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Jake Shane, the 23-year-old comedian, and TikTok content creator, signed with talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) for representation. Shane is best known for his character octopusslover8 on TikTok, which has garnered over 1.5 million followers.
Shane’s bio on TikTok reads, Rating/reviewing octopus from all over the 🌎, and his content focuses on comedy, impressions of historical milestones, original dance moves, and “puss reviews.” Celebrities and companies such as Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and Hulu have commented on his posts, gaining widespread popularity.
In a statement, Shane expressed his excitement about the opportunity to work with such an incredible team, saying, “I’m so grateful to the team at WME for believing in my vision and can’t wait to get started.“
Road to stardom
Shane’s rise to fame began in February 2023 when he celebrated reaching 60,000 followers on TikTok by asking his audience to comment with their favorite lines or situations for him to act out. His first video was an impression of Bill Clinton denying his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, which went viral with 1.7 million views and over 200,000 likes.
Since then, Shane has posted dozens of reenactments since then, and his likes count on the platform has ballooned to 36.7 million. He has also received brand requests, with The History Channel recently asking him to make a reaction video of Prohibition in the United States.
What makes Shane different?
Shane’s videos are a phenomenon because of his ability to juxtapose Gen Z’s mannerisms with the gravity of history. Lizzy Gulino, a senior writer at Refinery29 and an octopusslover8 super fan, explains that Shane’s content is universal and accessible to people of all ages and demographics.
Shane’s ascent to TikTok stardom comes amid concerns about China’s influence and control over the app, given its ownership by Beijing-based ByteDance. The US government may seek to ban the app over national security concerns. TikTok CEO Shou Chew’s appearance before a House committee last week reinforced these concerns from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
