Laughter is the best medicine for Staten Islander who found wild success on social media – SILive.com

Lisa Marie Riley has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media for her funny and anecdotal videos. (Courtesy of Lisa Marie Riley)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A former court stenographer from Staten Island has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and millions of likes from the funny and anecdotal videos she uploads.
The punchline: Despite the wild success from her comedic clips, she doesn’t consider herself a comedian.
In fact, Lisa Marie Riley’s popularity on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook was never something she anticipated, nor was it her goal.
FOR HER HUSBAND
When her husband, David, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer three years ago, Riley was at a loss.
The Huguenot mother of three left her career to focus on her husband’s wellness. To ease his stress — and help them both cope — Riley began to make and upload amusing videos, which she posted on Instagram to share with family and friends.
Lisa Marie Riley with her husband, David. Riley has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media for her funny and anecdotal videos. (Courtesy of Lisa Marie Riley)
“When David first got sick, I didn’t know what to do. And it was like, [his cancer was] very aggressive. [It was all just] bad news, bad news, bad news, bad news,” the 39-year-old told the Advance/SILive.com. “So I made the [Instagram page] just to joke around for that 15 seconds to a minute, just to laugh. And then that would lead to all of us laughing about it, so [we’d] get to forget about reality for a bit.”
Over the next few months, the Brooklyn-born Riley began to notice an uptick in followers; before long, she gained a steady stream of support on Instagram, and began using TikTok at the behest of a fan.
The move paid off.
After a TikTok about her husband wanting Riley to fix his ripped jeans went viral in March 2020, Riley’s popularity on social media has skyrocketed; she’s gained an incredible following on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook since, and has even branched out into in-person stand-up shows, performing up and down the East Coast — including Saturday, Feb. 5, at the St. George Theatre.
Lisa Marie Riley, right, and Maxie Katsikas. Riley has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media for her funny and anecdotal videos. (Courtesy of Lisa Marie Riley)
HER TAKE ON HER FAME
The cool and confident Riley is as perplexed about the attention she’s received as she is grateful.
“It’s, like, foreign because I can’t believe that people like me. I’m not famous, but [my success is] just weird. It’s a wonderful feeling, but I just never saw it happening to people like me, you know what I mean?
“And I wouldn’t consider myself a comedian … That’s a craft that people work very hard at to become, you know what I mean? That’s their job. That’s their thing. They put everything into it. I don’t consider myself [a comedian] because I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know any of the lingo. I don’t know nothing.”
Lisa Marie Riley with her husband, David. Riley has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media for her funny and anecdotal videos. (Courtesy of Lisa Marie Riley)
Despite her claim, Riley’s comedic chops clearly tell a different story.
But, again, it was never about getting noticed.
“Doing [these videos and in-person shows] saved me,” said Riley, who added her husband is currently receiving treatment from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. ”And that was the real thing of it. I felt like I was going to lose it. … You know, you’re just hearing all this [bad news] and you need to get your mind off of it, just have a distraction.
“It became a healthy distraction … It helped me so much mentally. Doing this saved me.”
Riley’s show at the St. George Theatre is set for Saturday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the theater box office. You can contact the theater at 718-442-2900 or [email protected].
Riley also has a lineup of other performances in New York and New Jersey, and plans to add more shows in the future.
For more, follow Lisa Marie Riley on Instagram (@onefunnylisamarie), TikTok (@onefunnylisamarie) and Facebook.
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