The most popular TikToker, Charli D’Amelio, has over 104 million followers and therefore a change is her location or setting was bound to be pointed out by someone. D’Amelio belongs to a close friendship group of fellow Titokis, these include Lil Huddy and Noah Beck, who collectively have over 258 million followers. Their group has reportedly been spotted at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas according to Environment Tonight Canada, the main issue being travelling during the global pandemic. This has caused stir in the TikTok community as these people have a position of power as they have influence over millions of people, different ages and different countries.
The D’Amelio sisters have been particularly targeted, probably due to their high following and they are yet to comment on the allegations. These two girls haven’t actually posted any pictures of the trip, perhaps in hope to avoid the scrutiny. According to the Independent the TikTokers have attempted to restrict posting on social media and the reason they are under attack by the public is because of leaked photos and footage.
Multiple other Titokis have also been spotted in vague locations and suggestive evidence, for example Madi Monroe posted a story of her dancing on a plane last Monday. Similarly, Bryant is a famous photographer and may be recognised more from his name then his appearance, as well as being recognised from his creation of Instagram filters. As most photographers would do, he snapped a few pictures which implied that he also attended the trip Social media usage has increased as a number of countries set lockdown rules in place, it is unsurprising that social media users are being more aware of what they are viewing. TikTok is a social media platform which boomed in 2020’s first lockdown and it hasn’t fallen out of trend since.
It is unsure whether the D’Amelio’s will confront these allegations as they do have a reputation to project, it is the consequence of being in the limelight. They have received a lot of criticism based off the fact that L.A. is in strict lockdown and travelling shouldn’t be happening. Another issue that was criticised was that California is a hotspot for Covid-19 whereas the Bahamas is not, so while they may have thought it would be safe to travel there, it is not for the local residents of Bahamas.
Television host, Wendy Williams, has given her opinion on Charli D’Amelio before as she said, ‘I don’t feel sorry for her’. She expressed that she felt like D’Amelio was ungrateful and says that she ‘lives for drama’. This is just one celebrity example that has given her opinion on the rise of teenage drama that is occupying the internet.
According to the Environment Tonight Canada, one follower commented “Hey hey guess what! COVID still exists. Stop being selfish and stay home for f**k sake. You’re putting your life and others in danger. Are you really that impatient and couldn’t wait till the deathly pandemic is over?” – This has stirred conversation about wealth and greed as many people think that the sisters and group are too privileged and that the fame has gone to their heads. Many commented about how nice their homes are and how lucky they are to have them in comparison to others who have to lockdown and quarantine in a less nice setting. Another comment said, “Influencers really [sic] need to understand that people are f**king DYING,” which we have seen a lot of in the news as many celebrities have chosen to use their money and power to their advantage during this rough time. It appears that many followers are arguing that it cannot be that “hard to quarantine” when they have such a luxury lifestyle. Another follow commented “I have seriously lost hope for all influencers yet again. Flying to the Bahamas will just make it worse for everyone. They’re so so selfish.” All of these comments may be detrimental to the TikTokers future careers as this is not the first time they have been under attack. Charli D’Amelio gets the most attention and therefore it is unsurprising that she also gets a lot of backlash as she is a frequent content creator and therefore has more videos and pictures for people to criticise. Over the course of 2020, D’Amelio has been in the firing line for various reasons such as being accused of being spoilt, as a video the family released on their YouTube, showed her being rude to the family personal chef as she criticized his cooking. Despite Charli getting abuse from followers and actually losing over 1 million followers, she is only a child and at the age of 16 it is unlikely that she had control in choosing to travel during this time and even if she could she is likely to be influenced by the older people around her.
The influencers made situations slightly worse as another video leaked which supposedly featured the younger sister, Charli, kissing fellow TikToker, Chase Hudson (Lil Huddy). The tiktok stars are yet to address the rumours but as many commenters mentioned this does put the stars in a negative light as kissing is not very covid friendly. They have been seen hugging, getting close and mixing with several other Tiktokers as well as fans. These Tiktokers have already been in firing line before as their previous relationship, which supposedly ended last year, was deemed inappropriate due to the age gap. However, this did not stop the Tiktokers from being close friends again which would inevitably spark romance rumours, as fans support these teens in their potential rekindled flame.
The influencers are yet to face these rumours and do not appear in planning to address them. Noah Beck, boyfriend of Dixie, featured dancing with a fan in a video which went viral, this unsurprisingly caused stir as the stars had previously been accused of photoshopping their masks on their social media posts, as well as featuring in fans videos without masks on.
The social media frenzy! 