The first episode of It’s Florida, Man, a new show on Max that tells outlandish but true stories about people from Florida alongside re-enactments by a host of well-known comedic actors, focuses on the 2019 tale of a guy who tried to fund a trip to see bass music artist Bassnectar in Colorado by helping a man he met on Craigslist fulfill his “biggest fantasy”—having a stranger cut off, cook, and eat three of his toes.
It’s Florida, Man was created by Mark Herwick and Jeff Tomsicthe and executive produced by, among others, Danny McBride and Brandon James (The Righteous Gemstones). Per an official description, the show “brings to life unbelievable, ripped-from-the-headlines tales of the Sunshine State. Featuring interviews with everyday Floridians and playful recreations starring a rotating cast of actors and comedians—including Anna Faris, Jake Johnson, Randall Park, Juliette Lewis, Sam Richardson, Ego Nwodim, and more—this hilarious and outrageous series sheds light on the viral, wacky, and weird. Covering diverse topics, this irreverent, late-night comedy series is a love letter to the beaches, backwaters, and people of a misunderstood yet magical state.”
The opening episode is based around interviews with Phil, a Walt Disney World performer portrayed in reenactments by Sam Richardson of Veep fame, and his friend, Carolyn, a former Orlando Magic dancer portrayed in reenactments by Saturday Night Live cast member Ego Nwodim. Over the course of the episode, Phil, a longtime Bassnectar superfan, lays out his outrageous tale of toes and attempted cannibalism from the summer of 2019.
A quick summary: After Bassnectar announces a run of concerts in Colorado in the summer of 2019, Phil has to scramble to earn enough money to make the trip from Florida. He turns to Craigslist, posting that he is willing to do anything (within reason) to earn some extra cash. After sifting through various responses asking for sexual transactions, he comes upon a response from a man named Steve (played by Randall Park): “I have a request. It’s not going to be sexual. But it’s my biggest fantasy.”
Intrigued by the offer, Phil inquires about the details. Steve responds, “I want you to cut off three of my toes, cook them, eat them, and I want to watch.”
The episode continues with clips of Phil telling the bizarre story intercut with humorous reenactments of its various scenes. All the while, a Bassnectar character—played hilariously by Eastbound & Down‘s Steve Little—is seen egging on Phil’s cannibalistic pursuits like a wompy devil perched on his shoulder.
While Steve is initially gung-ho about fulfilling his fan-toe-sy, he soon begins to have reservations about doing the deed. As Phil explains, Steve asked if Phil had a female friend who could come witness the act, posing an appropriately ridiculous challenge: “Who is (1) free on a Thursday, and (2) is down to witness cannibalism?” Phil wonders.
Phil enlists the help of his old friend, Carolyn, and the two go to Steve’s house to take part in the, uh, dinner party. The reenactments paint a picture of suspense as Phil attempts to go through with amputating Steve’s toes (on top of a garbage bag, using a kitchen knife), but Steve ultimately gets cold feet (pun intended) on various attempts—in part, he reveals, because he is a karate teacher and is worried about what his students will say when they see his mangled foot. Instead, Steve, Phil, and Carolyn drink a beer, awkwardly watch the end of a basketball game on TV, and part ways. Embarrassed by his change of heart, Steve still pays Phil his $4,000 fee for his trouble.
After the ordeal, Phil and Carolyn go out for a drink to blow off steam and end up discovering romantic feelings for each other. In the reenactment, Richardson’s Phil and Nwodim’s Carolyn spend the night together—while Little’s Bassnectar creepily watches from the other side of the room. That’s right, this isn’t just a Bassnectar/cannibalism story—it’s a love story.
Phil eventually uses the money from Steve to fly out to the Bassnectar shows in Colorado—only to find out soon after he arrives that the shows have been canceled. While It’s Florida, Man seems to indicate that news of sexual misconduct allegations against Bassnectar prompted the cancellation of the shows, they were actually canceled due to technical issues at the venue, Broomfield, CO’s FirstBank Center. The sexual misconduct allegations against Bassnectar, which prompted him to “step back” from music indefinitely, didn’t arrive until the following summer.
Still, Phil takes the eventual allegations against Bassnectar as an opportunity to reflect on his actions. As the real-life Phil explains, “I flew across the country, I almost ate a toe, I had a very traumatic experience to get to this point. The times were good, but I feel like I can’t support something like that. And that’s when I really started to kind of change my perspective [on] what’s really important.”
“Inside of me, there’s two of me,” he adds. “There’s ‘f— it Phil’ and ‘responsible Phil,’ and for much of my early twenties ‘f— it Phil’ ran the show. I’m happy that I’ve grown, [that] I don’t get myself in these kinds of situations still to this day. … He could have died. We didn’t have proper medical stuff there. He could have bled out—now, I’m charged with, maybe, like, a manslaughter because I wanted to go to a concert. Who was I? And what was going on in my head? I don’t think now I would ever do it.”
Today, Phil goes on, he sometimes returns to Craigslist looking for odd jobs to make some quick cash—and every once in a while, he’ll get a response from Steve asking if he wants to try again. Phil now denies those requests.
Related: Bassnectar Is “Stepping Back” From His Career Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations
In the episode’s final interview clip, Phil asks, “Hey, random question, what if one day I’m, like, trying to get a job and they’re like, ‘Aren’t you that toe guy?’” From off-camera, the director responds, “You’re only thinking about this now?” Roll credits… on our new favorite show.
Watch a trailer for the six-episode first season of It’s Florida, Man on Max below. Watch the full first episode of It’s Florida, Man on Bassnectar, toes, and cannibalism here. New episodes arrive each Friday night on the HBO-run streaming app.
To make this whole thing even stranger, this isn’t the first time we’ve published an article focusing on Bassnectar and toes: Back in 2017, we wrote about the time Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks (now known simply as The Chicks) got a tattoo on her big toe that she thought was an ancient Greek symbol for strength but was actually the well-known Bassnectar “bassdrop” logo. Read about Maines’ Bassnectoe here.
It’s Florida, Man – Official Trailer
As the It’s Florida, Man episode alludes, the real Bassnectar, Lorin Ashton, announced that he was “stepping back” from his music career in 2020 amid a public string of underage grooming and sexual assault allegations levied against him via the Instagram account @evidenceagainstbassnectar. In a since-deleted post, Bassnectar wrote that he was doing this “because I want to take responsibility and accountability. I feel intense compassion for anyone I may have hurt.” A civil lawsuit followed soon after.
While Bassnectar initially wanted “to take responsibility” for his alleged actions, he has since walked back his stance and taken aim at cancel culture and a “campaign of hostility, intimidation, and preposterous lies” against him. In 2023, the DJ hosted a comeback concert weekend in Las Vegas, though the poolside Daylight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay. A proposed 2023 concert in Asheville, NC was canceled within a day of being announced due to public backlash, though other Bassnectar performances have since gone on as planned. Ashton has also rolled out a private subscription service, The Other Side, which he uses to communicate with fans who continue to support him in spite of the allegations.
The post Florida Man Tries To Cut Off & Eat A Karate Teacher’s Toes For Bassnectar Tickets [Watch] appeared first on L4LM.
