Whitney LaBelle is here to stay.
The 33-year-old actress, comedian and entrepreneur is one of the more popular comics on Instagram right now with over 630,000 followers on the platform. Her niche is extremely specific, playing on her life as a young, single Christian and former college basketball athlete.
On Oct. 1, LaBelle stopped by Hallmark’s A Mahogany Moment in Atlanta, an event that featured other prominent Black women like Tabitha Brown, Cynthia Bailey, Brandy Merriweather, Ms. Basketball and Crystal Renee Hayslett.
After a panel discussion, LaBelle stopped by rolling out to speak about her success and new path for becoming a full-time content creator under the JustWhiti alias.
What was your panel at A Mahogany Moment like?
It went so well. This was actually my second panel ever. So I had to deal with, “Am I going to bring value? There’s so many important people up here.” I felt it went awesome.
What has the transition to full-time entrepreneur been like?
It’s been awesome. The Lord has been opening up a lot of opportunities for me. There is no lack, which I’m so grateful for. It’s just been a foundation moment within entrepreneurship. That’s a whole thing, your mental health, all of the things. I’ve just been taking it day by day.
There was a full circle moment where the host of the podcast you were on where you went viral became your manager. What is that working relationship like?
Laterras [Whitfield] is great. Check out “Dear Future Wifey” if you haven’t seen it. He is amazing. He’s got a great business mind, a mind to plant seeds, he’s so supportive, so many resources and honestly, he’s my saving grace. The Lord provided him at a pivotal time. I got a brand deal from a company and I was like, “You should be my manager.” He was like, “I thought I was doing that,” and I was like “Say less.”
Why is laughter so important?
Oh, man. The Bible says laughter brings joy, and the joy of the Lord is my strength. I think laughter is so important because it produces endorphins, and it just makes things lighter.
You post a lot of content to the point where it’s easy for your audience to think they actually know you. How do you keep a certain level of privacy in your life?
I think because my comedy is vulnerable and transparent, people do feel like they know me, but I’m very cautious of privacy. Even when I talk about the Lord in my car, I’m really a warm person because I love connecting, but there are things I don’t put on the Internet because I want to keep them private and sacred to me.
It is a balance, but I think I’m doing well.
What words of encouragement can you give to abstaining single Christians?
Figure out your why because abstaining and trusting the Lord is difficult, especially when you don’t see resources. You want to be true to your journey.
