Artist Profile: ConnorEatsPants on Political Humor and Absurd Celebrity Cameos | Arts

What do Lil Pump, Elmo, and George Santos have in common? They have all been interviewed by ConnorEatsPants, of course. The unusually named Twitch streamer/YouTuber/X influencer has charmed thousands with his signature “dry attitude” and willingness to mock the powers-that-be. He plays video games for a living, yet describes himself as “not actually good” at them. Suffice it to say, he contains multitudes.

Connor’s content journey began when he started making “sketch comedy videos” with his friends in about 2007. He opened the account for his current channel, ConnorEatsPants, between 2014 and 2015.

Its unorthodox title was inspired by a beloved Nickelodeon show.

“There’s an episode of ‘iCarly’ where they tell the teacher that he eats pants, and I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’ll just do that,’” Connor said. “I wasn’t really thinking much about it. In hindsight, I probably would have done something different, but it worked out. It’s easy to remember.”

A notable turning point in his career was the first time he appeared on camera — an event colloquially known online as a “face reveal.”

“I first showed my face like 2019, later that year,” Connor said. “That was the year that things kind of took off for me, and it started becoming actually a job.”

Now, ConnorEatsPants has 726,000 followers on Twitch — but he didn’t build that audience overnight. He’s streamed consistently since 2017, a fact that even Connor himself finds baffling.

“I guess I always feel I’ve peaked and then things continue to happen around me and stuff that’ll feel like, ‘Oh, I’m still prevalent and relevant in a way that I don’t consciously comprehend.’ On one hand it’s a job — but I don’t think of it as a job because otherwise I get really stressed about the future,” he said. “So I just think of it as, ‘Oh, this is my life for right now, and we’ll see where it takes me.’”

The work of livestreaming, however, comes naturally to Connor. He attributes this ease to his improv background and Twitch’s chat feature, which provides a constant stream of feedback and comedic inspiration.

In some of his recent content, that comedy is focused on politics. Connor grew up around a range of political perspectives, which initially led him to treat humor as an “escape” from political issues.

“However, with how the world has been lately — at least from my perspective — and having been surrounded by people from all different kinds of walks of life, and my audience being from different kinds of walks of life, it made me realize that, [for] one, these things are entertaining to me. And it’s one way that I cope with things — to joke about it and to bring levity to some serious issues,” he said.

Connor’s hope is that this levity will inform an otherwise politically disconnected person about current events.

An occasional vehicle for that mission is Connor’s Fortnite Friday series. He likens it to the interview show “Hot Ones,” except he and his guest brave the eponymous video game together instead of red-hot chicken wings.

“The hook of it mainly is that, rather than getting a streamer or somebody that you would expect in my orbit, I get someone that is just like, ‘Oh, what? Why are they here?’” Connor said.

His lineup so far includes the aforementioned guests — admittedly, Elmo was voiced by an impressionist instead of an official “Sesame Street” actor — and the real governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Despite Santos’ and Newsom’s appearances, the show isn’t meant to be overtly political. Connor’s primary yardstick for invitations is how funny he thinks it would be to distract them with questions as they navigate Fortnite, sometimes for the first time.

Outside of the realm of content creation, Connor acts a bit differently.

“The persona is me played up to an extent,” he said. “It’s still me but a bit more performative and acting a bit more silly. What I know would be more entertaining as a figure, whereas me in person, I’m a lot more reserved, I’m more quiet. But I think that goes for a lot of creators for sure.”

Anyone seeking his more performative side can find him on Twitch after 5 p.m. Eastern Time every day, except for when he isn’t in the mood. Such is the lot of the ConnorEatsPants fan: a quizzical brow and a ready smile.

—Staff writer Giselle P. Acosta can be reached at [email protected].