What’s up guys, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, and after much controversy,
Charli D’Amelio has officially reached her goal of 100 million TikTok followers, but
at what price did she pay in order to achieve this historic milestone?
Let’s break it all down.
We all love a good comeback story, and due to a little thing called ‘cancel culture’
we’ve become far more familiar with celebs and influencers having to work their way from
the ground up after a major public setback.
Charli D’Amelio might be new to the scene as of this year, but she’s no stranger to
criticism amongst her newly coveted achievement of reaching 100 million followers on the platform
that started it all for her.
Charli is currently TikTok’s biggest star, sitting pretty with over 102 million followers,
but as many fans are aware, her journey to reach 100 million followers about a year after
joining the platform has been anything but glamorous.
In case you missed it, Charli recently made headlines after her family, including her
older sister Dixie D’Amelio posted the first video of their family’s new series called
“Dinner With The D’Amelio’s”.
The series’ first dinner guest was none other than beauty guru James Charles, who
knows firsthand the art of Internet comebacks.
Not only did the episode spark backlash after Charli and Dixie mocked their dinner prepared
by private chef Aaron May, but Charli ended up losing respect among her fanbase after
a viral comment she made about reaching 100 million followers in her first year on TikTok.
“‘Cause imagine if I hit a hundred mil a year after hitting a mil…”
“Was the 95 not enough for you?”
“Well, I was just, like, saying, like, even numbers…”
Just before the video was posted, Charli was almost to her goal of 100 million followers,
but things quickly took a turn for the worst when thousands of other influencers and fans
accused her of being ‘ungrateful’ and ‘bratty,’ which led to a decrease of over
a million followers.
After receiving a mess of abuse to the point of death threats, Charli took to Instagram
Live to share a tearful video expressing that her comments were simply a misunderstanding,
and pleaded with fans to remember that she is only human.
YouTubers including James Charles and Trisha Paytas both chimed in, starting their own
virtual feud amongst themselves, but considering all that James went through while being open
and transparent with his fans during the Tati Westbrook drama, it seems fans felt a sort
of similar sentiment when it came to Charli receiving so much unanimous hatred.
Charli also opened up about the hate she received during her and Dixie’s podcast 2 Chix, explaining
that she has no regrets about getting emotional and showing her true feelings to fans, and
that it’s something she never wants to change about herself.
“I feel like people really have to understand that yes, I do have a substantial amount of
people that follow me on social media.
That does not mean that I am not a person!
Everyone likes to say a year ago I was a normal kid doing something in school.
A year later, I’m a normal kid doing stuff for social media.”
Apparently, the Internet was able to forgive and forget Charli’s comments about reaching
100 mil that were all one giant misunderstanding, because not even 48 hours after her tearful
live stream, she redeemed herself and hit (and even surpassed) her goal.
So what exactly changed in a matter of hours that prompted fans to gain a sense of sympathy
for this seemingly normal 16-year-old who danced her way onto the platform just a year
prior?
Ben Jeffries, entrepreneur and CEO of brand marketing platform Influencer, weighed in
on why he believes fans had a change of heart after so many unfollowed Charli due to her
comments.
He spoke to Metro explaining that Charli “went live to apologize to her followers and to
acknowledge and accept responsibility for the fact that her words had come across the
wrong way.
Going live indicated to her followers that her apology wasn’t scripted or prerecorded
and I believe showed that she was genuinely sorry.”
Ben also believes that Charli’s apology and sincerity surrounding the whole ordeal
indicates that she has “learned her lesson, and reaching 100 million followers would suggest
that her followers have forgiven her,” in which he doesn’t imagine she’ll find herself
in the same predicament any time soon.
This realness and relatability only attracts fans to her as she navigates her teen years
in a whole new ‘normal’, yet still very similar to millions of her fans.
Ben also predicts that by reaching 100 million followers, Charli’s growth will only continue
to snowball, adding, “We have already seen Charli begin to move beyond the app, launching
a podcast with her sister Dixie, who also boasts a large TikTok following, and focusing
more efforts on YouTube.
I would predict that as her following continues to grow, Charli will look at finding a variety
of platforms on which to speak to her followers.”
Aside from using multiple outlets to speak openly and honestly with fans, many people
likely also appreciated that Charli addressed yet another controversy after some accused
her of buying followers to get to 100 mil.
She quickly nipped that rumor in the bud during the same podcast episode, stating loud and
clear that she has never once purchased followers for herself or for anyone.
“Have I ever bought followers for myself or anyone?
No I have not.
Has my family?
No they have not.
Has anyone that I know?
No they have not.
Are there bots on the app called TikTok?
Indeed, everyone has bots.
That’s how the app is run, that’s how the app works, that’s how they make the
app look the way it is.
Can I control that?
Absolutely not.”
With TikTok’s lighthearted content versus YouTube’s longer-formatted vlog style, Charli
has been able to establish a sense of community with fans, which has clearly bode well in
her favor.
There’s no question Charli cherishes her growing fans and their ongoing support, but
at the end of the day, we do need to remember that she IS only human, and that humans are
going to slip up… that’s just life, y’all!
For more details on the backlash Charli received after hitting 100 million, click right over
here to watch another Clevver video.
Then be sure to let me know all your thoughts on Charli’s major comeback down here in
the comments, and which TikToker you think will be next to hit 100 million followers.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., You can find me on Instagram @emileennisjr and on TikTok
@emileennisjr31 and I’ll see you soon.
bye guys.