Newsletter
Events
Tranna Wintour on Her Viral 'And Just Like That' Insta Post and Using Social Media as a Comedian
Living for the live performance
While Anna Wintour shocked the fashion world by announcing that she’s stepping down from her day-to-day duties as Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Tranna Wintour—a stand-up comedian and writer from Montreal who has appeared on Canadian version of Big Brother and The Traitors—continues climbing the entertainment ladder.
If you hate-watch And Just Like That, you likely saw, or someone sent you, Tranna’s hilarious post jokingly insisting that HBO Max, “or whatever they’re called today,” stop releasing new episodes of the show immediately.
Here, Tranna, who has been performing for 13 years, answers some questions about how she uses social media platforms like Instagram, where she has nearly 30,000 followers, and TikTok. She also reveals her comedy hero.
MUSE: So, is Anna Wintour aware of Tranna Wintour as far as you know?
Tranna Wintour: Honestly, this is a question that has kept me up at night on several occasions. I think she’s vaguely heard of me and definitely forgotten me—in one ear and out the other. If she’s ever heard of me, it’s in one of two ways: Many years ago, a writer at the Daily Front Row profiled me because of my name. And that magazine is like the bible during fashion week. So, she may have seen it or maybe someone told her. The other possibility: Through the magic of social media, I became friendly with Jonathan Van Meter, a great guy and one of the most important writers at Vogue who has worked closely with Anna. He may have mentioned my existence to her. I have never heard from her personally. And I’m not sure I want to. I’m still scared of her.
View this post on Instagram
I loved your post asking HBO Max to stop releasing new episodes of season three of And Just Like That. I know you were just kidding. But it struck a nerve because the show is truly so bad. Can you tell me about the inspiration behind this post and the reaction you have gotten to it? Also, are you still watching And Just Like That? I have such a deep love for Carrie that I have to see it through.
I’m blown away by the reaction to that post. The most common reaction/response has been “THANK YOU FOR SAYING IT!”
I think it’s so funny that people are acting like I’ve made a very important, controversial political statement. But I also understand it because Sex and the City is foundational for so many of us. For better and for worse, it’s an actual part of who we are—and I would argue it’s mostly for the worse. Episode 3 of the current season pushed me over the edge, and I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I had to express those emotions. It literally took me three minutes to make. I just threw it up, not expecting anything. This is also why I no longer put too much time into making social media content. Because it’s always the throwaway thing you made in two seconds that pops off. The thing you love that you spent hours on will never go viral.
I want And Just Like That to be taken away from me because I know I will not be able to stop myself from watching it because I love our girls. I’m attached to them, and I’m always going to want to know what’s going on with them. But this show is an abomination.
If you were invited to appear on season 4 of And Just Like That, would you say yes?
Of course! Since they still haven’t brought her back, I would like to appear as international party girl aka hooker with a passport, Amalita’s euro trash daughter!
Why, as a comedian, do you use social media? What do you get out of it?
Honestly, I use social media because I have to, not because I want to. I’m not well-established enough not to. I’m so jealous of brilliant comedians like Julio Torres and Bowen Yang who do not have to do it because they’re so successful and established, as they should be.
For me, social media is a means of building an audience and hopefully selling tickets to my shows. Where art—even bad art, which I love and want more of—is an attempt to understand the human condition, content creation is advertising and only concerned with driving engagement: likes, clicks, views, sales. To be clear, I’m not referring to journalistic content that seeks to inform and enlighten.
And that’s not a knock on content creators. They do a highly-skilled job that requires a huge amount of time. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. I just hate the way it’s taken over the culture.
Live performance is what I truly care about and live for. Since I have to participate in the game if I want to be viable, I try to be as thoughtful, creative and entertaining as possible. I never want to waste people’s time, and I don’t enjoy speaking for the sake of speaking. I try not to fill an already overcrowded, insanely noisy digital space with more crap. If I can at least make people laugh with my content, that makes it feel a tiny bit worthwhile, because I do love to make people laugh.
I hope this all doesn’t sound super pretentious. I’m just a stupid comedian. I’m not changing the world, and I’m as addicted to social media as anyone. This is a very long-winded way of simply saying creating digital content doesn’t light me up or inspire me. What lights me up is writing new material, performing on stage and connecting and exchanging energy with a live audience. Nothing beats the performing arts—the ultimate testament to our humanity.
Have you ever worked with brands? And do you have any dream brand collaborations?
I’ve done some branded content for a Montreal-based skincare company called Omy Laboratories, and they are fabulous. It is definitely a big fantasy of mine to appear in an actual ad campaign for a cosmetics or fashion brand.
What’s the biggest challenge you face as a creative person trying to get your work into the world?
It feels like everything is a challenge. It feels like I’m still having to prove myself after 13 years, and that’s extremely frustrating. I know that I have something worth sharing with the world. If I didn’t genuinely feel that way, I would not be wasting my time with this work. I am not in it for my ego. I’m in it to share, create and exchange. And sometimes, it just feels so hard to be given a real chance to be seen. It’s so hard to get anything major off the ground.
There is a lot of backlash, hate, violence and legislation aimed at hurting trans people here in the U.S. What is the climate like where you live?
It’s a little bit better, but the rise and hate and violence towards trans people is happening in Canada too. Canada is very influenced by American culture, although Canada is not just a carbon copy of the U.S., thankfully. I feel fear, I feel rage, especially towards people like J.K. Rowling, who are using their vast resources to try to eradicate the existence of trans people. She, and everyone like her, are the scum of the earth, such losers. But while I am fearful, I refuse to allow the fear to stop me from living and doing the things I want to do with my life.
Is there anyone you can cite as a mentor or inspiration? And why have you gravitated toward comedy as a performer?
My mentor and inspiration is the legendary Sandra Bernhard. I’ve known that I was meant to be a performer from a very young age. I genuinely feel like it’s my purpose. I didn’t choose it, it’s what was given to me. Had I been able to choose, I would not have chosen this.
When I was a kid, I didn’t truly believe I could be a performer. It felt like a fantasy, and I didn’t even know how to channel my energy and need for self-expression through art. When I discovered Sandra’s work, everything clicked for me—comedy was what I had been searching for. Sandra’s comedy is so unique. She doesn’t do straight-up stand-up. Her work is so much more free-form, stylish, sophisticated and unconventional. It’s her brand of comedy I gravitated towards and not necessarily stand-up in general.
Sandra doesn’t get up on stage and just do a series of setups and punchlines. She’s a raconteuse. She’s a multidimensional, avant-garde performer, who’s also grounded and real. I feel like she has never gotten the recognition she deserves as a comedian because she’s so outside the scene, doing her own thing her way. We became friends years ago. And she has been so supportive and encouraging, which has meant the world to me. I still pinch myself that we’re friends. I truly adore her.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently in the process of developing my own TV show, a scripted limited series that I’m super excited about and praying desperately will get made. I’m always performing. People can keep up to date through my website or my newsletter. I also have a podcast called Intellectual Intercourse that is, of course, available wherever you get your podcasts!
View this post on Instagram
