Yeah, Arjun Ramrup Uses Toner

Despite living in these frankly precedented times, we are fully existing in the future. And a futuristic lifestyle calls for a modern approach to our traditional “Follow Friday� column. We at Vulture have pivoted from our Luddite ways, opting for a more interactive digital angle on what was once mere text on a web page. We want you to get to know our favorite up-and-coming comics, writers, and generally funny social-media presences face-to-face (or at least screen-to-screen). So we hope you enjoy our new and improved Instagram Live–based version of “Follow Friday.�

This week, I sat down with Arjun Ramrup (Bit Heavy, New York Comedy Festival, using toner???) for a chat live from his parents’ ritzy attic. He spitballed some comedy-show ideas for me and him to co-host, explained the extent to which he is a dating-app menace, and divulged the secrets of his hair- and skin-care routines. He also shared a heartwarming story about a major display of allyship from one of his whitest friends: “I remember I had a little spiel that was like, ‘Well, Guyana is a nation that was a British colony where they brought Indian indentured servants and African slaves, blah, blah, blah.’ I even had that so down pat in college that one of the whitest people I know — shout-out Andrew from Texas, he’s currently doing a Ph.D. in Sanskrit in Austria — but he remembered that spiel, and one time we were at a party and he was like, ‘Arjun, I got you.’�

You can find Arjun on Twitter at @funwithjun and Instagram at @arjunarjunarjunarjunarjun.