Super Kiki, aka Kiki Litsaki, is a talented comedian and at the same time an influencer of the poor, as she characteristically states. She is also extremely honest, spontaneous and authentic. In the exclusive interview she gave to HeartbeatInk Tattoo Magazine, she spoke to us about her popular persona, her relationship with tattoo, television, the echo of her shocking confession to Grigoris Arnaoutoglou, the (still) male-dominated community of comedians, influencers, her audience, her performances and the blue colour that characterizes her.
Photos & interview: Ino Mei.
Talk to me a little bit about the “Super Kiki” character.
She is moody, borderline rude and audacious, but always has good intentions. She likes it very much to comment on anything. If she doesn't do that she cannot sleep. She is very childish and thinks out loud. Now, I am talking to you like I am the craziest person around, as I refer to someone else, who is in fact me.
Super Kiki was born by chance about two years ago. However, I like it very much, to show exactly what I feel through this persona. For example, I have tried many times to say “Good morning” with joy, without being happy and I regret it and I erase it thinking “If I'm not in the mood, I will say it in an angry tone”. From what I have realised, my sincerity has been appreciated by the majority. Thus, I think that our podcast with Giannis, is number one everywhere in Greece, since day one. Actually, we are just making conversation, but we are true to ourselves and the is no restriction at all as to what we say. We do whatever we want. We go there totally unprepared, in contrast to every other podcast - most of them are mainly scientific ones - that take hard work and research. Imagine, that at the top ten there are more than one of our podcasts at the same time, which is very impressive.
Sincerity is very rare in our days, is it maybe because of that?
Exactly, because it is rare, I think that we have such a great success. Most of the messages that I receive, make me sleep well at night. Some, seem to be helped by the way I act and they do the same. The truth is that all of my life, before I became an “influencer”, many people used to tell me that I have helped them in some way, without me even knowing. Meanwhile, I was not always this sincere as I am now. But I saw that there are people who accept me as I am and this encouraged me to become even more genuine.
How did your relationship with tattooing start?
In jail. My first was the 8Δ, which means the 8th of December, the first day that I got in jail and pretty much everybody from the team has that. I did it on myself in my cell without even knowing how. I added pen ink in a bottle cap and burning a tele card I made the colour darker. They called that lampblack. I heated a bic pen, put on three needles and I tattooed myself with this. I was nineteen years old.
When I got out of jail, I got the balloon, which symbolises freedom. I got it from a friend that was an apprentice and later, when we used to live together, he tattooed on me anything that gotten through his head (she laughs).
Later, I got the umbrella, that means safety and revolution, personal revolution. I have read somewhere that in Hong Kong, they had made a revolution with umbrellas and I was really impressed with it. I got this tattoo during my psychotherapy sessions. On an exercise I was doing, I had to paint a closet, and it got to me to paint an umbrella that was raining from the inside. My therapist explained to me that this meant security and revolution and she wished to me that someday the drops would be outside of the umbrella. When, after a lot of hard work, this happened, I went and got it tattooed without the rain drops.
Then, I have this one, that is completely irrelevant. I did it with a boyfriend that I have known for three days and it fits with his hand to make a whole. Maybe the most unnecessary guy I had in my life. It lasted years. I do not erase it whatsoever, because I want it to always remind me what a spontaneous person I am and how stupid I used to be. Back then, I was at the program and when I started to depend on my own feet, I found a boyfriend who would do any sort of drugs. How contradictory! But all my life is contradictory, I have said that many times.
Here I also have Chihiro from Spirited Away. I identified a lot with this movie. I will continue this one. I have to add Ubaba and more. The dragon underneath was tattooed on me by Taki Tsan.
I consider important, my tattoo with Chios island on fire, while two kids sit on a building and through the flames there are balloons coming out. It is inspired by a song by Midenistis and was drawn by an autistic kid who gifted it to me, and I got it tattooed. It is actually what we did ourselves when we were very young. None of us would even imagine that we were doing something bad...
All the rest of my tattoos are alike in some sort of way.
Oh, I have also had Tassos' foot tattooed (ed. Kiki's amazingly sweet dog).
How many years are you two together?
Six years. When I went to the program, a cousin of mine brought him to me without me even wanting him. I was working thirteen hours a day back then at a local tavern, while I was studying at the same time. At first I told him that I could not keep him, but then I ended up taking him with me at work and at school and we patched things out.
What was it that allured you so much that you kept on getting tattooed?
When I realised through psychotherapy who I am, on one hand I was enthusiastic about self-knowledge and on the other, I was terrified with the cons. I decided to get tattooed in order not to forget who I am. As years pass by, I do not tell them apart. I considered them to be just my skin. I do not remember that I have them and this sometimes makes me sad. I have the opinion, that we should not tattoo on our bodies just drawings. Yes, tattooing is considered as an art form but not just it. There should be a reason to have a tattoo on you.
How were your tattoos perceived on television?
Nobody commented on them. Nobody told me anything about my tattoos, my hair, my eyebrows and my whole image in general. Only about my mouth!
This proves that something is probably changing for the better.
My part on the show is to actually offend our guests. However, we have ended up being very polite to them, they walk in the changing room and we get scared. This situation was developed after a recent event with a journalist. If I had agreed from the start to be a part of a TV morning show, of course I would not swear, provoke or anything, since my part would be completely different. At the casting, there was panic! When I asked Grigoris if it was going to be like that and he said yes, I was so happy that I almost left from Spata on foot! I thought that there couldn't be a more fitting concept for me.
Did you all three get chosen by the show?
They did initially contact me directly, so I was the definite one and then they casted several girls to see who would fit next to me.
Who came up with the name?
The channel. Even the styling. It doesn't help me at all. I feel stressed. They tell me for example, to unbutton the first button of my shirt.
Do you consider that the general public does not accept “The wasps” because you are all female?
Not just the general public. My contract from the start wrote “Super Kiki” and not “Kuriaki Litsaki”. They, actually, “bought” the character. I do not necessarily blame the channel. After the first three episodes, they told us to cool down a little bit, especially me. Because “You are a woman and people cannot accept that a woman can talk in any way she wants”. Labropoulos would say anything he wanted, so I think that it is unfair and it does not motivate me to want to be there and chew on my words.
Apart from unfair and disappointing, it caused me many internal reactions. I have become very reactive on social media. I wasn’t this much reactive with my people. Now I swear more. I was always rude with my social media audience but not in person. I appreciate very much their support and I do not take them for granted. But somehow they will have to get used to the fact that I will talk however I like and however likes it can stay close.
All of this changed me very much. I was always careful and especially by the time that the followers started becoming more and more. It's like you do not have the same rights anymore, because when we become many we cannot say much. While I was careful for the sponsors, as they retreat for the slightest reason. However, when all of this thing we are now going through started, I said “No”. I invited everyone on Syntagma square to gather and protest and nobody showed up. The sites got it and made a big fuss about it. They also called me from the channel to ask me what I was doing and I explained to them from the start that they will have no word on my Instagram profile. Everybody told me “But you are on TV”. OK, I'm not in NASA! I would be honoured to be thrown out of Greek television for such a reason and tell me that “You are out for bad behaviour”. After that incident, they don’t tell me anything at all. Many celebrities ask me, how can I be on ANT1 channel and talk like that. My answer is I don't have a clue!
So, what is your relationship with television?
TV is a world far outside of myself and for that reason I started going to therapy. It was not something that I pursued, it just came up. I have studied acting and I wanted to play parts, but I created a persona that I live through who is not very far from me but I am very far from her.
How is your relationship with Grigoris Arnaoutoglou?
I have very good relations with him and I consider him to be very good. Of course each of us swims in a different pool. I appreciate very much the fact that he trusted me, because he knew very well what he was getting; he had seen it. He helped me and I helped him, I think. It was my dream since I was young to work with him. I was a child when he was doing “So much on Sunday” and he got on air and said “I haven't studied anything and I can't speak English either”. I wasn't good at school and I told my mother that I wanted to go on TV and work there and she told me that I could not do that because it takes a lot of studying. So, when Grigoris said that on television, I told her that since he did that I could do that too.
It was all very karmic. One day my cell phone rang and he said: “Hello, I am Grigoris” and he asked me if I wanted to take the place of Lambropoulos etc. My mistake, because I went to a concept that already existed. I did not think of that then. Of course, it is as if Menegaki, for example, is going to replace Arnaoutoglou. No one will ask, “why”.
A few months ago, we watched your shocking testimony-interview-confession. What happened after that?
I felt that this whole case was finally closed. I have always wanted to take the streets with a handgun and say who I am, even to strangers. To ask them: “Do you accept me?”. I have no secrets from anyone, I do not like it, I cannot. I will say the same to you that I met you today, my best friend knows the same. I certainly will not show exactly who I am to anyone, but in general, I do not want to have any secrets. From a very young age, I had the anxiety and worry of being accepted exactly as I am. I did not want to adapt anywhere. I could not. I remember that my mother did not want to take me with her, because I said everything. So did my girlfriends afterwards. At first, the program wanted to make me change that aspect of myself, but as soon as they realized what it meant to me, they told me to stay that way, just a little more relaxed.
After my interview with Grigoris, I said “it's over”. Now everyone knows everything about me, so I do not have to say it every time. It was a very strange experience. The next day I did not leave my house. They all fell on me. All the gossip TV people called me the next morning from 08:00 and asked me to go to their show, to say it again. If possible! This is audacity. I was offended. It is completely disrespectful. I was called by strangers all day. Imagine, I had my cell phone constantly charging. Okay, some strangers also took me to say well done. Even until recently, they were contacting me again to go and talk about prison. Will I go to every channel to talk about prison? …
It is an issue that sells a lot and thus the aggressive persistence.
I felt very scared then. For over two weeks, I was scared. I felt like I had nothing to say. I was afraid of disappointing people – 60.000 followers came to me after that day. But I did it. I received over 20.000 messages. “I love you”, “goddess”, “respect” and below “Why are you uploading the faggots, bitch?”. I do not delete any comments. I am not at all interested in their opinion. At first, I was very interested. I was afraid of being hated and I would say “Oh, my audience loves me”.
Someone may write to me “How cool you talk” and “I like you for your honesty and spontaneity” and the same person, can make exactly the same comment, to a girlfriend of Touni. This can actually be true, but she never showed it to you in any way in order to go and tell her! Where did you see her to be honest? When she told you where did she get the bodysuit she is wearing? She will tell you the truth, because she gets paid to wear it. I see that people on social media act stupid, so I no longer take them seriously.
I take seriously the kids who come to my shows. There, I really want to hear them out. It takes me at least two to three hours, you know, after the show ends. I left with a lot of tears… The show is the story of my life, “served” comically, while in the end a band tells you the whole truth, together with another actress. Actually, they make you feel remorse, that you laughed for so long. The show does not end happily, but it gives you optimism since “I made it”. In fact, at that time, no one knew that I had spent two years in prison. That is why those who came to the show did not leave, they cried, they were shocked.
What do you have to say about influencers?
I am not going to lie, the life of the influencer is very nice and I believe that everyone would like to have it, but it also takes a strong stomach to have it, because you are not only on TV, you are not only an actor, you are at the same time many things and you have many responsibilities. I think you should take advantage of this whole profile, saying even more essential things or if you cannot, at least try not to create depression to the rest of the world, constantly showing and flexing nice and expensive things. As an audience, at the time I see the story, I may not understand that she is showing me the salmon and the pool at the same time with her very nice body - OK she showed it once, twice, thrice, ten times - but let's relax a bit. I believe that influencers create a lot of depression and that they have a great responsibility and no one knows it.
Do you consider yourself as an influencer?
Yes, I consider myself an influencer. Like it or not, I bear this title, but next to it I add ''of the poor''.
What age are the majority of your followers?
Most of them range from twenty-five to thirty-five. Based on the statistics and what I see. I generally do not have a very young audience and I do not want that. I do not want young children to follow me. Not because I have a problem with children, but they are not a “nice” audience, because they don’t understand. If they follow me, they do it because of stupidity. I have played in a show with Kopsialis and I was shocked with what I saw below. I would talk about prison and my pain and there would be children playing with blow pipes and uploading stories. They do not understand. These people are for other things.
What about your shows?
As for my audience in the shows, I have a lot of lesbians and gays. The straight people that come are mainly women. Some girls bring their boyfriends with them, who usually sit with their arms crossed due to embarrassment and of course I always deal with them. They are butter on my bread.
In general, I would say that anyone who feels “different” comes to my shows.
Are there women that do stand-up comedy? Why is the majority of stand-up comedians’ men? What are your thoughts on that?
Other women stand-up comedians, besides me, are Katsarini - who hugged me before we even became partners, Vrana and two - three new girls who are up and coming. The environment is not friendly to women at all. They treat us with complexes, while there is room for all of us. This is the paradox. Atzarakis has said publicly that it is not possible to start from being an instagrammer and end up doing performances. I was not angry with him and I do not speak ill of him either. My answer is, come first to see me and then judge whether I am worth doing a show or not. I basically, I am an actress. It turned out that I became an “instagrammer”. That's why I avoid a lot of things, such as giveaways, etc. I will advertise, but very selectively.
I was offered 6.000 euros to speak in favour of the vaccine. I did not accept it. Most of the influencers are paid. Even the comedy they do in their videos, is paid in order to pass you something. I have one in mind that has made videos that makes fun of those who do not wear masks. I can tell if he is paid or not. I do not sell out in such things. There is no chance. I prefer to sleep peacefully and not have money to eat. Nevertheless, everything is going well for me and I have a clear conscience. I no longer have any fear of failing.
Over time, I was approached by people like Mathioudakis, who was my favourite anyway and I was very happy. Slowly others are coming. This year, I was offered to be at the Comedy Festival. Very difficult and rare for me. Did not expect that at all. However, I have not entered 100% in the comics’ clique and I will neither do. After all, they themselves say that they are not friendly.
Why so blue?
I turned blue. I thought that in this persona, her image should be as she feels. And I felt blue. And because I turned blue, Super Kiki got a little confused with Kiki and now I go to a psychologist, as I told you, to separate them a little bit, because all this does not help me in my daily life.
What are you up to these days?
I do the podcast every Friday, with Instagram and on TV. I do not deal with anything else, since the law does not allow me anything because of Covid-19. I do not think anything will open for the time being, even for years. By logic, what happens is in the best interests of some, and those in charge are the ones who are already in their best interests. So, shut up now everyone, close your mouths, (those who can) rent nice houses and sit and watch them. That's why I moved to a different house. I don’t think that we will ever turn back to normal. I wish I will end up being the biggest liar in the world. It is global. It is a problem.
All photographs are courtesy of Ino Mei & HeartbeatInk.
