Josh Ostrovsky

Josh Ostrovsky

Publicity shot of Ostrovsky
Born (1982-02-18) February 18, 1982
New York, New York, U.S.
Other names The Fat Jew
Alma mater University at Albany, SUNY
Occupation Social media and television personality, vintner, actor, musician, fashion designer, plus-size model
Years active 2004–present
Spouse(s) Katie Sturino
(m. 2014; div. 2017)
Website fatjew.net

Josh Ostrovsky (born February 18, 1982, also known as The Fat Jew) is an American pop culture commentator, writer, actor, model and entrepreneur.

Early life and education

Ostrovsky was born and raised in New York City to his Russian-born radiologist father Saul and nutritionist mother Rebecca. He grew up in Manhattan on the Upper West Side.[1][2][3] As a child actor, he appeared in several commercials, including one for Hershey's.[2] After briefly attending New York University and Skidmore College, he enrolled in State University of New York at Albany, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor of arts in journalism.[1][2]

Career

Music

While at SUNY Albany, Ostrovsky was a member of the rap trio Team Facelift, where he first started going by the name Fat Jew.[3][4][5] He has said that the moniker was inspired by one of his counselors at Eisner Camp and by Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein.[6] Team Facelift formed in 2004, signed with Duck Down Records and released the album Mixed Emotions in 2006.[4][7] They broke up in 2012.[7]

In September 2016, Ostrovsky announced his Major Lazer tribute band Major Behavior, formed with DJ Maachew Bentley and billed as the world's first EDM tribute band. Major Behavior toured in 2016 as a part of Ostrovsky's IRL Tour.[8][9] For the second IRL Tour in 2017, Major Behavior toured with Dillon Francis, RL Grime and Party Favor.[10][11] Major Behavior was joined onstage by Major Lazer's Diplo during a May 2017 performance in Chicago.[9]

Social media

In 2009, Ostrovsky started an Instagram account with the handle "TheFatJewish".[1] The account went viral in 2013 after Ostrovsky posted a video parodying Soul Cycle, in which he led a spin class for homeless people on Citi Bikes parked on the street.[7][12] In 2013, his Instagram account was suspended due to inappropriate content. In response, he organized a rally held outside Instagram's New York office. The protest was live-streamed on Vice.com, and his account was restored after 15 minutes.[1][13] In 2014 The New York Times wrote that "he has parlayed a profane sense of humor that mocks the tropes of social-media culture and the hipsters who propagate them; an apparent affection for pot, pets and grandparents; and his own slovenly, outlandish physical appearance… into a huge web following."[3] Time magazine named Ostrovsky to its 2015 list of The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet.[14] As of March 2017, he has 9.5 million followers on Instagram.[15][16]

Ostrovsky has been hired to do product placement in his social media posts by companies including Burger King, Virgin Mobile, Apple, Budweiser and Stella Artois.[1][2] In 2015 he signed on as a spokesperson for Seamless.[17]

Film, television and commercials

In 2007, Ostrovsky was hired as an entertainment reporter interviewing celebrities on The Daily 10 on E! He later hosted the rap interview web series An Intimate Conversation.[7][12] He sold a show parodying the Williamsburg, Brooklyn hipster culture to Amazon in 2013, which went unproduced.[3] In 2014, he signed a deal to develop a scripted series for Comedy Central, based on his life.[3] The deal was canceled in 2015.[18] He signed with Creative Artists Agency in 2015,[19] and that year began making regular appearances on Bloomberg News,[1] starred in a Bud Light commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLIX,[1] and appeared in the music video for DNCE's "Cake by the Ocean".[12] He has appeared as himself in numerous reality television series, including 3AM[3] and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.[15] He has also played supporting roles in several films, including the upcoming teen comedy Status Update, starring Ross Lynch and Olivia Holt.[20]

Modeling and fashion

In June 2015, Ostrovsky signed a modeling contract with One Management;[1][21] he claims to be the world's first male plus-size model.[22] He appeared in a photo spread in Inked magazine's May 2015 issue,[23][24] and was featured on the covers of the magazines treats! in 2016[25] and Nude in 2017.[26]

At New York Fashion Week on September 16, 2015, his Dad Fashion Show debuted his collection of men's apparel.[17][27]

Other ventures

Ostrovsky formerly hosted a radio show on Apple Music Beats 1 called "Money, Pizza, Respect".[19] The book of the same name, a collection of personal essays and images, was published by Grand Central Publishing in 2015.[1][12] The book's cover parodies the cover of Walter Isaacson's 2011 biography Steve Jobs.[12]

Ostrovsky is a founder of Swish Beverages,[28] which launched the wine White Girl Rosé in 2015,[29] following it up in 2016 with the wines Babe Rosé With Bubbles[30] and Family Time Is Hard Pinot Grigio.[31]

Controversy

In 2015, Ostrovsky was accused of and admitted to posting screenshots of other comedians' jokes on Instagram and Twitter with the credits cropped out.[32][33] Following the controversy, Ostrovsky retroactively edited his past posts to credit the authors of the jokes.[2][18] The controversy drew attention to the cancellation of Ostrovsky's Comedy Central pilot,[33] which a representative from the network said happened months prior.[33][34]

Personal life

Ostrovsky and Katie Sturino were married in 2014. They announced their divorce in 2017.[35]

Bibliography

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Bolt From the Blue Luther Short film
2012 Ben Banks Phil Macey
All Wifed Out Will
Bottle Poppaz Marcus
2016 Zoolander 2 Gleek
Nerve Dirt Beard
2017 Status Update Bearded Dude
The Peach Panther
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007-2010 The Daily 10 Self 10 Episodes
2013 Rude Tube Self Reality
2014 TakePart Live Self Reality
2015 3AM Self 5 Episodes
Talk Stoop Self Season 9, ep. 5
Ridiculousness Self Season 6, ep. 32
2016 Greatest Party Story Ever Self Season 2, ep. 5 (MTV)
2017 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Self Reality
Music Videos
Year Song Artist(s) Notes
2014 "#Selfie" The Chainsmokers
2014 "When We Were Young" Dillon Francis
2015 "Cake by the Ocean" DNCE
2017 "Boys" Charli XCX

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 John Sunyer, "Lunch with the FT: The Fat Jew," Financial Times, July 24, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jon Ronson, "Josh Ostrovsky: 'The internet is like a giant weird orgy'," The Guardian, November 7, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bee Shapiro, "A Shortcut to Comic Celebrity," New York Times, September 17, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Joseph Barracato, "Strange Sight, Unique Sound," New York Post, October 6, 2007.
  5. ↑ Tamar Anitai, "Meet Team Facelift," MTV.com, August 6, 2007.
  6. ↑ Jillian Scheinfeld, "Spotlight On: The Fat Jew, AKA Josh Ostrovsky," Jewcy, October 2, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Nick Williams, "Instagram Sensation 'Fat Jew' Is Making Big Bucks With His Crazy Antics," Billboard, August 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Watch The Fat Jew Unveil His Major Lazer Tribute Band, 'Major Behavior'," Billboard, September 14, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Kat Bein, "The Fat Jew's Major Lazer Tribute Band Played With Diplo and They're Actually Really Great," Billboard, May 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Alexander Iadarola, "The Fat Jew to Tour with His Major Lazer Cover Band, Dillon Francis, and RL Grime," Thump, December 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ Kat Bein, "The Fat Jew Announces IRL Tour 2017 With Major Behavior, Dillon Francis & More," Billboard, December 13, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Jeanette Settembre, "Josh (The Fat Jew) Ostrovsky speaks on his new book 'Money Pizza Respect'," New York Daily News, November 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Live Stream: The Fat Jew Is Protesting Outside Instagram's Offices," Vice, October 3, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet," Time, March 5, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Caitlin Brody, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills recap: 'Sweet Georgia Jayne'," Entertainment Weekly, March 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ Clayton Purdom, "We went to a Four Loko party thrown by the Fat Jew and felt terrible," The A.V. Club, February 27, 2017.
  17. 1 2 Ella Ceron, "The Fat Jewish Will Show at Fashion Week," New York, August 17, 2015.
  18. 1 2 Jesse David Fox, "A Conversation With the Fat Jew: 'That's Not Who I Am or What I'm About," Vulture.com, August 21, 2015.
  19. 1 2 Natalie Jarvey, "The Fat Jew, Josh Ostrovsky, Signs With CAA," The Hollywood Reporter, August 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ Anthony D’Alessandro, "Rob Riggle, Famke Janssen, Wendi McLendon-Covey & More Round Out 'Status Update' Cast," Deadline.com, July 19, 2016.
  21. ↑ Gardner, Chris. "Instagram Star The Fat Jewish Signs Fashion Model Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  22. ↑ Taylor Harris, "The Fat Jewish Defends Title as First Plus-Size Male Model," Women's Wear Daily, March 21, 2016.
  23. ↑ Salacuse, Rocky (May 21, 2015). "Handsome Boy Modeling School". Inked.
  24. ↑ Rakovic, Rocky (September 9, 2015). "Behind The Scenes With The Fat jew". Inked.
  25. ↑ treats! Issue 11, Summer 2016.
  26. ↑ Nude, Issue 018, June 2017.
  27. ↑ Steff Yotka, "What Is the Fat Jew Doing at New York Fashion Week?" Vogue, September 16, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Swish Beverages Founders Josh Ostrovsky & David Oliver Cohen Talk New 'Family Time Is Hard' Wine," Downtown, December 14, 2016.
  29. ↑ Dawson, Victoria. "The Fat Jew is Launching His Own Wine Label". Elle. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  30. ↑ Sam Reed, "White Girl Rose Is Now Available In Can Form," The Hollywood Reporter, June 10, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Weekend Sip: Pinot Grigio to Pair With Family Holiday Fights," Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2016.
  32. ↑ Fee, Rob (May 18, 2015). "Why Stealing Jokes on Social Media is a Bigger Deal Than You Think".
  33. 1 2 3 Wright, Megh (August 17, 2015). "Comedy vs. The Fat Jew". Splitsider.
  34. ↑ Connolly, Kelly (August 17, 2015). "Comedy Central confirms that deal with The Fat Jew was dropped 'several months ago'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  35. ↑ Maggie Coughlan, "'Fat Jew' getting divorced, wife keeps celeb dog Toast," New York Post, January 6, 2017.
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