With the sudden and world-changing emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic came the explosion of social media, especially TikTok. At this point in 2020, the app had come relatively far from its roots as Musical.ly, but quarantine is what really skyrocketed it to an unprecedented level of popularity. With this boom in popularity came TikTok celebrities, one of who went viral right at the beginning of the pandemic for trying kombucha for the first time.
Brittany Broski’s was the face that hilariously contorted in a disgusted response to the drink. The young woman, her blonde hair in a low ponytail, took a sip from the bottle before making hilarious facial expressions. Soon, the video was all over the internet; I distinctly remember seeing it first on TikTok, then reposted on Twitter, then Instagram. But when I first saw the video when it came up on my TikTok “For You” page, I laughed hysterically, immediately following her. Over the past two-and-a-half years, her audience has grown immensely, and her content has evolved, too–she’s now expanded to YouTube and podcasting.
Every time I do my laundry here at school, I try to contain my hysterical laughter as I listen to her podcast, “Violating Community Guidelines,” in which she and Sarah Schauer, former Vine star and current TikTok influencer, discuss various internet phenomena. I thought Brittany was funny, but when Sarah gets added into the mix, things become even more hilarious. On YouTube, Brittany does anything from cooking to makeup, while, of course, dropping jokes. On her TikTok accounts, Brittany addresses her fans as “Broski Nation.” She uses various incredibly accurate accents, my favorites being her British Essex accent, akin to those seen on the show “Love Island,” and her southern accent (which I’m sure she’s had a lot of practice with, having grown up in Texas).
She’s so special to me because she rejects so much of performative womanhood. She renounces the idea that women can’t be funny and empowers her viewers in the process, challenging us all to be our authentic selves despite what others think. She makes content for her audience and nobody else in such a bold and fearless way. And, of course, she’s absolutely hilarious. Brittany is a comedy pioneer for our generation and I cannot wait to see what she does next.
On a more personal level, Brittany’s content resonates with me because her sense of humor is so aligned with mine and my sisters’. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how, but her jokes feel so alike to the jokes we make with each other. Now that we are all out of the house, one sister five hours away from me and the other just over one hour away, we bond by sending each other Brittany’s videos, and we even quote them in our frequent FaceTime conversations. The only rift it has caused is that my older sister, who lives in Chicago, is seeing “Violating Community Guidelines” live on tour next month, and I am so incredibly jealous that I cannot feel happy for her just yet.