As the remaining members try to move past a cheating scandal that took the internet by storm, fans have been left wondering why Eugene Lee Yang is leaving the Try Guys. The YouTubers are now officially down to two members after Ned Fulmer’s infidelity was exposed, forcing him out of the group in 2022.
The Try Guys was a YouTube channel and brand founded under the production company 2nd Try LLC, by Ned and three former BuzzFeed employees: Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfield, and Eugene Lee Yang. In September 2022, The Try Guys announced that Ned had been fired from the company after he cheated on his wife of 10 years, Ariel Fulmer, with an associate producer for the brand, Alex Herring.
With the news they’re starting their own ad-free streaming channel to cater to their fans’ needs, the reason for Eugene Lee Yang leaving the Try Guys is at the forefront of fans’ minds.
Why is Eugene Lee Yang leaving the Try Guys?
The group, or rather duo, told Rolling Stone that the upcoming season of Try Guys content will be Yang’s last—he’s leaving the group to pursue other creative endeavors. They also announced they were launching a subscription streaming service and app, 2ndTry TV, which will cost $4.99 per month.
“Part of this is bittersweet. We’re gonna miss working with Eugene. He has been one of the true collaborators of both of our lives. But we’ve had a long time to process this,” Kornfeld said. “So we’re very excited for him, very excited for us, and just feeling very energized by this whole moment.”
“Eugene leaving is something that is sort of necessary for us to keep moving forward,” Habersberger added. “Things change. THE TRY GUYS ’ original cast already came to an end once, But now it’s sort of getting a better finite ending.”
The ending Habersberger is talking about was Ned Fulmer’s cheating scandal that brought the Try Guys down from four to three. Fulmer was fired from The Try Guys on September 27, 2022, after he cheated on his wife, Ariel Fulmer, with The Try Guys’ associate producer, Alex Herring.
In a YouTube video titled “what happened” on October 3, 2022, The Try Guys members, Eugene Yang, Keith Habersberger and Zach Kornfeld, explained that The Try Guys’ production company, 2nd Try LLC, removed Ned as a founder after they learned of Ned and Alex’s affair over Labor Day weekend in September 2022.
“On Labor Day weekend, multiple fans alerted us, that they had seen Ned and an employee engaging in public romantic behavior. We reached out to check on that employee,” Keith said. “Ned confirmed the reports and since confirmed this had been going on for some time, which was obviously very shocking to us. We just want you to know we had no idea this was going on. All of that information was just as shocking to us as all of this has been for you this week.”
Eugene explained that Ned and Alex’s affair led to a three-week investigation involving employment lawyers, corporate lawyers, human resources and public relations departments into what to do next. “From the jump, we were acutely aware of just how contrary this was the values of the company we’ve built,” Eugene said. “And those of everyone who works here. This is something we took very seriously. We refused to sweep things under the rug that is not who we are and it’s not what we stand for.”
Once the review was completed, Eugene, Keith and Zach removed Ned as a manager and an employee of 2nd Try LLC, on Friday, September 16, 2022. “We found that Ned had engaged in conduct unbecoming of our team and we knew that we could not move forward with him,” Keith said. “So on Friday, September 16th, the three of us signed written consent of the members of Second Try, LLC approving the removal of Ned as a manager and an employee. We chose not to rush into the announcement for a few reasons. Namely, there are real people who have been affected, and while we consider this a company matter, it’s just also a family at the center of this.”
