In case you didn’t know, Addison Rae is an actress now. Addison Rae’s first movie He’s All That is set to be released on Netflix on August 27 and it honestly doesn’t look good, but that doesn’t seem to matter. With Rae’s popularity, Netflix has a guaranteed audience — whether it’s diehard fans tuning in to support the TikToker or people planning to hate-watch the film.
He’s All That is a remake of 1999’s She’s All That. Rae’s version is gender-swapped and updated to incorporate pressing current issues like social media and the plight of being an influencer. On one hand, the role is perfect for Rae, who is the third most followed (and highest paid) TikTok user with 82.6 million followers. On the other hand, Rae has no acting experience — but that’s not stopping the internet personality. In fact, in the past six months alone, Rae has dived headfirst into multiple major business ventures that leave fans thinking, *John Mulaney voice* I didn’t know she knew how to do that.
On March 19, Rae released her first single, “Obsessed,” which got very mixed reviews. The song, which is only two minutes and 14 seconds long, has eight writers credited on Spotify (and I really need to know why that many people were involved). On August 11, she launched her makeup and skincare company Item Beauty, giving us another celebrity skincare brand to cautiously avoid. Now, she’s an actress too. It can be hard to keep up with all of Rae’s new projects, especially since it seems like they come out of nowhere, but Rae’s path is emblematic of countless internet stars who got famous before they had an established talent.
Dixie D’Amelio is another obvious example. Her sister Charli D’Amelio is the most followed TikTok user, launching Dixie into the spotlight as well. Her surprisingly depressing first single “Be Happy” was released last summer and Dixie, despite being a frequent source of internet ridicule, has released five singles since — one of them even features Wiz Khalifa! Dixie also hosts a YouTube talk show and has a collaboration with her sister and makeup brand Morphe. In addition to all of that, the D’Amelio family has a reality show premiering on Hulu on September 3.
Chase Hudson, Jaden Hossler, and Bella Poarch are just a few other TikTokers attempting to cross over from making 60-second videos of themselves lip-syncing to a career in the arts. Hudson, who also goes by Lil Huddy for some reason, is set to release his debut album in less than a month and acted in Machine Gun Kelly’s short film Downfalls High alongside Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney. Hossler also starred in Kelly’s film and released his debut album Tell Me About Tomorrow in June. Poarch’s single “Build a B*tch,” which was released in May, was called “the most successful TikTok musical debut.”
It’s not surprising or even new that these internet personalities, famous for being famous, are using their popularity to try out other avenues. Kim Kardashian released her song “Jam (Turn It Up)” in 2011, and while music proved to be unsuccessful for her, Kardashian hit her stride with reality TV and her beauty and fashion brands. Shawn Mendes started out on Vine and is now considered a legitimate musical artist (though, to his credit, he was always making song covers). There’s hope for our favorite TikTokers, who are just following the path laid out for them.
Rae, D’Amelio, and the others may be far from finding what’s right for them, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop trying. These TikTokers, constantly searching for the right thing to make them money and keep their followers engaged, are really lucky. They already have a large following, so music producers, casting directors, and even skincare companies are willing to invest in them before they even know if they have a knack in that area. They also have multiple lifelines. They can make bad music or star in terrible movies, but their careers will be unaffected. No one’s unfollowing Addison Rae if she’s a bad actress, because no one’s expecting her to be a good one.
While this leaves a lot of people feeling jealous because influencers flippantly launch careers in fields that other people dedicate their lives to, the TikTokers’ lack of expertise in their areas is our consolation prize. A lot of their attempts to find their niche are hilarious and cringe-worthy and even unsuccessful. The awkwardness of watching someone try to justify their fame is endlessly entertaining, even if it means we have to suffer through some terrible new TikTok songs.