The Media Finally Notices TikTok Sensation Julian Sewell

During a casual TikTok scroll, I happened upon the hilarious Julian Sewell, whose award-season TikTok videos are more exciting than the Oscars themselves. I always figured sooner or later Sewell would hit the big time. And now, David Mack has profiled Sewell and his iconic character, Paloma Diamond, for Vulture.

The fictional actress is the creation of Julian Sewell, 28, whose TikTok video parodying awards-show introductions has since been seen more than 19 million times on that platform alone since it was posted in March 2023. The spoof saw Sewell don a series of bad wigs to play five Best Actress nominees in snippets from fake films (including the ingeniously named Awake, Alone, and Aware on the Streets of Topeka, Kansas), but it was Paloma, with her sharp silver bob and smug confidence, who stole the show.

Since Sewell’s first video, Paloma has become a stalwart of film memes and viral jokes, especially among the terminally online. “Paloma Diamond Updates,” “Paloma Diamond PR Manager,” and “Paloma Diamond’s Fan Club President” are the names of actual accounts on X. People talk about her on TikTok as if she’s real and say they’ll take a week off work if she doesn’t win an Oscar. Gay men name their trivia teams in her honor. There are fan cams. “This past year has just been the year of Paloma Diamond,” Sewell told me in an interview from his home in Auckland, New Zealand, where he works as a teacher.

If they wanted to be super hip and funny, the Oscars could integrate Sewell’s videos and invite Paloma Diamond to the Oscars. Make it happen, people.

Read more over at Vulture. In the meantime, here are some funny videos by Sewell.

This might be my favorite one (although it’s impossible to choose):

Just so good:

@juliansewell

Replying to @Chloe Young Picture of The Soul Trailer is OUT #oscars #oscars2024 #oscar #film #movie #palomadiamond #lorelailynch #sashaalexander #daphnecortezon #michellebradleyspencer #trailer #drama #bestactress #hollywood #lore #fyp

♬ original sound – Julian Sewell

@juliansewell

#palomadiamond #paloma #hollywood #actress #acting #movie #film #tv #usa #us #uk #la #ny #nyc #press #tv #celebrity #celebculture #popculture #fyp

♬ original sound – Julian Sewell