About

Groovy Yuvi, also known as Yuval Hamevulbal (יובל המבולבל), Confused Yuval or Yuval the Befuddled, is the stage persona of Israeli children's performer Yuval Shem-Tov. His video "Real Life Gru," in which he costumes himself as the character Gru from the animated film series Despicable Me, has inspired numerous memes.

History

On June 13th, 2010, Shem-Tov uploaded his first video to YouTube. The video has received more than 1 million views in under a decade (shown below).

On September 1st, 2013, he published the video "Confused Yuval -- The Movie." Within six years, the video has received more than 16 million views (shown below, left).

Several years later, on July 31st, 2017, Shem-Tov published the video "פנטומימה – עם יובל המבולבל" (translation: Pantomime – with Confused Yuval"). Within two years, the post received more than 37 million views (shown below, right).

Real Life Gru

On July 15th, 2019, Yuvi published the video "The gru song by groovy yuvi" on TikTok.^[3] In the video, Yuvi dresses as Gru and sings the "Gru Song". Within two weeks, the video received omore than 177,000 favorites, 20,000 shares and 3,400 comments (shown below).

On July 17th, Redditor ^[1] Dont-Cum-Near-Me published the video on the /r/Cringetopia subreddit. The post received more than 17,000 points (91% upvoted) and 550 comments.

Days later, on July 19th, Instagram user realstiffy included the video in a meme that reads "Every Squad Got The". The post received more than 37,000 views and 7,000 likes in less than two weeks (shown below, left).

On July 21st, Instagram user @retry.mp4 edited the image of Yuvi into a Minecraft, referring to him as "Gru Villager". The post received more than 172,000 views and 26,000 likes in less than two weeks (shown below, right).

Personal Life

Cocaine Possession Accusation

On June 7th, 2018, Shem-Tov's name was included on a list of clients for a suspected drug dealer. The website Israel Hayom^[2] writes, " Shem Tov and Alal have been involved in more than 10 transactions, totaling more than 12,000 shekels ($ 3,350)."

In a statement by his lawyer, Shem-Tov maintained his innocence, stating "if there was no high-profile figure involved, it would not have been considered as serious. We are convinced that Shem Tov played no role in this affair."

Search Interest

External References