Not to brag, but I am a connoisseur of ASMR. (That is, auto-sensory meridian response. Or, in even plainer English: those weird YouTube videos where people whisper or make quiet sounds that produce a tingly and relaxing feeling in listeners.) If my headphones are in, chances are that I’m listening to creators like Gibi ASMR, FrivolousFox ASMR and ASMR Glow whisper, tap, tingle, crinkle, chew and brush relaxing sounds into my ears. (What can I say? I’m an anxious Jew who loves a little snooze more than the SleepyTime Tea Bear.)
But before a few days ago, I thought that ASMR Glow, the handle of creator Sharon Dubois, was the only Jewish ASMRtist I favored. And then, W Magazine released a new video in its series of celebrities doing ASMR starring the one and only Fran Drescher.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: I had no idea that Fran Drescher, the iconic Jewish actress best known for playing the extremely loud, nasal and too-much nanny Fran Fine, was even capable of whispering! Well first of all, how dare you assume that she doesn’t have the range. And second, not only can Fran Drescher whisper, she’s really good at it!
Here’s what I adore about this video:
1. Fran’s whisper is deliciously calming. As a Jewish person, I’ve always found a level of comfort in her Queens accent, but her enunciation and the timbre of Fran’s voice genuinely make for great tingles.
2. The stories she tells set such a fun tone for the video. Rambling videos (ASMR content which features the creator talking about whatever they want for however long they want) have a tendency to get boring quickly. Not so with Fran. Her anecdotes about meeting Bruce Springsteen in an elevator, her dad coming to the set of “Saturday Night Fever” to check on her and more are both intriguing and so funny.
3. Among the stories Fran tells is one about being first runner-up at the Miss New York Teenager Pageant. I’m obsessed with Fran’s line about who won: “[The winner] was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl, [who] became the nemesis for all us Jewish girls for the rest of my career.” Incredible. Thank you for your service to us Jewish girls, Fran.
4. Fran keeps the tapping minimal. Don’t get me wrong, I love ASMR tapping videos. I just find it so silly and endearing that the video is essentially just her talking to the viewer with a random assortment of interchanging objects.
Thank you to Fran Drescher and W Magazine for giving me the content I didn’t know I needed. And Fran: Please, do us all a favor, and become an ASMRtist.
