Trae Crowder | |
|---|---|
 Crowder in 2011 | |
| Born | Celina, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genre | Comedian |
| Website | |
| traecrowder | |
Trae Crowder is an American comedian and co-author of The Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin' Dixie Outta the Dark [1] and Round Here and Over Yonder: A Front-Porch Travel Guide by Two Progressive Hillbillies (Yes, That's a Thing). [2]
Crowder grew up in rural Celina, Tennessee, near the Tennessee/Kentucky border. [3] He attended Tennessee Tech, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2008 [4] and an M.B.A. in 2009. [5] He was the first person in his family to graduate from college. In 2010, he moved to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area with his wife, Katie, and their two young sons, [6] and in 2017 they moved to Los Angeles. [7]
In an interview for the MSNBC program The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell in May 2016, Crowder attributed his liberal political views to the "abject poverty" of his family during his childhood in rural Middle Tennessee. [8]
Another major influence on his progressive social beliefs was his close relationship with his gay uncle. Crowder identifies as agnostic, as he explained that he had personally never "been particularly down with Jesus" because of the conservative social views on homosexuality held by most Christian denominations, especially in the area where he was raised. [1] [9]
After business school, Crowder worked for the U.S. Department of Energy for six years. [10]
In his mid-twenties, Crowder got his start as a stand-up comedian by performing at an open mic night at Side Splitters comedy club (since closed) in Knoxville, Tennessee. [11] He went on to perform there for three and a half years. [12] After this he evolved his main character, known as The Liberal Redneck, and began posting his trademark comedic monologues online. As of August 2020, his videos have garnered more than 17 million cumulative views on YouTube. [13] After his Liberal Redneck videos went viral, he appeared in numerous media outlets, including MSNBC and The Huffington Post. In June 2016, Crowder began a stint as the official "Hillbilly-in-Chief" for the New York Daily News , where he posted politically oriented videos for the newspaper's YouTube channel. [14] Fourteen videos from 2016 are still available online. [15]
On 11 November 2016, Crowder was a guest on the HBO series, Real Time with Bill Maher , where he discussed his book and gave his "redneck" take on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, held three days earlier. [16] He appeared on the program again on March 9, 2018, and then again on September 18, 2020. [17] [18]
In 2020, following the cancellation of live events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Crowder began hosting a twice-weekly political show on Facebook Live called "The Evening Skews" with co-host Mark Agee. [19]
When asked whether The Liberal Redneck is a character he's playing, Crowder has said, "The way I always describe that is, it's a character in that it's just me cranked up to 11 basically. It all comes from an authentic place. I have a very stereotypical redneck background and upbringing and I am very liberal politically but I don't act that way all the time. I'm not hollering my opinions in people's face and stuff. I really do think and believe all that shit though." [11]
In 2016, Crowder began touring with fellow comedians and writing partners Drew Morgan and Corey Ryan Forrester, calling themselves the WellRED Comedy Tour. The first leg of their tour sold out, leading them to book additional nights in some cities. [14] As of August 2020, the group was still touring, but fall 2020 dates were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] The trio held a virtual show via Facebook Live on August 7, 2020. [19]
On 1 January 2017, Crowder publicly announced through his Twitter account, "My wife's packin our butter tubs for our move to LA. I'll be workin on my @FOXTV sitcom Skeew!" [21] The show was to be a single camera sitcom starring Crowder as his Liberal Redneck character. In the following television season, Crowder made a deal with ABC for another single-camera sitcom based on his life. And it was reported in November 2018 that Crowder had made yet another TV deal, again with ABC, but this time also with Crowder's comedy partners Morgan and Forrester for a sitcom the three would executive produce, write, and star in, "about three best friends in the rural south and the women in their lives." [22]
Crowder also co-wrote and produced an hour-long documentary titled Inherent Good, featuring Crowder and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, about universal basic income. The film was released in January 2021. [23]
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's third largest city after Nashville and Memphis. It is the principal city of the Knoxville metropolitan area, which had a population of 879,773 in 2020.
William Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show Real Time with Bill Maher (2003–present) and the similar late-night show called Politically Incorrect (1993–2002), originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC. In 2022, Maher started the podcast Club Random.
The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focused on energy and electricity generation, with the theme Energy Turns the World, it was officially registered as a "World's Fair" by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).
Knoxville College is a historically black liberal arts college in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, which was founded in 1875 by the United Presbyterian Church of North America. It is a United Negro College Fund member school.
Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy is an American comedian, actor, author, radio host, and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and formerly Ron White. Known for his "You might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy has released six major-label comedy albums. His first two albums were each certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He has written several books based on his redneck jokes, as well as an autobiography entitled No Shirt, No Shoes... No Problem!
Timothy Floyd Burchett is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, based in Knoxville, serving since 2019.
Victor Henderson Ashe II is an American former diplomat and politician who served as United States Ambassador to Poland. From 1987 to 2004, he was mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee. Ashe is a Republican. Ambassador Ashe concluded his service as Ambassador to Poland on September 26, 2009.
Real Time with Bill Maher is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and later on ABC, Real Time features a panel of guests who discuss current events in politics and the media. Unlike the previous show, guests are usually better versed in the subject matter; more experts such as journalists, professors, and politicians participate in the panel, and fewer actors and celebrities are included.
"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year. The song, which is a city dweller's lamentation over the loss of a simpler and freer existence in the hills of Tennessee, is one of Tennessee's ten official state songs and has been recorded by dozens of artists from multiple musical genres worldwide since its publication. In U.S. college athletics, "Rocky Top" is associated with the Tennessee Volunteers of the University of Tennessee (UT), whose Pride of the Southland Band has played a marching band version of the song at the school's sporting events since the early 1970s.
The Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News, is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company.
Henry Cho is an American stand-up comedian. His work can be heard nationwide several times weekly on SiriusXM Radio's Channel 98, Laugh USA, Sirius Radio's Jeff and Larry's Comedy Roundup Channel 97, and Pandora Radio's PG Comedy Radio Channel. Cho is notable for being one of the only Asian-American acts to appear regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and, on January 6, 2023, became the first Asian-American invited to become a member of the Opry.
Edward Mitchell "Mitch" Rouse is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter.
The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on July 27, 2008 when an unemployed Tennessee truck driver named Jim David Adkisson went on a shooting rampage at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Adkisson opened fire on members of the congregation during a church youth performance, killing two people and wounding six others before he was restrained by church members; according to police, he had planned to keep shooting until the police arrived and killed him. A letter, or "manifesto", found in his vehicle after the shooting attributed his motivation for the rampage as a hatred of liberals, Democrats, African Americans, and homosexuals. In the letter he also described what he believed to be the cult-like atmosphere of the church. Adkisson pled guilty to two counts of murder and received a sentence of life in prison without parole.
The 1928 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1928 Southern Conference football season. Playing as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), the team was led by head coach Robert Neyland, in his third year, and played their home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 1928 Vols won nine, lost zero and tied one game. The only blemish on their schedule was a scoreless tie with Kentucky. Tennessee outscored their opponents 249 to 51 and posted five shutouts.
The 1948 Tennessee Volunteers represented the University of Tennessee in the 1948 college football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Robert Neyland, in his 17th year, and played their home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of four wins, four losses and two ties.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States. The primaries were held on August 4.
Kata Hay is an American country music performer, best known for competing on the 2016 season of The Voice.
The 1941 Chattanooga Moccasins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Chattanooga as a member of the Dixie Conference during the 1941 college football season. In its 11th year under head coach Scrappy Moore, the team compiled a 7–1–1, outscored opponents by a total of 209 to 62, and won the Dixie Conference championship.
Matthew Edward Butler is an American football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee.
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