‘Philly ASMR’ is going viral — comedian Betsy Kenney knows why

Have you ever stopped in the middle of Broad Street and opened your ears to the soft sounds of Philly? Does the scraping of a spoon on water ice soothe your soul? Does condensing the question “did you eat?” to a concise “djeet” make the back of your neck tingle? 

If so, this local comedian’s TikTok page might just be for you.

Betsy Kenney, 38, a Northeast Philly native, has gone viral for a series of Philly-inspired ASMR videos. In the clips, Kenney exaggerates her local vernacular, putting on an accent that Kylie Kelce herself scored “a good 11.” 

(For the uninitiated, ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. People watch ASMR videos, which include whispers, soft tapping, scratching and crinkling sounds, to relax, relieve stress and wind down.)

Kenney, a comedy writer, performer, director and mother of two, began her TikTok page about two months ago. Soon, it became evident that she had a knack for making Philly-specific content. She has appeared in a Super Bowl commercial, written for Ryan Reynolds, and will be in WHYY’s upcoming show “The Good Neighbor Club.” You can also catch her improv show, “The Love ‘Doctors’”, in which she performs with her husband, Ryan Haney, at CSz Philadelphia this Saturday at 9 p.m.

While Kenney’s real accent isn’t nearly as strong as the one in her videos, she said that her Philly characters are “based on friends, family and neighbors I grew up with.” 

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

@betsy_kenney Replying to @Katie Coo Cat she/her 🍉 #phillytiktok #phillyfoodies #gobirds #philly #phillyasmr ♬ original sound – Betsy Kenney

How did the ASMR videos start? Where did you get the idea? 

I was never on TikTok until recently. I don’t know if you remember, there was a Phillies game where a woman stole a ball from a kid’s hand. [Yes, we remember.] And they were referring to her as Phillies Karen. I have a wig that looks just like hers from years ago. So, I said to my husband, “I think I have to make a TikTok. I’ve never felt a calling to make one, so I’m gonna do it.” And so I made it, and it went viral instantly. 

Then after that, I’m like, “I guess I’m on TikTok now.” And every time I make a video that isn’t Philly related, it doesn’t do as well. But whenever I do a Philly video, people love them. I just randomly came up with the ASMR idea. People love ASMR because it’s very calming. And so I’m like, “I think it would be funny to do a Philly accent, because people think it’s the opposite of calming.” 

People really just loved the videos right away, and a lot of people have been finding a lot of comfort in them. A lot of comments are like, “Oh my God. This brought me back to my mom mom’s house in the ‘90s. This sounds like my aunt, my uncle, my old neighbors.” I just did it as a joke at first, but now I’ve been having a lot of fun doing it, and I’m so glad it brings joy to so many people.

Why do you think those Philly videos specifically are the ones that are driving the traffic?

I think Philly accents are having a moment right now because of “Task” the TV show that’s based in Delco — not in Philly. Don’t get them confused, because TikTok will come for you, as they have for me. It’s a really popular show, and people are like, “What is this accent?” It’s a very hard accent to do, unless you’re from the area and hear it a lot.

What tips do you have for people trying to learn a Philly accent?

My husband is from Connecticut, so he doesn’t have any kind of accent. We’re doing accent immersion with him. Talking really slow can help you — just drawing out the words, I find. And people call it a “hoagie mouth” or a “lazy mouth accent,” because you don’t move your mouth or tongue around a lot. Another big tip is just sound angry whatever you’re talking about — even if it’s not something you’re angry about. Just sound really passionate about it, and then at least you’re getting the essence of a Philadelphia person.

I do a very dramatic version of a Philly accent. I used to have a much thicker Philly accent, but then when I moved to New York, I did a lot of acting and commercial acting. In order to sell products for national brands, I can’t have an accent because they don’t want that. Brands need somebody who can sell to everybody. I’ve had l to work really hard to kind of get rid of my accent.

And now, a lot of feedback that I get in videos of when I’m just being myself, they’re like, “Where’s the accent? I thought you had an accent.” So that’s been interesting to kind of marry the two personalities together

I don’t really like ASMR, but I admit that I was weirdly comforted by your Philly ASMR. Something about it tickled my brain. I feel like it’s not just about the accent, it’s also about what you’re saying, which are very Philly-specific phrases. Do you write a script for what you’re going to say?

No, I’m actually a trained improviser, so everything I come up with is on the spot. I think the thing that you’re noticing maybe, or something that you’re finding comforting — that I also find comforting — is the essence of a Philly person. It’s so much of everything! You get so much love. You can get so much anger and excitement, and there’s just something that I find in all my family members so comforting. It’s how happy and excited they get, but also how mad they can get at things, too. It’s something that I’m having a lot of fun with, that I’m feeling is resonating with a lot of people.

@betsy_kenney Thank you @Kylie Kelce 💚💚💚💚 #kyliekelce #phillytiktok #phillyasmr #gobirds #eagles ♬ original sound – Betsy Kenney

Kylie Kelce gave you a shout out. Where were you when you first saw that? 

I was running errands. I had just dropped my son off from school, so I wasn’t even near my phone, and my cousin group chat was popping off, and everybody’s like, “Oh, my God, congrats, Betsy. That’s so cool.” And I’m like, “Wait, what are they talking about?” And, they told me, so that was amazing. I knew that she watched some of the ASMR videos. It felt so nice and validating that she shouted me out on her podcast. And she gave my accent an 11, so that meant a lot.

Gotta love a good cousin group chat.

You know you’re from Philly when you have a cousin group chat.

Tell me more about working with your husband. You guys are comedy partners. How did you meet?

I lived in New York City for 12 years, and there I performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater. We were both students and performers there, and that’s where we met. Once COVID happened and we had kids, we moved back to this area. We performed a few times together when we lived in New York, but we were never hosting a show together. I missed performing so much that we decided to pitch a show to ComedySportz theater in Philadelphia. 

So now we host a show there together, and it’s improvised. It’s called “The Love ‘Doctors,’” and we’re — in quotes — “the world’s best married couple.” People come and they bring us their love problems, and we improvise on stage the solution for them. It’s been really fun getting to perform together. He’s like the funniest person in the world, so it’s been a lot of fun getting to do that with him.

Can you give me an example of a marital problem that a couple pitched to you?

One couple, the husband was mad that the wife always walked in front of him, and so we watched that play out on stage with Ryan and me, and the solution was that the wife thinks she’s better than him. That’s why she’s always walking ahead, and that’s just what he has to live with. [Laughs] He was happy that he found the solution. 

What can we expect for the future of your TikTok page?

I don’t have a plan for my Tiktok or Instagram, but I’m just seeing where it takes me. And I don’t have a lot of free time either, so they kind of just come as I can do them, and I’m not trying to worry about the rest.

I’ve been a performer for so long, but then after having kids, I just kind of was having an identity crisis over like, “What am I good at? What do I do?” And so just getting to create every day again in a way that works with being a busy mom and being creative, TikTok has really scratched that creative itch for me. I mean, I’ve been performing comedy for over 10 years, and this is the thing that people care about the most, and it’s the thing I’ve spent the least amount of time on. So it’s like you really don’t know what will stick or what will resonate with people, and just shoot your shot, because you never know.

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