Matt Bellassai, Internet celebrity and wine afficionado, made a stop on his comedy tour at the University of Iowa on April 6. Before the big event, I sat down with Bellassai in his Harry Styles- and Beyonce-themed green room to talk college, wine and what he’s up to now that he’s taken a hiatus from Buzzfeed and his popular web show “Whine About It.”
“Currently, we’re on a mini tour around the midwest, which is a little bit scary because it’s live,” Bellassai said.
Bellassai’s live show involved a mediated question and answer session based entirely off of student-forumulated questions. His opinion on jeggings, resting bitch face and favorite type of wine were popular among University of Iowa students. Her Campus Iowa live tweeted the show. Bellassai’s walk out song of choice was “Drunk in Love,” by Beyonce, of course.
This year, Bellassai won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Social Media Star. Bellassai described the win as “humbling,” as it was the award show’s first year with the digital category.
“It was just me in a corner eating a brownie, staring at Chris Hemsworth’s ass. Just my regular fan girl self,” Bellassai said of the awards show.
Bellassai’s social media presence has rocketed to over 1.5 million Facebook followers, largely due to the popularity of his Buzzfeed web show “Whine About It.” The weekly show focused on Bellassai getting drunk off of wine at the office and whining about various topics, including Thanksgiving, horrible roommates and being an adult. The fall-themed episode was one of his favorite topics to whine about.
“I got to drink rum cider and wear a big cozy poncho,” Bellassai said.
He chose red wine for the show because he said it looks better on camera, however he really prefers chardonnay. Surprisingly enough, Bellassai isn’t a huge wine drinker, a shock to wine lovers every where.
At 25, Bellassai isn’t all that far removed from his college days. His favorite college experience was running for student government president his junior year and losing. He credits this experience with pushing him onto the Internet, specifically Tumblr and Twitter.
Bellassai was a Journalism and Political Science major at Northwestern University. Although he said those majors didn’t necessarily help him in his current career and projects, he did say the reporting skills he gained proved useful as he emerged onto the Internet.
“A lot of reporting and journalism skills are about finding truth. Comedy is about finding the truth in things,” Bellassai said.
Bellassai’s road to internet stardom began in college with the creation of his Tumblr page, which he began a few different times. His advice to college students looking to break into the Internet writing world is to be fearless when online.
“You can’t obsess about when the right time to post something is. Don’t be afraid to post. Even absolute garbage. Post it. The good stuff will rise to the top,” Bellassai said.
Now that Bellassai has signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), fans should definitely be on the look out for exciting new projects, including a national tour in the works for this summer. Bellassai’s new show “TBH” is also up and running on Facebook for fans that are devasted with the loss of their weekly fix of “Whine About It.”
“It’s different than ‘Whine About It.’ It’s more of my version of advice,” Bellassai said.
Bellassi said his decision to leave Buzzfeed was not an easy one. He is currently shopping around television networks with the hope of starting a live TV show. As for writing, Bellassai is working on his first book.
“It’s a collection of funny essays on becoming an adult, styled after Nora Ephron,” Bellassai said.
Fans, have no fear, Matt Bellassai is here to stay. Although he has left Buzzfeed, it is safe to say he won’t be leaving our computer screens or our Twitter feeds any time soon.
All Photo Credit to the lovely Sarah Nelson, Her Campus Iowa Editor-in-Chief.