Nikita Redkar has quickly become a viral sensation with her unique blend of humor and insightful commentary on current events. With over one million followers across TikTok and Instagram, she has redefined the way news is consumed, injecting wit and a distinct feminist perspective into the conversation. Her popular segment, “For the Girls,” has garnered attention for its ability to break down complex issues into relatable, often comedic, narratives that resonate with a diverse audience.
In this interview, Nikita discusses the inspiration behind her content, her approach to tackling geopolitics with a modern twist, and the challenges of balancing entertainment with impactful commentary. Her work goes beyond comedy, as she continues to inspire young women and marginalized communities to engage with the world around them in new and empowering ways.
What inspired you to start creating content that blends humor with current events?
In college, I was obsessed with The Daily Show and Colbert Report! It taught me a lot about comedy, punching up, and, most importantly, when things just cannot be made funny. Then I started doing standup comedy where I was always told to tone down the politics, but then what would I talk about? Even bad dating stories boil down to politics! It’s in everything! It wasn’t until starting TikTok that I tried to explain the news in a digestible, silly twist.
Your segment “For the Girls” has become incredibly popular. How do you decide which topics to cover, and what do you hope to achieve with this series?
It’s hard to decide what to cover as there is so much constantly going on, but at this point, I understand my audience enough to know what’s important to them. Usually, it’s topics related to feminism, queer culture, and laughing at billionaires. I also think countries’ relationships and alliances with each other – the West, NATO, economic trade partners, etc – are so cliquey. It’s giving high school cliques but with nuclear codes. If you boil geopolitics down to that, it makes it less daunting to understand.
How do you ensure your content remains both entertaining and impactful?
I make sure I’m factual before I’m funny! The underlying emotion in all my videos is a desperation to get people to care about something important going on in the world, which impacts our lives in a real way. The more sarcastic I get in my videos, the more it’s emotionally affecting me. And humor is a way that I deal with heavy, horrifying subjects.
With over one million followers, how do you handle the responsibility of being a content creator who not only entertains but also informs and inspires?
Being a political creator with a million followers is an impossible space to be in. Even if you sit down with your best friend to discuss politics, eventually, you’ll come to a point where both of you disagree. Now multiply that by a million people. It’s impossible to say the correct thing to please everyone. I just have to be extremely convincing in my words and hope that the people who agree with me will back me up. Of course, many will disagree, and I love having those conversations! As long as it’s not mean-spirited.
How do you see your role evolving in the future, and are there other areas of content you’re interested in exploring?
Definitely want to explore long-form content on YouTube and in the podcasting space. I’ve been doing a minute and a half videos for over a year now, and a lot of those topics can be extended way more!
With your unique approach to current affairs, what impact do you hope to have on your audience, particularly young women and marginalized communities?
I hope my girlies (gender-neutral) know you don’t have to conform to a brand of seriousness and masculinity to be informed and smart! I’ll be ecstatic if I can achieve half of what Elle Woods in Legally Blonde does.
What advice would you give to aspiring content creators who want to make a difference through their work?
Don’t wait to have a niche, start making content and you will find one through trial and error.
Looking ahead, what are your goals for your content, and are there any topics or projects you’re particularly excited to tackle in the near future?
If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s thinking of projects and never starting them! But on the off chance I do, I want to get into long-form content as I mentioned. I want to collaborate more with other news content creators. I have an idea for a documentary. And I’d love to write a book on being a content creator + how omnipresent the internet is in all of our lives.
Follow Nikita Redkar on TikTok and Instagram.
Photography: Artemis Szekir-Rigas
