Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers have spent years building one of the most beloved and hilarious spaces in pop culture today, and for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s been a hilarious ride from start to finish. What began as two 19-year-olds at NYU cracking inside jokes has now turned into Las Culturistas, a podcast, a cultural force, and most recently, an actual awards show on Bravo. The Las Culturistas Culture Awards are about as quirky, creative, and unapologetically gay as Bowen and Matt themselves, and LGBTQ+ fans are eating it up.
RELATED: Dylan O’Brien and James Sweeney Are Great Together in Twinless
Their podcast, Las Culturistas, is a safe space for their signature banter, wild takes, and—perhaps most importantly—inside jokes that only true friendship can bring. Whether they’re celebrating “Best Hand Moment, Excellence In Hands” or handing out the “Eva Longoria Award For Tiny Woman, Huge Impact,” the awards are pure Bowen and Matt: unexpected, hilarious, and unapologetically fun. What started as a comedic bit on their podcast has turned into something much bigger—and we’re not just talking about their growing number of podcast episodes.
As openly gay men, Bowen and Matt have been incredibly open about their queerness and how it informs their work. Their friendship is deeply rooted in shared queer experiences, and it’s that authentic connection that resonates most with their audience. Bowen summed it up best when he said, “What I love most about our friendship is what listeners like about the friendship. You’re in on the joke.” For Bowen and Matt, their humor is a direct extension of who they are: two gay men, laughing through life and creating a space where their listeners can do the same.
Reflecting on their journey, Matt shared, “If I could go back to those 19-year-olds that met and became such close friends, and told them what would happen, it’d be kind of crazy.” And it is crazy—after all, who could have predicted that two young queer men, making jokes about pop culture, would end up turning their friendship into one of the most beloved queer cultural landmarks in comedy today? They weren’t even sure anyone would listen when they started the podcast in 2016. “We thought no one would listen,” Matt admitted, “but people craved connection—and that’s what they wanted: to hear a friendship in action.”
And during the pandemic, as the world shut down, Las Culturistas became a lifeline, offering fans something they didn’t even know they needed: a connection to two friends who were over-caffeinated, cracking each other up, and showing that even in the worst of times, laughter is still the best medicine. “That’s what they wanted, to connect and hear a friendship in action,” Matt added. And so, Las Culturistas grew in popularity, cementing Bowen and Matt as queer icons, champions of their community, and hilarious voices of reason.
Now, with the Las Culturistas Culture Awards airing on Bravo, the pair is bringing their unique brand of humor to an even wider audience. It’s an evolution that feels both natural and surreal. What started as a podcast bit now has its own prime-time special, and Bowen and Matt are living proof that when you create something that’s real, fun, and true to yourself, the world notices.
The awards show isn’t just about pop culture—it’s about celebrating moments that feel important to them and to their fans, while also giving a cheeky wink to those who are in on the joke. No one quite does it like Bowen and Matt, who have created something as special as their friendship—and for their queer fans, it’s a reminder of what can happen when you stay authentic, work hard, and, most importantly, have fun.
Catch the Las Culturistas Culture Awards on Bravo, August 5 at 9 p.m. ET, or stream it the next day on Peacock. Trust us, this is one cultural moment you won’t want to miss.
Source: People