Nika Lomazzo Urges Caution When Kissing Your Friends on the Mouth

Thanks to COVID-19, comedians are trapped at home like the rest of us, so we decided we would do something a little different from our usual “Follow Friday� column while we’re all isolating. Instead of interviewing up-and-coming comedians we love on Twitter, we’re going live on Instagram every week to check in with some of our favorite people in comedy to get a firsthand look at how they’re handling the pandemic. So welcome to our new version of the column, now titled “Follow (From a Safe Distance) Friday.�

This week I got all done up to catch my light with Nika Lomazzo (the podcast Best Mistakes, Twitter, cyberflirting with the disgraced former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts) for a chat about how she’s doing at the start of yet another pandemic winter. She told us the tale of her run for Rhode Island state representative at the tender age of 22, waxed poetic on the topic of platonic soul mates who also kiss on the mouth, and encouraged us all to make mistakes (and then share them with her so she can discuss them on Best Mistakes, which she co-hosts with comedian Anya Volz). She also gave some excellent advice about how to maintain as healthy a balance of chaos in life as she does: “Be as real with yourself as possible; do constant, constant check-ins. Being chaotic in a controlled setting is a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of work to be this chaotic. Find that friend who you feel absolutely no judgment from, and be chaotic with that friend. Having a partner in chaos, I think, keeps you grounded.�

You can find Lomazzo on Twitter and Instagram at @NikaLomazzo.