TikTok is in love with Miss New York’s ‘Heaven’ skit: ‘The obsession with this series is real’
Taryn Delanie Smith may be best known for winning the title of Miss New York in 2022, but over on TikTok, her devoted fanbase mostly follows her for another reason: She’s hilarious.
Smith regularly posts comedic videos, including her popular “Heaven” series, in which she pretends to be a woman named Denise — a stressed-out, gum-chewing receptionist working at a busy call center on behalf of God.
In each clip, Denise dons a white bathrobe, a white towel wrapped around her head and her trusty headset, which is really just a pink Bic ladies’ razor sticking out from underneath the towel.
Denise answers both personal and professional calls while she’s at work but always does so with a take-no-BS attitude and her trademark New York accent.
“No, so she calls me, and she’s like, ‘I wanna speak to God,'” Denise says in one clip while clearly taking a personal call. “And I’m like, ‘Do you just call Walmart and just expect to speak with the CEO?’ No, you’re talkin’ to me. It’s ridiculous.”
Later on, she continues working, fielding calls from concerned people in limbo who want to know why they didn’t get into Heaven.
“Looks like you made 48 Starbucks baristas cry,” she tells one caller. “And that does ding your credit up here.”
In another video, Denise assists someone in Heaven who wants to know if their ex-husband made it in, too. When the woman finds out that he didn’t, she’s ecstatic.
“Oh, this is good news!” Denise replies with a laugh. “Omg yeah, he didn’t make the cut. Yeah, omg, congratulations!”
If you’re wondering why Smith’s impression of Denise is so spot-on, it might have something to do with the fact that she’s kind of played this role before.
In fact, she was working as a receptionist at a call center just before she hit it big on TikTok.
“I was horrible,” Smith recently told In The Know of her time at the call center. “I hated it, and I was a grad student, and my mom was like, ‘Taryn, you got to get on this [TikTok] thing because you’re so silly and funny.'”
Turns out, her mom was right. Taryn’s first video went viral, and she’s been steadily growing her fanbase ever since.
Now that her Heaven series is going viral, TikTokers can’t seem to get enough of it. Altogether, the clips have racked up millions of views and drawn thousands of comments from viewers who can’t wait to see more.
“The obsession with this series is real,” one user commented.
“I need 35 episodes of this with 20 episodes a season,” joked another.
“the fact that this is literally Miss New York is sending me,” added someone else.
Others have even shared heartfelt stories of their own about people who’ve passed on while noting how touching the videos really are on an emotional level.
Smith has been watching the comments and video responses flow in and has been trying to reply to as many as she can. In a follow-up video posted to her page, she spoke from the heart about how much all the support has meant to her.
“I have been receiving like this outpouring of messages from people from all over, like reacting to the Denise — the Heaven receptionist video,” she said while fighting back tears. “I want you to know like I’m watching them all.”
“I’m watching your stories that you’re sharing of people that have passed away and what this silly character, what it means to you, and I just … I never thought that it would mean so much to so many people, and I’m just really glad that if they find it comforting, you know,” Smith continued. “I have lost people, and Denise is what I imagine, you know, people will see when they get — that’s what I would want when I got to Heaven.”
In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News — follow us here!
The post TikTok is in love with Miss New York’s ‘Heaven’ skit: ‘The obsession with this series is real’ appeared first on In The Know.
More from In The Know:
Trending 'Parks and Recreation' meme allows users to ask for help: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’
Finally! A heavyweight T-shirt that's somehow still breathable actually exists — and it doesn't fade
The 4 best ways to treat hormonal acne, according to a dermatologist
