Another Day, Another TikTok Scandal
TIKTOK STAR FAKES DEATH FOR FOLLOWERS
On Tuesday morning, all across social media fans mourned the loss of Adil Rajput, one of the country’s most famous TikTok stars. An announcement of Adil’s death was made by a mosque in his neighborhood, and a large number of fans gathered outside his house to mourn his passing.
The wife of the popular artist, Farah Adil, shared a video from her husband’s TikTok account, where she can be seen hysterically weeping. “Adil is no longer with us”, she cried in between tears as she stated he had succumbed to his injuries and passed in a fatal road accident.
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, Adil Rajput was found alive a few hours later.
While we’ve heard of TikTokers doing unbelievable stunts or making embarrassing videos in the hopes of increasing followers, very few have faked their death for popularity on the app.
When Adil was found alive, citizens and fans were enraged. They demanded higher authorities to take legal action against Adil and his wife for playing with their sentiments. Due to the intense backlash and public outcry, Adil’s wife made another video informing the public her husband was alive and well.
OTHER STARS WHO HAVE FAKED THEIR DEATHS
In January, YouTuber Jay Ethier told more than 5 million subscribers that his girlfriend had been killed by a drunk driver in a tragic accident. Jay, best known as “ImJayStation” on YouTube ended the announcement by asking viewers to subscribe in her memory. He proceeded to make a series of videos about his “dead girlfriend”, Alexia Marano. In one video, he sobbed at a roadside memorial and in another, he tried to summon her spirit with a Ouija board.
Then, it was announced that Marano wasn’t dead after all- it was just a ‘skit’ to reel in more viewers to a YouTube channel the couple ran together. Ethier deleted the hoax videos after backlash.
Increasingly, users are doing controversial things to gain popularity on social media. Many, like Adil Rajput and Jay Ethier, are willing to toy with the emotions and sentiments of others to increase their following.
Therefore, the question is posed: How far are stars willing to go to increase their follower count? And how far is too far?