Sixteen-year-old TikTok star Siya Kakkar has died, allegedly by suicide, according to India Today.
Kakkar, a singer and dancer with more than 1.9 million followers on TikTok, was reportedly found dead in her home June 25 in New Delhi. Her manager, Arjun Sarin, confirmed her death on Instagram, though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed. In a statement, Sarin alleged that Kakkar's death "must be due to something personal. Work-wise she was doing well."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB22sYyju3r/
Photographer Viral Bhayani also posted about Kakkar on Instagram, stating that he had spoken to Sarin before her death, and "he says she was in a good mood and perfectly alright."
Kakkar last posted to TikTok—a lip-sync video from a rooftop—on Wednesday. The Daily Mail cites "family sources" who claim she was receiving "threats" online, though that has not been confirmed. Her death is being investigated, with the help of her family, according to India Today.
President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign appears to be getting trolled by TikTok users, yet again.
This time, TikTokers are encouraging fellow users to employ a tactic called "shopping cart abandonment" in which they go to the Trump 2020 campaign's online store and fill up their cart with a whole bunch of merchandise they have no intention of purchasing.
The goal is to leave the campaign's online shopping data skewed. The use of "shopping cart abandonment" could also hurt its e-commerce business by "signal[ing] a poor user experience or broken sales funnel."
People who left their digital shopping carts waiting for check-out reportedly cost retailers over $4.6 trillion back in 2016.
In one TikTok video that has over half a million likes, user @preveroni encourages others to fill up their carts with millions of dollars of merchandise, and then "just forget to come back to check-out."
A TikTok showing a white woman threatening a Black woman and saying the N-word while holding her Black child is going viral, and viewers are furious.
The woman in the video is on the phone and fighting with her child's father and grandmother, apparently at their home.
"I will have people come up here and get you killed so don't try me," the woman says. She continues to threaten the father and grandmother and call them the "N-words" while holding her Black child.
Viewers are calling out the woman for her racism and even calling for Child Protective Services (CPS) to get involved.
"You can still be racist & have black kids. Exhibit A ... Notice when she said n*ggers she looked at her BLACK baby. somebody pls take this child from her," one viewer, @melaninpurp, tweeted, along with the video.
Viewers are pointing out that some white women fetishize Black men and Black culture, and have mixed-race children while still being racist against their child's own race.
"How you have/want a black baby but you don't even respect black people??" @melaninpurp tweeted.
"These people like to dab their feet in black culture when it suits them. The hypocrisy and irony is this: they want black culture but not black people," another user tweeted.
Viewers allegedly found the woman's Facebook page and began calling CPS to try and protect the child.
"I hope he takes this to court. This is more than enough to get that baby taken!" one user tweeted. "That baby doesn’t deserve a mother who hates her skin when a world full of people are already praying on her downfall."
Twitter user @melaninpurp updated her followers and said CPS did get involved and is conducting a welfare check on the child.
The baby's father started a GoFundMe to try and gain custody of his daughter.
"You should not fear for your own child’s safety because of their own mother's hate," he wrote. "You should never have to witness your kid or kids being used as pawns or protection. ... Anything that anyone is willing to donate to help gain custody for Elliana would be the most appreciative in this time of concern for her. I love my daughter."
TikToker Carly Silberman said her Tourette's became a Black Lives Matter activist overnight, and she's "totally fucking for it."
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a chronic nervous system disorder that causes involuntary repetitive motions and sounds—often referred to as tics—like jerking body parts and yelling out words or phrases.
While recording the video, Silberman unintentionally interrupts herself to say, "Fuck 12," "ACAB," and "Black Lives Matter."
"Fuck 12" means "fuck the police," specifically the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Narcotics Unit, according to HITC. "ACAB" is an acronym for "all cops are bastards."
The two phrases have reentered the mainstream as people call for a reimagining of policing as global protests against police brutality and racial injustice head into their sixth week.
Movements calling to defund the police, which in function would reallocate part of police budgets for policing alternatives and social services like education and mental health programs, are gaining popularity (as are calls to fully abolish the police).
Silberman's videos usually do well, often garnering between 100,00 and 400,000 views. But this video, posted with the simple caption "BRUHHH," already has 4.8 million views on the app.
"I mean, I support it. I mean, I love Black Lives Matter, but I don't know when that happened. I woke up today and was like, 'Fuck 12,'" Silberman says in the video, seemingly tickled by the whole thing.
"Tourette's for Black Lives Matter," she said while holding up a fist in the air.
Initially, Silberman says she hoped the new tic would stop since the head-jerking tic is making her neck hurt, but she almost immediately backtracked.
"Hopefully I stop doing that, actually no. I hope I pass a cop in the street and I scream 'Fuck 12' to them, and I'm like 'Oh, you can't get mad at me, it's not my fault, awwww, hmm, hehe" she says, ending the clip with a giggle.
A Colorado teen says the Randonautica app took her and a friend to a shooting scene where a gunshot victim was lying in a gutter.
The teen, who goes by Mykena Rae on TikTok, recorded the aftermath of her Randonautica adventure and posted it to the platform. In her TikTok, Rae, who is in hysterics, recalls that when asked what their "intention" was when selecting what kind of adventure experience they wanted, they chose "Death."
"We were on our way to the spot, and I look out my window, and there's someone lying in the gutter with their wife literally like on them, holding them," she says. "So I parked and got out, and he got shot, and then she gave me the phone, and I had to call the cops."
Rae says her friend, "Darius," wrapped his jacket around the victim's wound, and then they were questioned when the police showed up.
She issued a warning to viewers in text on the video and in the video's caption: "Please do not go randonauting."
Viewers shamed Rae in the comments for allegedly manifesting "Death." "Sis started out saying 'mY iNtEntion wAs dEatH' and then cries about being traumatized... did you not ask for it????" one questioned.
In a six-part follow-up series, Rae addresses choosing "death" and elaborates on her Randonautica experience.
In parts one and two, she says that "every single 'intention' that I've set hasn't really worked out," so she didn't think choosing "death" would manifest anything sinister. However, she apologizes for choosing it because it is not "something to play with."
"How does it know these things?" she says, questioning the app itself. "it confuses me on how the app runs and works."
In part three, she says the app took them to an area where shootings are common, and the man had been shot "by some random guy." When she reveals the area this happened in, Colfax, commenters began saying she was bound to find "death." "Girl u were in the hood its nun to do wit the app lmao. this happens nearby 24/77777," one wrote.
In part six, Rae says she's probably never going to go randonauting again.
As for proof, Rae includes a tweet by the Aurora Police Department alerting the public it was responding to a "shots fired" incident in the area in question. She also reveals she took a photo but will not be posting it.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Mykena Rae.
A Denver Post report on six shootings—four fatal, two nonfatal—in the area within a two-day period includes the same APD tweet that Rae included. The Post reports the victim is 23 years old and is in the hospital and expected to survive.
In the teens' most recent update on the matter, Rae gives Darius her platform to talk about what happened from his perspective.
"It was a good thing we came across it because we were able to help somebody out," Darius says before defending them against people accusing the teens of causing the shooting. "I feel like it would have happened either way."
Still, both the teens state they would not recommend picking "Death" as an intention.
"That was not a good idea for sure," Darius says. "It's not good to have negative energy. You get what you look for."
Recently, a group of TikTok teens went viral for going on a Randonautica adventure only to find a suitcase filled with human remains. The Terms of Use for the app, which sends users to random locations, states it is "not liable for any positive or adverse affects (sic) or consequences from the use of this platform."
The Don't Leave Me challenge is the ideal comedy exercise.
On TikTok, the challenge hashtag has more than 930 million views, and "don't leave me" has more than 2 billion. If you scroll through, you'll see hundreds of videos devoted to celebrating puns. But you might also be wondering where its very specific format originated.
What is the Don't Leave Me challenge?
The challenge typically works best with a group, and involves participants using wordplay or puns, then running away, often followed by someone saying, "Don't leave me. Take me with you," or some variation.
In some of the more popular videos, you can see how well-executed the format is. In this TikTok, user @iconiccpinkk and friends energetically convey "lipstick" and "Face Time."
According to BuzzFeed, Nigerian comedian Josh Alfred is the source of the challenge. He posted a video to Instagram in March, in which he made a play on words involving leaves, but his cameraman, Bello Khabir, allegedly christened the challenge, possibly with his own pun.
"I think it was the way my hype-man Bello said ‘don’t leave me,’ is what made it funny and catchy for people," Alfred told BuzzFeed.
He told CNN that though he's been doing funny videos since 2018, he tried to switch things up more recently: "I decided to add some more fun to my skits with puns. I didn't want people to get tired so I tried to be dynamic and added stronger words." He's also putting out a song in July inspired by the challenge.
The spread of the Don't Leave Me challenge
Though the challenge blew up on TikTok in June, it's also on Instagram and Twitter. On the latter platform, it's more text-based.
Being the daughter of a prominent official in a White House embroiled in controversy must be difficult. Especially when that White House official happens to be Kellyanne Conway, and her daughter is a proud, Trump-hating leftist on TikTok.
Conway’s daughter, Claudia, has amassed 15,000 followers on TikTok (@shortfakeblonde), where she makes her politics abundantly clear. “It’s a great day to arrest Brett Hankison, John Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove,” her bio reads, in reference to the three police officers accused of killing Breonna Taylor in March.
Several of Conway’s TikToks are devoted to roasting Trump supporters and boosting different activist causes. In one video, she pretends to wipe a tear from her eye as the caption reads, “why do people hate on trump supporters...like why can’t we just respect everyone’s opinions? SIKE nah block me pls and then educate yourself.”
In a follow-up post, Conway wrote, “hi so if you’re leftist, acab, anti-trump, blm, etc. please interact w this because most of my comments are threats from angry trump supporters.”
Conway isn’t the only anti-Trumper in her family. Her father, George T. Conway III, was a lifelong Republican who deflected from the party in 2018 and founded the Lincoln Project, which has released a series of scathing videos designed to “defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box.”
Recently, Conway has spent much of her time on TikTok dragging people who question her identity or criticize her parents.
“Believe it or not, you can have your own opinions, not influenced by your parents at all, simply by educating yourself," Conway says in one recent TikTok. "My views have absolutely nothing to do with my mom’s. Please don’t comment anything about her. Please don’t comment about my dad. Go find another hobby, sweetheart.”
Kellyanne Conway is the counselor to President Donald Trump. She's a well-known right-wing figure who has made headlines for things like saying "anti-religiosity" was to blame for mass shootings and threatening to perform an abortion with a gun.
Tech and online culture journalist Taylor Lorenz appears to have been the first reporter to spot and spread the news of Kellyanne Conway's daughter's account.
India has banned TikTok and more than 50 other Chinese apps, like WeChat and Weibo.
In a statement, India's Ministry of Information Technology said the ban was in response to "complaints" around user data being stolen or surveilled, but it could also be in response to political tensions between India and China.
India's head of TikTok posted an update on Monday, stating that the company has been "invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications," and has not shared user data with "any foreign government."
The ban took many by surprise, as India is one of TikTok's most popular markets, with more than 120 million users. A "notice" that the app was blocked apparently greeted many users.
The app's popularity has allowed aspiring performers and comedians a bigger platform, and this sudden ban left many wondering where to go. Anusmita Dutta, who has more than 350,000 followers, told the New York Times: "Real talent came from this app in India." Some creators are hopping on Instagram or YouTube, and telling fans to follow them.
TikTok has been censored in India before: Last year it was temporarily banned over concerns that younger users were being exposed to harassment and dangerous content. Last week, one of its popular personalities, 16-year-old Siya Kakkar, was found dead. In May, TikTok star Faizal Siddiqui was criticized for a video in which he acted out an acid attack on a woman. In February, a teen was allegedly forced to walk naked in public over a TikTok he was involved in. There's also been a heightened battle between TikTok and YouTube personalities.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson said the ban is "not conducive to consumer interests and the market competition in India" and "aims at certain Chinese apps on ambiguous and far-fetched grounds."
A deputy in Ohio was placed on paid administrative leave after making a TikTok of himself seemingly threatening to shoot rioters and looters who entered the suburbs.
David J. Mink allegedly violated Franklin County Sheriff Office's social media policy with the TikTok. He is also under investigation for "inattention to duty."
In the TikTok, which was posted over the weekend, the 32-year-old poses with a rifle. A handgun is also sitting on the counter, while Mink uses "foul language," according to nbc4i, which reviewed the TikTok.
"WHEN THE LOOTERS AND RIOTERS THREATEN TO COME TO THE SUBURBS," text across the TikTok reads.
Mink's TikTok account has since been removed. Mink, according to cleveland.com, has worked at the sheriff’s office for about four years.
Another deputy, Nathan Wolfe, has also been placed on paid administrative leave for "suspicion of inattention to duty," according to abc6. It is unclear if the two incidents are related.
Investigations into the deputies were opened by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs Bureau.
An Indian TikTok star, Shivani Khubiyan, was found dead in a box bed with strangulation marks after going missing on June 26.
Her body was found in her beauty parlor in the city of Haryana’s Sonipat, where she lived. Her former business partner, who lives in the beauty parlor, was the one to find her body, according to multiple reports. A foul smell coming from the bed led him to open it, according to the Hindustan Times.
The Times of India reports that the police have a suspect in custody. The suspect is Aarif Mohammad, who repeatedly tried to pursue her even though she rejected him.
In addition to murder allegations, he is also arrested on suspicion of destruction of evidence.
As soon as her former business partner, Neeraj, found her body, he informed the police. Police immediately opened an investigation into her death. Before her death, along with running a salon, Khubiyan also ran a TikTok account with over 100,000 followers.
“Aarif has confessed to the crime. He not only murdered Shivani but had been chatting with her family on social media platforms throughout the night of her murder. He will have to undergo the COVID test before being processed in court,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Virender Singh, the supervising officer on the case, said, per reports.
Singh revealed that Mohammad "used a dupatta to strangle her to death and stuffed the body in the bed used by Neeraj."
The family disclosed to the authorities that Aarif harassed Khubiyan for over three years. Some sources are investigating whether or not her murder was linked to her popularity on social media.
A video of Addison Rae getting her makeup done has put the TikTok star under scrutiny after people online noticed her skin color was much darker in the video than Rae has previously appeared. The video was posted to Rae’s Snapchat and has reportedly been removed since attracting controversy.
Many Twitter users are contrasting earlier images of Rae—where her skin is much lighter—with stills from the Snapchat video.
“Nobody’s talking about addison rae switchin up ethnicities on us,” user @luvrslaine tweeted.
User @thejuliacompton called out Rae for blackfishing, a phenomenon where white people try to get away with appearing Black or ethnically ambiguous by appropriating physical traits associated with Black people—usually women—such as skin color.
“So are we just not gonna talk about this extremely popular influencer with a huge platform taking part in black face,” @thejuliacompton tweeted along with the hashtag #Blackfish.
One user noted that Rae isn’t the only member of her family who might be engaging in the problematic behavior, saying Rae’s mom has also recently appeared darker than her normal skin tone.
“Now tell me why Addison Rae and her mother look that dark when they’re usually this light... something ain’t right about this,” @GNGWALLOWS posted alongside images of Rae and her mother.
Rae was the subject of another apparent controversy Saturday when she appeared to tell fellow TikTok star Kio Cyr to “Say the N-word” during a live stream. Clips from the stream received pushback online. In the video, Rae covers her hand and whispers something to Cyr, who then says “No!” quickly, which Rae follows up by saying she was kidding.
However, this controversy was not exactly what it seemed. Cyr later clarified that he was asked “Did you say the N-word?” by Rae, rather than being told to use the slur by the TikTok star.
“She said ‘did you say’ lmao chill,” Cyr replied to an Instagram post about the live stream by drama account @teaontok.
As of Tuesday evening, Rae has not yet responded to accusations of blackfishing or addressed the Snapchat video that sparked the claims.
Angel told the Daily Dot he came up with the idea after seeing other TikTokers sarcastically "saying it be bad if people left low star ratings on his businesses."
Some videos show users leaving one-star reviews themselves and urging others to do the same.
TikTokers are apparently heeding the call by leaving one-star reviews on his businesses' Yelp pages as well as on Google reviews.
Leaving negative reviews for his businesses out of spite is probably not a new phenomenon, however, there is an influx of recent ones.
On the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas' Yelp page, there were only one-star reviews left in the past few days. Since Tuesday, there were 33 one-star reviews left, with no any-other-star reviews.
One review simply states "Fuck Trump" on a loop. Back in June, the hotel was receiving numerous five-star reviews.
Trump Grill, Mar-a-Lago, and Trump Tower, along with other properties carrying his name, have also similarly been affected by an onslaught of recent one-star reviews.
Angel told the Daily Dot he thinks review-bombing is a good way to hold people in power, like Trump, accountable.
"We need to be heard and our president needs to focus on the futures of future generation such as black/Indigenous and LGTBTQ+ communities and have them feel accepted and welcomed in our country," Angel said.
Several Tacoma, Washington police officers are under investigation over content posted to their social media accounts.
Three officers are currently being investigated: Sam Lopez, Joshua Avalos, and Helen Stieben. The investigation began after several complaints were filed over the content posted to the officers' TikTok accounts.
The complaints may have been spurred by one of the officer's TikToks, which went viral this week. The TikTok, posted to Lopez's account, shows him in uniform sitting in what appears to be a patrol car.
"So I come in this morning, and we're informed there's going to be a protest to defund the police," Lopez says in the clip. "Well that's fine, I like protests. Except for they requested a police presence. You know, for their safety. At the defund the police event. I shit you not."
In most of his TikToks, Lopez attempts to cover his identifying police badge, but the Tacoma Police Department told the News Tribune that Lopez is a Tacoma police officer. A police spokesperson informed the News Tribune that Lopez's TikTok account is under investigation by the department.
Videos from Avalos and Stieben's accounts are also being examined. Avalos' account is private, but Stieben's content, like Lopez's, leans on her profession as content inspiration. Many of her videos feature her in uniform, in a patrol car, or discussing her thoughts on Blue Lives Matterand protests.
Several videos from the officers discuss the "thin blue line" flag, which has been adopted as an official symbol of Blue Lives Matter. The pro-police movement is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and has been widely criticized. According to the News Tribune, Avalos' videos express support for the divisive movement, while Stieben's are far more critical.
As the videos have spread online, they've gathered both supporters and critics to the officers' pages. When the videos showed up on Twitter, discussion began around professional standards for police officers.
One user noted that videos posted to Lopez and Avalos' accounts violate some of the department's professional standards. Specifically P4.1.9, which states that officers operating outside the scope of the department cannot "address public gatherings, lecture, appear on radio or television, prepare articles for publication, act as correspondent to a newspaper or periodical, release or divulge investigative information, or any other matters of the Department."
In response to complaints, Tacoma City Manager Elizabeth Pauli gave an updated statement. She noted that the officers have all been directed to "cease the unauthorized use of city equipment, uniforms or vehicles in any personal communications."
"I was made aware of the postings that have understandably raised concern with community members," the statement continues. "We are committed to restoring the public’s trust in the work we do as a city, and particularly in the important role that our police department plays in ensuring the safety of our community. We have entered the incident into our complaint management system for investigation and resolution."
Pauli added that they will be developing and issuing a policy directed at the personal use of social media.
Kellyanne Conway, an adviser to President Donald Trump, and her daughter, Claudia, were caught on TikTok Live sparring over the teenager’s cellphone.
The fight doesn’t appear hostile. On the evening of July 3, Claudia Conway, 15, was on TikTok Live when her mother entered the frame.
“You can get back to it. Turn it off now,” Kellyanne Conway says. She says “hi” to the audience watching.
“No, I’m not OK. Thanks guys, though,” Claudia Conways says, reportedly responding to comments on her video asking if she has any other family to live with and if she’s safe.
“Also, she keeps insulting my mental health,” Claudia Conways continues. “I’m just showing everyone the truth. Like, you’re literally not letting me use my freedom of speech.”
In response, Kellyanne Conway says “dad”—George Conway III—wants his daughter to “shut it down because not everyone following you is well-meaning.”
A few hours before the video went live, George Conway III, tweeted, “To journalists: @kellyannepolls and I do *not* consent to any communications between you and any of our minor children, including our daughter Claudia. So desist. Thank you.”
After his tweet, an account allegedly belonging to Claudia Conway responded, saying, “(He’s) just mad that I’m finally getting my voice heard.” She ends the message with a blow to her parents: “Sorry your marriage failed.”
George Conway III quickly hid the reply, and it’s unclear if the account actually belongs to Claudia Conway.
During the spat with her mom, Kellyanne Conway waves to her daughter’s followers, saying, “Hi there. This many people have nothing to do? That is amazing. It’s so nice out.”
This leaves Claudia Conway’s mouth agape. Kellyanne Conway yells “mine!” during an ensuing struggle for the phone.
George Conway III is a well-known critic of Trump. Previously, Trump called George Conway III a “stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!” According to the New York Times, the couple is unhappy over the husband’s constant barbs toward the president.
Kellyanne Conway told TIME in September 2017 that she told her daughters that it was OK to support Hillary Clinton. At the time, Kellyanne Conway said she told her daughters she “very much” respected Clinton’s run for the presidency and that it showed her kids that “in this country, anybody can do anything if they set their mind to it.”
In the videos, El Masri gives the online celebs ratings out of 10. The first of the three videos amassed 3.3 million views on the app.
Let's start off with the good.
Mongeau gets a seven, she was "so nice, so sweet" but never followed El Masri on social media like she said she would. Granted, both their phones died that night, El Masri said.
"So funny. First thing she said was, 'I'm about to smoke do you wanna smoke with me?' And I was like, 'I have asthma but that's not the point.' Love her regardless," El Masri said.
Rickey Thompson got a perfect 10 for being incredibly nice. He and his family took a moment to talk to El Masri when they really didn't have to.
"He was so rude. He said, 'Your makeup doesn't look nice.' And I wasn't wearing makeup, so fuck him. Also, he was bitching about a bunch of people," El Masri said.
Backpack Kid got a zero for asking El Masri if he talked to his manager first before asking for the photo. If you don't remember, he's the boy who went viral for his videos doing the floss dance. Laura Lee also got a zero for rolling her eyes because El Masri wanted a photo with Manny and not her.
Gabriel Zamora got a 10 for defending El Masri and telling Lee, "He don't know you, so what's the problem?"
Nikita Dragun got a 10 for personality but a four for the interaction. She stood up thinking El Masri wanted a photo with her when he was actually trying to get a picture with Manny. It was awkward.
James Charles got a 10 for niceness but a five for the interaction. He was getting in his Uber when El Masri asked for the photo and said maybe they could take a pic "next time."
TikTok has proven to be an incredibly versatile platform, making space for cooking videos, social justice PSAs, and dance challenges. One TikToker captured the zeitgeist yesterday with a new viral dance video dedicated to all the Karens of the world.
Tennessee Tonya (@tn_tonya) posted her Karen tribute on Sunday, which she says was “inspired by some of the most high profile women in my culture.” To the tune of Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me,” Tonya works through a number of delightfully nerdy dance moves, each corresponding with a different Karen-ism. “The Karen” includes routines for “My order isn’t right,” “Somebody’s gonna pay,” and, obviously, “I want to see the manager!”
Tonya’s outfit for The Karen—a yellow cardigan and a “She is messy, but she is kind” shirt—is spot-on as well. It’s unclear whether she wore the outfit just for the video, but it’s a nice touch all the same.
Tonya’s Karen dance was an immediate smash. In roughly one day, it’s already accumulated 3.2 million views and 858,000 likes, way above the 15,000-25,000 views she’s averaged on other recent videos. People seem to love the dance. One user said Tonya is, "the only Karen allowed on TikTok."
Given the onslaught of Karens Karen-ing over the last few months, Tonya could have probably turned her dance into a feature-length performance. But she cut The Karen mercifully short with a sentiment that plenty of viewers can support: “Random dance moves because I don’t like to acknowledge temper tantrums.”
There’s trouble in paradise at Hype House and Sway House, the Los Angeles mansions that function as TikTok content hubs and, lately, breeding grounds for drama.
Several high-profile TikTokers last night put the heat on Chase Hudson, known on the platform as Lil Huddy. Hudson dated Charli D’Amelio, TikTok’s biggest star, for three months earlier this year, and some fans speculated they might rekindle their relationship. Hudson seems to have blown any chance of a reunion, though, when he admitted to kissing TikToker Nessa Barrett.
Hudson copped to kissing Barrett in a since-deleted statement on Twitter. He apologized to D’Amelio and insisted that he didn’t kiss Barrett until after they broke up.
“The only person who had a right to be upset with me is Charli and I’m sorry I hurt her,” Hudson wrote.
The 18-year-old TikTok star didn’t just issue an apology, though. He also aired out the dirty laundry of his fellow Hype House and Sway House stars, accusing them of all sorts of infidelities.
Here are just a few of the trysts Hudson exposed in his statement:
“Anthony [Reeves] got with Cynthia [Parker] a week after we broke up on tour.”
“Jaden [Hossler] actively tried to hook up with Dixie [D’Amelio, Charli’s older sister] at our house on the 4th of July in front of me while she was dating Griffin [Johnson].”
“Griffin cheated on Dixie with Tayler [Holder]’s ex Kaylyn [Slevin] and Bryce [Hall]’s ex Elle [Danjean].”
The list goes on. Hudson also said he is “not sorry to Josh,” Barrett’s ex, because the two “are not boys and we haven’t been boys since he lied to Charli saying I had an STD 6 months ago trying to get her to stop seeing me.”
Hudson’s statement prompted many TikTokers to unfollow him on social media, while several of the people he named slammed him on Twitter.
“Stop deflecting you’re [sic] actions into others because you can’t take responsibility chase,” D’Amelio tweeted Monday night. “Want me to talk about how you treated me throughout our relationship or do you just want to continue to play the victim?”
Dixie took her sister’s side, writing, “Ur wild. Stop playing the victim and worry about yourself.”
Parker also slammed Hudson, tweeting, “During our relationship all I wanted was for chase to own up to his OWN mistakes and issues. This is so private and unessarary [sic]. Instead of throwing everyone else under the bus own up to you’re [sic] own shit, somehow you’ve dated 2 minors that are STILL more mature than you’ve ever been.”
Hall was also not impressed by Hudson’s statement.
“Chase has BIG twitter fingers but cried in person when Josh and Jaden confronted him," Hall tweeted. "Let’s just remember that you will see us again soon bud.”
Johnson did not address Hudson’s claims but issues a simple directive: “Someone get this kid off the internet.”
Shortly after midnight, Hossler seemed to announce that he and Hudson had worked out their beef.
“We talked. No fighting. It’s settled,” he tweeted. “I was heated asf but now I’m calm bc talking can resolve everything. It’s over.”
There’s still no word on whether D’Amelio and Hudson have patched up their relationship. Rather than further stoke the flames of controversy on Twitter, D’Amelio followed up her response to Hudson with links to a Black Lives Matter donation card and a list of other world issues that need more public support.
The United States is considering a ban on TikTok according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who made the statement in an interview yesterday.
The news comes during a tumultuous stretch for TikTok in the U.S. Its popularity soared with 315 million downloads from January to March, according to CNN. However, it's faced significant, bipartisan pushback.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led the call for a national security investigation regarding the app's parent company ByteDance in November of last year.
Pompeo said that the White House is considering the ban in an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Monday.
"With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too," he said. "I don't want to get out in front of the president, but it's something we're looking at."
He confirmed that TikTok was among the apps they were "looking at."
Concerns arose last year when senators from both sides questioned the safety of user information at ByteDance. ByteDance is located in Beijing. TikTok has said all U.S. user data is stored in the U.S.
TikTok was also accused of censoring anti-China content like videos that supported the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
"Security experts have voiced concerns that China's vague patchwork of intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party," the senators wrote.
TikTok responded to those concerns back in November. It said that the Chinese government does not have access to user information. It also denied any forms of censorship beyond the app's guidelines.
“We store all TikTok U.S. user data in the United States, with backup redundancy in Singapore,” TikTok said in a statement. “Our data centers are located entirely outside of China, and none of our data is subject to Chinese law.”
Tensions are rising between the U.S. and China, particularly over U.S. support of the protests in Hong Kong. Pompeo tweeted yesterday in support of the region.
"With the ink barely dry on the draconian National Security Law, HK authorities are now removing books from libraries, banning political slogans, and requiring censorship in schools. The U.S. condemns these Orwellian assaults on the rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people," he tweeted.
In addition, the Federal Trade Commission announces a ban on Chinese telecom companies including Huawei and ZTE, according to BuzzFeed. These bans were also made on the basis of national security
In a statement to the Daily Dot, TikTok highlighted its U.S. ties.
“TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the U.S. We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users,” a spokesperson for TikTok said. “We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked."
This post has been updated with TikTok's response.
Jason Derulo, along with other top TikTok content creators, is being accused of disrespecting Chicano culture by dancing to "Lean Like a Cholo" on the platform.
Derulo appeared in the TikTok dancing with Sommer Ray, Tayler Holder, and girlfriend Jena Frumes. Both Ray and Derulo both posted different videos of the group dancing to Down AKA Kilo's 2007 hit.
Their videos have millions of views. Shortly after being posted, users began calling for the posts to be deleted. Many said they were being “disrespectful to Chicano culture.”
“On behalf of the Hispanic/Latinos/and Chicanos we don’t approve of this,” one commenter wrote. “You guys could’ve at least took the time to learn the real dance…”
Some defended the celebrities, with one saying, "Everyone is offended by EVERYTHING these days it’s sad how y’all so sensitive idk how ur gonna make it in life."
However, Chicanos, or a person of Mexican descent, were the most vocal amongst those advocating for the videos to be taken down. “Cholo” is a Chicano term used to refer to one another in the community.
TikToker @Og_taco, who created the “challenge” the group was seemingly participating in, noted in the comments he was uncomfortable with their videos.
“Ah nah they used my sound compas, and that [DON’T] feel right!” he wrote in the comments.
Derulo replied to his comment asking why he felt this way.
“[Please] explain to me why we shouldn’t dance to this song?” Derulo wrote. “Because I don’t get it. I’d never want to exclude any race from dancing to my music.”
While some said they would not have had a problem with the video if the group properly learned the dance, others did not approve of the trend altogether. "CHICANO CULTURE ISNT A TREND," one said.
Some do not think people who are not part of the Latinx or Chicanx community should participate in the trend. "If you ain’t Chicano or latinx this song ain’t for you tbh," one wrote.
Another user offered Derulo more of an explanation as to why it is problematic. “I don't think this is offensive but [it's] not right because cholos will dance and get called ghetto for it while they dance it and get [applauded],” they wrote.
The TikToks are still up, and none of the creators involved have addressed the backlash further.
A TikTok video of a Black woman being confronted for peacefully sitting on the front lawn of a church while studying is circulating online.
On Tuesday, stunt woman and voice actor Alex Marshall-Brown recorded a disturbing interaction between herself and church members outside St. Paul's First Lutheran in North Hollywood.
The clip starts with two white men putting up a "No Trespassing" sign on a tree. Brown is heard inquiring whether the sign was because of her, and they confirmed that it indeed was just for her. As Brown questions their "un-Christian" actions, the churchgoers continue attempting to boot her without any just reason.
The uncomfortable and already racist situation is worsened when one of the men tosses an "all lives matter" comment at Brown and threatens to call the police.
A white woman then entires the frame, and in full "Karen" mode, tells Brown she is "threatening their lives" for simply sitting on church property.
The video concludes with the "Karen" walking away and a close-up of the newly erected "No Trespassing Sign."
Although the church members did threaten to call the police several times in the video, TMZ reports that the Los Angeles Police Department was not notified.
As the video circulates online, viewers are expressing their shock and dismay. Many agreed that the church members' actions were indeed "racist" and "un-Christian."
Since then, senior parishioners have weighed in on the matter, admonishing the actions of the church-booting members.
In a Facebook post, Santiago Botero, the acting principal at a St. Paul’s-affiliated school issued a statement. Botero calls the people in question "volunteers" and confirms that they have stepped down from their positions. Botero describes the video as "personally offensive" and apologizes to Brown on behalf of the St. Paul's community.
“I am personally offended by what I saw in the video and would like to apologize on behalf of St. Paul’s First. I will try to contact Alex and she would ever like to speak to me personally about what she experienced at St. Paul’s First, I would invite the opportunity to meet with her," he states.
