Top 10 Internet Celebrities of the Year (2023)

• 01

  Brian Jordan Alvarez (TJ Mack)

  
  via Know Your Meme

  If you didn't realize before this year that sitting down feels amazing, you sure do now. This is all thanks to one man and one of his most successful alter egos creating a tune so memeable it likely had every industry plant shaking their fist in anger. 

  Actor and writer Alvarez had previously achieved a level of cult internet fame outside of his mainstream work for his 2016 webseries The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo. This year, he's enjoyed an even wilder level of success thanks to numerous characters that he has been playing on TikTok, most notably bargain lover and Sitting singer TJ Mack. 

  It was the virtues of the thing "that is the opposite of standing" that appeared to cinch him a new series on FX. However, he also has a whole host of other beloved characters, such as the ever-optimistic European Studempt or the rich and disaffected Southern Aunt. That's only a tiny sample of his creations.

• Advertisement
• 02

  SheraSeven

  
  via SheraSeven

  Ask a growing number of single women if they have a strategy when it comes to finding a relationship and they will reply something along the lines of 'sprinkle sprinkle'. This catchphrase belongs to relationship guru and male manipulator Wario SheraSeven, the amoral life coach for ladies who proudly embrace being a gold digger.

  When it comes to dating and many other topics beyond that, Shera is always fast with some quippy advice that usually centers around extracting as much money from men as possible, all while sacrificing a minimum of emotion. Real name Leticia Padua, she's been running a YouTube channel where she shares her no-nonsense wisdom for a little over a decade. However, it's only been in the past year or so when fans started copying her highlights across to TikTok.

  She's connected with a whole new audience of women convinced they're going to find themselves a 'provider' — and men terrified that they are going to be designated as a 'dusty' unworthy of a relationship. Just in case we needed another thing to make dating apps an even wilder ride.

   

• 03

  Jeremy Fragrance

  
  via jeremyfragrance

  With his own book, fragrance line, and reality series, Jeremy Fragrance is a conventional minor celebrity as well as an internet phenomenon. That's just as well, as he is nothing if not confident in all his ventures. 

  Also, the normal C-lister roll call is not his biggest attraction. To most people who spend too much time staring at screens he's just the wacky guy who takes so much pleasure in smelling things and going on off-kilter rants that his comment section is filled with fans speculating on how many "lines" contributed to his content that day.

  He bills himself as the Number One Fragrance Expert, with an enviable nose for perfume. While this remains the focus of his hugely successful TikTok and YouTube channel, most people are sticking around to make Homelander references or to see if he's going to spit up a tonsil stone again. One thing's for sure, he puts the personality into being an internet personality.

• 04

  Sabrina Bahsoon (Tube Girl)

  
  via sabrinabahsoon

  One of the more positive lessons of social media superstardom is that self-confidence can sometimes be developed in the most unconventional of ways. That was the message to be taken from Tube Girl, the woman whose claim to fame is filming herself lip syncing on the London Underground.

  While her nickname might sound like a misspelling of an early aughts shock site, Sabrina Bahsoon can sleep soundly knowing that she has inspired many to dance like nobody's watching even when they're on a crowded train full of commuters who now have to worry about not making eye contact with your phone, too. Seriously, filming yourself in a public space while concealing the identity of everyone in the background is a skill. 

   

• Advertisement
• 05

  Kyle Gordon (DJ Crazy Times)

  
  via kylegordanisgreat

  If this summer on the internet had to have a soundtrack, it would be an unholy mashup of TJ Mack's Sitting and Planet of the Bass by  DJ Crazy Times & Ms. Biljana Electronica. 

  The mastermind behind the Eurotrash 90s parody was comedian Kyle Gordan, who had gained a respectable following with his various hyper-specific TikTok skits before striking gold with a song snippet that got so much hype it got an official, full-length release. It remains to be seen if he is as much of a one-hit wonder as his alter ego, but it undoubtedly put him on the map among poptimists and meme lovers alike.

   

• 06

  Gaz (Shower Food Reviews)

  
  via gazpachomachine

  The Very Online are a group with varied tastes. Some of the things they enjoy is nothing short of depraved, others are noble. Yet more is weird, or at least captivating in a way that prevents you from looking away for minutes to hours at a time. 

  Those are a lot of different categories to fall into, but many of the most memorable moments and characters are a combination of all of the above. Enter Twitter/X user @gazpachomachine, who made a name for himself this year reviewing a plethora of different foods by how pleasurable they are to eat in the shower. Needless to say, some are more practical than others.

  Upon his rise to notoriety, people began donating money to give Gaz ever more ambitious and outlandish things to consume under running water, including a Tomahawk steak. He has even put some of his donations towards a food bank in Atlanta. What's not to love?

• 07

  Tiffany Gomas (Plane Freakout Lady)

  
  via Know Your Meme

  A 'good' Public Freakout is dependent on a delicate balance of factors. There needs to be a sense of claustrophobia in the setting, like a cashier stuck behind a counter, or a vehicle of some sort. On top of that, there should be a sense of injustice and most importantly of all, the premise should seem as outlandish to bystanders as it is plausible to the perpetrator. 

  In these respects, Tiffany Gomas delivered a pitch perfect performance on an American Airlines flight this July that went old school, mega viral. Her infamous rant about being sat next to the "motherf****r" that wasn't real prompted endless memes and speculation about what she had or hadn't seen that day. 

  Coupled with a dichotomy of endless socially aware discourse and a gross amount of public thirsting, it's hard to blame her for cashing in with a non-explanation for her behavior and a plug of her personal website. This led conspiracy theorists to speculate whether a different woman had come forward on her behalf. It was an exhausting summer.

• Advertisement
• 08

  Pinkydoll

  
  via Owen

  With the runaway success of generative AI, I have no doubt that 2023 will be remembered as the year the internet embraced the creative potential of manmade horrors. While not quite a robot, TikTok livestreamer Pinkydoll has ridden the wave of a similarly uncanny niche. 

  NPC Streaming exploded from obscure interest to full-blown postmodern meme in the middle of the year, and the woman who coined the phrase "Ice cream so good!" was right at the forefront of this. 

  Pinkydoll inspired polarizing feelings for making eye-watering sums of money by reacting like a non-playable video game character to specific gifts that her viewers sent her. While a whole host of copycats sprung up following the popularity of her livestreams, she will always be the OG of popping single kernels of popcorn with a hair straightener. 

• 09

  Bryan Johnson (Anti-Aging Millionaire)

  
  via Dustin Giallanza

  Eccentric rich people doing eccentric rich people things are an evergreen category for novelty fame. This is something that Bryan Johnson knows all too well. The 46-year-old entrepreneur has barely left our timelines this year, thanks to his mission to de-age himself back to being 18 again and beat death for as long as possible. 

  Countless podcast confessions and slay-worthy photoshoots later, those of us who spend too much time online have conclusively heard more than we ever wanted to about how many supplements he takes, or the steps he has taken to rejuvenate his genitals. I hope the dubious clout gained from targeted shockwave therapy was worth it. 

• 10

  Sabrina Brier

  
  via allreactionvids

  Relatability isn't always the most important factor in online fame (see: several other people on this list), but it can certainly help. If there is one thing that Sabrina Brier's particular brand of sketch comedy does well, it's creating awkward social situations that many people see themselves in. 

  From bumping into a friend's ex on the street to identifying the moment two close friends decide to debrief after an encounter with a nemesis, there is no subtle social faux pas that Brier isn't willing to satirize. She has cornered the market of humorous TikToks that capture moments in the life of older Gen Z viewers while also having great export value to chime with aging millennials on Twitter. Plus, people like her fashion sense, which helps. 

Tags