Fan Mail 002: 'Hey, it's Nikki Blonsky from the movie Hairspray'
On Cameo, and the democratization of celebrity relationships
Prior to this past week, Nikki Blonsky would cross my mind about once or twice a year, namely when that Wendy Williams clip would make the rounds. Now, I’ve been thinking about Tracy Turnblad daily thanks to her Cameos circulating. If you haven’t been privy to the videos, the former actor starts nearly all her messages with, ‘Hey, it’s Nikki Blonsky from the movie Hairspray,’ then proceeds to read stilted birthday or congratulatory messages off her screen while mugging a Smile (2022)-worthy grin at her front-facing camera, directly into our souls. Sometimes, she breaks into song. It’s impossible to look away.
According to her IMDb page, Nikki is still a working actor, though you probably won’t have seen her lately unless you watched the TV movie, Every Breath She Takes, or the Peacock Original, Bosco. Thus, Cameo – a playground for celebrities of ranging fame levels (though it mainly leans D-list) who are looking to make some extra cash, and potentially retain some cultural relevancy.
The platform is fascinating. I first heard about it when the pandemic started, and was intrigued by the idea of being able to get the red-headed actor from That’s So Raven to make a personalized message for the cost of a SKIMS tank top. I even purchased a couple for friends and family, who were delighted to receive videos from Pamela Des Barres and a The Young and the Restless cast member respectively. Rather than try to catch a celebrity’s attention in the comments of an Instagram livestream, or waiting for an autograph on the edge of a red carpet, Cameo aims to democratize fan-celebrity relationships.
One camp could think of this as a win-win situation: actors and artists in a dry spell can maintain a source of consistent income, all while making a stranger’s day. However, it’s a transaction, and therefore, clinical; these figures aren’t our friends, they are being paid for a service that Cameo takes a cut from (and as this NYT report states, the company is funded by venture capitalists, and has become ensnared in some typical tech start-up controversies).
What I find just as interesting, if not more, than the Cameos themselves, is the reaction videos of people receiving them. The shrieks, the hands covering the face in disbelief. Ryan from Texas is always Ryan from Texas, but when Nikki Blonsky acknowledges his name and location – his existence – it makes him feel more real. As opposed to looking in a mirror and saying your name until it loses meaning, there is a power and (false) sense of reality in someone who has been present in your life, through a screen or otherwise, shouting you out.
I went to a Maggie Nelson talk/book signing last year and stared at her signature inside my copy of Like Love on the bus ride home. ‘To Hannah!’ she wrote. I was in a line with hundreds for the signing and our interaction was insignificant. But seeing my name in her handwriting – thick, black Sharpie, the urgency of the exclamation mark – felt nearly as affirming as her work itself.
There is now a borderline-cottage industry of NBIs (Nikki Blonsky Investigators) who are diving into her personal life, controversies, and career, providing fodder for Wikipedia, and morbid entertainment for the rest of us. She has raised her rate due to demand, like an Uber surge (you can also rate Cameo members, naturally). This burst of popularity will surely pass; it always does. But whether it’s Nikki Blonsky or the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld or a retired soap star – if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.
Bonus content of the week: the only appropriate way to react to seeing Dolly Parton in the flesh.
Thank you for reading! I will try not to let my next dispatch be another five months from now…
Loved this 🔥