Episode Details

The RIFF S2 ep7 - Charlotte Dobre

What happens when a classically trained actress, jazz vocalist, and one of YouTube's most authentic comedic voices sits down to talk about bad dates, embracing cringe, and turning pain into art? You get this episode of The Riff.

Charlotte Dobre joins hosts Gary O'Brien and Jeremy Green to share her journey from being the weird kid with poop jokes to building a global audience of over 2.6 million subscribers and billions of views on YouTube. She opens up about her classical theater training at the University of Victoria, jazz vocal studies at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and her time as lead host and writer for InformOverload — all of which shaped the unfiltered, genuine reaction style that made her channel a phenomenon.

Charlotte dives deep into how she developed her comedic voice, the self-deprecation women in comedy still face, and why she believes the best comedy comes from truth and pain. She discusses the parasocial relationships with her audience, how social media algorithms reward negativity, and why she eventually had to step back from daily posting to protect her mental health.

She also shares the story behind writing and self-funding her romantic comedy pilot Textuationships — inspired by her own Toronto dating disasters — which earned an official screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Plus: setting boundaries in dating, how she met her husband, channeling negative energy into creativity, and why embracing the cringe is the key to making great art.

If you enjoyed this conversation, hit that Like button, drop a comment with your favorite moment, and Subscribe to The Riff for more episodes exploring the creative thread that drives extraordinary people. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear that it's okay to be cringe.

#CharlotteDobre #TheRiffPodcast #Comedy #YouTubeCreator #TorontoComedy #CreativeThread #EmbracingCringe #StandUpComedy #ContentCreation #PodcastInterview

Resources Mentioned

Charlotte Dobre's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CharlotteDobre
Charlotte Dobre's Official Website: https://www.charlottedobre.net/
The Riff Podcast: https://my-toronto.ca/the-riff/
The Riff on Buzzsprout: https://theriff.buzzsprout.com/
mytoronto.ca (Show Sponsor): https://my-toronto.ca/
University of Victoria (BFA in Theatre): https://www.uvic.ca/
New York Film Academy: https://www.nyfa.edu/
Victoria Conservatory of Music: https://vcm.ca/
InformOverload (YouTube Channel): https://www.youtube.com/@InformOverload
TIFF — Toronto International Film Festival: https://www.tiff.net/
Som Tum Jinda (Michelin-recommended Thai restaurant, 76 Gerrard St E, Toronto): https://somtumjinda.ca/
Isabella's Donuts (The Beaches, 2066 Queen St E, Toronto): https://isabellasdonuts.com/
YouTube Chapters

0:00 Pre-Show Banter: Horrible Dating Stories
0:47 Welcome to The Riff
1:42 Gary & Jeremy Catch Up
2:20 Gary's Electric Avenue Air Trumpet
3:29 Jeremy's Sex Machine Reaction
4:31 Introducing Charlotte Dobre
5:56 Charlotte's Missy Elliott Reaction
6:36 Childhood & Comedy Origins
8:15 Classical Theater & Jazz Training
9:29 Falling in Love With Jazz
10:45 Jazz Improvisation vs. Rehearsed Music
12:10 Comedy Influences: Lucille Ball & Carol Burnett
14:08 Relationship Comedy & Bad Dates
15:57 Dating for the Plot
17:33 Comedy, Pain & Truth
18:13 Calling Out Negative Behavior Online
19:56 Coping With Negative Stories
21:30 Social Media Algorithms & Negativity
22:37 Building a Relatable Audience
23:58 The Exhaustion of Being Authentic Online
25:36 Finding Comedy in Everyday Life
26:50 Channeling Pain Into Art
27:18 Humor as a Coping Mechanism
28:23 British Comedy & Dark Humor
29:01 Comedy Through Adversity
30:03 Charlotte's Own Bad Decisions
31:51 Setting