Science says we may be sharing our homes with a lot more creepy crawlies than we realize. In fact, the average home contains around 100 different kinds of arthropods, which is exactly why Raid is leaning into the chaos with “The Other Tenants,” a brand-new reality TV-inspired social media series that brings bugs to life in hilariously dramatic fashion.
The campaign marks the return of Raid’s iconic bug characters after nearly a decade, with messy confessionals, chaotic alliances, and reality-TV-level villain energy all unfolding inside a shared home. And helping bring the over-the-top universe to life is viral comedian, content creator, and former Miss New York Taryn Delanie Smith, who voices Filthina, the breakout cockroach villain. For Smith, stepping into the role felt surprisingly natural.
Taryn Delanie Smith Says Playing Filthina Felt ‘So Fitting’
When Raid approached Smith about voicing Filthina, she admitted her first reaction was laughter. “I laughed,” she told The Blast. “I loved that they thought of me as the inspiration for Filthina. I thought it was so fitting, and I mean that so genuinely.”
And no, she wasn’t offended by the comparison to a dramatic cockroach living inside a kitchen cabinet. “I love that I give the energy of this funny cockroach woman who is hanging out with all her homies in a kitchen cabinet, that is my vibe!” Smith joked. “That is exactly how I feel with my homegirls.”
The partnership also felt oddly full-circle for the creator, who previously worked with Raid in a very different way. “I’ve also worked with Raid in the past as a cockroach in a costume for the Met Gala, so it felt very full circle,” she added.
Inside Bringing Raid’s ‘Dirty Cockroach Villain’ To Life
While Filthina may be a dramatic reality-TV villain, Smith said the role gave her a chance to flex her creative muscles in a way she rarely gets to. “I love voice acting so much, and I would say a huge dream of mine would be to do more professional voice acting,” she explained.
The best part? Getting to completely let loose. “I think villains are always fun because you can never do too much with a villain who’s also a dirty cockroach,” Smith said. “It was really fun to be able to let loose and figure out what the different layers of the characters would be.”
Rather than stepping into an already established character, Smith revealed she worked closely with the Raid team in real time to build Filthina from the ground up, experimenting with different voices, personalities, and even accents. “I got to create the character live with the Raid team, so there was so much that we went through with trying out different voices and accents,” she shared. “It was a ton of fun, and we were laughing in the studio the entire time.”
Though “The Other Tenants” leans heavily into reality TV drama, Smith confessed she didn’t actually pull inspiration from famous Bravo villains. “I actually don’t watch reality TV, I’m sorry!” she laughed, explaining that her version of Filthina came from imagining what a reality show starring bugs would look like in her own mind.
Taryn Delanie Smith Gets Real About Her Biggest Bug Nightmare
Despite spending time voicing a cockroach, Smith made one thing crystal clear: she is not exactly Team Roach in real life. “I really don’t like roaches,” she admitted.
After nearly a decade living in New York City and now residing on a farm in an upstate farmhouse, Smith said she’s learned bugs are simply unavoidable, though some experiences still haunt her. “After living in New York City for almost a decade, there is nothing that compares to a New York City cockroach,” she recalled.
In one particularly horrifying encounter, Smith said a roach was somehow strong enough to move furniture. “I once had a New York City cockroach knock over a picture frame on my fireplace mantle, that’s how strong they are,” she shared.
Now living in a nearly 200-year-old farmhouse, Smith says she’s had to shift her mindset when it comes to pests. “You live with bugs, and it never stops,” she explained. “Living in an old house, bugs are always working to find their way in, and there’s only so much you can do.”
Still, she’s drawing a hard line somewhere. When she discovered mouse droppings in her attic and was told by her realtor to simply accept it as “farm life,” Smith refused to embrace the idea. “I will not accept that people just live with mice in their homes,” she said.
Smith Says Content Creation Wasn’t An Overnight Success
Outside of comedy and brand campaigns, Smith has built a loyal following online through relatable humor and sharp storytelling, but she said becoming a full-time creator took far longer than people realize. “When I met my manager, I was working at a call center,” Smith revealed. Though encouraged to leave her job, she initially struggled to believe content creation could realistically become a career.
Instead, she kept hustling. “The first nine months of figuring out my content, I actually went back to working as a waitress at clubs or lounges,” she explained, laughing at the irony of serving influencers one night and then seeing them again days later at influencer events. “It wasn’t this overnight thing,” she emphasized.
Her Advice For Anyone Wanting To Become A Creator
After years of building her platform, Smith now has one major piece of advice for aspiring creators: don’t rush the process. “Until you have six months of your expenses saved up or unless you have a second income, don’t be ashamed to keep that day job,” she said.
She also encouraged newcomers to throw themselves fully into the creative process while remembering to actually enjoy it. “It should be 80% fun,” Smith said. “If it’s not, why are you doing it?”
For Smith, “The Other Tenants” perfectly represents the kind of project worth saying yes to. “This Raid campaign is a really great example of that,” she shared. “It was easy to say yes because it was clear that Raid centered, making this fun for everyone working on it.”