JP Sears

JP Sears (born April 12, 1981), known online as AwakenWithJP, is an American YouTuber, comedian, emotional healing and life coach, businessman, and conspiracy theorist.[1][2][3] Sears produces satirical videos about wellness and the American Left such as "How to Become Gluten Intolerant". These videos typically feature promotions for sponsored pseudoscientific items that include supplements and devices.[1]

AwakenWithJP, JP Sears
Born
Jonathan Sears

April 12, 1981
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationInternet personality
Years active2012-
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers1.63 million
Total views187.5 million
Updated: January 10, 2021

Career

Prior to his appearance on YouTube, JP Sears was a promoter of treatments by alternative medicine proponent Joseph Mercola.[1]

Sears received notable attention in 2015 for his YouTube video titled "How to Become Gluten Intolerant" (as of November of 2020 the video had received over 10 million views). In the video, Sears delivers lines such as "If you’re ready to have a ravenous appetite for impossible standards and dogmatic feelings of victimization, then let’s get started on what you need to do to become gluten intolerant" in a deadpan and sarcastic manner typical of his YouTube content's approach to satire.[1]

In July 2017, Sears gave a talk on TEDx titled "Saying YES! to your Weirdness" that was uploaded to the YouTube channel TEDx Talks.[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in July 2020, Sears appeared at a rally in Austin, Texas protesting Governor Greg Abbott's COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[5]

Sears is the author of the satirical book How to Be Ultra Spiritual: 12-1/2 Steps to Spiritual Superiority.[2][3]

Promotion of conspiracy theories

In a November 2020 article, McGill University science commmunicator Jonathan Jarry describes Sears as a member of the conspirituality movement, a movement which he describes as combining New Age and conspiracy theory beliefs, in which members believe that "a group secretly controls the political and social order and also that humanity is on the verge of a paradigm shift in consciousness", and is linked to belief in QAnon conspiracy theories. Jarry notes that Sears was "recently censored on YouTube for spreading unfounded conspiracy theories" and that "JP Sears [uses] his massive online platforms to discredit public health measures against COVID-19 and to open the door to grand conspiracy theories. Distrust is the name of the game, and he does it with comedic flair."[1]

References
  1. Jarry, Jonathan (November 19, 2020). "The Clown Prince of Wellness". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  2. Ham, Larissa (August 15, 2016). "YouTube comedian or real life coach: who is the real JP Sears?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. "JP Sears - Live in Denver". Comedy Works. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  4. "Saying YES! to your Weirdness | JP Sears | TEDxCardiffbytheSea". YouTube. TED. July 19, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  5. Jimenez, Claudia (July 25, 2020). "Several rallies protesting bar closures, police defunding, Gov. Abbott, BLM in Austin area". KEYE. Retrieved December 9, 2020.

Further reading
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