On the Upper East Side, privilege comes with the territory — and playfully mocking it has been the bailiwick of the woman behind the popular @overhearduppereastside Instagram account.
The snark-filled social media account posts made-up quotes about life in the ritzy Manhattan neighborhood, poking fun at the world of private schools and monogrammed accessories.
“He’s only being nice to me because it’s almost summer and I have a boat,” quipped one post.
Another satirically sniped, “There should be an academy award for the kids who acted surprised when they got their college early admission letters. Why not throw a rager in the wing your parents donated?”
“A lot of it comes from my group chat of my close friends and we all grew up around here and we make jokes about growing up here,” said the Upper East Sider behind the account, who asked to remain anonymous. “We’ll say things to act like we’re snobby, but we’re just kidding and I’ll use that and exaggerate it.”
The quotes she posts are “99 percent made up,” and dripping with sarcasm.
“Rich dads always go all out for their daughter’s weddings. It’s like a ‘She’s your problem now’ celebration,” one post remarked.
Between sips of a latte at her favorite coffee shop — Madame Bonte on 84th between Second and First avenues — she dished on the page she started in 2017, which now has more than 30,000 followers.
She was inspired to start Overheard after giving a toast at the wedding of a friend who worked in the entertainment industry, and got kudos from fellow guests, who asked if she’d ever considered stand-up comedy.
“While I absolutely love standup, I never wanted to be on stage or in the limelight,” said the blonde, who grew up on George Carlin and Eddie Murphy records. “I thought it would be fun, but I’d want to stay anonymous.”
So she turned to social media.
“I could get some traction on Instagram, but I wanted to make it niche. I didn’t just want to be another meme page,” the thirtysomething said.
Just 20 people, mainly her siblings and close friends know that she is the woman behind the Instagram account.
“There’s a ton of friends who follow it and they have no idea,” she said.
So far, the post that has gotten the most attention was “I’m getting my girlfriend a monogrammed bag for Christmas. I wanna make it clear she won’t be changing her initials anytime soon.”
“People went nuts over that post,” she said of the quote, which got more than 2,000 likes in December 2019. “That one hit close to home for a lot of people.”
Although the page notes it is purely satire, there has been backlash.
One popular post, which snagged more than 4,000 likes and its own share of scornful comments, was inspired by her frustration over those who said the Big Apple wouldn’t bounce back from the pandemic.
“If New York is dead, who planted the mums on Park Avenue?” the Instagrammer, who stayed in the city during COVID, wrote in November 2020.
At least one follower didn’t get the sarcasm.
“If you think the current NYC experience is anything to boast about, then your pre-March NYC experience has been pretty unremarkable … You probably don’t even know what you’re missing. Sad,” @gatorwageralpha wrote.
The self-proclaimed “WASP” was even blocked by the New York Junior League, an exclusive women’s club of which she is a member, after she joked about the group more than once.
“I heard someone met their husband at a Junior League party. That’s a made up story they tell in order to sell tickets,” was one she crafted in October 2017.
For now, staying anonymous has its perks.
Besides avoiding the scrutiny that would come with going public, two of her ex-boyfriends follow the account, blissfully unaware that it belongs to her.
“They didn’t think I was funny when we dated,” she said. “It’s proof that guys don’t want to date the funny girl.”
As for whether or not she plans on revealing her identity, Overheard is having fun with remaining mysterious.
“If I’m at a Junior League party and I’m posting it on my story, I just get an influx of messages from people being like, ‘I’m dying to meet you.’” she said. “It’s kind of fun to have the chase of trying to have people figure it out and just tease them a little bit like that.”
