These days, people hungry for a status update on Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson or Shawn Mendes' Starbucks order are skipping old standbys like TMZ and People and instead turning to .
The Instagram account boasting 1.7 million followers is run by an anonymous woman living in New York who solicits and shares unconfirmed tips. The pseudonymous Deuxmoi's skyrocketing popularity has led to a weekly podcast devoted to celebrity topics du jour, merchandise, sponsorship deals and, now, a novel published this week that's being developed into an HBO Max series.
Co-authored with Jessica Goodman, 鈥淎non Pls." (William Morrow), is based on Deuxmoi鈥檚 own origin story: Unsatisfied with her day job, she began an account for fun and it turned into a lucrative career. The title is a cheeky play on the reader tips that beg for anonymity while sharing everything from the scandalous to the mundane.
鈥淭he story is relatable,鈥� Deuxmoi said during a recent video interview with her camera off. "It could happen to anybody who just happens to fall into something that becomes a phenomenon."
Deuxmoi talked to The Associated Press about maintaining her anonymity, who she won't post about and the account's future. Answers have been condensed for brevity.
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AP: First, is it stressful knowing there are people actively trying to figure out who you are?
DEUXMOI: It was stressful in the beginning. Now it鈥檚 not. It was when I had my (day) job because I literally would go into work every day as the (follower) count got bigger and bigger and was like, 鈥淚s my boss going to come up to me and say, 鈥業s this you?鈥�'' I was very paranoid about that because I was spending so much time on the account.
Now, I've said this a bunch, I'm not hiding. I'm just trying to build a brand. And the brand is not based on a person or an influencer. It鈥檚 based on the content and it鈥檚 based on the audience and it鈥檚 based on the community that鈥檚 been built, so I don鈥檛 want the focus to be on me. That鈥檚 why I really have no intention of being like, 鈥漈his is who I am."
AP: You have built a brand. You have !
DEUXMOI: When I first launched my merch, I was looking at the Shopify numbers and you can get a live view of who鈥檚 shopping on your account. I saw how many people were on the website and 鈥� I could get emotional talking about it right now 鈥� I literally started bawling. I was very unhappy in my old career. I was in a depression. When the opportunity to monetize came about, it was honestly an out for me because I was so miserable doing what I was doing before.
AP: Have you splurged on anything with the money you've made?
DEUXMOI: I鈥檝e definitely bought some jewelry. Not (too) expensive. This could go away tomorrow. ... But I also don鈥檛 want to drain my bank account of all the money that I鈥檝e saved from doing this. I haven鈥檛 taken a vacation yet and I would really like to do that. I would love to take a great vacation somewhere and relax and not look at my phone for like five days. I don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 possible.
AP: Are there any celebrities you won't post about?
DEUXMOI: There's four. Two I've publicly said 鈥� Hailey Bieber and Kacey Musgraves 鈥� who have posted passive aggressive things about my account. It doesn鈥檛 seem like they enjoy being posted about so I'm not going to torture them. I still get submissions of sightings but I don't post them. Another person, I talk about in my book but I don't name. And the fourth celebrity 鈥� whom I'd rather keep private 鈥� just came to me and said they felt really uncomfortable being posted about and they were so cool about it. I also try not to post about anyone underage.
AP: On Sundays, you share submissions from followers who have spotted celebrities in various places but always after the fact. Why?
DEUXMOI: Sightings are not posted in real time. ... I鈥檓 not trying to be Gawker Stalker. I鈥檓 not trying to promote stalking celebrities. I want to make this very clear: My followers do not stalk celebrities. They just happen to be in the same place at the same time as a celebrity. Also, Gawker was not my inspiration. It was honestly 鈥淕ossip Girl,鈥� like, 鈥淪potted: on the steps of the Met.鈥� That was the inspiration.
AP: Do you feel like you have any competition?
DEUXMOI: No, because I鈥檓 not looking at what everyone else is doing. I鈥檓 worried about myself. I really am trying to create a new media. I really am trying to present information in a way that no one really has done before. My sources aren't publicists. They're real people who've encountered celebrities. They鈥檙e the waiters, the waitresses. They鈥檙e the people who work at hotels. They鈥檙e the stylist's assistants.
By using those people as my source you get a better and a more real account of what's going on. Also, not everything has to be salacious. Celebrity gossip can be fun. It could be about coffee orders. It could be about skincare. It could be about hotel riders.
AP: Your co-author helped you with the book, but do you ever step away from Instagram?
DEUXMOI: It鈥檚 always on my mind. I鈥檓 always checking it. I鈥檒l never relax. I鈥檓 not trying to stay this like, 鈥淲oe, is me, like, feel bad for me.鈥� It's just the reality of the situation. Entertainment news or news in general never sleeps. There's always something happening. I never shut off and I never am relaxed.
AP: And do you have any help?
DEUXMOI: I鈥檓 the only one who鈥檚 posting and answering (direct messages). ... And also I started answering all my DMs because I knew what it felt like to message somebody with a platform and not get a response. If you鈥檙e in my inbox, I鈥檒l read your message, I鈥檒l give you an emoji, I鈥檒l tap it with a heart to let you know that I鈥檝e seen it.
AP: What do your parents think of all this?
DEUXMOI: I blocked my mom from the account because she really wasn鈥檛 enjoying it. Early on she would call me and be like, 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 very nice,鈥� you know, not that it was mean, but just the fact that I was like talking about somebody, a celebrity. She didn鈥檛 like it. So I blocked her, and my dad doesn鈥檛 have an Instagram account. I think they're proud of me. They see how hard I work because I鈥檓 always busy.
AP: Do you have a finsta ("fake Instagram," or separate account)?
DEUXMOI: Yes. I don't post anything private on it, I just use it to stalk (laughs).
AP: Where else do you see the account going?
DEUXMOI: People have wanted to start offshoot accounts, like, 鈥淐an I start a Deuxmoi Brazil? Can I start a Deuxmoi Broadway? Can I start a Deuxmoi Sports?鈥� ... I don鈥檛 have the bandwidth to do that myself but I would love to give people accounts that are specific to their interests.
Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press
