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On February 7, 2025,FX renewedEnglish Teacherfor a second season.
Her husband, Chris Riggi, plays her boyfriend, Nick.
Alvarez was at the center.
He was the go-getter and then hired all his friends.
Their characters apartments were their real apartments, and their lives became material for the show.
It is a nearly beat-for-beat reenactment of what transpired among the three actors off set.
In the show, its played as a romp the sexual experimentation of 20-somethings.
Ebeling says in reality, he felt pressured by Alvarez.
Then, Ebeling alleges, Alvarez sexually assaulted him while shooting that very scene.
Gonna skip this one.
(Alvarez declined to be interviewed but responded to some questions through a representative.)
By then, his Instagram post had traveled far in comedy circles.
He was never allowed to be his true self, says a former college friend.
He attended the University of Southern Californias School of Dramatic Arts.
The conservatory-style program cultivated a say yes ethos that encouraged risk-taking.
Another student pinned him to the floor, dry-humped him, and licked his face.
Afterward, I was shaken up, the student says.
Everyone was telling him how brave he was.
I thought if I acted like it was bad, Id look homophobic.
Alvarez took to this culture of free-spiritedness.
He arrived with a long mop of curly hair and a contagious creativity that drew people to him.
Alvarez graduated and settled in L.A. for good in 2010.
Unlike so many aspiring actors in the city who talked about doing things, Alvarez had follow-through.
His ambition was palpable to anyone who met him.
He decorated the walls of his room with photos of celebrities like Tom Cruise.
He would sit below them in worship.
He was big on manifesting, says a former friend.
(Alvarez does not recall this.)
When he and Koenig met in 2013 shooting a short film, it was kismet.
Ebeling met Alvarez through their mutual friend Ken Kirby after a Groundlings show in May 2015.
Ebeling had spent the past few years grinding his way through the improv circuit.
There is something magnetic about somebody whos so confident that theyre going to make it.
And he kept getting results with everything he did, says Ebeling.
I was like,God, this guys fucking awesome.
I want to be more like this guy.
Ebeling had developed a parasocial crush on Koenig from watching her videos with Alvarez.
Alvarez introduced Ebeling to Koenig as the straight guy Im in love with.
The three of them became inseparable.
(A version of these parties appears inCaleb Gallo.)
Alvarez and Ebeling regularly said I love you to each other.
I was outside of the flirty romantic banter, says a former friend.
I was just like,Why is everybody holding hands?
In this context, Ebeling and Koenig started dating.
Brian reached over and started touching my thigh, Ebeling says.
(Alvarez denies this.)
At 27, Ebeling had a wide-eyed, high-energy way about him.
Former friends remember him as accommodating and maybe a touch naive.
Jon was always down to do anything, anywhere, anytime, says a former friend.
It was hard to know whether or not he wanted something.
I think of him as a sweet Texas boy that would do anything to make anyone happy.
A friend of Koenigs describes Ebeling as a glommeronner, but others apply this descriptor to the broader group.
Underlying their relationships was a sense that Alvarez was going to be their ticket to success.
He preferred a queen beesidekick dynamic, one says.
A lot of people became yes-men in his presence.
You could see them forsaking themselves to verify they were in his good graces, says a former collaborator.
There was a sense ofAre we really friends?
Or are you just using me for something?
Are we using each other for something?That was the energy around those people.
I dont know where the integrity in the relationship lies.
I was over the moon, says Ebeling.
I was just so excited for the exposure.
In the world ofCaleb Gallo,theres a sense that anyone could have sex with anyone.
Sexual labels are fungible part of what Alvarez would call a queer utopia.
My mental and sexual desires are polyamorous, he said in an interview about the show.
Caleb is the calm, happy conduit for everyones relationships.
During his date with Karen, Billy tells Caleb it isnt going so well.
Later, when he asks them why, Billy replies, Maybe because you werent there, buddy.
After wrapping the pilot on Halloween, Ebeling and Koenig had sex for the first time.
Two days later, Alvarez asked to hang out at Ebelings apartment.
Alvarez was a block over in a tiny studio on Vermont Avenue.
Thats when Ebeling remembers the insane pressure started for them to hook up.
It began with Alvarez asking Ebeling if he was using him.
He got stone-cold quiet like he was really troubled, Ebeling says.
Then Alvarez began asking, Are you manipulating me to get to Steph?
Are you manipulating me to be on the show?
And so it became this game of like, No, no, not at all.
Once Ebeling had convinced him he wasnt up to anything, Alvarez suggested they hook up.
He wanted to compare penises.
He wanted to smell his balls.
He said that Koenig would want them to experiment together and that she would be into it.
(Alvarez says Ebeling enthusiastically gave consent and encouraged it throughout.)
Koenig came over the next morning when Alvarez was still there.
and Ebeling insisted that they tell her.
(Representatives for Koenig declined to respond on the record for this story.)
Koenig left to go to therapy and called Alvarez immediately.
He went up to the roof to take the call.
I broke down sobbing, says Ebeling.
This big thing had happened where I had had this gay experience and nobody else knew.
Their conversation continued:
Koenig:I mean its not all bad.
It all felt good and happy.
Ebeling:What felt good and happy?
Oh, you and me?
Koenig:I dunno everything.
Ebeling:I just wish Brian and I could be like we were before you know?
Koenig:You guys totally can be.
Hes totally fine with that.
Hes your good friend.
Also Im an adult though and make my own decisions.
So Ill get over it.
Just a raw feeling right now.
I mean I know you dont seem fragile.
So maybe he didnt think of that.
He would never have done anything to hurt you.
I think it all just felt right.
It just would have made me feel better if it had felt more right you know?
Like it was for something.
I just cant stop seeing it as being only destructive.
Alvarez believed Ebeling reciprocated his feelings, and said as much to Koenig.
Koenig suspected Ebeling was lying about his feelings for Alvarez, telling him one thing and her another.
I say we fuckin go for it.
The episode ends with a retelling of their hookup through Alvarezs lens.
Billy reveals to Caleb that he had sex with Karen.
According to the stage directions, Caleb asks to see Billys penis, and they both pull theirs out.
Caleb tells him to make it big, and the directions say, He is trying.
The stage directions read, Caleb goes in and smells them.
A DEEP, DEEP and long inhale.
Ken was like, Are you sure you want to do that?
At that point, Im like,Yeah, I want to go for it.Brians a genius.
Maybe be in a show that gets sold.
We can all have jobs.
He texted Koenig afterward, this is me getting over it.
Around Thanksgiving 2015, Ebeling and Koenig began seeing each other again.
By then, they had shot episode two, during which Ebeling had gotten naked.
She warned him not to take his clothes off anymore around Alvarez so as to not lead him on.
There were moments when everyone seemed simpatico.
In early December, Alvarez texted Ebeling after his own session with Johnny O.
He [Johnny O.]
was clear about how you felt about the sexual aspect of things, he wrote.
He said Jon loves you but doesnt want to have a sexual relationship with you.
Which was obvious but i needed to hear clearly.
Ebeling recalls Alvarez saying, Im up here trying to make us all famous, and whos lovingme?
(Alvarez does not remember saying this.)
Whenever Alvarez had these crises of confidence, Koenig was there to reassure him.
Early in January 2016, Alvarez told Koenig he wanted her to stop seeing Ebeling.
She talked him down.
He knows he cant ask us not to see each other, she wrote to Ebeling in an email.
Hes aware and was just being cranky.
All of a sudden, says Ebeling, he put straight porn on his laptop.
Then, Alvarez undressed and proceeded to take a shower with the door and shower curtain open.
I felt walled in, Ebeling says.
He waited for Alvarez to dry off to say good-bye.
I said, All right, buddy.
Love you, man, remembers Ebeling.
Ill see you tomorrow on set.
(Alvarez says this interaction was not only consensual but actively encouraged by Ebeling.)
Filming on the third episode would pick up where the last one had left off.
Only here the encounter is pure flirtation; they play footsie before cuddling and taking their clothes off.
Caleb asks Billy, Can I suck it?
Billy says, Yeah.
The stage directions read, Caleb goes to do so, under the covers.
I didnt know what to do.
Im on set with my director, who is assaulting me.
It was a horrible feeling.
Ebelings first reaction was guilt that he had let this happen; that it somehow constituted cheating on Koenig.
His next was rage: I was like,Wait a second.
I didnt consent to this.We didnt talk about this.
He texted Koenig immediately.
We were shooting and Brian took a huge goddamn liberty, he writes.
Im so fucking upset.
I feel like I was raped.
Literally I was raped.
He stepped outside to do so.
Her response is like, Why didnt you push his head down?
Youre a man, he recalls her saying on the phone.
He told her to go fuck herself.
She told him to go sit in a quiet place and calm yourself.
To Koenig, this was another example of Ebeling failing to set boundaries with Alvarez.
I never would have stroked my penis in front of a camera.)
Ebeling says the oral sex occurred for a whole take.
In a follow-up, Alvarezs representatives say Ebeling consented verbally to doing it for real beforehand.
(Produce the evidence, Ebeling says.
No way in hell would I have ever consented to that.)
Ill never look at him the same, he wrote.
He cant know he can get away with this.
Rationalize it instead of internally letting your emotions interpret it.
Youre choosing to hate someone which is a hard emotion to feel.
Instead of rationalizing it, seeing it from his shoes and changing your tactics with him.
Ebeling:He was so wrong honey.
If he doesnt know now.
Hell do it again to someone else.
Koenig:You werent physically hurt.
Yes it was confusing.
And he was wrong and he knows it now.
Ebeling:Hes a deviant.
Koenig:Hes not like a rapist jon.
Steph was almost worse.
She was always trying to make me feel like I was crazy or I was seeing it wrong.
According to those familiar with Koenigs thinking, she maintains that what happened was not sexual assault.
As she saw it, Ebeling wasnt particularly good about boundaries either.
He could be pushy, too, when it came to sex.
When he told Kirby what had happened on set, he was supportive at first.
Were not shooting porn, Ebeling recalled him saying.
Then Kirby spoke to Alvarez and his whole attitude on what happened completely changed.
He was like, No wonder he thought he could do that to you on set, says Ebeling.
It was like Brian was laying the groundwork to discredit me.
(Kirby declined to be interviewed.)
And his friends were like, Well, everyones doing great because of the work thats coming out.
If you create this rift, its going to ruin it for everyone.
At USC, classmates say Alvarez fixated on unattainable people.
They recall Alvarez growing jealous when a close female friend got a boyfriend.
(Alvarez does not recall this.)
During their senior showcase, he heckled him and tried to throw him off his game.
Eventually, the boyfriend filed a no-contact order against Alvarez with campus security.
The behavior coincided with a period when Alvarez was drinking heavily and using Adderall.
Among them was Alvarez, whom another student had been assigned to drive to rehearsals.
Alvarez says he has no recollection of groping anyone in college but acknowledges harassing another student.
Alvarezs fantasies of reciprocation recur throughout his work.
In that film, Alvarezs character, Ivan, falls in love with a presumably straight guy named Cole.
Cole keeps sending Ivan mixed messages hooking up with him while maintaining his heterosexuality.
Coles older brother, Christian, is a homophobe who forcibly keeps them apart.
But in the weeks that followed, the surety he felt in the immediate aftermath began to erode.
None of my friends were seeing me as a victim and this guy as an abuser, Ebeling says.
It was too hard to look at it as if I had been raped.
I convinced myself this was a miscommunication.
He wasnt processing it.
I said he was raped.
Immediately, says Soto.
He didnt want to hear that.
A heterosexual person doesnt want to admit they were sexually assaulted by a gay guy.
Queer media outlets heralded its arrival; Tyler Oakley said it was officially my new favorite thing.
For a while, Ebeling felt it was in his best interest to forgive and forget.
My work on Brians stuff was the only thing creatively I was doing, says Ebeling.
I let the fear of losing my whole connection of people win.
To outsiders, they seemed as close as ever, hanging out and making things.
Like Alvarez, Ebeling began making work about his romantic fixations.
Ebeling and Kai play themselves, and the short was written and directed by Riggi.
I was like, You think Im so fucking pathetic, he says.
Part of me is really showing her what I really feel like I really did feel pathetic.
And then theres also a little bit of a manipulative factor.
Koenig, he tells Riggi, was always the best at seeing through his tactics.
Sometimes, though, he thought she was wrong.
She saw shit that wasnt there with Brian, he says.
Riggi asks if anything had ever happened between him and Alvarez.
Brian sucked my dick, Ebeling replies.
But I was never into Brians body.
I was never sexually charged by Brian.
Riggi replies, You probably never really shut him down.
Ebeling agrees that he played into it.
Ebeling and Alvarez continued to shoot projects together and frequently sent each other mutually fawning messages.
Ebeling would call him my brotha and say he was one of the best men Ive ever met.
That fall, AlvarezsWill & Gracecharacter became a recurring one.
Around that time, he cut himself off from the friend group.
He feared that if he wronged him, Ebeling would weaponize the set incident.
Ebeling says the break allowed him to reassess what had happened.
He went on a date and hooked up with another man so he could have a positive gay experience.
(Ebeling identifies as straight, saying the exploration helped him settle this for himself.)
Ebeling told Koenig while he would like to keep the peace, he had a problem with Brian.
Its just very deep and I dont see it ever going away, he texted her.
Our time apart made me reevaluate him a lot and even more importantly myself.
When he walked outside, he saw that she had brought Alvarez with her.
I felt ambushed, he says.
Alvarez asked if they could go to his place and talk things out.
Ebeling said his piece that Alvarezs behavior on set had been wrong.
Alvarez felt that Ebeling was vindictively holding the incident over his head.
Thats when Ebeling remembers Alvarez falling to the floor and crying.
At first, Ebeling thought he was doing a comedic bit.
Brian was begging me not to end his career, says Ebeling.
It was like him turning himself into the victim.
I just stood there.
In 2019, Ebeling began seeing his now-fiancee, Michaela Myers, a fellow actor and Groundlings alum.
She affirmed his initial feelings that it was wrong, that his friends responses were wrong.
It became increasingly difficult to justify working with Alvarez.
The last thing he did with them was Riggis filmGood Luck With Everythingin 2020.
Ebeling told them he would do it as long as Alvarez wasnt involved.
(He wasnt.)
The pandemic forced the final break.
There were many nights where he would sob like a little kid, says Myers.
It was like hed finally accepted what had happened to him.
His nighttime breakdowns were so intense they looked into EMDR therapy eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing.
In EMDR, the patient focuses on a single point of trauma and the negative associations accompanying it.
For the memory, he focused on the phone call with Koenig after the assault.
The rift has only grown since Ebeling began telling friends, colleagues, and acquaintances his story.
Meanwhile, Alvarezs profile has continued to grow.
He appeared inM3GANand80 for Brady,and on TikTok he has amassed almost 900,000 followers.
(FX is aware of the allegations and has yet to renew it for a second season.)
The success gap between them prompted some to see Ebelings Instagram post as sour grapes.
He and Myers made a short together in 2021 calledJeff Cant Swimand are writing a pilot.
Still,Caleb Galloremains the project Ebeling is best known for.
at him on the street all the time, particularly when hes in West Hollywood.
Alvarez had envisioned a different ending for his characters.
They yell, they cry.
Billy and Karen kiss while Billy holds Calebs hand.
Im a 21st-century man!
That night, Caleb invites them to go back to his place.
The episode ends with all of them spooning in bed together.
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