It was no ordinary chat when Wayne Ayers interviewed actress/comedian/digital personality Kalani Rodgers on The Wayne Ayers Podcast. From Detroit roots to vocal advocacy, Kalani treated listeners to an honest, humor-rich, and encouraging glance behind the veil of a woman who won’t be boxed in.
From Detroit to The Silver Screen
Kalani’s acting career began young. Born in Detroit and raised in the United States, she made her debut in front of a lens when she was nine in the short film Dog Tags. The initial inspiration turned passion that she cultivated at Sacramento State while studying theater was plain. “Everything else in life would be a job,” she told Wayne. “This is fun.”
She then appeared in advertisements, short films, and the 2019 breakthrough What Ah Nerd, yet it was her ability to perform comedy skits that turned her into a viral sensation. That “crazy/aggressive girl” character of hers was a wild internet phenomenon despite fans sometimes taking the humor a little too literally. “It was too real,” laughed Kalani. “People were mad like it was real.”
The Skit Queen’s Secret Sauce
Kalani’s creative method is half-whimsy craziness and half-fastidious planning. She’s got a massive list of skit concepts on her phone, but is as likely to write a scene from whole cloth while she’s hanging with friends. “Sometimes we are in a store or somewhere, and I’m like, oh, that is a good situation. Let’s just do it right now.”
Despite her comedic success, Kalani is refreshingly transparent about the creator economy. She broke down how platforms keep shifting the rules, lowering payouts for short-form videos, and making monetization more of a grind. Still, she champions YouTube and even Facebook for new creators while warning that TikTok’s system burned her career momentum when they mistakenly banned her account.
Building a Production Empire
Behind the laughs, Kalani is also an ambitious producer. She confirmed she owns her own production company and is currently developing a new series backed by a financier. The process, she admitted, is “extremely slow,” but she’s determined to bring her community with her into the industry.
Her past short films, including Haters Club, taught her the messy realities of producing, from flaky actors to rewriting scenes on the fly. But she thrives on balancing comedy with drama, leaning toward what she calls “dramdy.” Her dream collaborators? Issa Rae, Vince Staples, and Kerry Washington. “That trio would be wild,” Wayne quipped, and Kalani agreed.
Kalani Owning Her Image
Kalani never shied from discussing her OF, on which she is fully in charge of her brand. She highlighted that such sites as OF are liberating to performers in their image despite stigma. “I’ve never even been that kind of person who had to fit in to be socially acceptable,” she concluded.
Would it harm your film career? Kalani dismissed the question. Being genuine is preferable to upholding what’s acceptable in Hollywood clubdom.
A Voice for Palestine, And Greta Thunberg Praises
Kalani’s fearlessness extends beyond entertainment. She’s been outspoken on Palestine, calling out manipulative narratives and praising those who risk backlash to speak up. “It felt like watching someone punch you in the face and then saying you walked into their fist,” she explained. She also referred to climate activist Greta Thunberg as “a superhero,” praising the young activist for using her privilege and platform for good. “That’s the best thing you could do if you had money. Help people instead of buying cars.”
