In his introduction at the SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards nomination announcement ceremony, Connor Storrie from the hit Crave Original, Heated Rivalry, gave a cheeky throwback to his old YouTube channel days, when he was 12 years old.
Connor Storrie’s throwback reference
He said, “Hey, what’s up, YouTube? It’s me, Connor Storrie. Yep, it’s me. Connor…Storrie… Sorry, that was a force of habit.” His co-presenter, Janelle James of Abbott Elementary, looked very confused at the introduction. Storrie explained the reference, adding, “It’s a deep cut for the fans. Pretty embarrassing, yeah.”
At the event, the actors walked the red carpet and spoke with reporters. Storrie spoke to People Magazine about his old YouTube channel and how strange it was to see old, “cringy” videos from his adolescence go viral now that he is in the spotlight.
“It’s weird to see them going viral. I actually… It was a choice to leave them up,” he said in the interview. “I didn’t have access to them. A fan reached out and was like, ‘Hey, I know someone at YouTube who can help get them down.’ I went through the whole process. And honestly, it felt like the end of a sort of self-acceptance ritual.”
He went on to add, “I think when you’re like 12 years old, you kind of look at that and you’re like, ‘Oh, cringe, I don’t want to see it.’ But yeah, I don’t know. It felt cool to be like, ‘Yep, that was me. And this is me now. And it feels cool to accept that.’”
@people #HeatedRivalry’s #ConnorStorrie is setting the standard on self-acceptance. 🥰 #IlyaRozanov ♬ original sound – People Magazine
Social media reactions to the throwback
People on social media loved the silly reference to the actor’s old YouTube days, back when he was dreaming of becoming an actor.
On Reddit, u/Wide-Pop6050 wrote, “I think this is lovely. Those old videos are sweet and nostalgic. They’re not embarrassing. They’re a first step in where he is today.”
“That’s great! We should all embrace our past selves like this, and I wish becoming famous didn’t mean a full tabula rasa,” added u/Tanuki0.
Folks on X had much the same to say, such as @PronoiaA, who tweeted, “I don’t know why, but this gets me….” They coupled the post with a GIF of a woman trying not to cry tears of joy.
@thomacilias noted that Storrie’s attitude was “divo behavior! This clip alone about acceptance and reconciliation of oneself will become a cultural milestone of this generation! I can see it. Thanx Connor for this. It does change me within.”
“you know what, i get why everyone associates him with the word ‘freedom’ 🫶,” wrote @patpranedits.
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