John Mulaney’s Fans Thought They Knew Everything About Him — Here’s How The Past Year Proved Them Wrong

On today's episode of BuzzFeed Daily, we broke down the top pop culture headlines AND discussed what exactly a parasocial relationship is and why so many people seem to be in one with John Mulaney. You can listen below or scroll down to read more about the interview!

So let's dive right into it! Recently we talked to Madison Malone Kircher about everyone's obsession with John Mulaney. Here's some of what we learned:

BuzzFeed Daily: Anyone who spends time on Twitter has probably seen the term "parasocial relationship" pop up on their feed over the last few months. But for people who aren't extremely online, can you explain what it means exactly and maybe give us a little bit of the history behind it?

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Madison Malone Kircher: Sure. That's actually much, much easier than it sounds, because chances are truly every person listening to this has been in a parasocial relationship and didn't know that there was a psychological term for it. So parasocial relationships: That's a term that comes from the 1950s, from a set of Chicago researchers who coined it to describe the way that people — also me — that we all feel when you watch a television show or you listen to a podcast or you watch a movie and you feel like you are a friend with an actor or a celebrity — you know this person, you get them, they know you, you know them, your pals, except in reality, Taylor Swift and I aren't pals. That's a parasocial relationship.

BuzzFeed Daily: So the reason the term has been all over Twitter this year is everything that's been going on with John Mulaney, from his stint in rehab, to his divorce from Anna Marie Tendler, to his new relationship with Olivia Munn, what is it specifically about him that has everyone going "parasocial relationship this" and "parasocial relationship that"?

John Mulaney performing stand-up in a gray suit

BuzzFeed Daily: The title of your piece is "John Mulaney Doesn't Owe You Squat." So I'm curious, why do you think people feel that he does owe them something? And also, what do you think they feel owed?

John Mulaney performing stand-up in a dark maroon suit

BuzzFeed News: One thing that's really stuck out to me is how selective people seem to be about his public persona. John Mulaney has talked extensively about being an addict in his stand-up specials. He's talked a lot about how wild and crazy his life has been at certain points. But the thing that everyone seems to grab onto is his relationship with his now ex-wife, which by his account seemed pretty ideal. So why were people only grabbing on to the squeaky clean part of John Mulaney and sort of ignoring the darker things that he'd been telling us about for years?

John Mulaney performing standup in a blue suit

BuzzFeed Daily: You brought this up a little bit — a lot of people also seem shocked that he's having a child because he's mentioned numerous times in his stand-up that he and his wife didn't want kids. Now he's not only moving on with Olivia Munn just months after his divorce, but having a baby with her. How much do you think that plays into people's disappointment?

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MMK: Oh, a ton, right? I think hearing somebody [who's] 1) famous and 2) makes you laugh and smile and feel good generally say it is OK that you do not want to have children is so comforting to so many people in a society where it's like, "You turned 30 — say hello to the Instagram ads, bitch. Want to freeze your eggs? Great." It's a big turnaround. It's like, "Oh, where did my figurehead for the childless happy adults go? I thought it was you, John."

We also discussed JoJo Siwa calling out Nickelodeon on Twitter about some contract stipulations she’s unhappy about.

JoJo Siwa performing in a brightly colored outfit

In other news, it seems that Julianne Hough heard the backlash against CBS’s upcoming reality show The Activist, which would see activists competing against each other to raise money for their causes, loud and clear.

Julianne, who’s set to be a judge on the show, said on Instagram that while she’s “excited to be a part of something that highlights and is centered around sharing activists’ work,” she understands the criticism the show has received and agrees that she’s not qualified for the role of judge.She also acknowledged that she did Blackface in 2013 — something many people appear to only now be learning — and said it was a “poor choice based on my own white privilege and white body bias that hurt people and is something that I regret doing to this day.”CBS is apparently taking the negative feedback to the show to heart, telling Variety the following day that the series will be reconfigured as a documentary highlighting the work of the activists — all of whom will receive a cash grant — and their causes.

As always, thanks for listening! And if you ever want to suggest stories or just want to say hi, you can reach us at [email protected] or on Twitter @BuzzFeedDaily.