This TikToker is obsessed with making fun of your toxic work environment

Amanda Ang, 26, Freelance content creator and copywriter

TikTok account: @hibye.lovez

Started on TikTok: “I started posting POV skits on TikTok in March 2022 when I was stuck at home having gotten Covid for the first time then.”

TikTok stats as of press time: 92.7K followers, 9.2M likes

Why know her: Because every single character in her laugh-out-loud hilarious, one-woman skits is someone you’ve encountered at least once in real life and so spot on: the toxic boss, the toxic friend, the toxic just-about-anybody. As she sums up her content: “It’s about triggering people by poking fun at bad behaviour… I think everyone loves spilling tea and venting about the bad characters in their lives, and my page is a safe space for them to do that if they can’t confront these people in real life.” Why know her? Because this preternaturally perceptive comedian really, really gets us. 

Her background and how it’s shaped her content: “I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh and would get really animated when telling stories or spilling tea with my friends. Instead of just saying, ‘Oh my boss said XYZ’, I would reenact such behaviour and that usually gets a lot of laughs. When TikTok came around, I decided to expand this ‘group’ to include not just my close friends, but also whoever online who might relate to the same stories. Having been trained in the advertising industry as a copywriter, I also have always enjoyed writing and producing ads that are a bit tongue-in-cheek and don’t take themselves too seriously, and I think that’s translated into the kind of content I do.”

Her best talent: “Holding a one-sided conversation with myself”

On how she gets inspiration for her skits:  “Whenever I hear a story from a friend or observe something in public, I would quickly jot it down on my phone. You can also say that I have this six sense for stories that I think will trigger my audience… Most of my skits are inspired by real life, but I usually embellish them and change things up here and there for entertainment. I did do one TikTok reenacting a salesperson pitching about laser hair removal in a degrading way (and that was true though). She said straight up that my armpits look like chicken skin and there might have been something about body odour too.”

Her favourite personas to play: “I love the toxic boss and passive aggressive manager series because it allows me to poke fun at bosses who I was once so intimidated by. It’s also nice to see people relating and giving advice on how to navigate these experiences in the comments. Suddenly, my silly little TikToks become conversation starters about work-life balance.”

So how much of her TikTok personality is true? “Ninety-nine per cent of what I portray is not my true personality, but some things will slip through. I’d remember some cringe thing I had done in the past when I was younger and more foolish, and think that it would make a great POV so in those instances, I would call out my own past behaviour. People who know me from TikTok first and then get to know me in person always say I’m nothing like my personas. I’m a lot more reserved, I think.”

Most memorable comment she’s received: “Someone said they suffer from low blood pressure and would go to my page to increase it. It’s so funny and nice to know that entertainment on my page isn’t a one-way street because some of these comments are top-tier and in fact spark even more video ideas for me.”

“I love the toxic boss and passive aggressive manager series because it allows me to poke fun at bosses who I was once so intimidated by. It’s also nice to see people relating and giving advice on how to navigate these experiences in the comments. Suddenly, my silly little TikToks become conversation starters about work-life balance.”

Amanda Ang

And the most unexpected reaction she’s had: “I bumped into a viewer when I was in the UK for a holiday, which was so shocking because I didn’t expect my content to reach people living so far away. On top of that, I was a bit tipsy from afternoon drinks so I stared at her for a good 10 seconds without saying anything after she approached me. My friend had to step in and act as my fake manager while I stood there gawking back. Also people tend to come up to me with a look of utter shock on their faces and go, ‘OMG you’re so much prettier in person than in your videos,’ which is really sweet, but I usually tease in response, ‘So you’re saying I look ugly in my videos la,’ so I can watch them panic – all done in good fun.”

Has she always been a funny person? “I think I’ve always tried to be a funny person. When I became funny is debatable, but I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh.”

How TikTok has helped her to nurture her creative talent: “It’s given me an outlet to take more creative risks, put myself out there and not take myself too seriously. Basically, it’s fun – all while pushing me to write sharper lines that no doubt will help me in my career as a copywriter.”

Best thing about TikTok: “That most people don’t take themselves or the content on the app too seriously so it can be a freeing way to be silly and interact with people in the comments.”

Worst thing about TikTok: “People who take themselves way too seriously and use it as a way to start beef with other people in the comments.”

Her favourite TikTok accounts: “I love Delaney (@delaneysayshello) because her skits are hilarious and her acting is so effortless. Locally, I love Qilah Rose (@qilahrose55) because she too is effortlessly funny and seems like the kind of person who is so sure of herself.”

Does she do anything besides content creation and work? “That would require me to have a life. On a more serious note, I do pole fitness, play PUBG, spend time with loved ones and rewatch Netflix series over and over again (I’m on my third rewatch of Suits) – nothing particularly out of the ordinary.”

“I think I’ve always tried to be a funny person. When I became funny is debatable, but I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh.”

Amanda Ang

If there was no TikTok: “I would probably still be having one-sided conversations with myself at home. I’d just not be filming them.”

THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CLARITY AND BREVITY.

COORDINATION EMMA ASHLEE GOH PHOTOGRAPHY ATHIRAH ANNISSA STYLING DAMIAN HUANG, ASSISTED BY DANESSA TONG HAIR PETER LEE / 35A, USING GOLDWELL MAKEUP KEITH BRYANT LEE, USING NARS

This article first appeared in the June 2024 TikTok Edition of FEMALE