drive-through you know it's modern technology I'd be there with my little headset hi welcome to Burger King may take your order [Applause] this material is considered by fans to
06:13
Speaker A
be his best still to this day and many others still have no idea why people thought it was funny Dane's humor was very much built around young adults and since college kids were the vast majority of people using the internet he
06:25
Speaker A
was in the right place he quickly started selling out 2 000 to 2500 seat venues primarily at colleges in the U.S he created a hand signed slash logo as a symbol for his fans reminiscent of Jay-Z's rock this was dubbed the super
06:39
Speaker A
finger or Sufi according to Dane this is when your middle finger alone does not convey the intensity of your emotion he got a little bit of mainstream attention too if you count being the sausage mascot in Mr 3000. come here help me out
06:54
Speaker A
please can you give me a hand by 2005 Myspace was the most popular social media site in the world and Dane was the most popular comedian on the site he had momentum and he was on the cusp of
07:07
Speaker A
something big he set up a 20-day tour and hired a production team to film it so he would have more content for his social media Pages torgasm was initially a webisode that ended up getting purchased by HBO and turned into a
07:19
Speaker A
legitimate TV show during torgasm was when Dane realized just how powerful the internet was he booked a show at Penn State expecting 3 000 fans but had to get moved to the Bryce Jordan Center because they sold 12 000 tickets the
07:33
Speaker A
material he was practicing on this tour was his second Comedy album and special retaliation despite his huge internet following and multiple sold out shows Dame wasn't respected in the comedy World a week before I released my second album retaliation a week before we
07:48
Speaker A
couldn't get one publication to write about it spin Rolling Stone like anybody nobody all he had was his Myspace fans and because of them Dane Cook was about to make history July 26 2005 Dane officially released his comedy CD album
08:04
Speaker A
retaliation with Comedy Central Records two weeks later later he was number four on the Billboard Hot 200 directly under now 19 Young Jeezy and Mariah Carey it was the most successful Comedy album debut since Steve Martin's a wild and
08:19
Speaker A
crazy guy in 1978 27 years earlier the album went two times platinum and remained the number one billboard comedy album for 49 weeks retaliation contained two discs of a Ranchi College Humor bits like Banff the friend that nobody likes
08:35
Speaker A
where he's credited for creating the term Karen that is wildly popular today always a douchebag [Applause] when she's not around you just look at each other oh God Karen she's such a douchebag until she walks up and then you're like
08:54
Speaker A
hey what's up care other fan favorites like struck by a vehicle and the creepy guy at work immediately after this album boomed he started getting recognized by the entertainment industry his first gig a two-minute set at the MTV VMAs where
09:07
Speaker A
he absolutely bombed a little violence in this country and I know you're like me you can't deny it sometimes when you see somebody walking down the street wearing a Superman t-shirt you just want to shoot them in the chest
09:19
Speaker A
and when they start to bleed though I guess not he appeared on Jay Leno's late night show where he did this first of all thank you but before that I just want to let you know that I am I'm a massive fan
09:31
Speaker A
oh my god of yours and uh I mean you're beautiful you're you're a talented monster and uh North Country and just uh I mean I know I'm kissing your ass here but uh [Applause] then on the Jimmy Kimmel show where he
09:48
Speaker A
was an absolute madman look she's exceptional okay she's exception she's Exquisite she's she's so many words in my vernacular and uh yes Tom is making a play for uh oh KH I'll be home soon Katie he got to host SNL in December 2005 and
10:16
Speaker A
then a second time in 2006 he hosted the Teen Choice Awards in 2006 because he was every teen's favorite comic Dane also starred in a new film alongside Jessica Simpson called employee of the month which is honestly a pretty solid
10:29
Speaker A
movie easily his best role from there he had Good Luck Chuck and My Best Friend's Girl his stand-up exploded to Heights that people didn't think were possible Cure Insurance Arena Meadowlands Arena Michelob Ultra Arena All-State Arena Dane Cook was selling out five thousand
10:43
Speaker A
to twelve thousand person venues every week which peaked when he got the opportunity to perform at the legendary Madison Square Garden the only problem was he didn't have any material prepared because he was so busy doing movies but
10:54
Speaker A
you can't turn down MSG Dane had no choice the promoter apparently had a 150 000 budget to promote the show but they didn't have to spend a dime because of Dane's social media following as soon as the tickets went live he posted the link
11:07
Speaker A
on MySpace sold out so they added a second show the same day sold that one out Dane Coke became the second comedian in history to sell out the garden two nights in a row the first being Andrew Dice Clay who was ironically like the
11:20
Speaker A
Dane Cook of the 90s Dane hired a small camera crew to film thinking it was either going to be his best or worst performance in history he improvised half of the material rambling screaming sound effects his usual shtick and he
11:33
Speaker A
absolutely crushed it this off-the-cuff performance was released later as his Rough Around The Edge is special Dane was zooming past veteran Comics the industry had never seen someone go from a hack at the funny farm to a stadium
11:45
Speaker A
icon in this short period of time he simply could not take an L which is when the hate started rolling in Rolling Stone published an article the jokes on us how can any comedian get as famous as Dane Cook has with no jokes Jim Brewer a
12:00
Speaker A
stand-up veteran who hosts a radio show that often interviews comedians said not one comedian comes on my show and says I'm so happy for him which is weird they can't stand this poor guy Stephen Rosenfield director of the American
12:13
Speaker A
Comedy Institute says Dane is kind of like Perrier water it's brilliantly bottled but it's still Seltzer by the way drink water every other day there was a journalist writing about how much they hated Dane Cook family guy took
12:25
Speaker A
shots at him mad tv had a parody skit about him he became a punching bag in the entertainment world now it's pretty easy to say that people were just jealous of Dane's success and that could be true like a lot of jealousy a lot of
12:37
Speaker A
animosity that I at a young age was famous hanging around with beautiful women Rich even Joe Rogan has said the same I remember when Dane Cook was killing it there were so many haters and not just because of all the real reasons
12:51
Speaker A
to be a hater but also just because of his success was so astronomical I remember people would just fume thinking about Dane Cook selling out Arenas but it's pretty easy to see major flaws in Dane's comedy his humor heavily relies
13:05
Speaker A
on delivery rather than genuinely witty content many of his jokes revolve around relatable everyday experiences such as playing Monopoly and having friends and eating at a fast food restaurant he exhibits this you know what I mean type humor or simply relatable humor which is
13:21
Speaker A
Amplified by his sound effects screaming and insane body contortions now his sound effects are damn good and he's a very good Storyteller but often his stories lead nowhere falling flat and ending with something like you're the person nobody likes
13:38
Speaker A
[Music] I know it is so true and that's why it's funny it is so true that's why it's funny because it's so true hence funny unlike typical comedians who display Brokenness or cynicism cook maintains a positive unassuming lifestyle where dudes think
13:57
Speaker A
he's the man and girls think he is a heartthrob but just because he prioritizes Showmanship doesn't make him unfunny Dane didn't even address the hate at first he actually liked it he felt like a comedy super villain plus he
14:10
Speaker A
was doing Arena after Arena filled with tens of thousands of people laughing he could care less what one journalist or one Open Mic comic thought there is one very clear objective to Comedy to make people laugh Dane was getting laughs and
14:23
Speaker A
making millions he was winning but the reason many people hated him wasn't just because of his good looks and success he was labeled a joke thief and stealing jokes is a career-ending sin in comedy Dane's 2005 retaliation album contained
14:38
Speaker A
a few jokes that were very similar to Louis CK's 2001 album live from Houston Texas the first accusation of plagiarism comes from a bit they both did when choosing a weird name for their child I like to have a kid because you can name
14:51
Speaker A
your kid anything you want I like that part I'd like to give my kid an interesting name you know like a name with no vowels maybe you know she's like [Music] not the prince two thirds just like 40 F's that's his name then
15:11
Speaker A
Dane's bit four years later I already have names picked out I don't even know first kid boy girl I don't care the first one that comes out I'm naming it I think it's beautiful it's feminine but strong at the same time time for bed
15:26
Speaker A
I said time for bed the iconic Steve Martin had a joke in the 1970s where he discusses parents naming their kids some people think they were both inspired by the same joke however the second accusation was the itchy butthole bit
15:40
Speaker A
like I was staying in a hotel on this soap was really nasty and I had an itchy [ __ ] for like a week and I could have won a million dollars I still would have been going [ __ ] my [ __ ] and itches I
15:51
Speaker A
don't know if you've ever gotten this boat uh it was about 2 30 in the afternoon I got the itchiest [ __ ] I've ever done on record and I keep a record of my itchy [ __ ]
16:02
Speaker A
May 14th 1985 I had a very itchy [ __ ] this one ousted it get out of here the third accusation was regarding a bit where Louis and Dane witnessed someone about to be hit by a car and they don't know
16:15
Speaker A
what to say to prevent it because it was happening really fast I had like that much time to yell you know what could I yell in that much time hey my God that's not chickens as the car was coming towards him I
16:30
Speaker A
reached out and I said oh that's all I could think of to say all three jokes are delivered differently but it's an extreme coincidence that Dane's 2005 album has three bits that cover the exact same premises as Louie's
16:49
Speaker A
2001 album Louis didn't actually blame Dane though and in a weird turn of events Louis invited Dane onto his television show to do a scripted scene where he confronts him some of my jokes I I think you saw me do them I know you
17:05
Speaker A
saw me do them and I think they just went in your brain and I don't think you meant to do it but I don't think he stopped yourself either CK thinks Dane had a case of kryptonia which is basically when you
17:17
Speaker A
think you had an original thought or idea but you heard it somewhere else and totally forgot despite Louis giving Dana pass comedy fans still hated him but the joke theft didn't stop there Dane had a joke about a shoe store in 2007 that was
17:30
Speaker A
almost exactly the same as Dimitri Martins in 2006 where they both talk about asking for a shoe size and the worker comes back with the wrong size resulting in them having to cut off a piece of their foot I want to do a shoe
17:41
Speaker A
store and I said uh hey can I get those in a 10 like I said sure and he went in the back then a couple minutes later he came out and he goes I don't have a 10 I
17:48
Speaker A
have a nine great because while you were in the back my toes were severed off um we have it in nine great you guys also have a bone stock anywhere nearby Joe Rogan even says Dane stole one of his bits about Tiger's
18:17
Speaker A
[ __ ] but Dane changed it from Tigers to rhinos Rogan took matters into his own hands and confronted Dane with a phone call seeking an explanation Dane apologized to Joe and said he would ax the bit just two weeks later Joe caught
18:29
Speaker A
Dane telling yet another bit of his on stage once again Joe confronted Dan in person this time saying what the [ __ ] are you doing you know that's my bit you heard me say it what the [ __ ] makes you
18:38
Speaker A
think you can take my material and do it on stage despite numerous accusations and kind of a lot of proof a lot of people still think these were just coincidences and Dane is not actually a joke Thief but Dane got something stolen
18:51
Speaker A
from him money millions of dollars stolen by his own brother Daryl McCauley was Dane's older half-brother on his mom's side and while growing up Dane considered him his first real best friend in his life as Dane began to make
19:05
Speaker A
money in comedy he asked Daryl to quit his job as a corrections officer and manage his finances for many years Dane worked extra hard to not only earn money for himself but also for his brother's career opportunity Macaulay made an
19:17
Speaker A
estimated twelve thousand five hundred dollars a month for his role however Dane was forced to replace Macaulay as his business manager for tax purposes after relocating to Los Angeles despite cook offering to keep him in the company under a different position Macaulay was
19:30
Speaker A
still angry although he had suspicions Dane claims that he just woke up one morning and had an epiphany and then Monday I woke up and I literally sat up in my bed turned to my girlfriend woke her up and I go
19:42
Speaker A
I think my brother stole my money they knew he had to pursue legal action but a piece of him still had love for his brother which showed in his testimony he shared with the judge in Massachusetts that cook believes Daryl could have
19:53
Speaker A
mental issues stemming from his connection to his birth father who had his own mental disorders cook believes it could be genetic and that Daryl felt entitled to the money typically people who are deemed mentally unstable can get a reduced level of punishment Macaulay
20:06
Speaker A
pleaded guilty to larceny embezzlement and forgery charges He was ordered to serve five years in prison his wife was sentenced to two and a half years for her involvement in the scheme and the court ordered Macaulay to repay cook 12
20:18
Speaker A
million dollars keep in mind 12 million is just what they could prove he stole it's likely that there was a lot more money stolen from that moment on the relationship between the two previously close Brothers was shattered he hasn't
20:30
Speaker A
spoken to him since adding to that pain both of Cook's parents sadly passed away in 2006 and 2007 leaving Dane an emotional turmoil which ultimately led to his downfall the faster you rise the harder you fall and eventually Dane ran
20:44
Speaker A
out of steam his last CD album was called isolated incident in 2009 which featured a much smaller more intimate setting of 400 people and was filmed in one take it performed well amongst his fans but at this point Dane schtick had
20:56
Speaker A
been rinsed comedy is a slow grind you need years to develop material and by the early 2010s his audience had outgrown his humor he had a little string of controversial jokes that got him backlash on the internet like this
21:08
Speaker A
one at the Teen Choice Awards where Dane pokes fun at Vanessa Hudgens Sleek photos where's Vanessa Hudgens foreign [Applause] another joke where he made light of the very serious 2012 movie the Aurora Colorado I'm pretty sure that somebody in that theater about 25
21:28
Speaker A
minutes in realizing it was a piece of crap probably was like oh [ __ ] shoot me despite the crowd thinking it was funny the internet did not which started a long history of comedians getting their sets leaked and criticized on the
21:41
Speaker A
internet Dane had trouble maintaining his appeal to the youth and his bad plastic surgery wasn't helping the hate and resentment from the comedy community finally started to hit him and he took a step back from the spotlight he had
21:52
Speaker A
enough money to just chill and live a pretty relaxed Lifestyle on his own terms he still did large shows theaters casinos throughout the 2010s a tour in 2013 and in 2019 but these days he mostly just spends time with his wife
22:04
Speaker A
Kelsey Taylor who is 26 years younger than him a Creator by the name of Tracy Morrissey speculated some Foul Play Dave and Kelsey made their relationship official in 2017 when Kelsey was about 18 and a half years old Dane says that
22:18
Speaker A
he met his girlfriend at a game night he hosts at his house how do you meet a 23 year old how do you meet where do you meet I used to uh host every Friday night for two years I had a like a code
22:29
Speaker A
names or running charades game night at my house and then I just ended up meeting her through hosting game nights so how long have you been going out going going out yeah oh no we've been together five years so now we're engaged
22:41
Speaker A
after being together five years 18. wow yeah wow yeah it's legal this 2016 photo shows a large mix of people at one of his game nights these don't look like celebrities you have people in the comments section asking if they can be
22:57
Speaker A
invited and when you consider how Dane back in his Myspace days was very comfortable reaching out to people one by one maybe he just invited his fans to his house this photo in 2016 shows Kelsey at a game night a few weeks
23:09
Speaker A
before she was 18. Dane was 45. Tracy went on a deep dive and discovered multiple instances of young girls at Danes game nights actress Joey King who was 16 Emily Lind was 14 in this photo Emily Robinson 18 Saxon Sharbino was 16.
23:25
Speaker A
he even posted a photo with the 15 year old saying I saw a screening with my homegirl the common denominator is that all of these girls would go on to be actresses or aspire to be in the entertainment industry this obviously
23:37
Speaker A
had people accusing Dane of grooming young women and ultimately his wife Dane hasn't addressed these allegations directly but he is aware of the backlash yeah yeah but people give you hell for that oh sometimes oh you're talking about the internet that's a whole nother
23:51
Speaker A
League yeah that's where you live the internet in your lawn in real life nobody's ever had any kind of uh anything but like giving us flowers and being very lovely he even jokes about it in his new stand-up because I'm 49 my
24:03
Speaker A
girlfriend's 23. she was doing her homework and I said to her I said bedtime soon Betty let's talk before bed bed over the years Dane has regained his reputation in comedy not saying people are admitting that he was
24:15
Speaker A
actually funny the whole time but they do believe they were too harsh on him or maybe hated him out of jealousy or maybe just hated him to jump on the bandwagon he was a massive innovator with social media listening back to these jokes was
24:27
Speaker A
nostalgic maybe they didn't age all that well but one thing for sure is Dane was a huge reason why a lot of young people got interested in comedy me especially I don't think I would care nearly as much
24:36
Speaker A
about stand up as I do today if it wasn't for Dane remember use the link in my description to start playing War Thunder today it's entirely free and PC users will get a large free bonus pack with so much to enhance your experience
24:48
Speaker A
thanks again War Thunder
Topics:Dane Cookcomedy careerMyspacestand-up comedyinternet marketingHarmful If SwallowedTorgasmcomedy industry 1990ssocial media comedycomedy superstardom

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