Look up “internet sensation” in the dictionary, and you might find a photo of PinkyDoll, the “NPC streamer” who has taken social media by storm.
The 27-year-old from Montreal, who prefers to be identified by her TikTok handle, makes thousands of dollars a day live streaming herself pretending to be an NPC, or a non-playable video game character. Her livestreams are a hit on TikTok, where they’ve racked up hundreds of thousands of viewers—including celebrities like Timbaland, who was recently a top contributor to one of her streams.
On Twitter, however, the videos of her bobbing her head vacantly and emitting a rapid-fire string of nonsensical sounds in response to “gifts” from viewers—all while popping popcorn with her hair straightener—have sparked mass confusion. “If I showed my grandma this video I think she would actually blow up,” one Twitter user commented.
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But PinkyDoll says she doesn’t mind the backlash, as long as she’s making money. Here, she talks to The Daily Beast about her weirdest fan interactions, the price of her newfound fame, and how the hell she came up with the catchphrase, “Ice cream, so good!”
Have you done an interview about this before?
A lot of people are calling me. Even right now I have The New York Times calling me … I have to call them back after [this].
Wow. What a week. OK, let’s start with some really basic questions… What do you do for work, other than this?
I just do Tiktok and OnlyFans. I used to have a company but it flopped, so that's why I’m doing TikTok now.
When you started doing TikTok, were you doing this kind of content?
I was actually just being in front of the camera and being sexy. And then somebody in the comments said to me, “She looks like an NPC,” because I was bugging and they liked it. So they started sending a lot of money. So I was like, “Oh OK, I'm gonna do NPC now because people like it.” That's what they want, and I’m gonna give it to them.
When did you start doing that?
I would say the first month of the year… I don't know how to say it, you know I speak French.
Yeah, of course. So, in January?
Yeah.
How did you figure out how to do it?
I just go with the flow… Sometimes I’m on TikTok and I see this girl CherryCrush doing [it] … But I didn’t want to copy her, I wanted it to be my own style, you know?… I just made it up, just like that. I don’t know why. I was doing a live and somebody sent me a beautiful gift, a real big gift. And I was like, “Yes yes yes!” And then I was saying that and people continued to send gifts. So I was like, “OK, there’s a reaction to my stuff now.”
What about the ice cream sound? I think that’s everyone’s favorite.
I don’t know. People were sending me ice cream and I was like, “Mmm ice cream so good.” It just felt right.
And what about your mannerisms in between, the way you move your head and stuff?
The game GTA [Grand Theft Auto] … Watching it. I’m not a player but I see stuff online.
What about the popcorn thing, with your hair straightener?
Before I did the NPC talking I was doing NPC non-talking. But people wanted to see more and my views were dropping. And one day I went on TIkTok and I saw someone doing the popcorn thing and they had like 20k [viewers] and I was like, “Oh, I’m gonna do that, but in my style.”
What do you do with the popcorn after?
I just give it to the birds. [laughs] I can’t eat that.
How often do you go live? And how long are the lives?
I go [live] three times a day, and maybe one to two hours per stream.
Two hours?? Don’t you get tired?
No, I like it. It's kind of fun. I’m just sitting here and saying stuff…. It came naturally, I don’t know.
How much do you make for a live stream? How long did it take for you to [start making that much]?
I can make $2-3k … It took me like two weeks to make that [kind of money.] Maybe like a week and a half. [That’s] $7k a day.
That’s crazy. What do you want to buy with all that?
I’m probably going to do real estate, like buy a house, things like that.
What do you think about the reaction your videos are getting online?
I think it’s crazy. People are talking about it, people are like, “Wow.” They’re making jokes, they’re copying me now. It’s insane, it never stops. I’m sleeping and my phone goes bing bing bing bing. [Editor’s note: She is very good at making the sound of a notification pinging.] I’m like, “God, what’s happening?” It’s wild.
What about the people who are like, this is so weird, I hate this?
There's a lot of people that hate that shit but I don’t mind. I really don't mind. I make that money, so I don’t care. And anyways, my fans got my back. They answer for me, they talk back for me, so I’m good. Even [crypto influencer] Tiffany Fong was taking my back on Twitter. I was like, “Oh, OK!” [giggles]
What’s the weirdest fan interaction you’ve had?
It’s hard to say. [laughs] There’s a lot. Some people [are] asking me weird stuff, like, they're asking me if I can come and see them. They’re gonna pay me $4k just to come and shit in front of them. I’m like, “No thank you.” It’s insane.
Have any of your friends or family members seen your videos? What do they think about it?
I was actually with my sister and I was like, “You gotta do that with me because one day it might blow [up], you never know.” She didn’t believe at first, but now that she believes, she’s probably gonna start too.
Do you have a partner? What do they think?
I used to have one but because of the fact that I’m blowing[up], I’m working more, I don’t have time for him, we broke up. I think it’s kind of sad, you know, because we couldn’t make it together.
Do you think he was just jealous of your success?
I don’t wanna talk bad about him.
Do you have advice for other people who would want to try to do this?
If you want to try to do this, do it. It’s time now, because people are actually getting paid. People who are copying me, they start making money, they start talking about, “I just made $500, I just made $800 today doing that NPC stuff.”
Why do you think people like it so much?
For real, that’s a question I’m asking myself. I think it’s my style, the way I look, the way I talk, my voice. Maybe I’m unique, I don’t know.
You definitely are.
Thank you.
Do you have anything else you want to try, or are you going to be doing NPC streaming for a while?
I’m going to be doing NPC for a while, but I don’t know, I’m thinking about becoming a rapper… I got Timbaland, I got Cardi B looking at me. Now is the time!
