Betting HubSharp Action
Barstool BushChronicling the Barstool Universe

Kelly Keegs answers the trolls as Big Cat backs her

By JR·2 min read
Kelly Keegs answers the trolls as Big Cat backs her

TLDR: After days of pile-ons, Kelly Keegs posted a long, serious statement saying 99% of her tone is a joke and there is no shtick, and Big Cat responded by publicly calling her an important part of Barstool.

KeegsBig CatPat

Keegs started with a disclaimer in all caps, which tells you how often her jokes have been taken literally lately.

Kelly Keegs
Kelly Keegs
@kellykeegs

*THIS IS A SERIOUS STATEMENT AND NOT JOKING AT ALL* I despise the fact that I’m the only person who everyone has decided has no sense of humor. My entire thing is sarcasm. 99% of my tone is joking. Being purposefully misunderstood ruins the experience not only of being online, but working for a comedy* company. Even people within these walls who have known me for a decade! All of a sudden Big Cat thinks I genuinely believe Rone is stealing content from me/Pat? Jetski needs to bring a bitch out to level 1,000 when I try to bust balls about acting like you own the place? People treat every single thing I say now as angry and aggressive. “There goes that crazy lady acting like she’s more important than she is again!” Fucking gag me. Blow the brains out the back of my skull, dear god. It’d be better than whatever this is. To set the record straight - I know I’m not important. I know I’m not popular anymore. None of this is news. Im probably a top 5 most insecure Barstool Sports employee, that’s why I…deflect with humor. I’m clawing DESPERATELY for people to understand me again. I genuinely don’t know if it’s possible, but what’s worse, it’s very clear that “fans” just prefer to shit on me 24/7 instead of thinking “hey, maybe she’s…kidding around?” I don’t know when the audience’s understanding of me changed (yes I do) but I’m so, so tired of it. *even sports I can’t talk about without everyone accusing me of being some fake ass. Sucks so bad and it makes me wonder why I bother sometimes! Sad state of affairs these days.

Jody Knish
Jody Knish
@HowMuchUDeadlif

@kellykeegs Kelly Keegs known the world over for her tremendous comedy.

Her main complaint is about being misread on purpose. She says her whole thing is sarcasm, and that even people who have worked with her for a decade are now treating her bits as real beliefs. She names names, too: she says Big Cat thought she really believed Rone was stealing content from her and Pat, and that Jetski took a ball-busting comment about acting like you own the place way too far. It's an unusual thing to post at a company built on comedy, where one of the unwritten rules is that everybody gets the joke.

She also has a point that this has happened before. Earlier this month on the Yak, the crew had to explain a Kelly-and-Pat bit to the audience after it got taken at face value.

Barstool Yak
@BarstoolYak

“Kelly and Pat were doing a bit... It was obvious. The most obvious sarcasm possible.”

About an hour after Keegs posted her statement, Big Cat stepped in. He didn't try to settle every grievance on her list. He just said in public that he likes her, that she's good at her job, and that her show is good.

Big Cat
Big Cat
@BarstoolBigCat

I like @kellykeegs a lot and thinks she’s great at her job and an important part of Barstool. Kelly is awesome and @OutandAboutpod has been great since they revamped it.

That carries real weight. Big Cat is one of the most powerful voices in the building, and he was one of the people Keegs said had misread her. Praising Out and About, and its revamp specifically, is a clear endorsement of the show she and Pat host. It's also a signal to the replies to back off. Not everyone needed the signal: Stuart Feiner was soon in Big Cat's mentions telling him to preach. Keegs, though, wasn't done.

Kelly Keegs
Kelly Keegs
@kellykeegs

Here’s my dilemma. There is no shtick. Do I just stop being myself? I think the character people want me to play died when Barbie came out

Regis Rackett
Regis Rackett
@RackettRegis

@kellykeegs Genuinely asking… you’ve clearly said here it’s a shtick and acknowledged it isn’t working… Are you going to keep doing the same thing or are you going to try to switch it up?

The Barbie line is the best thing she posted all night, and it does her argument's job better than the long statement did. She's saying the internet still wants a version of her that she stopped being a while ago, and asking whether her only choice is to stop being herself. Then she moved from her own case to the bigger question.

Kelly Keegs
Kelly Keegs
@kellykeegs

But why? Why do people feel the need to incessantly “come at someone” for fun? What is the purpose? To feel superiority? To make someone else feel bad about themselves? I’ve never understood “troll” culture and I never will. If that’s what this is now then I’m really screwed

Rum Ham
Rum Ham
@RumHam7426

@kellykeegs I’m a keegs guy and I’m sure it prob easier said than done but you gotta just stop giving into the trolls and melting down online when they get to you. Go vent to your friends and put the phone down, when they see you respond it just makes the incels wanna come at you more

This is where it gets tricky for her. Trolling isn't some fringe part of Barstool's online world. It runs a lot of the place. Saying she never understood troll culture and never will is honest, but it hands the reply guys more material. What's worth watching now is whether Out and About deals with it on the show, where Keegs gets to control the tone, or whether Big Cat's endorsement ends up being what makes the pile-on stop.

More Stories