Try Guys' OG star Eugene Lee Yang leaving after 10 years

Bye-bye, Try Guy: YouTube group is losing its second founding member in two years

Four men standing and smiling inside a casual restaurant

May 22, 2024 4:32 PM PT

The Try Guys are losing yet another member of the group’s founding quartet — this time, under different circumstances.

Internet star and actor Eugene Lee Yang will leave the Try Guys’ popular YouTube channel, which he co-founded in 2014 with ex-BuzzFeed co-workers Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger and Ned Fulmer in 2014. Yang’s departure comes less than two years after the Try Guys booted Fulmer amid an alleged cheating scandal.

“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 told Rolling Stone in an interview published Wednesday.

The remaining Try Guys — now a duo comprising Kornfeld and Habersberger — said the channel’s newest season of content will be Yang’s last. After this chapter, he will turn his attention to “other creative endeavors,” the outlet reported.

A representative for Yang did not offer comment Wednesday to The Times but said the “Nimona” actor will address his Try Guys exit in a video later this week.

“Eugene leaving is something that is sort of necessary for us to keep moving forward,” Habersberger told Rolling Stone, adding that “things change” and saying this chapter of the Try Guys will get a “better finite ending.”

The changes at the Try Guys comes as the YouTube channel celebrates its 10th anniversary. “It has been the greatest ride of our lives,” Kornfeld said in an Instagram video. The remaining duo outlined their plans to shift away from YouTube — where they currently boast more than 8 million subscribers.

Instead, the Try Guys duo said they will take their content directly to viewers with the official launch of their 2nd Try Entertainment production company and streaming service. They will still post videos to YouTube, but their service will feature exclusive videos, livestreams and new programs from new creators.

“We said there would never be a 4th Try Guy, because we’re actually adding nine,” the group announced in another Instagram post unveiling their new castmates.

Kornfeld and Habersberger launched the newest era of the Try Guys less than two years after parting ways with Fulmer. In September 2022, a cheating scandal involving Fulmer (who is married to Ariel Fulmer) and ex-Try Guys producer Alexandria “Alex” Herring, rocked the group. Amid online speculation, the channel confirmed on social media, “Ned Fulmer is no longer working with The Try Guys.”

“As a result of a thorough internal review, we do not see a path forward together,” the statement added.

A week after Fulmer’s exit, the remaining trio broke their silence in a YouTube video, explaining details about the internal investigation into their co-founder’s alleged affair. At the time, Yang asked viewers to remember that “the internet has a tendency to be a lot harder towards women than men” and to “exercise kindness” amid the scandal.

“What we hope is that within this, there’s also the opportunity for positive growth and better videos ahead, but it’s gonna be hard,” Kornfeld said toward the end of the October 2022 video. “The whole thing is gonna be really f— hard.”

Now, it seems things are looking up for Kornfeld, who celebrated his Try Guys teams — new and current — with several Instagram photos.

“We’ve been busting our a— to make 2nd try something truly unforgettable,” he captioned the photos. “Here’s to the next chapter, here’s to 2nd try.”