What’s up y’all, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, and TikTok star Nessa Barrett
is opening up about the struggles of her TikTok fame all while battling a mental illness.
By the looks of it, Nessa Barrett has it all -- the record deal, the TikTok fame, the massive
friend group and millions of fans who support her through all of her endeavors.
But on the inside, Nessa deals with the daily struggle of online bullying, heartbreak, broken
friendships and trying to find her way in a big city as a 17-year-old who made the big
move to L.A. without any of her family members.
Just on the heels of the release of Nessa’s debut single “Pain,” she opened up with
Entertainment Tonight and revealed the meaning behind the lyrics of the emotional track.
She said QUOTE, “I wrote it during a really vulnerable time.
I was dealing with a lot of heartbreak and hate on social media.
I was just going through a lot.
I kinda wanted to express how I was feeling with my song, because a lot of people can’t
really see how i truly feel through a 15-second TikTok video.”
Writing the song seemed to come pretty natural to Nessa, who also shared that while in the
studio, she began crying and pouring her heart out to the piano.
When asked if the song was about her breakup with fellow TikToker Josh Richards, Nessa
revealed that it was, in fact, a big contribution.
“Umm… it’s a part of it.
Just a lot going on, especially, like, the hate, and the breakup obviously made it harder,
but, yeah.”
Not only is Nessa struggling with the pain of heartbreak in the public eye, and now even
harsh comparisons from fans comparing her new music video to Madison Beer’s “Selfish”
video, but she dropped another truthbomb about her mental health, opening up about her battle
with generalized anxiety and bipolar disorder.
She said, “I've been in therapy for anxiety since I was, like, six.
And then when I was about 14, I was misdiagnosed with depression.
And then I recently have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder."
Nessa also admitted that the online bullying she constantly receives has really taken a
toll on her mental health, adding, “All the hate got overwhelming.
I had to spend time away from reading comments, watching hate videos on me.
It really took a toll on me and I just wanted to better myself by excluding social media.”
While she credits TikTok for kickstarting her fame, Nessa revealed that the platform
has gotten to be very toxic, as people seem to think they can write whatever they want
without realizing how bad it actually hurts others.
Nessa said, “I could never say that to anyone.
I can't really wrap my head around it.
But it happens and it sucks, and we just have to deal with it.
But I hope it changes.”
She also admitted that as a teenager, she’s going to make mistakes, but that no matter
how sincere or sorry she’s going to be, Nessa realizes that by being in the public
eye, she will still get criticized.
But one way Nessa is able to keep her mental health intact is by distancing herself from
social media.
She said, “I realized that reading those comments and seeing those comments just wasn't
healthy.
There was a point where I had deleted all my apps and would only re-download them to
post.
And then as soon as my stuff was posted, I'd delete them again so I wouldn't have to look
at all the comments, any DMs.”
BUT I should add that not ALL the comments come from a place of hate and envy -- Nessa
is lucky to have a supportive fanbase who lifts her up and encourages her when she needs
it most.
Speaking of her fanbase, many praised Nessa for being so open about her mental illness.
One fan tweeted, “Nessa Barrett as a 17-year-old teenager is going through so many things that
she doesn't deserve and people are only looking to throw hate at her for stupid things.
Not long ago she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and from a very young age suffers
from anxiety and depression.
She tries to ignore the bad comments but they affect her and make her feel worse.
Nessa deserves none of this.”
Another user wrote, “I’m so proud of nessa.
After everything she’s been through, she’s still here.
Never doubt your strength, you can make it through anything.”
Thankfully, Nessa has also been able to confide in her TikTok group, especially after getting
much closer to the guys in the Sway House.
Nessa and Josh dated earlier this year and called it quits in June, as seen by their
YouTube video titled, “We Broke Up.”
Based on the lighthearted nature of the video, as well as Nessa’s interview, it’s evident
these two are still just as close as ever.
She said, “When you create that bond with someone, it was more like he was my best friend
over everything.
So when we did end up taking our separate ways, we wanted to make sure that we remained
that, like, best friendship that we had.”
As for the possibility of getting back together, welllllll, we’re not quite there yet…
Nessa said, “Only time will tell, but right now I'm just really enjoying us being friends.”
For all the details on the Hype House’s upcoming reality show, you can click right
over here for another Clevver video.
Then be sure to let me know all your thoughts on Nessa’s interview down here in the comments,
and what you think about her new song.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!