Emily Richardson doesn’t really care anymore

Former head writer of The Sketchersons and contributor to the celebrity gossip blog DListed, Emily Richardson is a Toronto comedian known for big characters with a pop culture edge. Over the pandemic, she amassed a 161.1k following on TikTok after one of her videos getting noticed by Lil Nas X. I sat down with her to talk about her career and life on TikTok.

How did you get your start in comedy?

I was a child obsessed with sitcoms and TV. The Kids in the Hall, SCTV, all that. I was obsessed with Seinfeld. I always secretly wanted to do it, but never admitted it — because it's scary! I went to university to major in English, just because I thought it was safe, even though it's not safe at all. But my English class was on a Friday morning at 8:30, so I just didn't go to half of them, and I only got like a 60 in the course. So I thought, might as well major in theater.

Do you have any specific comedic influences?

Like many "nerdy teen girls who secretly wanted to be funny", Tina Fey was a huge inspiration back in the mid-2000s. I moved to Toronto with the intention of taking Second City classes. But I chickened out. And I remember reading Bossypants and being like, "fuck this is like my dream." But I had a lot of confidence issues, and I didn't end up taking classes at The Second City until three/four years after I moved here. I was afraid people would think I was deluded. I think it also had to do with body image issues and the fact that I was kind of overweight. I always thought, "Oh, not me. I couldn't possibly!" Now I look back and regret waiting so long. So silly.

I find that every comedian is a bit  delusional, because it's weird to put yourself out there as a comic. Even now, you do TikTok videos very well, and I've always found that very vulnerable.

Chris, that's very nice of you to say, but as much I love TikTok, it tortures me. Last March, I took the plunge and just made one, but the pressure plagues me. If I don't do one for two weeks, I feel guilty. Then I'll do one, and it won't do well, and I'll delete it. And then I'll worry that deleting it has messed with the health of my TikTok page. And then the ones that do well, I feel good for like 10 minutes, and then want the next thing. I feel like I'm painting a picture of an extremely anxious woman. But TikTok has never been my number one thing. Just something I do for fun, even if it doesn't help my career. But I do hope it helps my career. I miss writing and performing live comedy like I did before the pandemic.

How has doing TikToks changed the way that you approach comedy now?

On TikTok, you have to have a simple POV. What I see often is people over complicating things — and I do it too. But doing these videos has helped me simplify. Things can be goofy for the sake of being goofy, but if you come from a place of truth, people respond to it. More than anything, my live performance experience has taught me a lot. I did a Fringe show in 2019 called IT Girls and had a ball. I can't read music or play any instruments, but I love writing comedy lyrics and parody songs. I got to write songs with Ayaka Kanagawa, who's just an amazing genius and collaborator. I'd come in with lyrics, she'd start playing music and then by the end, we'd have a song. The main thing I learned from that is how to write a long script. Now I write for a celebrity gossip site DListed, and that's fun, because that's also comedy. It's made my jokes better.

I know getting a sudden, huge following can be a lot. How did you manage that?

I've been pretty lucky considering I'm not a standard hot girl. Don’t get me wrong, I have confidence and think I’m beautiful. But online, god forbid you're plus sized or anything. There's the odd comment that calls me a “man in a wig” — that was one for a while. When I do stuff about romance or anything sexual, a couple people will write stuff like, "who would hook up with you?" I don’t really care anymore. I think that two or three years ago that would have bugged me. But now, no.

What is a piece of advice you have for someone starting to do comedy?

Just make content. I am such a perfectionist, and I’ve put stuff off because I was scared it wasn't going to be good. I read some quote from Abbi Jacobson that was, I mean it's nothing groundbreaking, to just write until it's not shit anymore. You're going to write so much shit. But you have to write through it, because you're not going to get any better if you don't. It's torture to put out stuff that you're not completely proud of, but it's necessary.

Catch Emily Richardson at The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival on March 24 as part of the TikTok Masterclass for Comedians panel, and on March 26 as part of the Sketch Showcase at 8:30pm. www.torontosketchfest.com