It’s hard not to remember the squealing, screaming youtuber star known as Fred.
But why was his time in Hollywood so short lived?
And what’s he up to now?
Is Lucas Cruikshank still making content?
Keep watching to find out!
The first step to understanding what happened to Lucas Cruikshank is to acknowledge just
how obnoxious anyone over the age of 18 found Fred Figglehorn to be.
“Hey, it’s Fred!
What’s up homie-G!”
For starters, The Sydney Morning Herald described Fred’s voice as,
"Somewhere between the sound of fingernails scratching a chalkboard and Pee-wee Herman
on steroids."
“This is amazing!”
The character's situational comedy also revolved around obnoxious and sometimes gross pursuits,
which only heightened his unappealing qualities.
In their review of "Fred: The Movie," Variety suggested:
"Prolonged exposure to such a deliberately irritating character could just as easily
prove too much to handle."
It made the character's, quote, "unfathomable appeal" something that didn’t really have
cultural endurance.
At the time, Cruikshank shared that he understood how people can't get past Fred's annoying
voice during an interview with Forbes.
However, he argued that people weren't giving the character a fair chance beyond that.
He reasoned:
"It's an acquired taste."
Indeed it was.
And at some point, the kids who grew up loving Fred got to an age where they, too, lost interest
in him.
Apparently, so did Cruikshank.
In 2020, the star explained in a video on his "Lucas" channel how, towards the end of
the character, he was getting a little annoyed playing Fred.
In fact, he even had to see a throat doctor from screaming so often as the character.
Fred squealing and screaming while brushing teeth.
As a YouTube entity, Lucas Cruikshank's parent-torture-device of a character could be easily and safely
contained within the padded cell of a private PC computer.
The considerate ones may have also contained him within a set of headphones.
But when the character was then transferred to a big screen, there was no escape — and
the suffering of grown-ups everywhere was likely reflected in the audience's response
to the film.
Newsweek reported that there were, quote, "mixed results" from "Fred: The Movie," the
character's film debut.
Though it drew a big audience for Nickelodeon, it attracted dire reviews from film critics
and did poorly at the box office overseas, where it inexplicably was given a theatrical
release.
The Guardian panned the film as being, quote, "unbelievably irritating" and a “waste of
time."
Express described it as, quote, "desperately dumb and irritating."
Empire argued,
"A fun three minutes on YouTube makes for a [worthless] 80 minutes in a cinema.
Avoid."
TV and movie moguls eager to cash in on Cruikshank's online popularity were met with a quandary.
How could they profit off a property that parents were unlikely to pay to see with their
kids?
As Variety put it in their review:
"Parents will want to be anywhere Fred's not."
Worse still, the publication suggested the character's move from the internet to mainstream
programming was a concern, stating:
"Anyone worried about YouTube's potentially negative influence on television has reason
to be absolutely horrified."
On top of Fred Figglehorn's incessant shrieks and squeals that tortured adults, people were
also left baffled by another element of the world Lucas Cruikshank created.
Why was it so dark?
Describing the "Fred" webisodes as, quote, "unexpectedly edgy," the Los Angeles Times
chewed on the unexpected range of the actor behind the character.
They wrote:
"Fred's mother is an alcoholic.
Fred is full of rage and almost definitely ADHD; he has a tendency to forgo his meds."
“I want meds!?
I wanna behave like a normal kid!”
In a video posted on his "Lucas" channel wherein he rewatched "Fred: The Movie," even Cruikshank
acknowledged that things were a bit off about the character.
He’s got a father who he jokingly described as being physically abusive, even if it was
John Cena’s cinema debut, and the character's behavior towards his girl-next-door crush
Judy also bordered on stalking.
All of which sits uneasily within a property wherein no other commentary is given regarding
these behaviors and experiences.
Suggestions of neurodiversity, childhood abuse, and issues with parental addiction exist in
the chaotic rubble of Fred's world.
His glass-splintering shrieks only color the implied stressful undertones of his character.
Speaking to Forbes, however, Cruikshank copped to Fred dealing with issues of real life but
played down the extent to which he did.
He said:
"I think sometimes people want to make it something it's not.
They're just light-hearted videos."
Lucas Cruikshank once suggested in a video on his "Lucas" channel that, though he was
very thankful for the career he enjoyed with "Fred," he also felt, quote, "stuck in a box."
It was very difficult for the star whenever he wanted to try something new.
It must have been frustrating, then, for Cruikshank to have followed up "Fred" with "Marvin, Marvin."
— his failed Nickelodeon sitcom, where he essentially depicted an alien version of Fred
Figglehorn.
The show was notoriously despised, with Variety describing it as a, quote, "teeth-gnashing
affair," which tests Cruikshank's appeal.
Meanwhile, Common Sense Media suggested that the show's positive message about the importance
of being yourself even when you're an outsider gets lost among all the gross humor.
There’s a lot of puking and burping.
To this day, outlets like Looper and WatchMojo have included the show on their lists of the
worst sitcoms ever made.
Looper noted that Marvin is, quote, "almost as insufferable" as Fred, and just as headache-inducing.
In 2013, the show was canceled after just one season and Cruikshank's time on TV came
to an abrupt halt.
On Twitter, the YouTube star wrote of the cancellation, in part, sharing:
"I've been a Nickelodeon boy for years and today it came to an end.
So excited for new beginnings!"
During his "Fred" heyday, Lucas Cruikshank rubbed shoulders with the biggest tween stars.
He made a guest appearance as Fred Figglehorn in an episode of Nickelodeon's "iCarly," and
even left his cult character behind for a cameo appearance on the Disney Channel's "Hannah
Montana" opposite Miley Cyrus.
The young star was in-demand, and he seemed poised for great things.
Sadly, toward the end of his time as Fred, there was already concern of how he'd fare
transitioning out of tween fame to grown-up stardom.
“Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!”
The Los Angeles Times, for instance, stated,
"Growing out of tween stardom without losing a young fan base [was a rarity.]”
Certainly, Cruikshank seemed unsure of how to do it.
He told the publication:
"I don't want to keep on doing Fred until there's nothing left.
Hopefully, my fans will continue to follow my career after Fred."
Unlike other Nickelodeon stars, however, his talents didn't transition as smoothly or easily
to success as an adult.
His peers found ways to uproot their talents from their tween days and replant them into
new careers, something that seemed to remain elusive for Cruikshank.
For example, Emma Roberts of "Unfabulous" and Alex Wolff of "The Naked Brothers Band"
have both made names for themselves in horror.
Ariana Grande ditched her ponytail princess days of "Victorious" to reign as one of pop's
boldest and most successful stars.
“This is crazy.”
Lucas Cruikshank's transition away from his tween fame was further complicated when he
appeared to wholeheartedly give up on the Fred brand he'd worked so hard to develop.
In 2014, Cruikshank's "Fred" YouTube channel was rebranded and relaunched without the star
featuring in any of the new videos that were published.
Videos uploaded to the channel included such ongoing series like "Kid Advice" and "Questions
My Parents Won't Answer," both of which took the form of content presented by kids, for
kids.
Ultimately, however, they were made by adults — and glaringly so.
As reported by Yahoo! Finance, Cruikshank was only a part of the bigger effort to take
advantage of the popularity of his original channel, with him telling Variety:
"We want to expand on what the original Fred channel was, when I was 13.
It was irreverent, creative and fun for kids."
While some of those elements could be seen in the content being published, it still fell
short of what Cruikshank delivered in his original and wild "Fred" videos.
According to Screen Rant, the strange experiment of the channel relaunch — minus its namesake
— was a subsequent failure.
The entire YouTube channel was abandoned in 2015.
Luckily, Cruikshank had already moved on.
Just because Hollywood won't cast Lucas Cruikshank anymore doesn't mean he isn't successful.
Instead, the star has returned to doing what he loves best.
Creating content on YouTube, and maintaining complete creative control of his endeavors.
His YouTube channel, "Lucas," boasted an impressive 3.28 million subscribers — and each and
every one of them has been earned, and maintained, via content made completely on his own terms.
This isn't new for the star, who's been talking about the importance of maintaining agency
over his creations ever since his Fred Figglehorn days.
In 2010, for example, Cruikshank was talking up his preference for publishing "Fred" online
— as opposed to the movies or TV show — in an interview with ABC News.
Speaking on the importance of making content by myself he said,
"It's YouTube.
You want to have all the creative control because that's the only place in the world
where you get that."
He was understandably nervous, then, when Hollywood became interested in Fred and the
possibility that he'd lose agency over the character became real.
He told Forbes:
"I was afraid [someone else would] have all of the creative control, and I wouldn't be
able to have any input."
Granting full artistic agency to creators isn't something that the industry is exactly
renowned for, and Cruikshank may have lost some mainstream opportunities because of it.
Still, he's doing well enough without them.
In 2014, Lucas Cruikshank was cast as the host of a new TV show on the Petsami channel,
which pushed the star into a new direction.
According to Tubefilter, "Cute Combat'' saw the former champion of the hyperactive league
pitting two different cute animal videos against each other.
For example, cross-species snugglefests and aggressive seagulls — while providing commentary
on each video.
The show may have been short-lived, but it proved Cruikshank's entertaining prowess for
cultural commentary.
“The world is feeling lonely and blue.
Just turn on your computer search for combat cute.”
It's no surprise, then, that the core content of the star's YouTube channel has continued
to showcase his skill for witty takes on pop and internet culture — and some satisfying
parodies of his own wilted celebrity.
Among videos where he analyzes the latest TikTok trend or even old, dumb celeb scandals,
are ones where Cruikshank plays up his increasing obscurity as a former Nickelodeon star.
One titled, "When you used to be on a Nickelodeon show," sees him jokingly complaining about
all his fans as he tries to grocery shop, though it’s clearly an empty store where
absolutely nobody is interested.
“I just get the vibe that, like, everyone’s looking at me.”
Another sees him delivering a sharp parody of Architectural Digest's "Open Door" series,
with a look "Inside Lucas Cruikshank's LA Penthouse" — a guided tour of his supremely
humble apartment.
Although he does have blue tortilla chips in the cupboard, so, clearly he's still swag.
You're not buying blue tortilla chips without some serious bank.
Hollywood may not be casting Lucas Cruikshank in any major projects anytime soon, but the
internet star still has a chunk of change to his name.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Cruikshank currently has a net worth of $5 million, likely
from his Fred heyday.
Considering that his videos seem to attract six-figure viewing figures on average, he's
likely earning a pretty penny off his "Lucas" YouTube channel, too.
Now in possession of a channel he has complete creative control over, Cruikshank appears
to be free to be exactly who he wants to be, and to express himself however he pleases.
In 2013, he very casually and proudly came out as gay in a video made with his pal, Jennifer
Veal.
Two years later he confirmed that he was in a relationship with Australian model Matthew
Fawcus.
The content he creates for "Lucas" is unabashedly camp, and, on Instagram, Cruikshank further
flexes his out-and-proud status.
It’s in a manner that he may not have had the opportunity to do with as much freedom
had he continued his trajectory as a major Hollywood presence.
Whether he's serving Britney quotes in a DIY crop top or posing pretty with his partner,
Cruikshank is clearly exactly who and where he wants to be.
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