{"id":23785,"date":"2023-08-19T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-19T08:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/georgina-rodriguez-kids-support-ronaldo-as-he-plays-with-al-nassr\/"},"modified":"2023-08-19T08:08:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T08:08:10","slug":"georgina-rodriguez-kids-support-ronaldo-as-he-plays-with-al-nassr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=23785","title":{"rendered":"Georgina Rodriguez, kids support Ronaldo\u00a0as he plays with Al-Nassr"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
Saudi comedian Amy Roko talks haters, making global moves and dream to join \u2018Ramy\u2019 cast<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\nDUBAI: What does it mean to be a \u2018modern\u2019 woman in a changing Saudi Arabia? Saudi content creator Amy Roko, without intending to, has found herself at the center of that question. From the moment the 29-year-old comedian, rapper and multi-brand ambassador became an accidental social-media star, she has delighted a loyal audience of millions by being unapologetically herself, showing that she can embrace the spotlight and stay true to the modest traditions of her culture and faith. Now, she\u2019s quietly making moves that could make her a global star.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe best part is, this is all still so fun to me. I wake up each morning and think of ways to make fun of aspects of life, family, or society, or to talk about depression or ADHD. Even though a part of me knows these little skits I post are my job, it\u2019s all so enjoyable,\u201d Roko, who first shot to fame in 2014, tells Arab News.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAs much as she\u2019s reveling in the present, Roko is fully focused on her future. But in an era when everyone wants to be an influencer, where does someone with genuine influence go next? That\u2019s the conundrum she\u2019s facing. The acting gigs she\u2019s been offered, for example, would have required her to step away from the daily content grind and brand ambassadorships for a fraction of the money she makes at the center of her own social-media empire. Nevertheless, she\u2019s aware that this is all a fortunate problem to have, as she can move forward guided solely by passion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019ve got so many things in the works. I started a podcast last month, I\u2019m in the early stages of developing material for a stand-up comedy debut in English so I can speak to a different audience, I\u2019ve been working on writing a series and trying to find the right project to act in. The dream, honestly, would be if Ramy Youssef called me up to guest on \u2018Ramy.\u2019 I adore his work,\u201d Roko says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nStill, wherever she goes, people ask about the niqab. \u201cEvery interview begins with that, and it\u2019s so tiresome,\u201d she says. As much as she\u2019s fed up with the focus that people put upon it, she does acknowledge it\u2019s an important part of her character, one that was never forced upon her, nor one she would ever push upon others. While the veil is, in part, a reflection of her Muslim faith, perhaps the most important motivation is the power it gives her to show her true face in her actions, the same power she once saw it give her mother.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs a kid, I didn\u2019t even have a concept of \u2018modesty.\u2019 I just thought of it as the thing that makes you an adult. My mom is very softspoken at home, but when she\u2019s veiled I feel like it makes her tougher, louder, stronger. I wanted to be like that, and I started just to imitate her. I would hide in my room and cover my face in the mirror, the same as other little girls try on their mother\u2019s heels,\u201d Roko explains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nIn all aspects of her life, if you want to understand how Amy Roko came to be the way she is, look to her family. Her love of comedy came from her parents, for example, as she developed her sense of humor sat beside them at the kitchen table, finding ways to make them laugh as much as they did her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen we had coffee, we would roast each other. I would sit there and imitate my dad\u2019s mannerisms \u2014 the way he coughs, the way he puts on his glasses when he wants to read \u2014 and he would always crack up. I started taking mental notes all day observing him, figuring out little bits to imitate back to him later,\u201d says Roko.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nAmy Roko says she is preparing an English-language stand-up routine. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nSome of those jokes became the inspiration for her most popular videos years later, including the way she would dance to the BBC theme song as her father tried to watch the news.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe next day I noticed the video had gotten millions of views overnight, and I thought, \u2018What on earth? I should make fun of my family more!\u2019\u201d she jokes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nHer family, meanwhile, were wholly unimpressed with her newfound internet fame, first centered around the now-defunct app Vine before moving to Instagram and TikTok.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen I realized that my first video had hit big, my dad was reading the news, and my mom was on her phone. I screamed, \u2018I got 100,000 followers overnight!\u2019 My dad just stared at me and said, \u2018And?\u2019 They couldn\u2019t have cared less. I\u2019m still annoyed to this day!\u201d Roko says with a laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAs soon as she began gaining fans, however, critics started to appear in her comments. Instantly \u2014 because she is a Saudi woman and because of how she presented herself to the world \u2014 she was turned from a girl trying to make people laugh into a symbol, one that everyone seemed to interpret differently.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cEarly on, I would read everything \u2014 people saying, \u2018You\u2019re embarrassing, you\u2019re crazy, you\u2019re bringing down women all over the world.\u2019 But I\u2019m also grateful for the hate because haters are a dedicated audience, and every video would get millions of views in a matter of hours. And most of the people those videos reached were supportive, albeit not as loud,\u201d says Roko.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt would get to me though. At one point, I really thought I was \u2018destroying women,\u2019 but then I said to myself, \u2018But no, this is me.\u2019 I was showing people who I truly am, and I felt honesty was a more important guide than the people trying to take me down, and I started ignoring them,\u201d she continues.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\ns comfortable as Roko now is in the region, she is sometimes jolted by the ways in which her veil still restricts her globally. (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nAs her fame grew, Roko was also amazed at how many brands began to flock to her, wanting to leverage her authenticity to promote their wares \u2014 including those she already adored.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt was crazy to me. My sister and I had one pair of New Balance shoes that we would fight over, and suddenly I\u2019m their regional brand ambassador, and have rooms full of New Balance shoes. I used to wish I could have my own single pair, and 10 years later I\u2019ve manifested what I once dreamed of,\u201d says Roko.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nStill, as comfortable as she now is in the region, accepted for who she really is, she is sometimes jolted by the ways in which her veil still restricts her globally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was planning to go to the Formula One race in Belgium just a few weeks ago, but then last minute I learned that women wearing the niqab cannot travel there. Later, I saw a video of a woman whose niqab was ripped off her face in Spain. I\u2019m, like, \u2018Why do these people hate us?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThat\u2019s part of why she wants to do start doing comedy in English, to talk directly to people who may not understand where she\u2019s coming from, to get them to see her for who she is. That\u2019s why she loves \u201cRamy,\u201d a show about a man who she thinks is just like her in many ways \u2014 a man who sometimes struggles to reconcile his deep faith with his own complex humanity. It\u2019s his honesty in communicating that, she believes, that has helped new audiences worldwide understand what it means to be a modern Muslim man. Perhaps, she, too, can show the world what it means to be a modern Saudi woman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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