Jonah Hill, who strikes me as someone who is both very funny and takes himself entirely too seriously, has launched a new marketing stunt in the form of a wellness and spiritual community brand called Meaningful Existence. Hill has grown a large beard and has assumed the role of “Prophet Ezekiel Profit,” and he recently wore matching pastel sweatsuits with former Real Housewife Lisa Rinna, who is apparently a “high ranking disciple and dear friend.”

The website, which looks like a MySpace page decorated with Prophet Ezekiel Profit stickers designed in MSPaint, lists a presale for “Meaningful Existence” t-shirts for $40 in colors like Black Vortex, Celestial Milk, and Golden Aura. Reportedly, the website will sell wellness products in the future, as well.

Hill’s schtick (and his website) are clearly a parody of Los Angeles’ wellness industry/grifter economy. Undoubtedly, Hill will also be able to cash in with merch and wellness products designed to mock the “consumerism-centric lifestyle brands, multi-level healing schemes, and logo-heavy athleisure,” which will allow Jonah Hill to eat his cake and have it, too.

However, I would not mention to the notoriously prickly Prophet Ezekiel Profit that exploiting the L.A. wellness industry as a joke isn’t that much different than what the others in the industry do. A $40 t-shirt is a $40 t-shirt, whether it’s coming from a wellness guru or a “wellness guru.” Lisa Rinna, after all, already sells beauty products, so I’m sure she can successfully operate as both a brand ambassador and a distribution channel. But Hill, who is very good at making jokes, is not always as keen on being the butt of those jokes, so again it’s probably best not to mention it.

Personally, I’d rather overpay for a Seth Rogen ceramic made from the heart than a t-shirt from a joke brand, but I might still be bitter about You People.

Source: GQ