It’s officially the best part of back to school season: sorority rush is upon us. As someone who has loved watching Greek life content from afar, it’s so fun getting to know the next crop of incoming potential new members (PNMs) and cheering them on as they find the sororities for them. But not all Bama Rush stars end up running home. Case in point: Izzy Darnell, the younger sister of Bama rush royalty Kylan Darnell, dropped out of recruitment at the University of Alabama.
In an Aug. 17 video captioned “Truth be told,” Izzy explained why — after going through multiple rounds of Bama rush — she will not be joining a sorority after all, and cleared everything up for those confused fans out there who were sure she would join Zeta Tau Alpha, just like her sister did in 2022 (or any sorority at all, for that matter).
I know I’m not the only one wondering why Izzy decided not to go through with rush, given that she is not just a sorority legacy but also a huge star on social media. So, here’s everything to know so far about Izzy’s choice to drop our of Bama rush and join a sorority.
Originally, Izzy posted a video on Aug. 17, aka Bama Bid Day, holding a white envelope that had the word “Bid” written on it, and viewers watched her tear the envelope and toss it away. “Haha fooled yall again,” she wrote in the post, captioned “Little do you know I dropped first.” Her mom, Tonya Darnell (@mama_darnell) commented on the video saying “Izzy rushed, she wanted to see for herself. It just wasn’t for her💗.” As of Aug. 18, Kylan has not spoken out yet about her sister’s decision to drop out of rush.
In a subsequent post, Izzy explained why she decided not to join a sorority. In the video, she explained that part of the issue was her being an influencer, and how Bama sororities don’t necessarily favor PNMs who may be filming during rush. “I went in with the mindset that if they don’t want all of me, they aren’t getting any of me,” Darnell said. She also confirmed that her sister’s sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, didn’t drop her — she actually chose not to pursue Zeta on Day 1. “I put Zeta [in] my bottom three, because I want to be Izzy, I don’t want to be Kylan,” Izzy said. “I don’t want to be her. I want to do it my way.”
In the end, Izzy made sure her fans knew she wasn’t suggesting that anyone not rush just because she decided not to. “I’m saying it’s just not for me,” she said.