Having gained fame on social media, it’s easy to include Quenlin Blackwell in your content creator and influencer pool. But that’s not how she sees herself.
“I don’t think I’m creative at heart,” the 25-year-old says. “I’m an artist.” Hollywood Reporter. “I think that’s why I’ve been able to maintain this career because I’m not trying to influence anyone. I’m trying to entertain people.”
After rising to fame as a teenager in Texas a decade ago with her comedy videos on the now-shuttered Vine app, she later took her fan base to YouTube and TikTok, where she has amassed more than 16 million followers across the platforms.
“I’ve had a lot of antisocial experiences where I understand why people think I’m their friend because I’ve been talking to you since you were 10 and you’ve been talking to me,” says Blackwell, who now lives in Los Angeles. “So in the human mind, that means we’re friends.”
As she continues to introduce her lifestyle and comedy videos to fans, Blackwell has also expanded her content by launching her own original series on YouTube, Feed hungry celebritieslast year. Its popularity has only grown, attracting stars like Charli xcx, Tyriq Withers, and Lil Yachty to make guest appearances.
As for her personal ambitions, Blackwell has also taken up acting, making her debut on the Rachel Sinnott-led HBO show. I love Los Angeles. Below, she gets candid about how she found her home in comedy, her dream guests for her YouTube series, her acting goals, hosting the Vanity Fair Oscars Party and more.
Achieving success on social media seems to depend in part on luck, consistency, and finding a niche. Now that you’ve found your home in comedy, talk to me about finding content you love creating.
If you look at the greatest comedians of all time — Katt Williams, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, all the funniest people ever, especially black people, it’s not that we were trying to find our voices in comedy. If you listen to it, it’s like a community thing. My comedy doesn’t come from trying to find the right place for my voice. It stems from 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 out of them that I was funny. So it was like, let me tell these jokes that I tell myself the way I know how to tell them. It resonated with people.
In a world where so many things are photoshopped and made to look perfect, you present a very authentic and stylish persona online. Is keeping that persona relevant important to you?
I think this is the only way to do it. I started creating online content before the terms “influencer” and “creative” were even conceived. … I think the reason people like to watch me is because I don’t feel like I’m trying to improve them or fit into whatever mold society wants me to be. It’s like they’re talking to a friend because I’m just the friend on the other side of the phone.
You go out of your way when you start trying to transform yourself into what you think the algorithm wants you to be. An algorithm is not a person. The algorithm will give you viral videos, a few million likes but not having contact with a real person for a long period of time means nothing.
You’ve been doing this for some time, what are your future goals with social media?
I don’t see myself going anywhere next in social media because I feel like I’m everywhere. I’m looking at it more, where I want to venture into entertainment because that’s who I am at my core. I do not believe that I am inherently creative. I am an artist. I think that’s why I’ve been able to maintain this career because I’m not trying to influence anyone. I try to entertain people. So the way I would like my career as an artist to develop is to do more acting projects. … Especially in these hectic times, I just want to continue to be a place of solace for my community in whatever way that takes shape.
Your series on YouTube Feed hungry celebrities It really resonated with your fans. How did the idea for the show first come about?
The show first came about because my friends Lil Nas So I was like, “You have music as a sustainable career. I need to make a video. I didn’t make a video because I was hanging out so much with everyone in L.A. I need to make a video. I need to support the people who supported me in L.A. I’m not doing anything but making a video right now.” And they say, “Okay, my God, what do you want to do?” I say: “I don’t know, cook.”
So they say, “What do you want to cook?” I say, “I don’t know. I’m just going to grab some groceries from DoorDash Uber.” And I say, “Let me just film it.” That was the first episode. … There are more episodes of me with friends than there are of me and people I don’t have any kind of repertoire with. The majority of people I know through social media are in the entertainment industry. So it’s a really honest show.
The show has a way of bringing out the very human and personable side of celebrities. Is this your goal with every guest?
naturally! I’m also a public figure and I know what it’s like to be on an interview show, and it’s literally like you’re in a fever dream and the same thing happens every time. For them to come on my show, I’m like, “You’re completely free to take anything you don’t like. I’m not trying to get you down. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about. I just want you to feel comfortable. Let’s have fun. Everyone’s under an NDA. You’re safe, you’re safe, you’re safe.” Because a lot of times people like smut, they like clicks, they like everything that might get them views. That’s when you get someone who’s not real because they have all their defenses. But on my show, you don’t need to step up all your defenses because I don’t want anything from you except for you to have a good time. I just want to have a new friend.
Do you have a dream guest?
A dream of both guest and friend: Indy [Navarrette] from mania. Literally live for it, live for it, live for it. Her, Odessa [A’zion] …Then let me think, are there any guys who are like, “Oh my God, we’re best friends. We don’t know it yet.” This is going to sound so crazy, but literally all the friends I have now, all my friends who also have jobs in entertainment, that’s how it starts. When Odessa and I met each other, I said: “Oh my God, you’re crazy. I’ve seen videos of you on the Internet and you’re a talented person. We’ll be best friends.” And then we are best friends. Same with me and Ray.
YouTube has made its way into Hollywood, highlighting the content and performances of its creators. Why do you think the platform is thriving in this changing streaming era?
Well, because there are no guards to keep it stagnant. There is no private equity that takes all of its value and tries to rip off parts of it so that they become valuable to everyone else. It’s like whatever you want to do with your AdSense, do it. If you want to reinvest in your offering, reinvest in your offering. If you want to let your YouTube crumble while you go celebrate with that money, go for it. It gives the creator complete independence. I think that’s why we see a lot of writers and filmmakers coming from YouTube because they didn’t have to push their idea because the studio said they had to fit into some kind of quota to make a certain thing to get the soul out of it. …I think YouTube does the best it can because it’s the most honest format to create.
In addition to YouTube, she has also dabbled in hosting, most recently in 2026 Vanity gallery Oscars ceremony. I know there’s been some criticism, some people saying that’s a journalist’s job. What do you think about that, and how was the hosting experience in general?
I feel like being a journalist, all you have to do is be curious, honest and know how to have a good conversation with people. People want to feel connected to these walkers See these events. That’s why people love me, Brittany [Broski],Jake [Shane] We were invited to do something like this because we are conduits for all these larger-than-life celebrities. We make them feel like human beings, because, honey, we are human beings. I see you all out there, I see you all in Erewon, I see you all walking down the street, you’re just like me, let’s talk, let’s laugh.
People watching things now don’t want to hear the same celebrities talking about the same journalistic talking points. They can hear the repetition. They want to hear from a celebrity who is interested in talking to someone like their friend because that is how they feel about that person. They feel very connected to them, and that’s how we talk to people versus a journalist [who] He is investigating, trying to get to it. Honey, I’m trying to figure out how many shots you’re going to take. The same goes for the person watching this (He laughs). It would be different if I was hosting an event, but the red carpet is for a party, all we’re trying to figure out is how it’s going to come out. You’ve had all the probing questions on the Oscars red carpet. Dear, this is it Vanity gallery. We’re trying to celebrate.
She made her acting debut in the HBO comedy series I love Los Angeles-Play a dramatized version of yourself. What was it like working with Rachel Sinnott and your best friend Odessa?
It was a dream come true. I am forever grateful to Rachel Sinnott for giving me this opportunity. I mean, playing a hyper version of myself is an amazing accomplishment because that’s not me. This is not me at all. I literally had an anxiety attack earlier when I thought about how I could go and walk in public and be normal. Like I’m a very anxious person, as opposed to the character in it I love Los Angeles She was like a queen bee princess. And it was so beautiful to be able to let go of my real self to give life to this character. And it made me learn more about myself too.
I love acting because I feel like if you grow up on the internet, you’re not going to be properly socialized in a way where you’re not going to have your first kiss because it’s time to have your first kiss. You had your first kiss because the media told you that’s how your first kiss was supposed to be. …And I feel like acting brings you back to being human. It brings you back when you say these words. Why do you say them in this way? How do you feel about that? This is very nice to me. It’s as if I’m learning how to live backwards.
You have some special friendships, like your friendships with Larray, Odessa, and Billie Eilish. What is your reaction when you see how excited fans are about your personal relationships?
We all grew up together. I think the Internet has never existed in any other generation. You may think that our audience is antisocial; We are antisocial to each other (He laughs). I’ve had many social experiences where I understand why people think I’m their friend because I’ve been talking to you since you were 10 and you’ve been talking to me. So in the human mind, this means we are friends.
I don’t know what the psychological effects will be in the future. Who knows? I literally don’t care. All I know is that if I feel happy and you feel happy, then we’re all happy. As long as I and my friendships and relationships don’t negatively impact my audience, I don’t see anything wrong with them being happy to see me connecting with my friends because we’re your friends too.
If you had to describe what makes Quinlyn Blackwell, Quinlyn Blackwell, what would you say?
I think about where I come from, the people I love, the people who love me, what sparks the child in me, my curiosity and desire to constantly play because it makes life seem worth living to me. This is what makes me me.
