Finally! The “Other Blippi” Explains Why There Are Two Blippis Now

If you're the parent of a toddler or preschooler, you know the hold Blippi has on "the youths." The silly, smart, and curious guy has taken our pandemic babies and led them on adventures even through the darkest, most isolating times. And, sure, it's a little hard at first not to cringe at a grown man giggling and using a perky voice when talking to children. But the truth Blippi's creator, Stevin John, shared with the world several years ago was that he just wanted to create online content that he felt comfortable letting his nieces and nephews watch.

Now, as a dad himself, John is still making that content for little ones across the globe to enjoy safely. There are even spin-offs! The Meekah-led shows, the animated series, the treehouse-set shows, the "on-stage" show, and so much more. That's a lot for one young dad to handle. So, as is often the case, he called for reinforcements.

Enter "The Other Blippi," portrayed by Clayton Grimm. It's been several years since fans first noticed the Blippi on tour wasn't the OG Blippi they knew — and finally, after all this time, Blippi 2.0 is directly addressing the two-Blippi-debacle with some vital context. In a new video, Grimm explains how he got the gig and, well, who he is.

"...If you're wondering to yourself, 'Who is this guy, and why is he posting so much about Blippi?' Well, that's because I am Blippi! Woohoo!" Grimm shares, staying mostly out of character. "I thought I would explain how I became Blippi."

He goes on to describe a whirlwind journey that took him to exactly where he's at now. And, honestly, if you weren't sold on "the other Blippi" yet, his introduction ought to do the trick. Grimm is just as likable as the OG Blippi. He seems genuinely sweet, silly, and willing to explain literally anything. Just like the Blipster.

Grimm's path to Blippie-dom started in 2019 when he was living in New York as an actor and saw an audition for a show called Blippi the Musical. "And I thought to myself, 'What on Earth is a Blippi?'" Grimm jokes. "Anyway, my fiance said you had to audition for this; it was literally a description of me. So, I did. Four auditions later, Stevin John (the creator of Blippi) decided that I would be playing Blippi in Blippi The Musical. Amazing!"

But it started as a bumpy road for Blippi 2.0. His first gig as the orange-and-blue-clad leader was on-stage. Many kids weren't happy to arrive at theaters across the globe and discover Blippi looked... different. That same annoyance bled over to parents, irked they spent money to "see an imposter." And while the Other Blippi is a great Blippi, older kids who pay more attention to detail definitely noticed the difference. As It turns out, though, Blippi The Musical was a starting point for Grimm.

"I figured out what a Blippi was, and then the pandemic hit," Grimm recalls. "And it was at that moment that I got a random email saying that Stevin was looking for a second Blippi to support him making YouTube videos. And I had just spent three months being Blippi! I made a video in my home doing a fruit salad improvised Blippi video, and I sent it in."

Before Grimm knew it, he was being flown to LA for the official audition. "Four months later, I became Blippi on YouTube, and then not much later after that, I was on Netflix. And not much later after that, I was on Hulu and HBO and a lot of other things. And then I was performing in London. The point of all of this is: I'm Blippi! And you'll be seeing me a lot... if you have children."

Want to get to know a little bit more about the man behind the glasses? Grimm's TikTok account does not disappoint. From chance encounters with Ms. Rachel or just out-of-character silliness, Grimm's account is the perfect content for parents to devour in an effort to "investigate" the new man on their screens.

Fans seem to have overcome their initial distaste for the “Other Blippi,” but as Grimm's new video shows, he's still working to ensure he's just as accepted and well-liked as his predecessor. (John, BTW, still dons the Blipster's costume and films new episodes *all the time.*)

And, for the record, both Blippis would just prefer to be called “Blippi.” So, if everyone could just ignore the fact that two guys play the role, they’d really appreciate it. Think of it like one of your mom’s soap operas. Those shows do recasts and re-recasts all the time! Blippi is more than a full-time job at this point and both John and Grimm fill the role like they were meant to do it. There are no wrong answers, as long as the answer is Blippi.