Unpacking the Crumbl Founder Coming-out Drama

If you spend any time on TikTok or around people under the age of 20, you probably know about Crumbl Cookies. The company sells cookies in a space that looks like an Apple Store, and its most devoted fans return every week to try an ever-changing lineup of goods. Usually, when Crumbl is in the news, it’s because they’ve collaborated with a star like Olivia Rodrigo or are being sued for violating child-labor laws, but now, people are talking about Crumbl because one of its co-founders, Sawyer Hemsley, recently came out amid widespread speculation about his sexuality. This story has everything: TikTok drama, Mormonism, the proletariat’s disdain for the wealthy. Get a glass of milk and the gooiest cookie imaginable and we can unpack this together.

Back up. Who is Sawyer Hemsley?

Hemsley and his cousin Jason McGowan started Crumbl Cookies in 2017 while Hemsley was still in college at Utah State University. Over the past eight years, the company has exploded from being a small Utah chain to a nationwide behemoth with more than 1,000 locations peddling the company’s always changing lineup of sugary, sort-of-underbaked treats beloved by teens and the kind of food vlogger who makes videos in their car. Hemsley serves as the company’s chief branding officer and is basically the face of the company. When he’s not promoting Crumbl on his social media, his feed is filled with shirtless gym selfies and the occasional TikTok dance trend.

Hemsley grew up Mormon (and served a mission in Mexico) and appears to still have ties to the church — during a podcast appearance last year, Hemsley identified as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but said he hadn’t been to church “in a while.”

Why is he coming out now?

Last Friday, TikTok comedian and influencer Grant Gibbs posted a video questioning Hemsley’s sexuality after seeing a video of the Crumbl co-founder. “That’s apparently a straight man? No it’s not, that man is so gay. That man is gay to the gods,” Gibbs said. “I don’t care if I’m outing a CEO with millions of dollars, I don’t give a fuck, but that’s a gay man.” (Gibbs clarified in a later video that he misspoke when he called Hemsley the CEO of Crumbl.)

That video now has more than 17 million views and over 19,000 comments. “He’s from Utah, that should explain everything,” one person wrote. “The closet is a mesh curtain,” shared another commenter, adding a bit of homophobia to the comment section.

Gibbs later posted  a follow up video, which was not so much an apology as a clarification of his thoughts. “I think he’s closeted in a way to protect his money,” the influencer said, adding that, “As a gay man myself I want to see a successful gay CEO slay the boots house down. But to act like you’re not, or to make it a whole hidden thing, it’s just like, it sucks.”

The commenters landed squarely on Gibbs’s side with the general tenor being that he shouldn’t feel bad for calling out a rich cookie-chain exec. There were also a lot of commenters claiming that Hemsley was Republican, though it’s unclear whether that’s true.

What did Hemsley say?

On Monday, after a video about his sexuality was viewed millions and millions of times, Hemsley shared a lengthy post to Instagram in order to counter “people online trying to define me, twist things, and share conversations in ways that feel harmful.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sawyer Hemsley (@sawyerhemsley)

“The truth is, over the past few years I’ve come to understand and accept that I’m gay,” Hemsley wrote under a selfie with his dog. “It’s taken me a long time to really process this part of myself and even longer to feel comfortable enough to say it out loud. For most of my life, I didn’t have the clarity to answer the questions or respond to the rumors. Coming to terms with it has been overwhelming and, at times, scary — but it has also brought me peace, joy, and authenticity that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

Hemsley noted that he “grew up with values and beliefs that I still deeply love and respect, which made this journey more complicated,” presumably referring to his Mormon upbringing. “I remain grateful for my foundation, even as I’ve worked to embrace this truth about myself,” he wrote.

What did Gibbs say after Hemsley came out?

Obviously, he made a TikTok about it. Waiting for his train on a subway platform, Gibbs congratulated Hemsley on coming out. “Girl, I am so happy for you and so proud of you. You are hot and you are going to live your best open, out, gay life, mama,” he said. In the caption, Gibbs wrote, “I’m genuinely sorry I clocked your tea in such a massive way, but I am really happy and proud of you sister @Sawyer Hemsley.”

Seems like that’s the end of that. Everyone involved should probably take a break and enjoy a Benson Boone–inspired sugar cookie.

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