In specific circles (i.e., theater kids), there is perhaps no celebrity couple more vaunted than Anthony Ramos and Jasmine Cephas Jones. The two met when they were cast in the original Broadway production of Hamilton, with Ramos playing the role of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton and Cephas Jones playing Peggy Schuyler, the sister of Alexander Hamilton’s wife. They quickly became Broadway royalty and the stuff of theater kid fan fic dreams, a status that was solidified by the video of their romantic engagement going viral in 2018. And as both of their stars have risen — Ramos starred as Usnavi in In the Heights earlier this year, and Cephas Jones is the star of the critically acclaimed series Blindstopping — it seemed the couple was unstoppable.
Last week, however, a TikTok video posted by the celebrity gossip account @dearjane1 claimed that Ramos had been spotted at a strip club canoodling with a woman who wasn’t Cephas Jones. The account also posted receipts in the form of surveillance video appearing to show Ramos and the woman. Shortly thereafter, news broke that Cephas Jones and Ramos had broken their engagement, and TikTok was not pleased, with Hamilton stans taking to the platform to post their angry reaction videos:
@sillywhore #anthonyramos all these videos other people posted keep getting taken down so im posting my own
@brb91896 I’m so upset. I’m begging someone to tell me it’s not true #hamilton #anthonyramos #jasminecephasjones
On this week’s episode of Don’t Let This Flop, cohosts Brittany Spanos and EJ Dickson discuss the latest high-profile celebrity breakup in their segment What Are Straight People Doing?, as well as TikTok’s obsession with Hamilton and how NYU Tisch kids get over heartache (spoiler: obnoxiously). They also discuss Spotify Unwrapped (a.k.a. the worst day of the year on the internet), a Megan Thee Stallion mashup with Adele’s “Water on the Bridge,” and the roots of Bing-Bong, the meme taking over everyone’s For You pages. The sound, which is based on the tone of subway doors opening, originates from an absolutely unhinged video from the YouTube channel SideTalk featuring a cast of Coney Island denizens, including a guy who’s weirdly horny for Joe Biden (or “byron,” as he calls him), a man holding Courvoisier and two puppies who invites Ariana Grande to ride the Cyclone, and a shirtless man promoting his Instagram who claims to have “seven female wives.”
Since SideTalk posted its original video, the meme has taken on a life of its own, with Lil Nas X recently making a TikTok with celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo and Jack Harlow using the audio. Some creators have also shone a light on the harsher reality of many of the video’s stars’ lives, which are harsher than they appear: TikToker Zoe McCreary, for instance, has started a GoFundMe to raise money for TJ, a.k.a. the guy who says “Byron,” whom she says is currently unhoused. The GoFundMe has raised more than $30,000 as of press time, and TJ has made his own TikTok thanking his fans for the donations.
@zoeanneliece
@lilnasx BING BONG!
DLTF is released Wednesdays on all audio streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher and more. Bing bong.