How about about that The Completionist

[fleacollerindustry]

He's been kinda quiet lately, but I can't wait to see how he digs is way out of this mess. But it's hard to get out of a mess you got yourself into because you were stupid enough to agree to a phone call that would be recorded:

Meanwhile, the videos about him from other up-and-coming YouTuber commentators seem to be mostly just "JIRARD IS THE EVILIST EVIL PERSON THAT EVER EVILED" but, naw, he's just a fucking idiot... no more, no less. Anyone who acts like he's the resurrection of Hitler say as much because they're just trying to bait Jirard and his fans into more lulz, but they have the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The best way to wring lulz out of this is to treat Jirard for the idiot he really is.

In any case, I think that smack upside his head that knocked him out back in 6th grade gave him dementia too, which was only made worse by the fact that some fake country music artist scammed his Mom out of $500k and led both Jirard and is mom on a six-month country-wide visit to every church for some reason. This also means that Jirard was pulled form school during that time. Here's a quick video about all that:

I guess that dementia has not just spread from Jirard's mom to him himself, but also from Jirard to some of his fans. Like this one who made a nearly 30 minute video reeking of copium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ9nGUgfzBg

Then there are his friends and other fans who originally blindly defended him, only for those to be split up into three camps:

• EYES OPENED — "look, I was just trying to defend a friend, but after all that has been revealed, I can't say I agree with what he did"
• TAPPED OUT — "yeah I'm gonna sit this one out: I wanted to support my friend but in the end I'm just some person with a microphone on the internet"
• BETTING ON THE WRONG HORSE — "I hear you, buuuuut.... Jirard was nice to me once, so he's absolved of all guilt. Meanwhile, Karl did one scummy thing, so he's just as bad and has no room to talk."

This video sums up those three types fairly well:

Twitter VS The Completionist Part 4

Full Call between Jirard, Muta and Karl https://youtu.be/uVr883oXApc?si=v5cJ-QlSM2HuIhj1Use Code BOWBLAX for a Discount on your custom built PC https://www.m...

www.youtube.com

...

I wonder what else is out there?

 

[Sleepy]

Been following this situation since it started. I watched all the normalboots guys as a kid so it's pretty crazy watching them all get outed as fucked up freaks in adulthood.

 

[disassemblyline]

BETTING ON THE WRONG HORSE — "I hear you, buuuuut.... Jirard was nice to me once, so he's absolved of all guilt. Meanwhile, Karl did one scummy thing, so he's just as bad and has no room to talk."

lmao he stared directly into the horses mouth and as it turns out, the horse was his fucking mom lmfao

 

[disassemblyline]

no idea why this was double posted

 

[fleacollerindustry]

Been following this situation since it started. I watched all the normalboots guys as a kid so it's pretty crazy watching them all get outed as fucked up freaks in adulthood.

I've only been watching recent JonTron's post-GamerGrumps/non-gaming videos, and I kinda like that content better. I never got into any NormalBoots stuff because honestly none of it was appealing to me. I tried to get into the Completionist, but his videos never clicked with me... I always got a kinda icky feeling watching them, but I guess now it all makes sense.

That said, even if Jirard's stuff never clicked with me, I did at least recognize him as a sort of paragon of a popular gamer doing right by everyone, so it was a legit surprise to see him in the middle of this controversy.

In the end I feel like anyone who is 9-10/10 "I care about everyone and I'm so selfless" is actually a scumbag, while someone who is maybe 7-8/10 selfless (meaning 2-3/10 selfish) is actually legit. Like someone who does a charity event and says "we're gonna take 15% of the charity amount and keep it to cover production costs, employee pay (for being here with me as I play games), catering and other fees, but we're gonna donate the remaining 85%" is absolutely 100% legit and real, while anyone who says "we're 100% putting 100% into 100% charities because we're so awesome" is almost certainly a scumbag.

 

[disassemblyline]

"we're gonna take 15% of the charity amount and keep it to cover production costs, employee pay (for being here with me as I play games), catering and other fees, but we're gonna donate the remaining 85%" is absolutely 100% legit and real

can confirm, i spent 10+ years delivering a literal truck bed filled with surplus canned goods (green beans and corn, especially) and several frozen turkeys for thanksgiving to this one church which collaborated with a synagogue and several other entities to essentially feed the homeless. for free. they got in trouble repeatedly for doing this ...which is exactly why i helped them. i never asked a dime, i dont care about ideologies but the food would be sourced from food not bombs, second harvest, etc. several places, there was no dumpster diving whatsoever and the food was properly cared for

the real thing doesnt ask for anything or even suggest a delivery date. it doesnt even ask for a "thanks"

 

[fleacollerindustry]

I feel like his best friend Greg Wilmot leaving him and the show and demanding that all his appearances are removed was a super telling sign of things. I can only assume what was actually happening behind the scenes, but my experiences have taught me that what happened could have been any of the following:

• Jirard was making mad cash from the show and advertising from the old episodes, but was giving Gred peanuts (if anything at all)
• Jirard wanted to use Greg's likeness on future products, but all potential agreements for proper due compensating were ridiculous
• Greg legitimately just wanted to move on and probably was OK with Jirard using his likeness, but Jirard crossed some kind of line that made Greg go "no, fuck it, we're done here"... undoubtedly involving money
• the two went into things as friends but were ignorant about signing contracts and making agreements about who makes what, and neither could reach a fair agreement about who gets what
• people change and one or the other (or both) stopped caring about working with the other
  • but even then, that would just mean the end of Greg appearing on the show, not necessarily his demand of removing ALL episodes with him in it

That's just what I think...

EDIT: I found Greg's post about why things went down the way they did: basically it was money and the lack of clear communication between them:

Re: Greg

A place for all your ThatOneVideoGamer content (The Completionist, Super Beard Bros, and all other satellite channels)!.

web.archive.org

Yes, I know the blame lies on myself for not preparing for the future and drafting up legal rules between us. At the time it seemed that a contract would only sully the creative freedom and excitement we had. Perhaps it would have. This is all conjecture now. Who knows what might have been.

Here's the absolute truth. I miss the kid I met in the history class I subsequently failed because we decided video games and Subway sandwiches were more important than class. I miss the Jirard that I made laugh hysterically over something that might utterly confuse a random bystander. I miss the Jirard that I built a business and creative legacy with. I especially miss the Jirard who stood next to the alter where I exchanged wedding vows with my soon-to-be wife. Above all, I miss my friend.

It sounds like there also was no ease into a contract situation like "this first year we'll share the revenue, then next year this will happen, etc etc"... rather it was "we sign this highly restrictive contract, or it's over", and Greg chose "it's over".

 

[fleacollerindustry]

can confirm, i spent 10+ years delivering a literal truck bed filled with surplus canned goods (green beans and corn, especially) and several frozen turkeys for thanksgiving to this one church which collaborated with a synagogue and several other entities to essentially feed the homeless. for free. they got in trouble repeatedly for doing this ...which is exactly why i helped them. i never asked a dime, i dont care about ideologies but the food would be sourced from food not bombs, second harvest, etc. several places, there was no dumpster diving whatsoever and the food was properly cared for

the real thing doesnt ask for anything or even suggest a delivery date. it doesnt even ask for a "thanks"

I consider myself fairly religious, but more along the lines of "religion should teach you how to live this life on Earth" more than "religion should teach you how to cheat your way into the afterlife".... the former is what makes religious organizations do that free homeless dinners, but the latter is what makes some religious organizations torture people by not feeding them or witholding help under the guise of "this is what God wants me to do".

I say this because I've learned how important it is for charity to be anonymous. No one will ever know how much I spend in religious donations this year, as the goal of those donations is to help those in need, not to show off as if it's some kind of race to donate the most money. Whether you spend $0.01 or $10,000, as long as you gave from the heart and don't show it off, then you're doing good in my eyes.

On the other hand, fake people are those like Jirard, who need people to know they personally the the ones doing good things. Jirard lives off the back pats he get from others. You can even hear it in his language during that Discord phone call: the minute Jirard realized that this will expose him and his back pats will cease, that's is when it became a real problem for him. He was willing to do whatever it takes just to keep those back pats coming... so when Karl and Mutahar sidestepped Jirard's question of "what isdo you want me to do?", it only frustrated Jirard's plans to secure the continuation of those back pats.

...

I get that being a good example can help encourage more charity, but there are ways to utilize your fame to encourage others to donate while still keeping your own actions as anonymous as possible. Jirard could have just spoken about the cause and earmarked individual charities that helps those in need. He could have also worked with those charities to organize livestream events. He didn't have to involve himself with the money itself but instead just be a public advocate for those causes.

But he didn't want to do that. Jirard wanted to be the hero. He wanted to be the guy who kicks down the door to "Dementia Research, Inc." with big cartoon money bags filled with one million dollars and save the day. "Jirard, our hero!" would be written on a huge banner, and he would've gotten a big trophy with the words "Jirard Khalil: He saved Dementia Research!!" stamped into it. This way, he could be in his late 90's about to die, and he could look at the trophy and—with his dying breath—be like "yeah, I did that... I did good". And on his gravestone would be a copy of that trophy and the words "Jirard Khalil: dedicated his life to saving people with dementia".... and then his grandkids would be in the news because they tried to sell Jirard's trophy at auction for only $10,000 and everyone would be like "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! THAT'S A PRICELESS ARTIFACT!"

That plan clearly fell apart because he was just too stupid to realize that reality doesn't work that way. If he had a legitimate desire to do good in his heart, then he went about it the wrong way. But I can easily imagine that this is how things went in his own mind about why he was doing what he was doing. I can also imagine that this is how things went with Greg Wilmot: Jirard has good intentions but Greg saw that that path led straight to hell and he quickly nope'd out.

 

[disassemblyline]

charity is about your time, it has nothing to do with money

thats what makes the world actually go around. charity. im not trying to sound deep here but while everyone else is in a hurry theres this one guy standing in front of publix ringing a bell all while standing perfectly still. as if theyre unaffected by time. salvation army being the obvious reference here

charity is more of a question of time than science itself, forget black holes. you cant get scientists to be charitable - one can only be charitable towards scientists (aka grants). your time is the donation itself, make sense? i probably sound like a communist yet if someone mentions charity and socialism in the same sentence both sides get offended

the easiest way to truly explain "charity" to the layman is "ever heard of a library?"

 

[fleacollerindustry]

charity is about your time, it has nothing to do with money

Yep, after all, time is money

In any case, I think Jirard has an interpretation of "charity = time and/or money" to mean "if people can see me do these things, whether or not I actually do anything substantial... that is sufficient enough charity".

Perfect example: I was going through his Instagram account and, Jesus H Crackers, it's nothing but "look at me and all the wonderful things I've done for the world". The fact that he had something called "The Completionist Legacy", implying that he's done SO MUCH GOOD for the world that it's self-evident, and so much so that he is in his right to declare it... that painfully obviously narcissistic.

Spoiler: inb4 'he didn't really mean that, it was just an inside joke, not meant to be taken seriously'

But that's the issue: an outsider who doesn't know his shtick (which is effectively 95% of the world) will just see it as him tooting his own horn, and that that reeks of self-serving egotism. Most importantly, it comes off as the complete opposite of charity being anonymous.

But who gives a shit, right? That 95% of the world wouldn't give a rat's ass about what some gaming YouTuber does "for the world". However, I think that's a legitimate sticking point for Jirard... he WANTED to be known as something more than just a YouTube content creator (as he mentioned in his Discord call), and he would hate to not be taken seriously. His ego couldn't handle being condescended and patronized in such a way. So clearly he's doing all this in order to convince that other 95% of the world that he's worthy of praise for all the things he's done, and "The Completionist Legacy" is a "perfect" way to tell the world to stand up and take notice.

Here's more posts of him tooting his own horn:

Jirard, The Completionist® on Instagram: "Sharing more collectible pieces around the TOVG Office! This time it’s my boy Mega Man and I’m even a part of it! If you want to see more interesting gaming history moments, don’t forget to catch our #PreservedPlay stream this weekend on April 15 & 16 at http://twitch.tv/thecompletionist! #gaming #gaminghistory #gamingcommunity #collection #collectibles #tovg #megaman2 #megamanx"

1,307 likes, 12 comments - thecompletionistApril 11, 2023 on : "Sharing more collectible pieces around the TOVG Office! This time it’s my boy Mega Man and I’m even a part of it! If you want to see..."

www.instagram.com

Jirard, The Completionist® on Instagram: "On our first year of hosting our charity stream #PreservedPlay, @gamehistoryorg kindly gifted me some retro Mario items to add to my collection. Tune in this weekend on April 15 & 16, for our 3rd year in a row, to support the preservation of gaming history. ➡️ http://twitch.tv/thecompletionist #gaming #gaminghistory #gamingcommunity #retrogaming #collection #collectibles #tovg #supermario #nintendo"

598 likes, 4 comments - thecompletionistApril 12, 2023 on : "On our first year of hosting our charity stream #PreservedPlay, @gamehistoryorg kindly gifted me some retro Mario items to add to my coll..."

www.instagram.com

Jirard, The Completionist® on Instagram: "The wiiU and 3DS eShop closes on Monday and as somebody who loves playing and collecting games, this sort of thing is always scary. When a digital storefront shuts down or games are delisted, countless titles run the risk of being lost forever. That’s why video game preservation is important to me. I’ll be donating these consoles and all the storage to the Video Game History Foundation, so that all of these games can live on. Full video on YouTube 👉 https://youtu.be/ujHUMG0Uovs (link in bio) #nintendo #eshop #wiiu #3ds #thecompletionist #gaming #gamingcommunity"

1,981 likes, 27 comments - thecompletionistMarch 25, 2023 on : "The wiiU and 3DS eShop closes on Monday and as somebody who loves playing and collecting games, this sort of thing is always scary. When ..."

www.instagram.com

In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that this "Preserved Play" would have been his next grift... if things with Karl and Mutahar didn't end up the way they did, he would've quietly ended Open Hand and IndieLand (as proven by their Discord call) and switched over to Preserved Play. So not only was Jirard known as the guy who saved the lives of people with dementia, he'll also be known as the guy who saved video game history (despite the fact that nothing he did was anything that hackers haven't already done well ahead of time).

Spoiler: inb4 'why should you care? Jirard's not harming anyone!'

My main point in all this is that Jirard was giving the signs of his behavior well ahead of time... and so much heartache could have been avoided if people were more conscious of those signs. So I guess the next time you see someone acting this way, you should be wary of their intentions and demand more from them than "I'm a famous person online who share your video gaming interests: you can trust me with your money".

...

i probably sound like a communist yet if someone mentions charity and socialism in the same sentence both sides get offended

Naw, you're good. Charity is very Christian, which as far as red-blooded Americans and Koreans are concerned, is the opposite of Communism.

See, I grew up between the San Francisco-esque Christian left vision of Jesus as the dirty hippie, and the Korean-esque Christian right vision of Jesus as the soldier of righteousness. I get why both feel that way—hippie Jesus was about feeding the needy, soldier Jesus was about standing up against evil (which is why Koreans converted to Christianity as a way to subvert the Buddhist/Shintoist Japanese during occupation)—but in the end I found the hippie Jesus story to be more appealing.

Now sure, the hippie Jesus story may come off as being a bit "socialist-y/communist-y"... but what red-blooded Christian would dare claim that Jesus was a Communist? I imagine that's how a lot of social programs in the US were "allowed" to survive and thrive during the Cold War. Oddly enough tho, South Korea is just as Christian as the US is but has more social programs than the US does.

In any case, they can be offended with the comparison, but as long as that doesn't prevent good from being done, let them be so.

 

[FukkenUsername]

Watching anything other than UpIsNotJump... ridiculous.

 

[1337coomer]

It's been wild watching this unfold. It got me thinking, what is the average amount of time before a YouTuber has a major controversy that either kills their career and or ruins their reputation? There seems to be a very consistent pattern that once they hit a critical mass of followers something happens to fuck everything up.

 

[fleacollerindustry]

It's been wild watching this unfold. It got me thinking, what is the average amount of time before a YouTuber has a major controversy that either kills their career and or ruins their reputation? There seems to be a very consistent pattern that once they hit a critical mass of followers something happens to fuck everything up.

I guess it depends on how quickly they flew up to the sun before burning out, but also how long they can stretch their burn out. Jirard has been doing this for about fifteen years.

It's a double edge sword: if you're a e-star and you just be yourself (warts and all) you'll never reach that critical mass, but if you lie about who you are you'll get that critical mass until people find out who you are. The only ones who seem to survive are truly legit people, like Mr. Rogers or Mr. Beast (although I'm not looking forward to find out Mr. Beast actually diddles his underaged fans).

Parasocial relationships are a hell of a drug.