Charli D’Amelio, 16 year old influencer, became the most famous TikToker within less than a year. She has gained over 100 million followers in 2020 alone. She’s mostly recognized as a former member of the Hype House.
Her fame came from the commonly used app, TikTok, which is a platform where users post 15 to 60 second videos about numerous topics. Charli started posting dance videos which soon made her account blow up with likes and followers. From just dancing, she gets around $25,000 per video.
D’Amelio’s platform does bring some sort of good into the world. Charli has created a whole new appreciation for dance, donates her wealth to various charities, created a Dunkin Donuts beverage, and even designs her own clothing. For the most part, Charli does speak her opinions on societal and social justice issues, including the death of George Floyd’s, Black Lives Matter, etc.
With any influencer, however, comes a side effect. Charli’s mental health has decreased since she rose to fame. She receives a bunch of criticism for her actions, most of which are offensive and hurtful. For example, she lip synced a certain lyric from the popular song, “Prom Queen,” which is about the struggles of living with an eating disorder. Charli quotes, “I’ve always tried to use my voice when it comes to issues surrounding body image, but I’ve never talked about my own struggles with eating disorders. It’s so uncomfortable to admit to even your closest friends and family, let alone the world.”
Along with that, she’s been in several scandals. A common theme with Charli D’Amelio is that her support for important charities and social issues tends to fade away with time. Her fanbase is also attacked for their fierce loyalty, coming to her defense after weeks of criticism. Some issues social media users have had with Charli is her silence regarding the Brandon Bernard execution. She has also advertised expensive clothing to her younger fans, and proven to be ungrateful of her followers. There have even been videos of her vaping despite being a minor, indirectly promoting underage smoking to her young fanbase.
Even after all of the criticism, and losing almost 3 million followers overnight due to the previously mentioned accusations, she has still proven herself as the most popular teenager in the world. Her 101+ million follower count keeps rising, and is projected to do so for quite a while.
On December 18, Hulu announced a reality tv show starring Charli and her family. “The D’Amelio Show” will air on Hulu in 2021, notably starring Charli, her sister Dixie, her mother, and her father. The series will follow the family on their experiences with a sudden rise to fame.
No matter if you love or hate her, Charli D’Amelio is one of the biggest celebrities of 2020. Now we will have to wait and see what she will accomplish in 2021.