Mercedes Blanche says people often form an opinion about her before she has even had the chance to speak. The social media creator and actress told The Blast exclusively that her appearance can lead audiences to expect a softer personality, something she enjoys challenging with deadpan delivery and darker humor.
Rather than feeling limited by those assumptions, Blanche has made the contrast between her appearance and personality part of what sets her apart. “People expect me to be nice and quiet and pretty, and then I’m just the opposite,” Blanche told The Blast. “People expect something else, and I’m something else.”
For Blanche, comedy has become one of the clearest ways to push back against those assumptions. She has trained with both the Upright Citizens Brigade and The Groundlings and performs improv in Los Angeles. Her online material ranges from puns and dad jokes to darker comedy.
“Comedy has always been a huge part of my life,” Blanche exclusively told The Blast. “I do comedy on social media, which eventually made me go viral.”
Blanche Calls Out The Double Standard Women Face In Comedy
Blanche said one of her favorite styles of humor involves keeping an audience uncertain about whether she is being serious. “I love when you cannot tell if I’m joking or not joking,” she said. “It is very difficult to master that seriousness and still be funny because the audience needs to understand when it’s a joke.”
But Blanche said working in comedy has also made her notice differences in how audiences sometimes respond to men and women. “I was saying my part and no one was laughing, and then a man said the same thing and everyone was laughing,” Blanche told The Blast. “That was so weird.”
Mercedes Blanche Says Women Cannot Get Away With The Same Jokes As Men
She believes women can face greater scrutiny when delivering material that is controversial or more provocative. “When a man says something controversial, it’s like, ‘You’re so funny,’” she said. “When it comes from a woman, it can come across as, ‘You’re rude.’”
Blanche added, “It makes me self-conscious. I know a guy could get away with something, but I might not be able to.”
Blanche said Hollywood can create similar limitations by quickly categorizing performers based on appearance. “People put you in this box of, ‘You’re a pretty girl. Say this and do this,’” she told The Blast. “If you have a look, you have to be niched down into your category. It might be action movies, the glamorous girl next door or someone running along a beach in slow motion. They really cut you into pieces, and I want to show more of myself than just the way I look.”
Social media has helped Blanche do exactly that. She began posting about seven years ago, initially sharing dancing videos, sketches and collaborations before focusing more heavily on comedy. “Then I narrowed it down to myself when I got into comedy on a deeper level, and that has been amazing for me,” she said.
Her online following has also translated into opportunities in acting. “Social media opened, I think, 90% of the doors for me in Hollywood,” Blanche told The Blast. “It’s crazy how many casting directors reach out because of my social media. I’ve had role offers because they saw me on the internet.”
Blanche appeared in Season 3 of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys,” playing X-Ray in the “Herogasm” episode, and is also developing her own horror-comedy project, “Neuro-DIE-Virgin.” But she remains eager to pursue roles that move beyond the image audiences already associate with her.
“I would love to do stunts. I would love to shave my hair,” Blanche told The Blast. “I would love to showcase what I can do as an actor and take away how I look. That would be amazing.”
