Comedian, Internet Star Kalen Allen Talks ‘Ellen,’ Fame, and Future

In 2017, college student Kalen Allen decided to post a food reaction video on Twitter to entertain his friends. Little did he know that would lead to viral fame and attract the attention of Ellen DeGeneres.

DeGeneres ultimately offered Allen a job, which got him out to Los Angeles and doing field assignments for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, including red carpet correspondence and other off-site segments. For the last two-and-a-half years, Allen has hosted OMKalen, where he provides witty, colorful, and one-of-a-kind commentary on hot topics and trending stories of the week. He has also found incredible success expanding his “Kalen Reacts” food series to cover events such as New York Fashion Week, the Met Gala, and the royal wedding.

Although Allen continues to entertain in the digital space, he is exploring other opportunities within the industry. Last year, he made his acting debut in Seth Rogan’s An American Pickle for HBO Max and released an independent Christmas album, which served as a love letter to the LGBTQ community during the holiday season. He is also a guest host on the Food Network/Discovery+ baking competition series Cakealikes.

OFM had the opportunity to catch up with Allen and talk about his time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, how “Kalen Reacts” began, and turning viral fame into success.

Millions of people know you from your appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, even guest hosting at times. What have you taken away from this incredible experience?
When I guest hosted, I felt there was a shift. Being a person within the industry, as a YouTuber, a digital creator, or whatever you want to call it, the shift allowed me to see who I had the ability to become and what I was capable of doing. Also, that was probably the first time in my life that I ever did something that was like, this is what I am supposed to be doing. This feels 100 percent right. Because of that opportunity and being able to have that moment, it really gave me a renewed confidence of being like, ‘I belong here, and this is why.’

What were you feeling after Ellen invited you to be a part of the show?
At first, that was not what I was expecting. At first, I was just expecting to come in, get me a cute little check, and go home. That was my first thought. So, when the job was presented to me, I was really shocked, but as a college student, I was like, ‘Yes, we going to go where the money resides because we got bills to pay.’ [laughs]

You have gotten to meet several celebrities throughout this time. Who are some of your most memorable interactions?
Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Mariah Carey. Those are my top three.

Unfortunately, a lot of controversy surrounded Ellen last year, and the show is coming to an end. From a firsthand point of view, can you tell us more about what was happening?
Just to clarify, the ending of the show is not necessarily tied to everything that happened last summer. I understand the way that it looks, but about three years ago, Ellen made an announcement saying she had renewed her contract for three years. So, this season is the last season of that contract. At that time, especially being in it, I already assumed that three years seemed like a very odd number to include, so that must be the end of the show. Due to everything that we experienced over the summer, it just kind of ironically, and unfortunately, tied in together to create that illusion.

That makes total sense. How come you never spoke publicly about the situation?
I think the difference, especially for me within it, I am just talent. I am not someone who is there on a day-to-day basis working 9-5. Also, this happened in the midst of the pandemic as well, so I was not in the office at all. When everything was happening, I was learning about it in real time, just like everybody else. We were all learning about everything. I think what I appreciated the most was the immediate, solution-based thinking. We are now aware of these issues; how do we fix them?

For me, as talent, regardless of my experience, I chose not to make a statement or to say anything about it because of the fact that I knew, as talent and someone that was closely involved, they would take my word over anybody else’s. As talent, it was not right for me, and my privilege of being talent, to discredit anybody else’s experience. I was not going to let anybody else use my word against everybody else. I think that was the smartest thing to do, and I feel that allowed for a lot of people to be able to have their voice heard equally.

Although there were some serious allegations against Ellen, some people believe this was just another instance of cancel culture. As a media and internet personality, what is your take on cancel culture?
I don’t believe in cancel culture. Depending on what the offense is, there is always room for education and growth. I think cancel culture is kind of like a myth that we’ve thought of. I always look at it like that. I don’t believe anybody is above critique. I tell people all the time, for me personally, “Always hold me to a standard. Always critique me.” At the end of the day, I am human.

Regardless of what my platform is or what standards you want to uphold me to, I am a human being who makes mistakes. I am able to learn and become better than who I was before. I think the idea within cancel culture that people don’t change, or who they were at this age is different now, but that does not include people that participate in things such as transphobia, racism, homophobia, and stuff like that. That is a whole different case. I am talking about very small things that you want to cancel somebody out for.

You have been hinting that we should expect to see you regularly on TV again soon. Can you provide any details about this?
Let me see what other hints I can give [laughs]. Yes, you will be seeing more on TV, but I can add to that. It will be a little bit of scripted, there will be a little bit of acting, and there will be a little bit of non-scripted.

You caught Ellen’s attention by doing your “Kalen Reacts” videos. What initially made you start doing them?
That was an accident. There was no intention. It was never a thing of being like, “Oh, I’m going to start doing these food videos.” They honestly happened just by chance. I came across a video while sitting in my residence hall, and I was like, “I should make a video on this.” Pressed record, put it on Twitter, woke up the next morning, and it had gone viral. Guess I need to make this a thing, and that is literally how it happened.

What is the absolute most appalling concoction you have ever watched?
I would have to say the nastiest thing is when people cook stuff on their countertops and in their toilets. That’s nasty. There is no way you are eating that, and they use their hands and stuff. It’s a mess.

Do you consider yourself a foodie?
Yes, to an extent. I think I am more of a cook. I always tell people, I’m not a chef. I don’t get real fancy with stuff. I just know how to make something taste good. I’m just a cook.

What are your favorite dishes to cook?
Oh, everybody knows I love to make a peach cobbler! I love to make chicken and dumplings. I just recently learned how to make salmon. I never ate salmon until the other week, so I have been really practicing on my salmon skills. I love to make cherry limeade, and I usually don’t like the taste of alcohol, but lately, I have started to like the taste. So, I have been trying to figure out some new cocktails to make.

What advice can you offer to those who hope to turn viral fame into a lasting career like you did?
Everything must have purpose and intention, and you have to look at it as a job. Not as fame. I look at it as going to work every day. This is work, that’s all it is. Everything that comes with it, yes, that’s nice. It comes with its own perks and luxuries, but at the end of the day, it’s a job. My job is to wake up and make sure that I do it to every ounce of my being.

You launched your music career at the end of last year with a Christmas EP. Do you currently have any music projects in the works?
After the Christmas thing, I said, I won’t do this again. Not as an independent artist. This costs way too much money to make a little album, and you may make nothing off that album. You get cents! That’s why everybody goes and tours and stuff.

However, recently, I said, “Maybe I should do a disco funk album.” Especially with people like Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak leaving the door open and this movement is happening within music. Maybe I should play into the nostalgia.

Speaking of nostalgia, did you ever launch that nostalgia-inducing podcast?
You know, that was the plan, but this pandemic really shook things up. I needed to slow down. A podcast is still in the works, but we are still figuring out what to do it on, and more so, when the best time to do it would be. All these different projects and everything that I was working on with OMKalen, I needed to slow down. I am doing 50 million things at once, and I am only one person. So, I can say that a podcast is still coming.

What more do you hope to accomplish with your platform?
I hope with the platform that I have gotten, that I am able to build a life that is sustainable for myself, and one that creates a space and opens up doors for a lot of other people that identify just like I identify. That they can find that representation matters and not have to rely on someone else who is not like you to give you the okay. Being like, I see you; I am one of you; here’s a platform. Do what you can. Make it happen. That is what I hope for.

Connect with Allen by following him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Photos Courtesy of Ally Green and Social Media