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“Humiliation Ritual”: Ryan Gosling’s “Leaked” FaceTime With Mikey Day Sparks Criticism Online
A “leaked” phone call between Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day has left the internet cringing, with fans flooding social media to describe the exchange as “forced, overly weird, and cringey.”
A viral clip of the conversation between the Hollywood star and the Saturday Night Live comedian was shared by Gosling’s wife, Eva Mendes, on February 15 through her social media account.
Highlights
- Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day’s “Pal-entine’s Day” call quickly went viral, leaving viewers cringing over the “evident secondhand embarrassment.”
- Fans flooded social media with criticism, with some calling the clip “painfully awkward” and others labeling it the “lamest bit” they had watched all year.
- The clip was shared just weeks before Gosling reprised his role as host of ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the fourth time.
The call, which was originally made on Valentine’s Day, left some fans questioning whether the interaction was genuine, while others simply described it as an “awkward” and oddly “tense” exchange.
One netizen commented, “Quite awkward, embarrassing and anything but funny.”
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Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day’s “leaked” Valentine’s Day phone call has left many fans calling it a moment of “secondhand embarrassment”
Image credits: Todd Owyoung/Getty Images
Just weeks before hosting the iconic Saturday Night Live for the fourth time, with his episode scheduled for March 7, Ryan Gosling hopped onto a FaceTime call with one of the show’s popular comedians, Mikey Day.
On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, which the duo famously dubbed “Pal-entine’s Day,” Mikey began by congratulating Ryan on his return as host, saying how “excited” he was.
Day also asked the Barbie actor whether the pair would be reenacting their famous “Beavis and Butt-Head” SNL sketch from 2024, wondering if a sequel was in the works.
Image credits: Esther Kuhn/Getty Images
At this point, Ryan interjected, saying, “But before that, I just, I’m actually calling not to talk about work. Just to say Happy Palentine’s Day. I love you.”
Day looked visibly confused in the video as Ryan continued to explain, “You know, like, there’s Galentine’s Day, and then there’s Valentine’s Day. It’s for pals, Palentine’s Day. It’s like a day where guys can be emotionally honest with each other and just, you know, say ‘I really love you.’”
Mikey responded awkwardly, “That’s cool, man. Yeah. Alright.”
Image credits: evamendes
The call then quickly shifted from a friendly exchange to what appeared to be a marketing moment for Gosling’s upcoming film, Project Hail Mary.
Gosling even showed Day “Valentine’s cards” he had made for an alien character in the film with whom he develops a platonic bond.
Mikey congratulated Ryan on his return as the Saturday Night Live host for the fourth time since his debut in 2015
Image credits: evamendes
The card made Day realize the call was actually a promotional move for the film, and he eventually asked, “Sorry, what is this? Is this like a marketing thing for your movie or something? You just like, you called me and you’re showing me Valentine’s, your character from your movie would show an alien.”
To this, Ryan replied, “Yeah, you were saying it comes out on March 20th… Weren’t you saying it’s like Interstellar meets E.T.?”
While the La La Land star laughed in the background, Day expressed frustration that the call had turned into a “marketing thing” for Ryan’s film.
Image credits: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
As the duo ended the call, Gosling referred to Mikey as “my sweet prince,” while the comedian appeared visibly frustrated and annoyed by the bit.
Whether the call was genuinely spontaneous or a scripted “PR stunt” for Ryan to promote his new project remains unclear, but several social media users couldn’t help but voice the “cringe” they felt while watching the conversation unfold.
One annoyed user bluntly wrote, “This just feels painfully awkward rather than funny. It comes across as forced, overly weird, and cringey, like someone trying way too hard to be quirky or ‘relatable’ on camera. The sudden bizarre lines make it uncomfortable to watch rather than genuinely entertaining.”
Image credits: evamendes
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A second user agreed, adding, “Not genuine, not funny. At all,” while a third commented, “Contextual gaslighting & manipulation is taking on a whole new level…”
Others expressed similar frustration, with one writing, “It sounds like two dudes trying to make content and failing miserably.”
One critic reacted, “Ryan Gosling calling Mikey Day ‘my sweet prince’ is the most uncomfortable thing I have seen in 2026”
Image credits: evamendes
Image credits: BrookeVibse
“Ryan Gosling said ‘my sweet prince’ and I physically cringed through my screen,” said one netizen, while another wrote, “When a promo stunt is obvious, it stops being funny… If people are debating whether it’s awkward or funny, the joke probably didn’t land.”
“Lmao the secondhand cringe from Mikey’s face is sending me. Gosling fully committed to that Pal-entine’s bit like it was method acting for Project Hail Mary…”
Some viewers even argued that the clip appeared to be a marketing stunt that did not land the way it was intended.
Image credits: evamendes
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One user wrote, “That’s definitely a Joke. Ryan just trolling him… Whatever..it’s just BORING.”
“Skit that totally falls flat. That’s 2 mins I’m not going to get back,” fumed another commenter.
The now-viral two-minute-long clip has sparked suspicion among fans, with many questioning the authenticity of the conversation
Image credits: shawawesomeone
“Looks like a humiliation ritual,” wrote a third netizen, while others agreed, saying, “Americans should stop trying to do dry humour… This is excruciatingly bad and not funny in the slightest.”
“Lamest ‘bit’ ever. Dragged on for too long.”
Ryan’s wife, Eva Mendes, had originally shared the two-minute viral clip on her Instagram with the caption, “Happy PALentine’s Day to @mikeyfuntime and all the other bro homies out there!”
View this post on Instagram
Since then, the video has also been reshared by the official Project Hail Mary social media accounts, reportedly serving as a dual promotion for both Ryan’s upcoming Saturday Night Live hosting return and his latest science-fiction film.
The movie is an adaptation of the 2021 bestselling novel by Andy Weir, who also wrote The Martian.
View this post on Instagram
It will follow Ryland Grace (played by Gosling), a junior high school teacher who becomes an astronaut in the near future as humanity faces an extinction-level threat from a mysterious substance.
“If you think two actors who recorded their FaceTime call and then posted it is a raw leak and not completely scripted then idk,” wrote one netizen
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