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Not to be confused with The Good Liar, a 2019 film.
The Good Liars
NationalityAmerican
Years active2011–present
Notable works and rolesUndecided: The Movie
The Supporters
MembersJason Selvig
Davram Stiefler
Websitewww.goodliars.com

The Good Liars is an American political comedy duo consisting of Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler. They have been active since 2011, with their first stunt happening during Occupy Wall Street. Their primary focus is infiltrating conservative rallies and campaign events to interact with, interview, and troll politicians and their supporters,[1][2] with many of these interactions going viral on social media.[3]

Background

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Jason Selvig in 2020

Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler were both born in the 1980s,[4] with Selvig being born on November 5.[5] They developed a friendship through their shared involvement in the New York City comedy scene as well as through playing basketball together.[6]

Selvig and Stiefler made their debut as the comedy duo The Good Liars during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement in which they, while being dressed up as investment bankers, created a satirical "Occupy Occupy Wall Street" movement.[7][8] This prank initially confused the media, who interviewed the duo and mistakenly believed their satirical claims of being "proud members of the 1%."[4][6][9] The act also managed to fool actual investment bankers, who, thinking the duo were serious, joined their counter-protests.[10] As a result, the duo took the opportunity to make statements to poke fun at them, such as, in the words of Selvig, "If we keep doing this, we're gonna have to bump our cocaine addiction and sell our fourth house in the Hamptons."[7]

Activities

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The Good Liars have done multiple acts that have gone viral on social media, such as in January 2016 when the duo infiltrated a Trump campaign in Iowa and yelled at Trump, calling him "boring" and saying that they "came here to be entertained", until they were escorted out.[11] On January 13, 2024, another Republican campaign in Iowa was infiltrated, this time by Stiefler,[12][13] during a Ron DeSantis campaign in Atlantic, Iowa.[14] At the campaign, Stiefler approached DeSantis in front of a crowd and presented him a participation trophy,[15] saying, "Now, probably not gonna win the election, right, but we're proud of you for trying," as well as called DeSantis "our little snowflake."[16] Stiefler was then escorted away by security.[15] The following day, Selvig and Stiefler were seen interrupting another Iowa campaign by Vivek Ramaswamy in Ankeny.[17][18]

In response to the book bannings occurring in the United States, Selvig and Stiefler made a video tricking Republican supporters into thinking that the bible should be banned in schools by describing to them about the presence of a book in school libraries containing "a story of two daughters having sex with their dad" in which "they get their dad drunk to have sex with him" and letting them react prior to revealing that the book in question is the bible. The specific story mentioned in the video comes from Genesis 19:30–38 in the bible.[19]

In late May 2022, during an annual National Rifle Association of America conference, Selvig delivered a speech to Wayne LaPierre, the head of the organization. During his speech, he mockingly expressed gratitude towards him for the thoughts and prayers he has offered to the victims and families of mass shootings, response to criticisms that LaPierre has not taken sufficient action to prevent mass shootings.[20][21] In addition to his speech, Selvig interviewed various attendees of the conference, one of whom was a man wearing a shirt featuring the Confederate flag. Selvig questioned the man about the flag's association with racism and slavery. Upon being asked multiple times about his stance on slavery, the man responded with "no comment" and left the interview.[22]

Mock pieces

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The Good Liars have created multiple mock pieces and advertisements intended to mock politicians, including a 2019 New York City Subway advertisement referring Rudy Giuliani as "Crazy Rudy",[23] changing covers for Donald Trump Jr.'s 2019 book Triggered to "Daddy, Please Love Me",[24] creating a mock "confederate monument" for Steve King,[25] putting up mock missing person posters for Bill de Blasio,[26] and making parody U.S. Army recruitment advertisement posters to mock the Trump family.[27]

Productions

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Selvig and Stiefler, both having separately played minor roles in various films in the past such as The Wolf of Wall Street (Stiefler)[28] or Summer of Blood (Selvig),[29] have starred in productions as a duo, particularly in comedy mockumentary films featuring their real-life interactions with political candidates.

In 2016, the duo starred in "Undecided: The Movie”, a comedy mockumentary in which two undecided United States voters named John Nelson (played by Selvig) and Dan Stiever (played by Stiefler) search for the candidate that best aligns with their views during the 2016 United States elections. Nelson and Stiever, whose social and political qualities oppose each other, cause disruptions at political rallies featuring candidates such as Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.[30][31]

On November 4, 2021, MeidasTouch released "The Supporters", a mockumentary featuring Selvig and Stiefler as a fictional right-wing podcasting duo consisting of Derek and Dale who strive to be a part of Fox News.[32][33][34]

References

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  1. ^ "Crafty Prankster Sneaks Unfiltered Truth About Trump Onto Right-Wing Newscast". Yahoo News. March 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Transcript: The ReidOut, 11/1/21". MSNBC.com. November 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Braiker, Brian (April 22, 2024). "The Good Liars pivot to truth telling". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Cantor, Matthew (June 15, 2022). "'There's an art to not alarming people': the duo who pranked Trump, Cruz and the NRA". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Jason Selvig has made multiple social media posts in the past celebrating his birthday on November 5.
  6. ^ a b Johnson, Ted (November 7, 2022). "'The Good Liars' On Their Midterm Campaign Pranks: What Worked, What Didn't And Why Politics Has Gotten More Dangerous". Deadline.
  7. ^ a b Rodrigues, Ashwin (January 14, 2021). "A Comedian's Firsthand Account of the Capitol Riot". Vice.
  8. ^ Carney, John (October 6, 2011). "Bankers (or Pranksters) Occupy Occupy Wall Street". CNBC.
  9. ^ Flock, Elizabeth (October 7, 2011). "Occupy Wall Street protests: What do the one percent think?". Washington Post.
  10. ^ "The Good Liars on Ron DeSantis and new comedy show". PIX11. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Kreitner, Richard; Bollier, Thomas (March 15, 2016). "This Comedy Duo Is Masterfully Trolling the 2016 Campaign". The Nation. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Gallagher, Kayla (January 13, 2024). "DeSantis Awarded Tongue-in-Cheek 'Participation Trophy' by Good Liars Prankster In Iowa Stunt". The Messenger. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Murdock, Sebastian (January 14, 2024). "Prankster Tries To Give Ron DeSantis Participation Trophy At Iowa Event". Yahoo News. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  14. ^ Bedigan, Mike. "Ron DeSantis trolled with participation trophy ahead of Iowa caucuses: 'Proud of you for trying'". Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Crowley, Kinsey (January 13, 2024). "DeSantis presented with participation trophy in Iowa: 'We're proud of you for trying'". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  16. ^ Maher, Kit (January 13, 2024). "DeSantis is handed participation trophy by comedian during campaign stop". CNN. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  17. ^ "'Get the hell out': Vivek Ramaswamy removes comedians who interrupted him and Ron DeSantis". USA TODAY. January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  18. ^ Benítez, Nixson (January 14, 2024). "Comedians disrupt Vivek Ramaswamy speech during event in Ankeny before Iowa Caucuses". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Beresford, Jack (February 2, 2022). "Trump Supporters Tricked Into Backing Bible Ban in Schools in Prank Video". Newsweek. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "Prankster thanks NRA leader Wayne LaPierre for his years of 'thoughts and prayers'". The Independent. May 30, 2022. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022.
  21. ^ Lang, Rachel (May 30, 2022). "Man Savagely Congratulates NRA Boss For All His 'Thoughts And Prayers' Over The Years". LADbible.
  22. ^ "Comedian Stunned After Asking Man In Confederate Flag Shirt If He's Pro-Slavery". HuffPost. June 2, 2022. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022.
  23. ^ Beachum, Lateshia (October 2, 2019). "A subway ad takes aim at Giuliani: 'Need a lawyer? Call crazy Rudy.'". Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  24. ^ Carlson, Adam (November 11, 2019). "Donald Trump Jr.'s New Book Trolled as 'Daddy, Please Love Me' — as He's Chanted Off Stage". People. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  25. ^ O'Neil, Luke; Noor, Poppy (February 28, 2020). "Comedians mock 'Confederate sympathizer' Steve King with tiny statue". The Guardian. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  26. ^ Hickey, Magee (August 25, 2019). "'Missing' posters mock de Blasio's absence as his presidential campaign continues". PIX11. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  27. ^ Moran, Lee (January 10, 2020). "Pranksters Unleash Spoof Army Recruitment Signs To Remind People 'Who The Trumps Are'". HuffPost. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  28. ^ "The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – IMDb". IMDb.
  29. ^ "Summer of Blood (2014) – IMDb". IMDb.
  30. ^ "'Undecided: The Movie' Is a Netflix Gem: Why You Should Give This Political Mockumentary a Chance (Video)". October 28, 2016.
  31. ^ "Comedy duo creates election spoof about undecided voters". www.9news.com.
  32. ^ "'The Good Liars' Release New Mockumentary 'The Supporters'". Cheddar News. June 15, 2022.
  33. ^ Cullins, Ashley (October 19, 2021). "MeidasTouch, Michael Rapaport Team on Political Satire Film 'The Supporters'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  34. ^ "Anthony's Film Review – The Supporters (2021)". www.anthonysfilmreview.com.
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