Kelon, Psyiconic, Terri Joe, Jeorgia Peach, Amethyst Jade. In a sea of content creators and viral videos, this TikTok superstar hasn’t just made a name for himself — he’s made several.
Anyone’s who’s scrolled through their TikTok “For You” page and come across a Live video has likely seen Kelon by now. Whether he’s on as the scene-stealing good Christian woman Terri Joe, socialite party girl Jeorgia Peach, witchy vampire Amethyst Jade, or another persona in his cast of characters, one thing is nearly always certain: he’s on.
His “death and taxes” level of ubiquity on the platform, his particular brand of highly entertaining chaos, and his work in the public eye as a Black LGBTQ+ person have landed him on TikTok’s “Visionary Voices” list. The initiative celebrates the work of Black creatives on the app.
When I open our exclusive chat with Kelon by complimenting his work as a Black LGBTQ+ creator, he quickly cuts me off with a questioning “LGBTQ?” Never since RuPaul gave Jimmy Fallon a heart attack with the words “Drag queen?!” has an interviewer been so shook.
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“I’m kidding!” he assures. Cue exhalation and laughter.
“It’s really cool to be able to put people that identify with you or I on the forefront, so that people can see that there’s someone to relate to,” he says of his Visionary Voices spot. “I feel like people are always searching for people to relate with to feel like they’re not alone.”
Despite his own identity, his most famed character, Terri Joe, is a devout Christian faux-white woman who’s quick to condemn any “homoseggshuh” activity. The character, who he says is inspired by True Blood‘s own resident homophobe Sarah Newlin, has somehow garnered a massive fanbase of the very same community at whom she thumps her bible.
“It’s the juxtaposition of me saying that I’m something but clearly being something else and the wild things that I say as the character,” he explains. “I think that’s what draws people. It’s such shock value.”
“Shock” is an understatement: just last month, during a hilariously heated Live with a couple of other Black folks, a guest brought up Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In a Wendy Williams-esque move shocking even herself, Terri Joe blurted out, “F*** that negro!” One guest’s amused “Terri Joe, how dare you!” could barely be heard above the laughter.
It’s that specific brand of off-the-cuff, often unhinged rapport that has garnered Terri Joe plenty of admirers in high places.
Madonna notoriously did poppers in front of her entire audience, she’s traded joking barbs with the likes of Doja Cat and Bob the Drag Queen, and she’s caused plenty of chaos with Hunter Schafer and Ziwe. Don’t even get us started on the J*mes Ch*rles episode.
One might expect ever-rising notoriety and laughing in the face of celebs to go to one’s head. Instead, this new social media mainstay seems almost unfazed.
“I’m not very into pop culture,” Kelon says with a laugh. “Just another weird thing. I just kind of float through life; whatever happens just happens.”
Even with a number of celebrity guest stars under his belt, he assures he’s anything but clout-chasing.
“They message me, and I’m like, ‘Okay,'” he says plainly. “None of that was ever planned. That’s basically how I treat the Lives as well, and how I created the characters. Everything I’ve ever done on Live was improv. It was never a thought-out plan.”
When asked about a dream guest, he states that while someone like Beyoncé would be “too iconic”, he does have one obtrusive chanteuse in mind.
“I feel like people would like for me to go Live with Lana Del Rey, just because of how much I listen to her music,” he notes. “I don’t really talk about her ever, but people know she’s my favorite artist.”
The Summertime Sadness singer has become a staple throughout the Psyiconic Universe™ just through how much her music is played in the background. Lana seems an unlikely fave for the character of Terri Joe, who made her own musical debut in a Live duet with controversial YouTube star Trisha Paytas on her song “I Love You Jesus”.
While Kelon’s characters most often see him donning a wig and some light makeup, he considers himself much more Saturday Night Live “Church Lady” than a drag artist.
“I wouldn’t consider it drag. I feel like what they do is much more hard work than what I do,” he laughs. “What I do is just slapping on a wig and a little eyeliner and going online. I feel like that would be discrediting what they do to call what I do drag.”
When I bring up a murky parallel to Tyler Perry doing drag, Kelon counters with a dry “Hmm, does he?”
Just because Terri Joe isn’t quite ready for the Drag Race main stage (“I don’t even know where I would start if I was to go on that show,” he admits), that doesn’t mean true high drag is entirely out of the question.
“Probably not performing – I’d be sweating puddles – but maybe getting dressed up, I don’t know.” He quickly recants, “Maybe even performing, who knows!”
Despite not identifying with the artform of drag, the star explains that his pronouns do follow the traditional format often encountered in that world.
“It’s never really mattered, you can call me whatever you want,” he says, though best practice is that “When I’m Kelon, it’s ‘he’; when I’m Terri, it’s ‘she’.”
This interviewer’s personal Drag Race enthusiasm aside, Kelon says he could see himself expanding into the realm of TV at some point.
“It would be beneficial to my career to expand to TV, whether it’s reality or me playing the characters or myself,” he explains. “The issue is that it could literally be anything. There’s so much that I can’t narrow it down, because on the Lives there’s so much stuff happening. It could translate to anything, whether it’d be an interview show or an actual, scripted show. It could be anything.”
For now, the creator is happy keeping his work accessible and open to the public. Though he has verified accounts blowing up his DMs, the majority of his TikTok Lives are with everyday users.
“What I enjoy about it most is the chaos!” he says. “That sounds crazy to say, but I enjoy how one second, I can be talking to someone about what they ate for breakfast, and the next, I’m asking them something totally off the wall and then being really shocked about what I just said. It’s the reactions in general. I have the most fun talking to people who are very unsuspecting of what I’m doing.”
Even though Terri Joe and Co.’s comedy isn’t always racked with sensitivity or tact, Kelon understands that his comedy and its relation to his identity are helping contribute to a more inclusive environment.
“There’s a lot of tension, whether it be racial or with LGBTQ people or just in general,” he notes. “What I do helps relieve that tension through humor. It’s touching on topics that are very hard to talk about, but making it funny. I think that’s helpful for people to not have it always be such an argument.”
In an era where many an unfunny comedian blames their bombing on “political correctness” and “cancel culture”, Terri Joe is delivering antics akin to Uncle Ruckus from Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks — and making a diverse base of supporters along the way.
The community that’s surrounded this creator is a beautiful one to see, with fan-made Wikis and sub-reddits popping up entirely unaided by the star. This constant support is made even more poignant by Kelon’s admission that his characters and irreverence stem, at their core, from a lonely place.
“I have three brothers, and they’re all presumably straight males who do straight male things,” he half-jokes. “I was always the odd one out, so it kind of forced me to go into myself and do things myself, because they didn’t want to do things with me.
“I think that’s where [Terri Joe] came from. I manifested her from childhood to now just from being in my head all the time and making things up because I had no one to play with but myself.”
Even today, there seems to remain a degree of using these larger-than-life characters to fill in a personal space.
“I always say to myself, ‘I don’t think I’m that interesting,'” he admits. “I don’t think I’m that interesting of a person as myself.”
When asked whether he’d like to share any personal note with his audience, he continues, “I feel like there isn’t much that they don’t know already. I don’t really ever talk about myself, but I can’t think of anything.”
Meanwhile, he knows exactly what his characters would give as a final note.
“Terri would like to say ‘Get help,'” he says with a laugh.
And to our Queerty readers specifically?
“She would say ‘Repent.’ Just the one word. Because you’re not living the right lifestyle for her.”
If you want to debate her, feel free to log into TikTok at any time and join one of her Lives. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
SDR94103
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