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YouTuber Dax Flame continues to baffle fans over if he's a comic genius or just plain awkward

Whether it's real or all an act, he will definitely make you laugh.

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Funny on purpose or by default?

Imagine this: You're at Target when a guy in his early 30s awkwardly approaches and asks if he can "try to make you laugh with a physical comedy-type thing." He then proceeds to attempt to sneeze confetti, fumble his keys and, of course, fall down for no reason. He's open to notes. In fact, he always asks for them, and in this particular case, his extremely polite one-person audience suggests "lifting a box that's clearly too heavy?"


That's Dax Flame, and he has been creating content since he was a kid back in Dallas. The thing is, he's actually quite famous, having become one of the first YouTube stars to receive a million clicks. To say he was ahead of his time would be an understatement, as he slowly built a following by dressing up as an "angry Superman" and venting on camera, among other strange and hilarious videos. He'll stop at nothing to make people feel simultaneously happy and uncomfortable. It's so layered and mysterious that even a good portion of his longtime fans can't figure out if he's Andy Kaufman-level genius or just plain awkward.

@ttfeo

Dax Flame’s villian origin story. #daxflame #daxflameprojectx #daxflameedit #redrex #editaudio #villian #orginstory #evil #whereitallbegan #vsp #capcut #ttfeo #edits

If you Google Dax Flame, the suggested queries include: Is Dax Flame for real? Does Dax Flame have anxiety? Was Dax Flame in the movie 21 Jump Street? The answer to the latter is yes. But the other two questions remain unclear.

The truth is—it might just not matter. With 2.3 million followers on TikTok and over a million on Instagram, Dax's star continues to rise. He appeared in the films Project X, 21 Jump Street, and 22 Jump Street and often asks random people if they've seen those films. And yet, fans still wonder—is he in on the joke? Did he create the joke? Is there even a joke at all?

An entire documentary called Ice Cream Man was posted on YouTube, which explores Dax's enigmatic personality and his dreams of hosting an online game show about making smoothies. If he breaks character, it's tough to tell. One of the commenters shares, "Dax radiates charisma. It doesn't matter how you look at him; he is so genuine that you will feel drawn to him and appreciate his approach to things in life. His speech is very gentle, and he didn't put pressure on either of the contestants during the show. It was awesome."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Five years ago, the BBC did a story on him and wrote, "Dax Flame was huge on YouTube. But that was more than a decade ago. What happens as he tries to revive his career—and why does a mystery about his channel persist to this day?"

Now, a handful of years later, Dax IS reviving his career. Sort of. In the last year or so, he has started trying his hand at stand-up comedy by doing open-mics. Hard to tell if it's cringe on purpose or just a level of anti-comedy brilliance done with such an adorably deadpan delivery you'll feel gaslit. That said, he might just make you laugh harder than any working headliner today.



He also enjoys ordering pizzas and giving gifts to delivery drivers when they arrive.


That's why this week, when Will Smith appeared in one of his videos, his fans went wild. On what appears to be a basketball court, Dax asks Will, "If you check out my new song, I'll check out your new song." Will agrees, "That's a deal." And in keeping with Dax's brand of (in his words) "making people feel awesome," Dax then asks, "Do you feel good?" Will emphatically replies, "I feel great!"

One Instagram follower wrote, "It must have been such a honor for Will Smith to meet Dax Flame."

After watching these videos, we still might not have a clear answer as to "Is Dax Flame for real?" But many of us will feel awesome, either way.

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'I'm in the worst shape of my life': Will Smith speaks for all of us in revealing Instagram post

via WillSmith / Instagram

"Men in Black" star Will Smith posted a revealing Instagram photo on Sunday and a lot of people can relate. The actor, 52, posted a photo of himself in black shorts, an unzipped hoodie, and slippers showing off his new gut and chest.

"I'm gonna be real wit yall - I'm in the worst shape of my life," he captioned the photo. In a world where celebrities have to be hyper-sensitive about their image, especially when it comes to weight, Smith's admission was a refreshing reminder that A-listers can have the same struggles that we do.


The post inspired several of Smith's friends to send him messages of support.

Questlove wrote: "This is the most amazing post in the history of social media."

"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" co-star Nia Long said, "You still got it baby!!!"

Director Ava DuVernay said, "I see no 'worst' here."

Smith's admission received over five million likes, probably because it resonates with a lot of people who are also dealing with weight gain during the pandemic. A recent study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that two in five Americans gained more weight than they intended over the past year.

The average person who gained more weight than they wanted added 29 unwanted pounds. One in ten said they added more than 50.

According to the APA, rapid weight loss can be a sign of struggling to cope with mental health challenges.

Another study by WebMd confirmed the APA's findings. A recent poll of over 1,000 readers found that 54% of respondents said they have gained weight "due to COVID restrictions. "Fifty-four percent said they were exercising less, 68% said they were snacking more.

Smith is getting ready to shoot his next film, "Emancipation," a big-budget true story about a runaway slave in 1863. In the film, Smith plays Peter, a fugitive from slavery who flees Loiusiana to find freedom in the north.

However, the film hit some roadblocks after Smith and director Antoine Fuqua said they were pulling filming out of Georgia due to the state's recent voting restriction laws. The new Republican-led voting changes require voter ID for absentee voting, limit the use of drop boxes, and restrict giving out food and water to voters waiting in line near polls.

The decision to move filming out of Georgia makes sense for a film that deals with racial oppression.

"At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice," the statement read. "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access."

"The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state," they continued.

The film was scheduled to start shooting in June 2021.

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Willow Smith educates her dad when he makes insensitive period jokes

Instagram / Willow Smith

As Will Smith himself once said, "Parents just don't understand." And that definitely extends to a dad understanding his daughter's period. Jada Pinkett Smith revealed on her show, Red Table Talk, that her husband, Will Smith, is a "joker" and sometimes needs other family members to point out when he goes too far. When it comes to making jokes about the period of Willow, their 19-year-old daughter, she shuts it down immediately.

The actress interviewed T.I. about his controversial comments on his daughter's hymen. T.I. stated that his comments were a "joke," and Pinkett Smith jumped in, saying she kind of understands why a dad might make misinformed comments about his daughter. Her own husband has had his own moments of cluelessness.

RELATED: A dad's Facebook post is going viral for the way he handled his daughter's first period

"There's certain things about raising a man that I can't know. I would tell [Will], 'Love your daughter, let me teach her,' because there's certain sensitivities that you might not understand and have just because of your relationship in the world is different than a woman's relationship," she said.

Pinkett Smith said that both she and Willow have had to teach Will a thing or two. "I understood that because I'm in this house with Will and he be saying the craziest stuff. He don't understand the level. And thank God he has me and he's got Willow … we educate that joker before he leaves this house. You know what I mean? He's one of those that likes to tell stories and sometimes goes too far."

You know how sometimes guys make lame jokes about your period? It turns out, even someone as famous as Will Smith does that, too. "Willow has gone at her dad several times for very insensitive comments, whether it's around menstruation or, you know, 'You must be PMS-ing,'" Pinkett Smith said. "And she's like, 'That right there, we're not gonna do that.' Every day, it's a work in progress."

RELATED: A neuroscientist had a paper mansplained to her. Plot twist, she wrote it.

Pinkett Smith also brought up her own parenting experiences, trying to help T.I. understand what flies and what doesn't when it comes to raising a daughter. Sometimes a conversation needs to happen. "I live with a man that loves his daughter, and the conversations that I've had to have with him in regards to what is protecting her, what is educating her, what is actually allowing her to self-actualize as her own individual self ― versus control," Pinkett Smith said.

Sometimes saying that you find a "joke" offensive is the best way to shut it down. Often, the person making the joke doesn't see what's wrong with it and needs to have it pointed out to them so they can stop. And that's something that spreads across all walks of life. Whether you got jiggy wit it in the '90s, or if you wrote "Getting Jiggy Wit It," sometimes you need to be called out.

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Will Smith weighs in on the 2016 election, racism, and Islamophobia.

"What makes someone evil is they don’t think they’re evil. They think they’re doing good."

While promoting his latest film, "Suicide Squad," Will Smith is using his platform in a unique way.

In the film, Smith plays an assassin named Deadshot. On screen, you'll find him in the middle of a hail of bullets, explosions, and destruction. For example:

GIF from Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube.

Smith's character is, technically, a "bad guy," which is a major change of pace for the movie star, who you'll usually find filling the role of a film's protagonist. Though he's a "bad guy" on the screen this time around, his recent comments during a number of press events show that in real life, he's still a hero.

Speaking at a press stop in Dubai, Smith addressed an important social issue that seems only to be getting worse: Islamophobia.

During a recent press conference, the summer blockbuster star talked about why he feels a personal responsibility to speak out on issues of racial and religious discrimination.

GIFs by The Associated Press/YouTube.

For him, that means trying to balance out some of the most incendiary rhetoric from a certain presidential candidate*cough* Donald Trump *cough* that many consider to be anti-Muslim.

Smith says he believes he has a responsibility to speak out so that "when [people] see a black man, the energy that we had can be what they remember." He added: "They have to know that your black skin won't hurt them."

Margot Robbie and Will Smith attend the European premiere of "Suicide Squad" in London. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

In another interview, Smith got in another subtle dig at Trump when discussing how he got into the "bad guy" mindset:

"What makes someone evil is they don’t think they’re evil. They think they’re doing good," Smith told Access Hollywood. "Like, they actually think it’s OK to call a woman a 'fat pig' on television. They think it’s OK. That’s what makes them evil."

While it seems pretty obvious who Smith won't be voting for this November, he seems confident that he's not alone.

GIF by The Associated Press/YouTube.

GIF by The Associated Press/YouTube.

But surely, it's nothing personal.

OK, this is just another GIF from the movie. GIF from Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube.

You can watch Will Smith share more of this thoughts on the dangers of Islamophobia in the video below:

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