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Ryan Reynolds got a colonoscopy after losing a bet and found a lifesaving surprise

Only 60% of men over 50 are getting regular colonoscopies. Reynolds just proved why they're important.

Ryan Reynolds/YouTube
Ryan Reynolds filmed his colonoscopy after losing a bet—it turned out to be 'lifesaving'

Cancer is serious. Ryan Reynolds is not. Luckily his characteristic sense of humor—along with being true to his word—has helped shine a light on a sobering topic in a fun way. First, he made a friendly bet with his Welcome to Wrexham co-star Rob McElhenney of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with whom he also co-owns the Welsh football club Wrexham A.F.C.

The bet? That McElhenney would not be able to learn Welsh, the official language of Wales, where their soccer team is located. The stakes? If Reynolds lost, he'd have to get a colonoscopy... and post the entire thing to YouTube. About 30 seconds into a YouTube upload titled "Rob & Ryan Lead From Behind," McElhenney begins speaking in near-fluent Welsh.

Uh-oh. Colonoscopy it is.


Butt jokes galore in Ryan Reynolds' DeadpoolGiphy

Reynolds is an actor famous for hilarious hijinks. From his intense fictional feud with Hugh Jackman to performing epic pranks on talk shows, he is often the best thing on the internet for a good laugh. However, he is also not one to shy away from difficult conversations, particularly when it comes to health. So raising awareness about the importance of colonoscopies was, as he quipped, “enough motivation for me to let you in on a camera being shoved up my ass.”

Reynolds might have lost the bet, but his actions paid off. The procedure turned out to be lifesaving.

The video shows the Free Guy and Deadpool actor entering the hospital early in the morning, discussing the procedure with the doctor (with just the perfect amount of gallows humor), and being wheeled into the exam room. Reynolds notes that this will be his first colonoscopy.

As Reynolds begins waking up after the roughly 25-minute procedure, the doctor delivers the news that an “extremely subtle” polyp was discovered and cut out. A polyp is a small abnormal growth of tissue that is often benign but can develop into something much scarier if not detected. Reynolds had previously shown no symptoms.

“I’m not being overly dramatic,” his doctor told him. “This is exactly why you do this. You are interrupting the natural history of a disease, of something of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems. Instead, you are not only diagnosing the polyp, you are taking it out.”

Watch the whole video here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Ever the expert marketer, Reynolds smoothly slid in a quick plug for his alcohol brand, joking that “I can’t believe you pumped all that Aviation Gin into my IV. I was out like a light” before thanking the doctor.

Reynolds got his colonoscopy at 45, which is the recommended age to begin routine screenings. Though it’s a preventable cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths for men and women combined, and it is predicted to be the top cancer killer for people under 50 by the year 2030.

Because of the inherent invasiveness of the procedure, many people feel uncomfortable even talking about colonoscopies, let alone getting one, despite early detection being so vital. A colonoscopy involves the patient being sedated while a long tube is inserted into the rectum, which allows a small video camera to explore the colon and look for cancer or other abnormalities.

ryan reynolds, wrexham, celebrities, psa, public service announcement, mens health, aging, colonoscopyRyan Reynolds shows we shouldn't be scared of a camera "up our ass"Giphy

Some estimates say only about 60% of men over the age of 50 are following the screening guidelines, with men notoriously being afraid of feeling vulnerable in front of a doctor and also correlating the colonoscopy procedure with a certain sex act. Yes, sadly that's a real fear that has been studied and documented. You'd think not dying of cancer would be more important, but welcome to toxic masculinity.

In a show of good faith and education, McElhenney got a colonoscopy as well for the project, and took a strange pride in having more benign polyps than Reynolds did.

rob mcelhenney, welcome to wrexam, always sunny in philadelphia, ryan reynolds, mens healthRob loves it.Giphy

Now, thanks to Reynolds and McElhenney hilariously riffing on their experience and normalizing it, the whole thing might not seem so daunting after all. If a true Marvel superhero can get his regular health screenings, the rest of us should definitely fall in line.

Thanks for the delightfully silly PSA, Ryan.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

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This anti-bullying PSA acts out online comments in real life. It's an uncomfortable watch.

It's not "just the internet." Online harassment is serious business.

Bullying is just as wrong when it happens online as it is in person. So why does one seem to be so much more acceptable than the other?

A new anti-bullying campaign and PSA called "In Real Life," spearheaded by Monica Lewinsky, takes actual insults people have said online and brings them into the physical world. While actors portray the bullies and their victims in the video, the reactions of unsuspecting onlookers are genuine.

[rebelmouse-image 19530351 dam="1" original_size="750x384" caption="A collection of actual insults people posted online that were acted out in person as part of the In Real Life PSA. Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube." expand=1]A collection of actual insults people posted online that were acted out in person as part of the In Real Life PSA. Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube.


The PSA opens with a pleasant scene that quickly turns jarring. Two men are sitting together in a coffee shop, when a stranger walks up to their table. "Gay people are sick, and you should just kill yourselves!" he tells them.

This kind of interaction is not something you see that often in the real world (though it does happen). On the internet, however, that type of comment from a stranger isn't just normal, it's actually kind of tame.

Later in the video, a woman gets screamed at for being a "fat bitch" and a Muslim woman gets called a "terrorist." In all of the scenarios, bystanders — who were not involved in the social experiment — look on with horror.

[rebelmouse-image 19530352 dam="1" original_size="1265x663" caption="Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube." expand=1]Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube.

A number of studies show why people who wouldn't bully someone to their face feel emboldened to do it online.

Anonymity, the ability to say or do whatever you want with little or no consequence for your actions, plays a role, but it's far from the only reason people engage in cyberbullying. The performative nature of online harassment also encourages others to pile on the target, whether they have a stake in the conversation or not. Mob mentality dictates that the more people go in on the target, the less any single person might feel responsible for negative outcomes. More than anything else, though, the barrier of the internet between bully and victim creates an empathy gap.

On the internet, regular people — your neighbors, coworkers, friends, acquaintances, and even family members — are all susceptible to becoming bullies, making it that much more important to think critically about the effects of our actions and behaviors online.

[rebelmouse-image 19530353 dam="1" original_size="750x417" caption="Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube." expand=1]Screenshot from In Real Life/YouTube.

Online harassment is so much more than being "just the way the internet is."

"One thing people don’t necessarily realize about being threatened or dog-piled online is how much it can undermine your real-world sense of safety," author Sady Doyle explains in a Twitter direct message. Doyle has experienced escalating bullying and harassment online for years, especially during the 2016 election season, in response to her writing on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Threats of physical violence and stalking across online platforms became normal to Doyle. Once an influential Twitter user took aim at her, to win that account's approval, their followers would engage in a game of one-upmanship harassment. Doyle began to worry more and more about how it would end. Scheduled book readings brought on a new sort of anxiety, as she feared that any of her online tormentors would be able to easily confront her in person. Thankfully, it never happened.

"I think that lost sense of safety is really what the impact is," she writes. "There’s mental health stuff, obviously — anyone with a tendency to depression, which I have, will internalize certain mean comments and play them back in a low moment — but it’s mostly the realization that there are people out there that want to hurt you, or your loved ones, and that you can’t necessarily recognize those people on sight, that is so damaging."

People shouldn't have to live in fear, and that's why campaigns like "In Real Life" are so important.

"It’s a stark and shocking mirror to people to rethink how we behave online versus the ways that we would behave in person," Lewinsky told People magazine about the project.

Saying that while "there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions" of insults that have been written about her online and in print, personal confrontations were much, much less common. "When you are with someone, when you see someone face to face, you are reminded of their humanity."

[rebelmouse-image 19530354 dam="1" original_size="750x392" caption="Lewinsky's powerful 2015 TED Talk on "The Price of Shame" helped establish her as a major voice in anti-bullying activism. Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images." expand=1]Lewinsky's powerful 2015 TED Talk on "The Price of Shame" helped establish her as a major voice in anti-bullying activism. Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images.

Unlike Doyle, you probably don't have to worry about online harassers showing up at scheduled appearances, and unlike Lewinsky, you probably aren't an internationally known political lightning rod of the late '90s. Even so, the lessons contained in this video — not to say things online that you wouldn't say to someone's face, to remember that real people are on the receiving end of every online comment, and more — are applicable to all of us. Online bullying isn't the exact same thing as the physical playground-style bullying we've heard about all of our lives, but its effects on the target's sense of well-being is every bit as real.

Whether you've been the bully, the bullied, or just a bystander, there are lessons we can learn from this powerful PSA, which you can watch below.

A PSA by the It's On Us campaign demonstrates just how absurd it is to blame survivors of sexual assault for their violators’ actions.

In the video, an admiring hotel guest wanders by a wedding cake — “It looks so delicious," she observes — before taking a huge handful of cake without asking the baker for permission. When the baker reacts, aghast, she blames him for making such a great looking cake.

"You were the one that made it so tempting," she tells him. "Tahitian vanilla icing and pretty little flowers? It's like you were begging me to taste it."


If that language sounds familiar, that's because it's something we hear all too often when talking about survivors of sexual assault. How was she dressed? Did she consume alcohol? Why wasn't she aware of her surroundings? Questions like these excuse violators and put blame on victims, adding to the stigma that can discourage survivors from speaking up.

It's On Us launched the PSA on the 23rd anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act. Written by then-senator Joe Biden, VAWA established a national hotline for victims to call, as well as greatly expanded the number of services and shelters available to survivors nationwide.

While the PSA is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, its message is a serious one. Victim-blaming prevents many victims of sexual assault from speaking out.

We have to do better.

In September, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced her department was rescinding Obama-era guidelines on sexual assault, giving more leniency to accused violators. Advocates against sexual assault argue the move shows the administration isn't prioritizing campus rape and sexual assault.

"[This] announcement is a threat to the progress we’ve made and to the rights of every student on campuses across the country," It's On Us said in a statement. "It’s On Us campaign remains committed to fight for the full enforcement of Title IX and for the rights and protections of every student and every survivor."

To get involved, visit the It's On Us website. If you need help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673.

"I'm sorry."

"I wish I could have been different. I won't disappoint you anymore."

"I wish I could've been better..."


"I love you."

If those were the very last texts you read from a family member or friend — a loved one who didn't feel as though they could truly be themselves — how would that make you feel?

That's one question posed in a new PSA from nonprofit Mythic Bridge, a group that uses filmmaking to empower at-risk youth. The organization's "Change the Script" campaign aims to shed light on the issue of LGBTQ youth suicide — a silent crisis that's taking far too many young lives, even amid the growing acceptance of queer people and relationships.

In the powerful new video, we see the moment a desperate young man decides to jump off a rooftop (before learning that, fortunately, it wasn't the end to his story):

In the PSA, Mythic Bridge highlights a vital stat anyone concerned with youth suicide needs to understand:

Young LGBTQ people are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight, cisgender peers, with young transgender people being particularly vulnerable.

That's why the nonprofit is raising funds on Crowdrise to help LGBTQ youth express themselves through creative storytelling in an accepting, loving environment — so they can help change the script when it comes to things like suicide, bullying, and depression.

Photo via Mythic Bridge, used with permission.

“Everyone has their version of how scary coming out was," Mythic Bridge co-founder Donald Klein said in a statement. "Maybe they didn’t have that safe space to lean on."

"I hope they see the Change the Script campaign and learn that Mythic Bridge is an open door. They should understand that we’re here, and we make no judgment.”

To learn more about the Change the Script campaign, visit its page on Crowdrise.