Ken Bone
Bone at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)
Born1982 (age 41–42)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPower plant worker
Years active2016-present
Known for2016 presidential debate appearance

Kenneth Bone (born 1982) is an American political activist who became a viral phenomenon after asking a question at the October 9 presidential debate during the 2016 United States election. Bone subsequently received national media attention and inspired a large number of Internet memes.

2016 election

At the October 9 presidential debate during the 2016 United States elections, Ken Bone, a coal power plant operator from Belleville, Illinois, was one of several local undecided voters invited to participate in the debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.[1][2] Bone asked the question:

What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?[3]

Bone quickly became a viral sensation on social media, immediately gaining over 80,000 followers on Twitter after the debate.[2] Multiple parody and fan pages were created under his name on various platforms.[1] Bone's red sweater, use of a disposable camera before and after the debate, and general demeanor was received positively by viewers of the event, and spawned numerous Internet memes.[4][5][6] Bone maintained that he would remain an undecided voter after the debate.[7]

After the debate, Bone made appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[8][9] @midnight,[10] and ESPN College GameDay.[11] Bone was also parodied on Saturday Night Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[12][13][14] Bone capitalized on his sudden fame by endorsing ridesharing company Uber with a tweet,[15] filming a commercial for Izod,[16] and partnering with merchandise company Represent to market T-shirts.[17] Bone also auctioned off the red sweater he wore during the debate, raising $10,000 for the charity Greater St. Louis Honor Flight.[12]

On October 13, 2016, Bone hosted a Reddit AMA under the username "StanGibson18".[18] After the post went live, Bone began receiving backlash for comments made using his personal account regarding the 2014 celebrity nude photo leak and killing of Trayvon Martin.[19][20][21][22]

As a result of the media attention, Bone was also swatted and received threats directed at him and his family.[12]

Bone ultimately voted for Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.[23]

Post-election

Bone continued to make public appearances related to United States politics after the 2016 election, appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher and at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference.[24][25]

Since 2016, Bone expressed dissatisfaction toward the Trump administration, hinting that he would likely vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and later endorsing Andrew Yang.[12][26][27] Bone voted for Libertarian Party nominee Jo Jorgensen in the 2020 election.[23]

Bone was the subject of an October 2020 New Yorker documentary, in which he reflects on the 2016 election, and the effect that fame had on his life.[28]

Personal life

Bone is married to Heather Bone, whom he met in high school. They have a son named Logan.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 Ahmed, Saeed (10 October 2016). "And the winner of the presidential debate is... Ken Bone | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Stump, Scott (11 October 2016). "Ken Bone is the hero America needs right now". TODAY.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. ↑ Griffin, Andrew (17 October 2016). "The real winner of the presidential debate has been crowned". The Independent. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Reinstein, Julia (10 October 2016). "Just 27 Really, Really Good Tweets About Debate Hero Ken Bone". BuzzFeed News.
  5. ↑ Chan, Melissa (11 October 2016). "10 of the Best Ken Bone Memes on the Internet". Time.
  6. ↑ Garber, Megan (10 October 2016). "Ken Bone, the Hero America Needed". The Atlantic.
  7. ↑ Nelson, Louis (10 October 2016). "Internet phenomenon Ken Bone: Debate 'got very uncomfortable from up close'". POLITICO.
  8. ↑ Chan, Melissa (11 October 2016). "Ken Bone's Jimmy Kimmel Interview Shows Why the Internet Loves Him". Time. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Holub, Christian. "Jimmy Kimmel Asks Debate Star Ken Bone If He's Still Undecided". EW.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Washington, Arlene (13 October 2016). "Ken Bone Reacts to Favorite Twitter Mentions, Sexy Halloween Costume on '@Midnight'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. ↑ "Ken Bone makes surprise appearance on 'College GameDay,' and we're really still doing this | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "The most famous 'undecided voter' has big problems with Trump". cnn.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Watch Saturday Night Live Tackle Ken Bone and Trump's Bizarre Debate Behavior". Vanity Fair. 16 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Leibowitz, Lauren (16 October 2016). "'Weird Little Creep' Ken Bone Wins the 'SNL' Cold-Open Debate". Thrillist. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "Ken Bone may have violated FTC rules with Uber tweet (updated)". Engadget. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  16. ↑ O'Reilly, Lara. "Ken Bone is starring in an ad for the brand that makes his now famous red sweater". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  17. ↑ Vielma, Antonio José (13 October 2016). "Ken Bone lands Uber endorsement and t-shirt deal". CNBC. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "I'm American citizen, undecided voter, loving husband Ken Bone, Welcome to the Bone Zone! AMA". Reddit. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "Ken Bone Revealed Freaky, NSFW Reddit History by Accident". GQ. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  20. ↑ Earl, Jennifer (14 October 2016). "The internet's calling out Ken Bone over his Reddit history - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  21. ↑ Sykes, Tom (14 October 2016). "Ken Bone's Disturbing Reddit History Shows He's Not Nearly as Adorable as We Thought". The Daily Beast.
  22. ↑ O'Brien, Sara Ashley (14 October 2016). "Ken Bone leaves seedy comment trail on Reddit". CNNMoney.
  23. 1 2 Hall, Louise (7 October 2020). "2016 viral debate star Ken Bone reveals who he voted for this year". The Independent.
  24. ↑ "Ken Bone Returns: Bill Maher Grills Viral Sensation on Who He Voted For". EW.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  25. ↑ "Ken Bone Is Going to Appear at CPAC". Time. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  26. ↑ Bowden, John (3 February 2020). "Ken Bone endorses Andrew Yang for president: '#YangGang all the way!'". The Hill. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  27. ↑ Wyrich, Andrew (3 February 2020). "Ken Bone dons iconic red sweater to endorse Andrew Yang". The Daily Dot.
  28. ↑ Fry, Naomi (14 October 2020). "Ken Bone and the Legend of the Undecided Voter". The New Yorker.
  29. ↑ Chester, Tim (10 October 2016). "Ken Bone: From regular guy in a red sweater to America's last hope". Mashable. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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