Chris Fleming (born January 29, 1987) is an American comedian and actor best known for his YouTube series Gayle, in which he stars as the eponymous character Gayle Waters-Waters. In June 2019, Variety named Fleming one of its "10 Comics to Watch for 2019".[3]
Fleming is known for his unique, specific character comedy[4][5] and "powerful, ridiculous songs."[6] Much of Fleming's comedy is aimed at deconstructing social norms, including masculinity.[7] He has been described as accruing an online cult following.[7]
A staff writer for FSUNews, covering an appearance at Florida State University, praised his stand-up performance's underlying message, stating, "Fleming does not seem to give too much respect to anything, including himself, which allows him to rid different social norms and constructs of their power."[7]
Fleming has been described as a "progressivegender-bending role model."[7] Fleming has stated that he accepts any pronouns, stating, "Anything works for me."[8]
He received a degree in theater from Skidmore College in 2009,[12][13] and graduated one credit short of receiving a minor in dance.[14]
Gayle
Gayle is a 40-episode, absurdist comedy series on YouTube.[14] The series is written by Fleming and directed by comedian Melissa Strype, who also plays Gayle's daughter, Terry Gross Waters-Waters.[13] It was launched in 2012 and its final episode was published in 2015.[14]
The series follows high-strung, eccentric suburban mother Gayle Waters-Waters and her ruthless journey to uphold social status in the small, fictional community of Northbread, Massachusetts.[15] Fleming developed the idea for Gayle through his stand-up comedy.[13] In 2019, Fleming described the origin of her character:
I did Gayle in my stand-up and she was inspired by a lot of folks that I saw growing up...It kind of cemented as ideas do in a very singular moment when I was in a Crate & Barrel and I saw a woman diving into a barrel of placemats. Like her legs were up in the air, and she was just digging through these placemats...it just kind of came from there...I just plucked her from a tree...I have elements of her in my psyche too; it's not gender-specific thing. It's fear of how you're seen in your community, that's what it is, that's the essence of it...Why I related to her so much is just that terror of how others perceive you.[16]
Fleming's mother co-stars as Bonnie, Gayle's best friend and biggest rival (i.e., frenemy).[13] Gayle's sensitive birdwatching husband, Dave, does not reveal his face during Gayle; his voice is provided by Fleming, while his legs are portrayed by Fleming's father.[13]
The soundtrack was composed by Brian Heveron-Smith,[14] Tom Lowery, and Chris Hartford.[17] The series is filmed in Fleming's hometown in Massachusetts.[18]
Forbes reported that, in the off-seasons of filming Gayle, Fleming worked as an SAT tutor.[13]
Circa 2013, comedian Margaret Cho grew an interest in the show. In 2013, she guest starred in the episode "Chibby Point" as Yo-Yo Ma, whom Gayle kidnapped from a Barnes & Noble.[19][20]
In 2014, the Gayle team went on a US tour with the show titled Gayle Live.[21]
Although much of his hometown supports the series, with some neighbors even participating as actors,[13] Fleming claims:
There's one woman, who a lot of [Gayle] was inspired by, who is NOT happy about it, at all...[she's] absolutely pissed [because her full name is used for a background character]. I forget to change people's names sometimes, so a lot of my life has been trying to explain to people's faces that something that is very obviously about them is not about them.[16]
Fleming has expressed regret that COMPANY IS COMING, a viral 2015 short featuring Gayle,[22][23][24][25] is the series' best known project and "what I get stopped at airports for."[26] He dislikes when Gayle is known purely as a "crazy mom character," claiming her character transcends the stereotype:[8]
I've played that character for so long I have such love for her...there's so many different facets to her. That's just one part of her being. I hate that that's what people think of her in general. There's so many other beautiful shades to her psyche.[8]
Sketch comedy
Fleming runs a YouTube channel under his full name; the channel has gained over 445,000 subscribers as of August 2024. In addition to Gayle, Fleming has a variety of other content that ranges from music videos to car rants.[27] He also posts videos on his Twitter and Instagram pages.
His 2015 video "COMPANY IS COMING,"[23] starring his Gayle character, went viral, accruing over 13.9 million views as of May 2022. In 2018, Fleming has lampooned this viral video as a Faustian bargain with a demon named Davis, who says, "We made a deal; one viral video in 2015 for a lifetime of servitude! You promised me your soul for your video COMPANY IS COMING going viral, and now sorority girls from the South like you for all the wrong reasons!"[28]
In 2020, he created "Sick Jan," a song and music video detailing his former H&R Block tax preparer who exhibited unusual behavior that intrigued Fleming.[4] In 2022, New York magazine interviewed him based on Sick Jan's similarities to Deirdre, a character in 2022 film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Fleming stated,
Jan's not an archetype, Jan's such a specific woman. ... [The] story of Sick Jan, the character herself, is so dense — maybe it's just that all tax preparers have a vibe of anarchy and Southwestern style. With Jan, obviously, it was one song, so I could focus only on the fact that she was chronically sick for three years and never addressed it. And also her desire to go to jail — her overwhelming desire. People talk about sexual tension in the video a lot, but it's just between Jan and the prison system. ... I remember putting her on speakerphone so my friends could hear her, because she would use this catchphrase while also coughing.[4]
In 2020, Fleming stated that "Sick Jan" and "DePiglio" are his personal favorite of his YouTube videos.[26]
In 2022, Fleming created a mockumentary-style interview with an eccentric male character who explains his invention of the word "umpteenth."[29]
Stand-up comedy
In 2010, the 24-year-old Fleming moved to Los Angeles after signing with the talent agency who managed Dane Cook.[30] Fleming has stated, "I was signed to a manager who seduced me to moving out to L.A., and as soon as I got there, she promptly became a chef."[31]
In 2011, describing Fleming's brand of comedy, Jenkins stated, "Chris isn't a funny comedian; he's an interesting person who sees the world in a funny way. Chris's world is this rubbery, cartoonish, absurd place filled with over-the-top, self-important characters. It's a really cool world he shows us."[30]
In January 2012, Fleming's friend, comedian Gary Gulman, invited Fleming to a party to meet successful L.A. comedians from Boston.[32] Upon arriving, Fleming realized he was at comedian Dane Cook's house, and it was a watch party of the NFL playoff between the Patriots and the Ravens.[31][33] While receiving a tour of the house, Fleming complimented its appearance, comparing it to a Crate & Barrel; Cook was not amused by the joke.[31] Dressed in androgynous clothing and having no knowledge about football, Fleming felt "freak[ed] out" and claims to have lost his sense of spatial awareness. He sat on Bill Burr's armrest "like a toy breed," eventually humiliating himself by sneezing "directly into the pleat of Bill Burr's khakis." During his 2020 Boba Everyday tour, Fleming describes the experience in detail.[31] On January 22, 2012, Dane Cook tweeted a photographic lineup of comedians at the party, including Fleming.[34] Fleming displayed this photo at the end of the stand-up routine as photographic evidence of the described party.[31] Fleming lampoons their differences in appearance by displaying the Bostonian comedians with a Dropkick Murphys song; then his own face accompanied by "Last Christmas" by Wham![31]
In 2016 and 2017 he toured the United States with his stand-up comedy show titled Showpig.[35] When asked the meaning of the title, Fleming stated, "I fancy myself a showpig – grease me up and send me to market!"[10]
Describing his comedic process to WBUR in 2019, Fleming said,
I burn the formula every time I make something. I really revel in making things that no one is asking for. I think it might be the nature of being anti-establishment is like, when people like something they're like "Oh we want more of this," I'm going to give them something completely out of left-field. I think that's a way to make inspired work. To follow yourself and not to follow what David Bowie called "The Gallery."[16]
Fleming is likely referring to Bowie's advice for young artists,[36] in which Bowie says, "Never play for the gallery...Never work for other people at what you do."[37][38]
Fleming's stand-up tour entitled Boba Everyday began in late 2019 and was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39] In October 2020, Fleming announced Forest Musings, a virtual show.[40] In August 2021, Fleming announced his stand-up tour, Tricky Tricky.[41] In May 2022, he announced a summer stand-up tour with venues in British Columbia, Texas, New York, Ontario, and Vermont.[42][43]
When Vulture asked for the best comedy advice he had received, Fleming responded, "Rick Jenkins, owner of the Comedy Studio [in Harvard Square],[44] taught me that, through clarity with your audience, even the most absurd idea can be accessible—also, that no idea is too absurd."[26]
Gender identity
Fleming lampooned his audience's questions about his gender in a 2016 video titled "Am I A Man?" His response was, "Can I consider myself a man if, in a pinch, I can dry myself off with a hand towel?"[45]
In 2016, Fleming gave the following definition for manhood:
My concept of a man is someone who whacks their elbow a little bit at a Bertucci's and has no hang-ups about freaking out—zero qualms about going full Streetcar Named Desire at 2 PM...[45]
Fleming satirizes his relationship with masculinity in his comedy, such as with his 2016 song "I'm Afraid to Talk To Men"[46] and 2022 monologue "Men and Me."[47] When asked if he felt secure in his masculinity, he responded,
Oh, I'm not secure with my masculinity, I just don't have any masculinity. There's just such a lack of it, I have no respect for it.[8]
Fleming routinely describes the way he is perceived by others in his stand-up. In regards to his appearance, he has compared himself to "a cocker-spaniel who is bi at best,"[45] "a woman...from the woods [who is] deeply ill,"[31] and "an American Girl doll that got left out in the rain."[47] In 2022, he stated, "If I'm at a restaurant with a group, the waiter will ask the women, me, children, then men. That's the order of operations...I've got a Gaia thing going on, Mother Goose energy."[47]
In 2022, Fleming told Vulture: "[The pilot] didn't get picked up by the network that we made it for, so we're trying to get it somewhere else."[48] On August 3, 2022, Fleming shared screenshots of the pilot along with captions explaining scenes and thanking the actors.[49]
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