Shalewa Sharpe Knows What Your Dads Really Do on Holidays

Thanks to the coronavirus, comedians are now trapped at home like the rest of us, so we decided that while we’re all self-isolating, we’d do something a little different from our usual “Follow Friday� column. Instead of interviewing up-and-coming comedians we love on Twitter, we’re going live on Instagram every week to check in on some of our favorite people in comedy and get a firsthand look into 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 was bequeathed the distinct honor of a virtual chat with Shalewa Sharpe (Comedy Central, After After Party, in the house staying away from you plague rats) about how she’s doing with a second shutdown looming. She weighed the pros and cons of trying to write new jokes in a pandemic, got technical about all the different realms of Black Twitter, and broke down the significance of the Jeezy–Gucci Mane Verzuz through the critical lens of Older Millennial–Young Gen-X Atlanta residents. She also expressed her suspicion (as a former employee of a 24/7/365 sex shop) at the people online arguing in favor of traveling in a worsening pandemic to see their families for Thanksgiving: “We were open 24 hours … So I worked a lot of holidays,� she said. “So when I see these people out here, especially older Republican white dudes, talkin’ about ‘You need to be with your family,’ I’m just like, ‘C’mon, man, you got late fees.’�

You can find Shalewa on Twitter and Instagram at @silkyjumbo.