While Amy Poehler might be one of the most prolific comedians on TV, she hasn’t embraced all comedic mediums. The former Saturday Night Live star lives perpetually in YouTube clips of her best work on the variety show, and starred in a number of movies including Sisters, Baby Mama, Mean Girls, and as a voice actor in Inside Out.
For all her success as the perpetually sunny Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation, and now running her own production company, Poehler hasn’t cracked the code in adding social media quips to her repertoire. And while some might assume she’s simply not interested, that’s not quite the truth. In fact, Poehler is a big fan of some of the platforms — she’s just not sure she’s going to move beyond lurking and admiring what other content creators are already doing.
Amy Poehler has many social media accounts but doesn’t post
With Emmy and Golden Globe awards under her belt, it’s clear that Poehler is a comedic darling. She’s hosted her share of awards shows, and makes frequent rounds on the late-night press circuit with old SNL pals Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. She’s launched her own production company, Paper Kite Productions, and is underwriting projects like Russian Doll and the 2022 documentary Lucy and Desi, about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
For all her work though, she doesn’t count social media posting among it. Poehler has verfied accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. but hasn’t posted on any of them. That said, it doesn’t mean she’ll never join in on posting, Poehler said in a recent interview.
Poehler said you ‘can’t just barge in’ to TikTok
Poehler doesn’t need to turn into the next Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Elyse Myers, or Jeremy Scheck to garner a large TikTok following. Without posting a single thing, she already has more than 85,000 followers on her blank account. For now, though, Poehler is biding her time.
“I haven’t posted any TikToks yet,” Poehler said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. “Because I have high respect for TikTok. I love it.” For the comedian, it’s less about being savvy enough, and more about having the right perspective for how to serve fans well on the platform. “I know that the creators on TikTok…you’ve got to earn your place,” Poehler said. “You can’t just barge into TikTok and be like, ‘Hi, I’m here.’”
Poehler was quick to say several times that she hasn’t posted yet, leaving the door open for potential content coming from the ever-hilarious creator. However, if the time comes, know that it was an effort with significant investment behind the scenes. “I’m Gen X…we’re just going to take it slow. Literally, also, because we hurt our knee,” Poehler explained, in self-deprecation for her age and, perhaps, her dancing acumen.
As a child, Poehler practiced the art of comedy far before she stepped onto a stage or in front of a screen. “I did like the feeling of knowing I could make people laugh, or if I tried to be funny it would work,” she told CBS. “Sometimes I didn’t try, and I got laughs, and that was sad. Those were sad days.”
Poehler, now 51, considers herself “lucky” that social media didn’t exist for her to Tweet all of her thoughts and feelings when she was growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s. “Everybody says their feelings in real-time, out loud. And then it’s kept in a digital drawer,” she said.
Despite the fact that previous comments, even comedic content, can be judged years later because of social media and online archives, Poehler said the chance to learn and grow through mistakes — or just time passing — is always there. “One hopes that you’re different than you were 20 years ago. One hopes that you’ve learned some things about how the world works.”
