Leading From Behind: Terry Crews Gets a Colonoscopy. And You Should, Too!

Terry Crews, reprising his role as President Camacho from Idiocracy, attempts to normalize the process of getting a colonoscopy by undergoing the procedure while in character.

All this goes down in the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s latest “Lead from Behind” initiative. The campaign launched last year when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney famously filmed their colonoscopies.

Colon cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the U.S., yet a third of people eligible for testing don’t get screened regularly. Now, Crews, along with his creative company Super Serious and Reynolds’ agency Maximum Effort, use broad humor to raise awareness of testing options. 

In the video, viewers get an inside look at Terry and three polyps that were successfully removed. Now, they’ll never develop into cancer. The clip ends with Crews-as-Camacho encouraging his followers to get checked.

“Last year, Rob McElhenney and I filmed our colonoscopies for the world to see. It wasn’t comfortable but it was important,” says Reynolds, in a statement. “The impact was so great that apparently the President of the United States in the 25th century heard about it. We applaud President Camacho for his bravery—and also idiocy. And we’re indebted to Super Serious and Mike Judge for their help towards the cause of eradicating colon cancer.”

Users can find more info at leadfrombehind.org and quiz.getscreened.org.

Reynolds’ impact on colonoscopies is real. In the three weeks after his video dropped last September, 36 percent more colonoscopy appointments were booked per day than in the previous three months.