Having found fame on social media, it\u2019s easy to slide Quenlin Blackwell into the influencer bucket. But that\u2019s not how she sees herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m an influencer at my core. I\u2019m a creator,\u201d the 25-year-old tells The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cI think that\u2019s why I\u2019ve been able to sustain this career because I\u2019m not trying to influence anyone. I\u2019m trying to entertain people.\u201d<\/p>\n
More from The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n After rising in fame as a teenager in Texas a decade ago with her comedic videos on the now-shuttered app Vine, she later successfully transitioned her fan base over to YouTube and TikTok, garnering more than 16 million followers across the two platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had so many parasocial experiences where I understand why people think I\u2019m their friend because I\u2019ve been talking to you since you were 10 years old and you\u2019ve been talking back to me. So in the human mind, that means we\u2019re friends,\u201d Blackwell, who now lives in Los Angeles, says.<\/p>\n As she\u2019s continued to deliver her lifestyle and comedic videos to fans, Blackwell\u2019s also expanded her content with the launch of her original YouTube series, Feeding Starving Celebrities, last year. It\u2019s only grown in popularity, attracting stars like Charli xcx, Tyriq Withers and Lil Yachty to make guest appearances.<\/p>\n As for her own personal ambitions, Blackwell has also started dabbling in acting, making her debut in the Rachel Sennott-led HBO show I Love LA. Below, she opens up about how she found her home in the comedy space, her dream guests for her YouTube series, acting goals, hosting the Vanity Fair Oscars Party and more.<\/p>\n Finding success on social media seems to be part luck, consistency and finding a niche. Having found your home in the comedic space, talk to me about finding the content you love creating.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you look at the greatest comedians of all time \u2014 Katt Williams, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, all of the funniest people ever, especially Black people, it\u2019s not that we were trying to find our voices in comedy. If you listen to it, it\u2019s like a communal thing. My comedy doesn\u2019t stem from me trying to find where my voice fits. It stems from me trying to make my aunts and uncles laugh at the table and going toe to toe with the funniest people in my family and getting a joke off of them that I was funny. So then it was just like, let me tell these jokes that I tell myself in the way that I know how to tell jokes. And it just resonated with people.<\/p>\n In a world where so many things are photoshopped and made to seem perfect, you present a very authentic and personable personality online. Is maintaining that relatable persona important for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it\u2019s the only way to do it. I started creating on the internet before the terms influencer and creator were even conceptualized. \u2026 I think the reason people like watching me is because it doesn\u2019t feel like I\u2019m trying to optimize them or fit into whatever mold society wants me to be. It feels like they\u2019re talking to a friend because I am just the friend on the other side of the phone.<\/p>\n You fall out of the general vibe when you start to try to shift yourself to be whatever you think the algorithm wants you to be. The algorithm\u2019s not a person. The algorithm will give you viral videos, but a couple million likes but no connection to an actual person for a sustained period of time doesn\u2019t mean anything.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve been doing this for some time, so what are your future goals with social media?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t see myself going anywhere really next in the social media space because I feel like I\u2019m everywhere. I\u2019m looking at it more as, where do I want to venture into the entertainment space because that\u2019s what I am at my core. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m an influencer at my core. I\u2019m a creator. I think that\u2019s why I\u2019ve been able to sustain this career because I\u2019m not trying to influence anyone. I\u2019m trying to entertain people. So the way that I like my career as an entertainer to evolve is to do more acting projects. \u2026 Especially in these hectic times, I just want to continue to be that place of solace for my community in whatever way that takes shape.<\/p>\n Your YouTube series Feeding Starving Celebrities has really resonated with your fans. How did the idea for the show first come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n The show first came about because my friends Lil Nas X and Destin Conrad, both musicians, were like, \u201cLet\u2019s go party.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cY\u2019all have music as a sustaining career. I need to make a video. I haven\u2019t made a video because I\u2019ve been hanging out with everyone in L.A. so much. I need to make a video. I need to give to the people who\u2019ve got me in L.A. I\u2019m not doing anything except for making a video right now.\u201d And they\u2019re like, \u201cOK, shit, what do you want to do?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t know, cook.\u201d<\/p>\n So they\u2019re like, \u201cWhat do you want to cook?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ll just DoorDash Uber Eats some groceries.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cLet me just film it.\u201d And that was the first episode. \u2026 There\u2019s more episodes of me with friends than there is with me and people I don\u2019t have some type of repertoire with. A majority of people I know from socializing in the entertainment industry. So it\u2019s a really honest show.<\/p>\n The series has a way of bringing out a very human and personable side of the celebrities. Is that your goal with every guest?<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course! I\u2019m also a public figure and I know how it feels to go on an interview show and it literally feels like you\u2019re in a fever dream of the same thing happening every time versus when they come on my show, I\u2019m like, \u201cYou have complete freedom to take anything out that you don\u2019t like. I\u2019m not trying to get you. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about. I just want you to feel comfortable. Let\u2019s have fun. Everyone is under an NDA. You\u2019re safe, you\u2019re safe, you\u2019re safe.\u201d Because so many times people like salacious things, they like clicks, they like whatever would get them views. And that\u2019s when you get a not-real person because they have all their defenses up. But on my show, you don\u2019t need to have all your defenses up because I don\u2019t want anything from you except for you to have a good time. I just want to have a new friend.<\/p>\n Do you have a dream guest?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Both guest and friend dream: Inde [Navarrette] from Obsession. Literally live for her, live for her, live for her. Her, Odessa [A\u2019zion] \u2026 Then let me think, are there any men that I\u2019m like, \u201cOh my God, we\u2019re best friends. We just don\u2019t know it yet.\u201d This is going to sound so crazy, but literally all of my friends that I have now, all of my friends that also have entertainment careers, this is how it starts. When me and Odessa met each other, I was like, \u201cOh my God, you\u2019re crazy. I\u2019ve seen videos of you on the internet and you\u2019re such a talented person. We\u2019re going to be best friends.\u201d And then we\u2019re best friends. Same with me and Larray.<\/p>\n YouTube has pushed its way into Hollywood, highlighting its creators\u2019 content and shows. Why do you think the platform is thriving in this shifting broadcast-streaming era?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, because there\u2019s no gatekeepers to keep it stagnant. There\u2019s no private equity taking all of its value and trying to rip parts of it so it becomes valuable to whoever else. It\u2019s like whatever you want to do with your AdSense, do it. If you want to reinvest into your show, reinvest into your show. If you want to let your YouTube fall downhill while you go party with that money, do it. It gives the creator complete autonomy. I think that\u2019s why we\u2019re seeing so many writers, filmmakers come from YouTube because they didn\u2019t have to squeeze their idea because the studio said they had to fit some type of quota to make a certain thing to take the soul out of it. \u2026 I think YouTube is doing the best because it\u2019s just the most honest format to create on.<\/p>\n In addition to YouTube, you\u2019ve also dabbled in hosting, most recently the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars Party. I know there was some criticism, with some people saying that\u2019s a journalist\u2019s job. What\u2019s your thoughts on that, and what was that overall hosting experience like?<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel like to be a journalist, you just have to be curious, honestly, and know how to have a good conversation with people. People want to feel connected to these celebrities and these events. So the reason why people like me, Brittany [Broski], Jake [Shane] were invited to do something like that is because we are the conduits to connection to all of these larger-than-life celebrities. We make them feel like people, because baby, we are people. I see y\u2019all out, I see y\u2019all at Erewhon, I see y\u2019all walking on the street, you\u2019re just like me, let\u2019s talk, let\u2019s keke.<\/p>\n People who are watching things right now don\u2019t want to hear the same celebrity talk about the same press talking points. They can hear the repetition. They want to hear a celebrity they\u2019re interested in speak to someone like their friend because that\u2019s how they feel about that person. They feel a close connection to them, and that\u2019s how we talk to people versus a journalist [who] is investigative, trying to get into it. Baby, I\u2019m trying to know how many shots you\u2019re going to take. And same with the person that\u2019s watching this (Laughs). It would be different if I was hosting an event, but the red carpet to a party, all we trying to know is how you about to turn up. You had all the investigative questions on the Oscars red carpet. Baby, this is Vanity Fair. We\u2019re trying to party.<\/p>\n You made your acting debut in the HBO comedy series I Love LA, playing a dramatised\u00a0version of yourself. What was that experience like working with Rachel Sennott and your close friend Odessa?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a dream come true. I am forever grateful to Rachel Sennott for giving me the opportunity. I mean, to play a hyperalized version of myself is a feat because that\u2019s not me. That\u2019s not me at all. I literally had an anxiety attack earlier thinking about how I could go and walk in public and be just normal. Like I\u2019m a very anxious person, versus the character in I Love LA was like a queen bee princess. And it was just so nice to be able to drop my real self to give life to this character. And it made me learn more about myself too.<\/p>\n I love acting because I feel like if you grew up on the internet, you were not properly socialized in a way where you don\u2019t have your first kiss because it\u2019s time for you to have your first kiss. You have your first kiss because media told you this is how you\u2019re supposed to have your first kiss. \u2026 And I feel like acting puts you back into being a human. It puts you back into when you say these words, why are you saying them with this inflection? How do you feel about it? And that\u2019s very nice for me. It\u2019s like I\u2019m learning how to exist kind of backwards.<\/p>\n You have some pretty iconic friendships, such as with Larray\u00a0and Odessa and Billie Eilish. What\u2019s your reaction when you see how excited fans get about your personal relationships?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve all grown up together. I think the internet has never existed in any other generation ever. And you would think our audiences are parasocial; we\u2019re parasocial to each other (Laughs). I\u2019ve had so many parasocial experiences where I understand why people think I\u2019m their friend because I\u2019ve been talking to you since you were 10 years old and you\u2019ve been talking back to me. So in the human mind, that means we\u2019re friends.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what the psychological effects will be in the future. Who knows? I literally don\u2019t care. All I know is if I\u2019m feeling happy and you\u2019re feeling happy, we\u2019re all happy. As long as me, my friendships, my relationships aren\u2019t negatively impacting my audience, I don\u2019t see anything wrong with them being happy over seeing me connect with my friends because we\u2019re your friends too.<\/p>\n If you had to describe\u00a0what makes\u00a0Quenlin Blackwell, Quenlin Blackwell, what would you say?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think where I come from, the people I love, the people that love me, what the child in me is excited about, my curiosity and my wanting to constantly be in play because it makes life seem worth living to me. That\u2019s what makes me me.<\/p>\n Best of The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for THR’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Having found fame on social media, it\u2019s easy to slide Quenlin Blackwell into the influencer bucket. But that\u2019s not how she sees herself. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m an influencer at my core. I\u2019m a creator,\u201d the 25-year-old tells The Hollywood Reporter. \u201cI think that\u2019s why I\u2019ve been able to sustain this career because I\u2019m not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2460870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[34395,355498,23844],"class_list":["post-2460869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-hollywood-reporter","tag-quenlin-blackwell","tag-youtube"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Quenlin-Blackwell-Sets-the-Record-Straight-I-Dont-Think-Im.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2460869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2460871,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2460869\/revisions\/2460871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2460870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2460869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2460869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2460869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span><\/div>\n
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