Governor Josh Shapiro's office invites Philly comedian, TikToker to I-95 news conference
Alex Pearlman has been a comedian for 20 years. He also has 1.7 million followers on TikTok.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Alex Pearlman has been a comedian for 20 years. He also has 1.7 million followers on TikTok.
Thanks to his real talk, wry humor, ability to easily break things down, and uber-viral videos, he's now found himself at news conferences covering big events.
"I was invited by the governor of PA to a press conference about the I-95 bridge collapse," Pearlman says in a recent TikTok.
"Yeah, I guess I'm a news guy now," he laughs.
So how, you ask, did a comedian and TikToker from the Philly suburbs become part of the press corps?
"Governor Josh Shapiro's office said, 'You know, a lot of people heard about this collapse from you, instead of from traditional media, so why don't you come out and stand next to traditional media and give some of these updates?' That was really cool."
His video, the morning I-95 collapsed, racked up two million views, including clicks from the governor and the President of the United States.
"He was so cool," Pearlman says of covering Biden's recent press event. "It was very cool. It was also just surreal."
He describes himself like this: "I'm just some guy."
His TikTok account, pearlmania500, isn't fancy, but it's inherently Philly.
He's a guy talking, mostly yelling, about everything from national issues and politics to super local events like the water crisis, the Canadian wildfire air pollution and Taylor Swift's South Philly takeover.
He's sort of the "slice of life," everyday person taking us inside the story.
"I try to just make it make sense for people," Pearlman says.
Pearlman also has a podcast.
He'll be back at the Helium Comedy Club on September 23.
