Paloma Diamond: The Myth, The Legend

TV & Film

Nov 15

Paloma Diamond has had it harder than most in Hollywood. Despite a record-breaking nineteen Oscar nominations in the Best Actress category, she’s never managed to land a win. In her personal life, she went through a very public split with partner Nicholas Flannery, and of course, there was that vicious attack at the 2024 Met Gala.

‘Be careful who you hire as a makeup artist’ – Paloma Diamond

Recently, old episodes of the popular 80s serial ‘1984’ have made their way onto TikTok, introducing a whole new generation to the show that made Paloma Diamond a household name.

If you’re scratching your head trying to place this actress, it’s because she doesn’t actually exist. But don’t tell TikTok. They’ve all been collectively roleplaying in the Palomaverse for the last two years. Paloma Diamond comes from the mind of content creator Julian Sewell. His account has 1.9 million followers, but his videos normally get between 2 and 30 million views. To put this into perspective, that’s more hits than Disney or Marvel.

‘I pretended to be a horse’ – Paloma Diamond

RELATED:

Featured

7 Essential Episodes Of 'Black Mirror'

Julian Sewell created the character of Paloma Diamond back in 2023 as a homage to the classic older actress. She’s pure old Hollywood, based on the Meryl Streeps, the Tilda Swintons. At just 28, Julian is not only playing a different gender but a different generation. Despite the polished look of the videos, there’s no big production company behind Paloma. Julian Sewell makes videos solo, editing and writing himself with occasional help from family holding the camera. Sometimes it’s his mum, sometimes his sister. The fantastic wigs he can be seen sporting came from Temu.

Sewell’s best resource is his talent and dedication to his craft. He studied performing arts in Australia before moving to Wellington, New Zealand, to gain a Masters in theatre. His ability to create characters and tell a story will have some people in Hollywood looking on enviously.

‘Oprah and I are neighbours’ – Paloma Diamond

A pantheon of other stars has sprung up around Paloma, including Lorelai Lynch, a catty frenemy who always makes a splash when she appears. Sewell plays each role convincingly, using cutaways and other film techniques.

But Paloma Diamond herself has a colourful and varied backstory (all viewable on TikTok), including filmography, Vogue interviews, and feuds with journalists. In 2024, Sewell created an entire Oscars series on TikTok, including film promos for five actresses, red carpet walk, announcements, and interviews. He played every single part in each video.

Not only were there a whole host of comments discussing the imaginary films, but other creators got involved. Some made reaction videos to the best actress announcement as if it was real, and others came out in support of Paloma, outraged at her lack of an Oscar win.

Paloma DIamond characters — Image Source: Know Your Meme

More recently, Sewell has made an 80s satire (if Dallas met Westside Story) named 1984. It stars a young Paloma Diamond (although they never break the fourth wall) along with other fake actors (all played by Sewell) from the Palomaverse playing a set of characters in a TV show. You don’t get more meta than that. TikTok has become obsessed with it.

Creators have also bought into 1984. As each episode drops, they dissect Paloma’s performance, as well as the storyline in the videos. Some accounts have even made video fanfiction for 1984. TikTok has collectively decided that Paloma Diamond exists. The more they participate, the more deeply personal this ruse has become; the actress now belongs to them.

The first casting director that figures that out and puts Julian Sewell’s alter ego into a movie is going to have a hit on their hands.

READ NEXT:

Featured