BENITO SKINNER
DRAMA Queen
As his new sitcomOvercompensatingwas set to drop on Prime Video, comedian Benito Skinner — aka Miss Benny Drama — spoke toAttitudeabout spending his college years in the closet, finding love and accepting his sexuality, as well as the gossip on being good pals with Charli xcx
Words Gary Grimes
BENITO WEARS VEST, BY CELINE, SHIRT, VINTAGE, BOXERS, VINTAGE, BY ABERCROMBIE & FITCH, LOAFERS, BY NOAH
Photography Leigh Keily
BENITO WEARS SWEATSHIRT AND SHORTS, BY ACNE, BOXING SHOES, VINTAGE, BY PALACE COSTUME
THERE TRULY WAS SOMETHING IN THE AIR IN 2020,
and we’re not just talking about coronavirus. While the world was locking down, with most people confined to their four walls for months on end due to the pandemic, a new class of comedians and writers was emerging on social media. Jordan Firstman had a star-making performance as banana bread’s publicist, Meg Stalter was plaiting her hair to film a skit mocking corporate Pride speak, and Rachel Sennott was preparing to utter the immortal words: “Don’t have an eating disorder? Get one, bitch.”
Principal among this cohort was one Miss Benny Drama, also known as Benito Skinner. The Idaho-born actor and sketch comedian was enjoying a sharp spike in followers thanks to his short-form video content on apps like Instagram and TikTok, where he debuted original characters, including the deranged real estate agent Deliverance Richards, and dished out spot-on impressions of celebrities, like a then-newly minted rock chick Kourtney Kardashian and Shawn Mendes (who’s “just a guy… who loves music.”)
When we speak over Zoom from Los Angeles, Skinner has more than 2.5 million followers across both aforementioned platforms, and a Prime Video sitcom, of which he is both writer and star, about to drop. Called Overcompensating, the show, a project Skinner has been developing since 2018, is based on his college experience, most of which he spent deep in the closet. The actor plays a version of himself, also called Benny, who fumbles his way through his first semester as he attempts to hide and suppress his sexuality at every juncture.