Bobbi Althoff Let’s You In On The Joke
Unlike popular talent-driven platforms, such as The Zane Lowe Show or even Call Her Daddy and Smartless, which feature borderline indulgent conversations with celebrity guests over the course of an hour or more, Bobbi Althoff’s The Really Good Podcast has recently emerged as a zig to the zag of influencer and internet culture. She’s barely heard of her A-list guests, has no questions prepared, and pushes back on their media trained answers. “Monopology”, Tyga answered in her interview when asked to name his favorite board game. “Why? No one enjoys playing Monopoly, did you make that up?” Bobbi responded.
While most social personalities and influencers are positioned as themselves, Bobbi Althoff is playing a character. “You’re normal in person,” music video director Will Freeark told her in a BTS piece from a shoot with Offset for the “Jealousy” video campaign. “Thank you”, she responded. This deadpan character is inspired by, and a statement on, the absurdity of influencer culture: Bobbi presents the platform of a known social personality but stripped entirely of this celebrity archetype's sycophantic tropes. Her brand of humor is resonating, having gone from parodying mommy influencers to interviewing Drake in the span of a few weeks. Self described as a comedian, podcaster and internet personality, Bobbi has racked up over 100 million views across platforms over the last month – yet her Youtube bio remains “a social media star with over 80 followers”.
Beyond the mystery behind Bobbi’s meteoric rise to fame, fans can’t help but be in awe at her ability to humanize some of the biggest names in entertainment. Her guests welcome the most out of pocket questions, disarming even the most PR-trained celebrities through cringe. Bobbi first hit internet gold when clips from her podcast interview with comedian Funny Marco went viral. Bobbi and Marco share a similar deadpan humor, and their dry, tension-filled dynamic caught everyone’s attention -- including Drake’s. In our current influencer economy where most content creators feign an air of authenticity, Bobbi does the opposite. Her carefully crafted social persona is not only entertaining but also a breath of fresh air that is breaking through algorithms.