If you spend any time in Washington Square Park, you might have had a run-in with one individual trending at the moment — internet sensation Judi Jupiter. Or if not, you have probably seen her videos on your TikTok For You page.
For fashionable young people in New York City, getting stopped on the sidewalk by a confident, bold woman whose filming has become a part of daily life. “Man-on-the-street,” impromptu interviews have surged since impromptu interviews have surged on short-form content platforms like TikTok, with Judi Jupiter as a prime example.
Her content consists of quick, surprise interviews with people she meets throughout the city. She’s known for fast, direct questions and an almost uncanny instinct for spotting fashion-forward — and often attractive — young people who create compelling on-camera moments. Her videos, posted on Instagram, with more than 378,000 followers, and TikTok, with more than 224,000 followers, regularly reach hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Jupiter moves with purpose and speaks with a bold, unfiltered confidence. Her usual interview targets are stylish people in their 20s, but she also has a knack for scouting unexpected characters — including two hockey players who she ran into at a bar that briefly became her unofficial muses. Some of her most viral clips with over ten million views feature celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter and Cardi B, but the majority of her content centers on trendy individuals she encounters at random.
Cassidy Miller, who was interviewed by Jupiter on Oct. 7, described her interaction with Jupiter as “casual.”
“We asked her why she started doing it, and she told us it was, like, completely an accident. She just, like, filmed this guy one time, and it went viral, and ever since then, she’s just been doing it,” Miller said. Miller believes that Jupiter’s virality comes from her authenticity. “She makes people respond in a really authentic way, because she’s not coming at it … [from] any place other than genuinely just wanting to get to know the person she’s talking to,” Miller said. Jupiter captures real people doing everyday things, which is what makes her content unique. She shows the world the energy that exists in New York’s daily mundaneness.
Jupiter’s videos tend to be under three minutes long, easily digestible for an audience with an ever-shortening attention span. This content is convenient and easily shareable. Short-form content like Jupiter’s can quickly achieve virality and reach a wide audience, especially among younger generations, due to the trendy individuals showcased in her videos.
Jupiter began her career as a photographer of Manhattan’s nightlife in the 70’s. She photographed Studio 54, a previously well-known nightclub, now a Broadway theater. She had been spotted there before with artists like Andy Warhol and Meat Loaf. She put a modern spin on her photography skills when she began her street interviews and developed her social media presence.
On Oct. 2, New York resident and certified rock climbing coach Ishy Khalil was interviewed by Judi Jupiter while on the subway. Despite having seen her work, Khalil did not recognize Jupiter when their interaction began. “I had definitely seen her videos, and I didn’t really know what her Instagram was called,” Khalil said. ”I kind of thought she was, like, a crazy lady on the train, and then at the end, she said her name … and I was like, ‘Oh … I think I know who you are.’”
Khalil said that Jupiter tends to interview younger, seemingly popular people. “I think that she knows what people look for,” Khalil said. “Young, attractive people in Manhattan … pretty people do well on camera … and I think she just realized pretty quickly that, like, she has a really, really, really easy market for like, short form media of hot people or people who look interesting.”
Khalil’s interview with Jupiter spread very quickly to his friends and family. “I work with kids, and like, every single one of them found the video on their own, and were all like, sharing it around … it’s horrific,” he said.
Khalil mentioned how desirable New York City is portrayed as on social media, and why it’s easy to find people willing to participate in Jupiter’s videos. “ … It’s so easy just to walk around any one of these kind of expensive, trendy neighborhoods and just start approaching everyone and everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame … so they’ll totally entertain it,” he said.
Their enthusiasm when spinning to show off their outfits, and sharing things like the designers of their clothes or their career paths, reinforces the desire to live the New York lifestyle. Through her casual encounters, Jupiter is able to share what a New Yorker’s glamorous day-to-day looks like. Her interviews are almost always outside, either in Washington Square Park, on public transit, or on a random city block, and she captures her interviewees candidly.
New York City has been an endless source of inspiration for film, television, and music. Television shows like Sex And The City and songs like “New York, New York” have framed the city as a place filled with lively scenes and endless opportunities. It is known as a destination you aim for in order to fulfill your dreams. Jupiter takes New York’s desirable aesthetic and turns it into consumable micro-content, feeding into her audience’s longing for the city. When people want to peek into the dream life, her content is there to remind them of the city’s vibrancy.
Jupiter’s videos receive a mix of both positive and negative comments. Miller described her as “silly,” while Khalil said her approach is “a little creepy.” Emma Faufman, a third-year literary studies student at The New School, knows Judi Jupiter through social media. “She interviewed a close friend of mine, and she said it was super out of nowhere, and she just came up to her with her phone,” said Kaufman. Kaufman said Jupiter’s videos are her way of “ … still trying to be relevant,” since her heyday documenting and interacting with celebrities in Studio 54.
Although she’s not interested in taking the spotlight — she charges 500 dollars for an audio interview — and despite the opposing feedback that Jupiter receives, her interviews continue to gain traction and her follower count increases. Jupiter has taken New York City and its residents’ desirable lifestyles and turned them into quick and accessible media. With just a scroll, her audience is able to see the fashion, community, and passions that exist on every street of the city.