I don’t need her videos to show up on my For You page to know that Charli D’Amelio is one of, if not the, most popular TikTokers. I think that is great for her and other TikTok stars too. Still, sometimes I can’t help but wonder: what if that were me?
I’ve worked hard in school all my life, hoping to one day make a comfortable living for myself. Sometimes I find myself feeling a bit jealous knowing that some TikTok stars are making tons of money for things that do not seem to require much personal investment. There are others who have expressed similar feelings, and I don’t think it’s wrong to have such envy. I think most of us would love to be making money the way TikTok stardom allows for.
Jealousy, though, is not an excuse to hate on popular TikTokers for no reason. It’s not their fault that they’re famous and you’re not–it’s just how the cards happened to fall. If you don’t agree with their fame, that’s fine, but you don’t have to make their life miserable by making hateful comments towards them. Being famous does not make someone invincible from hate messages. They are real people, and what you post online could still be hurtful.
It is also important to point out that sending hate and wanting accountability are two different things. TikTokers are certainly not immune to controversy, and if they did something or said something that was way out of line, it’s okay to call them out for it and tell them you want them to take responsibility for their actions. What is not okay is sending people hate just because you’re envious of their fame.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to be famous to be happy. It’s not all “puppies and rainbows.” There is a lot of stress that comes out of being famous, so much that you probably would not really want to be famous anyway.