Ennui is a difficult emotion to capture fully. The despondency, the dissatisfaction, the general lack of “anything†makes it nigh impossible to portray on cam-e-ra. Luckily, we have a man who is willing to make a case for himself — first, to be cast on Saturday Night Live, and now to be the personification of ennui, like if Inside Out were French: Jake Novak.
As you may remember, exactly one year ago, on June 15, 2022, Novak went viral on TikTok for his relentlessly chipper musical plea to Lorne Michaels to cast him on Saturday Night Live, titled “I Wanna Be the Next SNL Cast Member.†He proceeded to be ridiculed on his home app for weeks and promptly disappeared from the public eye — until his Vulture interview seven weeks later, in which he discussed the deep wells of sadness that come with online torment, reflected on being the “Cringe King of TikTok,†and promised he had “no intention of backing down from that whatsoever.†Today, he’s finally made good on that promise with a video in which he somewhat addresses the backlash and somewhat intentionally evades it. “Hey, it’s been a while,†he says as the video opens. “I have something I want to say to you. I’ve been wanting to say it for a while now, but it’s been a weird year.†All this appears to lead up to a statement addressing his infamous video … until it doesn’t.
@whoisjakenovak I have something to say to you.
♬ original sound - Jake Novak
Instead, Novak portrays a haggard telemarketer, asking about your car’s extended warranty while the camera pans down to reveal a cavalcade of sad, discarded snacks. Is it funny? Yes, actually! Is it deeply sad? Also yes! Is it cringe? That will be for TikTok to decide, but we sure hope that this round of discourse doesn’t include any death threats or taunting. All hail Jake Novak, Ennui King of TikTok.