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Williams achieved what most comedians dream about. After going to school in New York, and producing videos for anyone who would watch them, he got a show on IFC with his sketch group, The Whitest Kids U’ Know.

The Whitest Kids U’ Know ran on IFC from 2007 through 2011, and was a milestone in Williams’ career. He still cherishes the experience to this day — he got to make a TV show. After the series ended, however, Williams went through a messy divorce and decided to move back home to Watertown, South Dakota. A single father, Williams looked for jobs outside the entertainment world, and eventually settled into a career as a substitute teacher. He loved the job, Williams told Polygon, but it ended because of his comedic past.

“I never thought it would become more of problem than having to explain my sketch videos on YouTube every once in a while,” Williams says.

That was until one kid stumbled upon a video that featured Williams dancing in his underwear. Things spiraled from there: Parents discovered the video, and demanded that Williams be fired for his previous work. Williams describes the sketch as pretty inoffensive, but that didn’t matter. A few people thought the material was inappropriate enough to warrant his firing, and the assistant superintendent agreed.

“He said, ‘Well, you know how this town is,’” Williams tells Polygon. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I know how this town is,’” and he cuts me off to say, ‘You know how this town is.’ That was his explanation.”

Williams understands firsthand what it’s like to lose a job over an action in the past, even if his video is nowhere near as provocative as Gunn’s jokes or Harmon’s sketch. Williams says that social media has become increasingly weird for comedians, adding that he’s happy The Whitest Guys U’ Know existed before internet culture changed.

“Those early 2000s were great for weird comedy,” Williams says. “I have to wonder: If we put stuff online again, which we want to do, what’s the response going to be? We’re not going to be that different.”