Andrew Ti is the creator of the blog and podcast Yo, Is This Racist? This week, I asked him to tell me about three of his favorite tweets, and we talked about Star Wars, Bulworth, and tweets that have stuck with him over time.
“MILLENNIAL FALCON!!!!??!?!” - this is definitely written a whiteboard at some terrible marketing company right this second.
— Andrew Ti (@ANDREWTI) November 2, 2015
Ti: I used to work in sort of marketing at an entertainment company, and depressing shit like this would happen all the time, so, when the new Star Wars movie was coming out, I couldn’t resist the chance.
Do you typically prefer writing topical tweets or more evergreen ones? What kind do you like reading better?
I resent the implication that a reference to the most beloved movie franchise of all time is a topical reference, cause this tweet got legs baby!
But seriously, I prefer tweets that stand the test of time, because there is nothing about this medium that is in any way ephemeral and definitely not completely disposable.
What are your favorite non-comedy accounts to follow on Twitter?
I actually have a rule that I don’t follow anyone I don’t know personally (I think I’ve kept this up, don’t correct me if I’m wrong), so given that, I guess my favorite non-comedy account is my brother-in-law Graham.
Is this a good slogan??? Pistachios: Every Nut Begins With Pis — Andrew Ti (@ANDREWTI) November 23, 2014
This tweet is my Moby Dick. It’s the one that kills me. It didn’t do well, AND I think of it literally every single time I go to a grocery store. It’s like a slap in the face every time I shop for food, which is a basic necessity of life.
Do you have any tweets that did the opposite—like sorta haunt you but because they did better than you expected?
Yes! This one! It was funny in my head, but when I was looking at it earlier, there’s a real element of “really???” that goes through my head.
Are there any tweets by other people that have stuck with you like this one?
I guess let’s say… the Kanye West one about Bill Cosby?
Where do you do most of your tweeting?
DRIVING MY CAR!!!!!!!!!
Many things are fucked up about this world, but also every day we are getting closer to the possibility of seeing Donald Trump rap on stage.
— Andrew Ti (@ANDREWTI) August 3, 2016
I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to make a joke about how Donald Trump is just the sad, real world version of Bulworth – like, you let some old rich white guy go off, and it’s not hilarious and life-affirming, it’s the same terrifying shit we been getting from our racist white uncles since forever (I can say that because somehow, against all odds, I have a racist white uncle).
How, if at all, has the way you joke about Trump changed over this election period?
I was initially reluctant to get too into Trump stuff, both because I’m not the best at political stuff (feel free to disagree with me here), and because it feels kind of too easy. But at some point, the floodgate broke, and I went all in with my cheap, hack, terrible Trump tweets. It’s ok, the election’s almost over.
Jenny Nelson lives and writes in Brooklyn.
