Right from the very beginning of 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, 54-year-old Ed Brown, (also known as his self-appointed moniker "Big Ed") has been a BIG character on screen... and a "character," he certainly seems to be attempting.
While every season of 90 Day Fiancé comes with an insane cast of over the top personalities, there has never been a viral star quite like Big Ed. However, after the most recent season 4 wrapped with a tell-all finale, Big Ed existed almost exclusively in the world of memes. But his 15 minutes just might be stretched to its limit.
And nobody knows this more than Big Ed himself. His most recent, absolutely insane stunt, has drawn a lot of negative attention in what is seen as a very transparent attempt to stay in the spotlight just a little bit longer. While Big Ed may be milking his 90 Day Fiance claim to fame, his ex, 23-year-old Rosemarie Vegas is having her own big internet moment - which is all the more reason for Ed to strive for publicity.
Big Ed hosted an Instagram live that seemingly was designed to grab the attention of all those who watched and all those who would report on the video. The video showed his special notebook very mysteriously catch on fire... after he blatantly holds it over an open fire. The most mysterious detail of the video is how he somehow misses the fact that the whole notebook is on fire and continues to read from it until smoke practically fills the whole room. Check out the Reddit post below which captured Ed's Instagram live:
There's no denying that people are highly entertained by his off-color personality. Big Ed is certainly a big presence on screen. Viral reality show celebrities have shown in the past their need to stick around in her minds, with headlines constantly being generated by their antics. Granted, they already have that attention so anything they do is automatically caught in the public eye, so we can cut them some slack. But the actions in this video just don't add up for a lot of people.
Even Big Ed's reaction to his notebook burning seemed disingenuous and surprisingly underwhelming. There wasn't much pep in his step or adequate urgency in his attempt to extinguish the flames. He kind of just gets up and stops the video from what we can see. What's even worse is that his reason for the Instagram live seemed odd. Big Ed was reciting negative comments he's accumulated over time which seems like a strange gesture at first... but when you really think about it, it's also pure nonsense.
Why he would dedicate time to just acknowledge trolls is anyone's guess (although his following actions could be seen as a statement to those particular people, given the context of the whole thing being a stunt), but what's more, is that he wrote these thoughts down on a very flammable notebook in front of an open flame instead of his phone or computer where these comments would be easily accessible. Maybe the whole thing was an Andy Kaufman-esque subverting of expectations, in which case it's hilarious.
TLC is feeding into the hype of 90 Day Fiance cast members and their fame with a spin-off show called Strikes Back. The show will feature previous cast members given a chance to address their haters. While many thought he wouldn't appear on the show, he has made a few appearance. Though he's not very well liked due to his behavior on the show and his newly released sexual assault allegations against him by an anonymous user of Tik Tok.
Big Ed came under fire after making claims that he and Rose were still in contact with one another and that his ex still expressed interest in continuing their relationship. This was during the Tell-All episode in which he spilled the beans a bit and the statement was rejected by Rose, denying any of those claims. According to Ed, Rose had sent him pictures of herself that came off as flirtatious to Ed.
In that same episode, Rose came out as bisexual. Ed has blamed Rose for their relationship falling apart and bitterly claimed his ex was dating a woman. To prove his point that Rose was dating a woman while simultaneously flirting with him via unsolicited photos, he showed off a series of those photos - along with texts hinting at her same-sex relationship - both of which have been largely disregarded. In fact, Big Ed was largely seen as the one playing the victim.
Speaking of photos, Rose has shed any potential negative attention from her former SO by breaking the internet with a series of sexy photos. The photos, which amassed over 40,000 likes within the first day, featured Rose modeling in a swimming pool, showing off her body, which fans and commenters also took as a statement to Big Ed. Rose's post seemed to exude newfound confidence that she never had with Big Ed, who was known for criticizing her looks and hygiene habits. A viral clip showed Big Ed commenting on Rose's hairy legs and asked her to go shave while the two were on camera.
The combination of his exes media attention that seemed to defy his claims of her inadequacy and shed an even harsher light on him and his constant stream of negative press is likely what led to this horribly ill-conceived antic. The outcome didn't do him any favors either.
What really has fans upset is that Ed's reckless behavior could have very easily hurt his dog, Teddy, who was laying down right next to him while he pulled his dangerous stunt. The little animal had no idea what was going on and may have been distressed by the event. If the situation had escalated any further, the dog could have been severely injured or worse.
All clues lead to this being a staged event made worse by the fact that it was over petty reasons, such as his ex receiving more attention from him or the face he's been shown in a negative light these last few months - made worse by the face he put his pet in serious harm's way.
90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? airs Sundays at 8pm EST on TLC.
Sources: The Blast
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