Anania doesn’t do surface level. The internet personality, performance artist, and host of the digital quiz show Gaydar has spent years building a platform that is equal parts hilarious and intentional — advocating for her community, making queer history digestible, and landing on the Broadway stage at the same time. This year, she joined the Webby Awards’ Creator Weekend for a conversation on how Black creators continue to shape internet culture and drive global trends. We caught up with her right after to find out what she’s obsessing over, what she’s proudest of, and why she’s done saying “I can’t believe I made it.”

What are you obsessed with on the internet right now?

Honestly, Ellie the elephant has been having a moment, so good for her. Whoever’s making that wig for the elephant needs to make me one too. We’ll talk.

Tell us about Gaydar and how it came to be.

Amelia Montooth, who’s the creator of Mutuals and Gaydar, reached out to me to host the show. We’ve been doing it for almost two years now. It’s been a really awesome opportunity to diversify how my audience knows me and to get to talk to either up and coming artists and celebrities and try to shift the culture to people learning about queer legislation and culture and history in a digestible, hopefully hilarious way. It is hilarious. I try.

How did the format come together?

It was kind of a trial and error thing. Gaydar has gone through a couple of iterations and if you scroll far enough back, you’ll see different things we changed to try to get a good formula out there, something that people can expect. But we’re also always trying to throw in a surprise here and there and change up the format.

You’re also starring in Rocky Horror Picture Show on Broadway. Was that always the goal?

Absolutely. I think what a lot of people don’t realize is you don’t know everything about a creator. My experience is I started doing content because I needed a creative outlet. I knew I was into comedy, I knew that I wanted to advocate not only for myself but my direct community as well, and the best way to do that was to start making content. I was in school for musical theater while I was doing that. It’s always been the dream to get to this point where not only am I weaponizing my BFA, I’m weaponizing my platform to hopefully better advocate for myself in an audition room. I’m not starting from zero, which is really, really nice.

What film or TV show feels most indicative of New York City to you?

Season 4 of Glee — and yes, this is maybe the sixth time I’ve said on record that Glee changed my life, I promise I have more layers than that. And probably Madagascar, because it starts in New York. The zoo is in the park. That’s all I’ve got.

What is your most used emoji right now?

The crying one. People use it to laugh because it’s cooler than the laughing emoji now. Which is crazy how we’ve done that. The intention is that we’re laughing so hard that we’re crying. But there’s always that second layer that sometimes goes over some people’s heads.

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