Atsuko Okatsuka: ‘Executives say, we only do one Ali Wong every 10 years. Why would we do a second?’

The standup has earned a huge online audience for her comedy and dance videos with her equally popular grandma. She talks about her family and feeling like ‘a freak’

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Atsuko Okatsuka has largely been the architect of her own success. During the long stretches of Covid lockdowns, when most of us sought comfort on our phones, the Los Angeles-based standup comedian began connecting directly with audiences by performing jokes straight to camera, filming short skits and, most famously, choreographing dance routines with her cheerful grandmother, Li (who, like Okatsuka, has accrued thousands of online followers).

Okatsuka is now instantly recognisable, for both her signature bowl cut and as the creator of the “drop challenge” – a squat dance set to Beyoncé’s Partition that Okatsuka has performed everywhere, in grocery stores, cafes and lifts – with celebrities including Serena Williams and Kerry Washington joining in.

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