Stand-up comedian and Polish aristocratic scion Theo Von is going viral over his remarks about cocaine on Tuesday while interviewing Republican vice-presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
The comment came during an episode of Von’s podcast as the pair discussed drug addiction and its effect on themselves and their families.
Vance noted that his mother was addicted to opioids for years and only got sober in the past decade, while Von detailed his addiction to cocaine and eventual sobriety.
The two men also discussed the fentanyl crisis, and just how dangerous doing drugs can be given the prevalence of the synthetic opioid.
Officials first started noticing a marked rise in fentanyl deaths in 2013. Deaths from the drug increased 23-fold over the past decade, with dealers mixing it into other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Amid the pandemic, deaths from fentanyl doubled from 36,359 to 73,838 between 2019 and 2021.
According to Von, one of the reasons he’s stuck to sobriety is fears about dying if he relapses.
“I don’t know if I’d be sober if this stuff weren’t killing people to be honest with you, I know that’s sad to say,” Von explained. “But that keeps me out of the risk of it.”
“Makes it a little scarier,” Vance added.
“But it’s also sad that somebody, I mean, this is ridiculous to say probably, that somebody can’t, you know, you can’t even do cocaine in this country anymore, you know?” Von said. “And that seems like a crazy thing to say, and don’t say that, but I said it.”
Vance responded with laughter, before telling Von he was “going to steal that line … after the election, I’ve gotta win first.”
Vance argued in support of Von’s point, noting that although he believed doing drugs was wrong, such mistakes shouldn’t be a death sentence.
Vance went on to say that fentanyl and its potentially fatal consequences made the current crisis much worse than it was when his mom struggled with addiction.
The clip has since gone viral on X, leading many to identify not only with the humor but with Von’s reaction.
“Theo is the best on the planet at making very accurate grim observations but doing so in a hilarious manner,” posted @ryangvaughn.
“He’s right,” added @EliotBeacon. “My cousin and her boyfriend died from fentanyl laced cocaine. Should she have been doing it? Obviously not. Should she had died from it? Absolutely not. If this had happened in the 1980s many boomers wouldn’t be here.”
Posters also riffed about having missed out on using cocaine back in the good old days before fentanyl-induced overdoses were prevalent.
“I never tried it and now I never can,” joked @MrWojna.
“Lmfao. Make Having Untainted Cocaine Great Again!” added @thatkocevarguy.
Vance has talked about the opioid crisis and the effect it had on his family for years, including in his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
In 2016 he started a charity called “Our Ohio Renewal” which was supposed to address Ohio’s opioid epidemic. According to reports, however, the organization employed a doctor with unsavory links to the pharmaceutical industry and paid money it raised to a political consultant close to Vance. The organization was quietly shuttered after Vance won the nomination for GOP Senate.
After laughing about Von’s remark, Vance made sure to clarify that he’d never done cocaine before.
“I’ve made many mistakes, but not that one,” Vance added.
This is not the first time Von went viral for discussing cocaine during the election cycle. Back in August, he told former President Donald Trump that cocaine turns you into “a damn owl, homie,” and that explained how the drug gives you a much stronger high than alcohol does.
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