Atsuko Okatsuka: “TikTok allowed me to garner an audience for being me”

While the rest of us were playing it cool and avoiding the cringe, comedian Atsuko Okatsuka was busy squatting. In 2022, she sparked the viral Drop Challenge, sinking into a squat, just as Beyoncé commands “Give me something” on Partition, in random spots like down a supermarket aisle or an elevator, while her ninety-year-old Grandma Li is grinning next to her in the frame. 

Since then, Okatsuka has built a cult following: her fans, who call her ‘Mother’, have given her permission to be unapologetically herself. That confidence has fuelled a run of over a hundred sold-out shows and her recent special, Father (a tongue-in-cheek nod to traditional roles), which is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. 

Born in Taiwan to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, Okatsuka spent her early childhood in Japan. At eight, her grandmother swept her away to Los Angeles on what Atsuko recalls a “two-month vacation” that turned into a seven-year undocumented stay.

Comedy wasn’t always part of her plan, but by leaning into her story — her sense of being a “freak,” the disorientation of immigration and the experience of having a mother with schizophrenia — Okatsuka has not only built her confidence, she’s built her career.

Now, Okatsuka is gearing up for her Big Bowl Tour this month. Between workshops for Atsuko Writes A New Show and rehearsals for the tour, I catch up with the comedian to discuss being her own cheerleader, finding the balance between humour and trauma and where her dopamine-fuelled fashion sense comes from.

Congratulations on Father being streamed on Disney+ and Hulu. How does it feel having your show streamed on such large platforms?

Ecstatic that people get to experience the show I’ve been working on for two years! It’s a whole two year old I’ve nurtured, worked on and toured internationally in over a hundred cities, and now it’s up for the world to sit back and enjoy. I left my house so you didn’t have to. It’s funnier, sharper and even more me than ever, and I’m so proud of it.

You’ve embodied both the figures of ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ in your work, terms that Gen Z now use to crown icons. What did those roles mean to you growing up?

‘Mother’ meant maternal figure, since my Grandma predominantly raised me, so it just meant whoever ran things in the house, and then ‘Father’ was a harder one for me to define, since I didn’t get to live with my Dad a ton. And in Japan, it was still patriarchal back then, so it was like ‘the role of the father’ to go make money for the home. I spin that on its head now being the breadwinner in the family, challenging societal traditional norms with that definition!

In your stand-up, you bring in your family, your identity and your quirks, but never in a way that feels heavy. How do you strike that balance between vulnerability and humour? 

It’s a lot of trial and error in front of audiences, listening back to my own sets and really trying to put myself in other people’s shoes. I lived these experiences, so it’s easy to digest for me, but I have to remember it’s people’s night out when they’re listening to it. And then I adjust from there.

In Father, you joke about cheerleading being a manifestation. Why do you think cheerleading for ourselves is so important, and do you personally believe in the power of manifestation? 

Any kind of positive self-talk is important to practice. To be honest, it’s sometimes hard for me to remember for myself… Most days, actually. It’s helpful to have my husband, Ryan, so we can do it to each other. It’s simple. “You’re hot, you’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re awesome, you’re funny!” Just like that. It’s just way easier to think negative, talk negative and read about negative things. For some reason, humans tend to spiral that way. So getting ahead of it, no matter how wild or unhinged you might look, is important to survival.

You’ve said you didn’t always feel ‘cool’ growing up. Do you feel like your comedy now reclaims that outsider energy? 

For sure. It’s embracing your true self and being proud of it. The “norm” and striving for that is what’s caused a lot of our fears, anxieties and self-judgment. I want to push people to get rid of that as much as they can.

In your comedy, there’s often this mix of vulnerability and absurdity. Do you think that comes from how you were raised, or the cultures you’ve experienced growing up? 

For sure. I’m multicultural and an immigrant. When you speak different languages, you also appreciate the nuance in different meanings in words — in how people communicate and observe the world. Why is there a word for ‘someone who gets off on other people’s pain’ [schadenfreude] in German, but not in other languages? Why is there a word for a ‘reason for being’ [Ikigai] in Japanese but not in English? It’s deep, meaningful and makes you look at the world in different perspectives to know multiple languages. And that’s where a lot of comedy can be birthed as well.

You talk a lot about survival and using humour as a coping mechanism. How do you take care of yourself outside the punchlines? 

Oh gosh, I’m still learning it. I just got a therapist for the first time in a long time. And also acupuncture.

TikTok turned your drop challenge into a global moment. How did that dance with Grandma Li shift your creative trajectory thirteen years into stand-up to touring?

It allowed me to garner an audience for being me; gave me permission to authentically be myself, build self-confidence and an army of people who were like, I like you and your sense of humor, what else is there? And I was like, Come see me on tour! Then boom boom. Execs also will inherently notice that, as well.

You must be very excited for The Big Bowl tour. Your bowl cut is iconic but previously you’ve said that it used to make you feel like a freak. What would you say to your younger self?

Girl, people are gonna be showing up with our hair to our shows one day.

How do you go about putting your shows together?

There’s a lot of gut instinct, flow of energy and laughter that I curate. And thinking about the bigger picture — what do I wanna talk about? And also what I’ve experienced lately.

You said you dress brightly with fun patterns to make other people happy. Who is your fashion inspiration? 

Mrs. Fizzle from Magic School Bus. Art gallery owners. Bright colours and patterns, artfulness make me happy. 

You’re usually the one making others laugh. What are three things that bring you joy in your own life (other than clapping at the end of a flight)? 

I love the creator @afrobysara on Instagram. We’ve become friends and even collaborated together when I was in Dubai, where she lives with her family. She’s super silly like me and features her family, and she’s just really refreshing as a voice. Also I’m obsessed with Hamilton and I love any trends that come out of it. Most recently, the song ‘Best of Wives and Best of Women’ being used as mostly Gen-Zers dress up as Hamilton as they try to ‘sneak out’ of their home. Also, I love animals doing silly things being characterised as toxic traits humans do. 

For your tour, what can audiences expect that is different to Father? 

A bit more on me maturing.