Like many young comedy actors and sketch artists, Palestinian-American comedian Anwar Jibawi got his start on Vine.
When the popular platform dissolved, these public figures branched out into new corners of the internet – in Jibawi’s case, quickly earning over 6 million followers on YouTube.
Anwar Jibawi turns 6-second videos into a flourishing YouTube career
Jibawi’s career started with 6-second Vine sketches. Since then, it has grown into collaborations with Mike Tyson, Mariah Carey, and Dolce & Gabbana, just to name a few. Jibawi started on Vine in 2013, and by 2015 was one of the 10 most popular Viners on the platform.
- A compilation of some of Jibawi’s most popular vines
- Since Vine, Jibawi has moved to some longer format videos on Instagram collaborating with stars such as Lele Pons, Hannah Stocking, and King Bach
Outside of social media, Jibawi has appeared in a number of commercials, fashion, and music. Jibawi has also directed multiple music videos, including Aitana and Lele Pons’ “Teléfono (Remix)”, as well as Anitta’s “Vai Malandra (Remix)”. Additionally, he walked in Dolce & Gabbana’s Milan Men’s Fashion Week SS 2018 show, and even appeared in a Brita filter advertisement with Stephen Curry, where he plays his entire family.
A supportive family and cultural background fuel new content
A large part of Jibawi’s motivation for creating content comes from his background.
“I’m Palestinian, American, I’m Muslim, I come from a Muslim background, so for me it was hard, but I just had to keep creating, you know,” he tells VVIP. “There were some moments I couldn’t post because my parents would be so mad at me for doing that, you know, but I just kept slowly posting, posting, posting, without them knowing.”
Eventually, his parents finally accepted his career. “There’s nothing more important than having your family appreciate it and accept it,” Jibawi says.
Other than these small insights, Jibawi tends to keep his private life private. Instead, he prefers to engage fans with his content – not his personal life.
Anwar Jibawi leans on parody
Currently, Jibawi makes his career mostly on Instagram and YouTube, where he has a combined 13 million followers and subscribers.
Much of the young comedian’s content nowadays focuses on lampooning just about everyone. For example, he does sketches parodying gender roles, his own ethnic background, and pop culture:
- Jibawi’s most popular video with over 39 Million views
- “Aladdin and Jasmine” – a collaboration with Inanna Sarkis and King Bach
- “The Friend Zone”, a longer sketch than Jibawi’s usual
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