‘Workaholics’ Star Adam Devine Blasted Over Quote About Podcasting

Workaholics and Pitch Perfect star Adam Devine was criticized on Twitter for a comment he made about podcasts, dismissing them as easier to do than his work in front of the camera. Experienced podcasters called this a “slap in the face.” Devine and his Workaholics co-star Blake Anderson and Anders Holm host a podcast titled This Is Important.

In a recent Vanity Fair story on celebrity podcasts, Devine shrugged it off as something “infinitely easier” to do than his acting work. “This is infinitely easier than anything that we’ve ever done because you’re usually writing for months at a time, banging your head against the wall, trying to figure out the storylines and structure and the dialogue—and then you have to edit it,” he told the magazine. “We record it and then poof, pow, surprise! It’s in your earholes the next day.”

Devine also said he started pitching movie and television ideas as podcasts because of the quick turnaround. “Realistically, we wouldn’t be able to film this for another two years, but we can do this as a podcast now,” the Righteous Gemstones star said. “I’m trying to find all the fun ways that I can work at home and not put on pants.” Devine’s comments were picked up by The New York Times, which added that some celebrities find podcasting attractive because they “require a relatively small time commitment and allow for fast turnarounds.”

After seeing the Times pick up Devine’s comment, The Cut‘s Avery Trufelman called it a “slap in the face.” She later clarified that she was not mad at Devine, but instead the Times for “continuing to perpetuate this narrative — even as they very much understand the effort and craft of audio.” Hundreds of others agreed with Trufelman, with many noting how much work goes into creating podcasts. “Today I’ve written our 4th VO script and edited out the popping ‘P’s (you just do a little slither of a cut at the top of the wave) and trying to make the footsteps SFX sound less footsteppy but yeh sure,” audio executive and consultant Amelia Chappelow wrote.

Trufelman now hosts The Cut Podcast for New York Magazine and previously produced podcasts for 99% Invisible. During her time with 99% Invisible, she ran a critically acclaimed limited series about fashion called Articles of Interest. She also hosts Curbed’s Nice Try! podcast, which centers on utopian experiments.