Carla From Bankstown

“Carla from Bankstown” has become one of the unexpected success stories to come out of what is proving a pretty harrowing moment in Australian history. The self-proclaimed “People’s Princess”, “Queen of the Gronks”, and “Queen of Click and Clack” is a social media comedy star who has built a huge audience, particularly on TikTok (over 28,500 followers and 432,000 likes) and Instagram (20,000 followers). It’s all down to her comedy sketches, particularly those where she’s manning the Covid hotline for New South Wales premier Gladys “Butterchicken” (a mispronunciation of Berejiklian). She has been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald and has given people something to laugh about in bleak, uncertain times.

Carla from Bankstown is actually the comedy alter-ego of one Benjahmin James, a young content creator who appears to have hit the money with his beloved creation. “She’s very, very street smart; she knows what’s going on,” he says of her. With his videos gaining huge traction and engagement across Australia and beyond, James has certainly tapped into something very special. She has even hit the Australian iTunes top 20 with “That B*tch”, a song made in collaboration with Dad’s Mayo.