John Tufts
A new viral trend is emerging on TikTok — and not only are celebrities uninvited, they’re blocked.
Recent videos uploaded to TikTok, some gathering millions of views apiece, are urging social media users to block celebrities including Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and others on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Spotify.
The reason for the “Celebrity Block Party,” as it’s been dubbed?
TikTok users are saying they feel disillusioned with famous pop figures over the Israel-Hamas war, in which they complain celebrities aren’t using their platforms to speak out against violence in the Middle East. A flashpoint in their anger also involves the recent Met Gala in New York City.
The calls to block influencers, users say, are meant to sting them where it hurts the most — their ad revenue.
Met Gala, unrest in Gaza stirs online outrage
On Wednesday, a TikToker with the name “blockout2024” posted a 15 second video beginning with footage from the Met Gala and news coverage of the war in Gaza. He urged viewers to stop following celebrities and start blocking them instead.
“When we hate on them, they make money. When we praise them, they make money. But when we block their social media accounts and completely forget their names, they lose it all,” he said in a later video.
His message struck a nerve. In two days, the post went viral, receiving more than 2 million plays and upwards of 334 thousand likes on TikTok.
Are videos calling to block celebrities gaining traction?
Similar messages from other users have sprouted — the hashtag “Blockout2024” had been posted to TikTok upwards of 11.7 thousand times by Friday, May 10. And while movie and music stars might not have caught on yet, it’s possible the algorithms have.
In a Thursday video that’s since received more than 1 million views, a TikTok account by user “Gordacorajuda” said they noticed an increase in ads from Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian after blocking both pop stars.
“Before this, I never got ads about them,” she said on TikTok.
What happened at the Met Gala that got TikTok users so upset?
As a humanitarian crisis draws out both in the Middle East and in Ukraine, social media flooded with pointed observations about the recent Met Gala. The $75,000 per ticket event is one of fashion’s biggest nights and serves as the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.
Some critics called this year’s fashion exhibition “tone-deaf” in light of world events, while many Twitter users likened the Met Gala’s spectacle to “The Hunger Games” — Suzanne Collins’ dystopian novel in which a powerful few are able to dress lavishly as the world around them suffers and starves.
TikTok personality at Met Gala to followers in video: ‘Let them eat cake’
One influencer in particular managed to draw out the crowd’s ire.
TikTok personality Haley Kalil, who goes by ‘HaleyyBaylee‘, posted several videos of herself as she attended the Met Gala wearing an elaborate floral dress. In a video that has since been deleted from her account, Kalil used a sound clip from the 2006 film “Marie Antoinette” to lip-sync the phrase, “Let them eat cake.”
People incensed with Kalil’s comments seemed ready to break out the digital guillotines.
Viewers lambasted her online, saying Kalil’s choice of audio was “out of touch” and “insulting,” among cries to block her on social media. Days later, Kalil uploaded a nearly nine-minute-long video to TikTok apologizing profusely.
“I am so, so, so sorry that I chose a sound that you guys could ever possibly feel was malicious in nature,” Kalil said on TikTok, adding that she never would have used the audio had she considered its implications.
Several followers on Kalil’s apology video responded curtly, saying they were “Watching from District 12,” a nod to “The Hunger Games.”
Calls to block Kalil have been echoed among a widening net of celebrities, which include Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Tom Brady, Drake, Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey.
What impact is the ‘Celebrity Block Party’ trend having?
It remains unclear just how much of an impact the “Celebrity Block Party” trend is having on shaking up social media influencers.
On Thursday — one day after the #Blockout2024 hashtag started going viral — Taylor Swift lost as many as 100,000 followers on TikTok, according to Social Blade, a media analytics site. Her numbers dipped slightly from 33.5 million to 33.4 million followers overnight.
But overall, that’s barely a drop in the bucket.
From April 27 to May 10, Swift gained an average of 270,000 TikTok followers a day, according to Social Blade. On X (formerly Twitter), Swift currently retains the title of having the 8th most popular account with 95.3 million followers. Her losses there Wednesday through Friday barely scratched 6 thousand total unfollows.
Did Kim Kardashian lose TikTok followers?
A viral claim purporting Kim Kardashian had lost 3 million followers appears to be unsupported, according to Social Blade, which shows her TikTok followers have remained steady at 9.7 millions over the past week. However, the exact gains and losses don’t appear to be shown on the analytics website.
Kardashian’s numbers on TokCount.com appeared slightly less at 9.6 million followers as of Friday.
If a social media firestorm is coming, it’s not clear yet how badly celebrities might get burned, but the sparks are certainly there.
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John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Follow him on X at @JTuftsReports.
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