04/09/2021
TikTok’s Royal Flush is falling like a House of Cards, but who’s shocked? Entertainment and controversy have always gone hand in hand, and while controversy isn’t going away anytime soon, perhaps the myth of the Influencer™️ Role Model is 🤔
Recently, some of the top creators on the platform have been embroiled in some disturbing scandals — from the grooming allegations against James Charles and Tony Lopez, to concerns of cultural appropriation against Nikita Dragun, claims of sexual misconduct surrounding David Dobrik and the Vlog Squad, and the allegations of racism and blackmail against Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson. And as their audiences have grown, the scandals only seem to be getting bigger and uglier.
But beyond any individual controversy, the churn of rapid superstardom-turned-downfall has perhaps reached a rate of exhaustion. How many more creators will need to issue ‘mea culpas’ before we reevaluate who we put on a pedestal to begin with?
Perhaps we’ve grown out of the first gen of TikTok and YouTube megastars — the antics and humor we once found amusing now ring hollow. Only time will show what cards are coming next, and if it’s time to refresh the deck ...🃏
