Latest / Mini Scroll / The Life & Career of Addison Rae: From Louisiana TikToker to Indie Pop Icon

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The Life & Career of Addison Rae: From Louisiana TikToker to Indie Pop Icon · Mini Scroll

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On March 23rd, 2024, British singer-songwriter Charlie XCX
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posted a TikTok video. The clip showed Charlie in the
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recording studio jumping up and down, excited about the vocals
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of a collaborator on her new hit Von Dutch Remix.
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The collaborator was in the recording booth and before
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launching into her verse on the single, she let out a high
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pitched scream. The collaborator on Charlie's
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song was Addison Rae and that high pitched scream was
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completely ad libbed quote. The moment Addison did this
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during ad libs, Charlie wrote on TikTok One take.
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None of us knew it was coming. Charlie's TikTok quickly reached
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over 25,000,000 views and the comment section was flooded with
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excitement for the collab quote. Addison Ray is a pop genius, one
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person commented, Addison Ray, the pop girl Princess you are,
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wrote another. Though Addison had gone viral
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for her singing career before, this was the first time that the
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influencer received genuine accolades for her foray into
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music. And it was this 16 second TikTok
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posted by Charlie XCX that solidified Addison's new era as
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an indie pop girly, marking a successful rebrand for the
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TikTok star at a time when influencer rebrands rarely work,
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Addison navigated this transition successfully.
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So how did a TikTok dancer from Louisiana become a pop icon with
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a cult following? And what did it take to get here
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from Centennial World? I'm Lauren Meisner and this is
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Infinite Scroll, a podcast about Internet culture, the creator
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economy and how social media is shaping.
1:33
Jen Zed, welcome back to Infinite Scroll.
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Everyone I needed. I needed to bring you guys
1:40
something more fun, something more lighthearted.
1:45
I feel like that's kind of the vibe now, right as we go like a
1:47
week or two of like fun, lighthearted topics.
1:50
And then I bring you something serious and a bit of a downer,
1:53
and then I bring back the levity and we kind of go up and down
1:55
like that. So last week's episode was
1:58
obviously a really big one. I had a lot of great feedback
2:01
and I also had a lot of men in the comments section really
2:06
pissed off as expected. But as always, Please remember
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It literally makes my day. Please also sign up to our
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2:44
I'm going to read some comments from last week's episode.
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So at Fizz, Bish says Pump on the pod.
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The cutest gal, literally. She is a sweet baby Angel.
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I love when she makes a little appearance.
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Hot Bowl of Stew 94 said Loved this episode.
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I think you merged giving info while explaining your opinion
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really well. Can't wait for more.
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That was on one of the mini Scroll episodes from last week
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and shared by Sarah Said. My favorite part of the intro is
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hearing how you say Centennial World every time.
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I would love to know what you like about that.
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I like do I say it weird or do I say it soothing?
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I just. I need to know because that is
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such an interesting comment. All right.
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As you guys can tell from the title, this week I am diving in
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to the life, career, controversies and rebrands of
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Addison Ray Addison. Ray Easterling was born on
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October 6th, 2000 in Louisiana, USA.
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She was born to her father, Monty Lopez and mother, Sherri
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Nicole Easterling. Sherri and Monty were not yet
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married when Addison was born, which is why she only shares her
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last name with her mother after they married.
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They later divorced, where Sherri was a single mother for a
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few years of Addison's child childhood.
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Sherry and Monty eventually remarried in 2017 before getting
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divorced again in 2019. Sherry and Monty became a major
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part of Addison's early TikTok fame, but so did her two younger
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brothers, Enzo and Lucas. She made a lot of content with
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them throughout 2020, where many of her followers became invested
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in their lives. Now Enzo is 16 and Lucas is 10.
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Addison also has an older half sister, her father's daughter
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named Macy Newmeyer, who has two daughters of her own.
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In the first episode of her now defunct podcast with her mother,
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which was later renamed to That was fun with Addison and Sherry.
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The pair discuss Addison's upbringing.
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The family moved a lot during her childhood due to her parents
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on and off again relationship from Louisiana to Texas and back
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again. At one point they lived in a
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camper that had quote one main room and a bunk bed while
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Addison's family moved around. They also traveled frequently
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after Addison started dancing competitively at the age of 6.
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She later took her dancing experience and became a
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cheerleader in high school. Given her background in dance
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and cheerleading, Addison dreamt of becoming a Tiger Girl, the
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official dance team of the Louisiana State University LSU
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Athletics in 2019. She auditioned for the team,
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however, she didn't make it. This was a shock to Addison and
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her family given they were relying on her to make the team.
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Now this is presumably for financial reasons, although she
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did not explicitly state this in the podcast episode that this is
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from. After getting rejected, she and
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her family decided they would all move to Baton Rouge, which
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is where LSU is located, so that they could save money by not
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paying for Addison's dorm or meal plan fees.
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Well, Addison enrolled in LSU to pursue a degree in sports
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broadcasting. She ultimately chose not to
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finish it. Around the same time she started
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college, she started getting traction online.
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Addison was introduced to TikTok in 2019 when sophomores and
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juniors from her high school first asked her to dance with
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them. Originally, she wasn't
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interested in using it herself. The first TikTok she ever posted
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was of her dad, and it only got one.
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Like she quickly deleted it out of embarrassment.
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Quote. I posted a video of my dad for
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my first video ever, which no one really knows.
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Definitely no traction there. It was like the dumbest,
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weirdest video I could have ever posted.
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It got like literally one leg, Addison said on the Emergency
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Contact podcast. Her next, TikTok was posted on
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July 9th, 2019. It was a video of her lip
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syncing to Kelsey Ballerini's Love Me Like You Mean It.
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While her friend pretended to play guitar in the background,
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The TikTok was an overnight success reflecting on her
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journey to virality. On the Emergency Contact
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podcast, Addison said. Quote.
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Then the next morning, I woke up and it had like 92,000 likes as
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Palmer Hash writes for Business Insider.
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Quote. At the time, she posted a mix of
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dance videos, lip syncs, trends, and comedy skits with many of
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her videos featuring appearances from her mother, a TikTok star
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in her own right with over 14,000,000 followers and other
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family members. While Addison had a taste of
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Internet fame, her first truly viral TikTok featured her mom,
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Sherry. It was a video of the pair
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dancing too obsessed by Mariah Carey.
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Mariah actually ended up liking the video later.
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Fun fact quote. I kept posting and kept posting.
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And then video of my mom and I went viral.
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It had like 300,000 likes. She sat on the Emergency Contact
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podcast. Addison posted this video with
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Sherry in July 2019 and by October of that year she hit
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1,000,000 followers on TikTok. At the time she was already
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studying at LSU. During orientation week, she
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realized her TikTok fame was translating to real life where
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people were starting to recognize her.
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One month after hitting 1,000,000 followers, Addison had
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convinced her family to let her drop out of LSU and move to LA
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to expand her career. Soon her her family joined her
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where the family started making more and more content together.
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Addison reflected on this on her podcast with her mother saying
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quote When we moved out here collectively as a family, that's
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when things really started skyrocketing.
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After moving to LA, Addison joined the Hype House in
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December 2019. Her time in the Hype House was
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eventful to say the least and she was associated with the
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collective until around May 2020.
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If you listen to this podcast, you are probably familiar with
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the Hype House. But for those who are
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unfamiliar, the Hype House was a group of young, primarily TikTok
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creators who shared a mansion together in Moorpark, CA.
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The Hype House team took inspiration from Team 10 and the
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Vlog Squad, where they collaborated on different
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content. While living together, the house
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acted as a talent agency. A large percentage of everyone's
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income went to the owner of the house.
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Content houses like the Hype House have a set of rules
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requiring parental permission for anyone under 18 to film
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there, and if members of the house don't create consistent
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viral content, they're out. This requires a house manager
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who's responsible for keeping everyone in line and making sure
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they deliver. YouTuber and former Team 10
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member himself, Thomas Petrou was the manager of the Hype
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House. Alongside Thomas Addison was one
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of the founding members of the House, with Daisy Quiche, Chase
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Hudson, Alex Warren and Dixie Demilio.
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Packed with some of the internet's biggest viral
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sensations, fans were captivated by the Hype house, which boasted
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21 members at its peak. But it wasn't just the content
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that enticed TikTok users. Many audiences were equally as
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invested in the romantic pairings that emerged across
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different content houses. And of course, one of the most
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iconic couples was Addison Ray and Sway House's Bryce Hall.
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The pair were first linked back in December 2019 after some
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public PDA and reportedly spending Christmas together.
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However, by late January, Bryce confirmed via Twitter that the
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stars were not dating. By May 2020, signs started
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popping up all over the TikTok sphere that the two had
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reunited. For example, Bryce and fellow
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sway House member Jayden Hosler made headlines in late May after
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the two were arrested on drug related charges in Texas.
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Shortly after, rumors began circulating that Addison
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actually bailed Bryce out of jail.
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Though Addison never confirmed this rumor, she also never
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denied it. The two also started spending
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more and more time together and making content at the Sway
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House, leading to speculation by Internet sluice that the two
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were together. While evidence piled up about
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their romance, both Bryce and Addison continued to deny their
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relationship. The couple seemed to be going
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strong until Chase Hudson's infamous Twitter note in July
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2020, which accused the Sway Boys of cheating on their
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girlfriends. Though Chase didn't personally
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accuse Bryce of cheating, the note sparked tons of rumors
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about the TikTok stars, as well as many attempts to quote, UN
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quote, expose Bryce as a cheater.
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A few weeks later, Addison archived all photos with Bryce
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on Instagram, and in August, Addison explained that the pair
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was quote handling things privately and off social media,
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just like you guys said. The couple finally confirmed
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their relationship in AQ and a vlog titled The Truth About Us.
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They responded to the question Are you dating with?
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He asked me out October 13, girlfriend.
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Bryce added that quote. This is our second time dating.
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It's been more than three days, so it's kind of successful
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because it's been more than three days.
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But by March 2021, the couple found themselves in drama again.
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After speculation that Bryce took a trip to Las Vegas and
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cheated on Addison. On March 26th, Bryce confirmed
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their split in a YouTube video. He maintained that he never
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cheated on Addison and he will not be elaborating on the reason
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for their breakup. Further, shortly after, Addison
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confirmed their split to paparazzi, saying she wishes him
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quote the very best and he's amazing.
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While Addison cemented her viral fame during the Hype House era,
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she also found herself in a number of controversies and
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subsequently received a significant amount of hate.
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In July 2020, Addison received backlash when fans found that
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she reposted a video from 2016 with a woman saying Black Lives
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Matter quote is a cult and that all lives matter.
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She apologized on social media with a statement quote.
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I owe all of you an apology. Four years ago I reposted a
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video which included a woman sharing her thoughts on Black
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Lives Matter and All Lives Matter that I should not have
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because of my privilege. I didn't understand and wasn't
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educated enough on the social injustices facing the Black
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community. All lives cannot matter until
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Black Lives do. The Black community was and
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continues to be oppressed and damaged by systemic racism, she
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wrote. Three months later, in October
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2020, Addison, Bryce and other members of the Hype House
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attended a Halloween party at Saddle Ranch.
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This was during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and many people,
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including Addison, were not wearing masks.
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This story became bigger news than expected when the party was
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publicly called out by Ariana Grande on The Zack Sang Show.
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Couldn't we have just stayed at home for a few more weeks like
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all the other countries that were fine and are better than we
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are? Like, did we really all need to
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go to Saddle Ranch that badly? That, like, we couldn't have
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waited for the deadly pandemic to pass?
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Like we all really needed to put on our cowgirl boots and ride a
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mechanical bull. That bad.
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We all. Did that Instagram post that
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badly? When asked how she felt about
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Ariana's call out, Addison said quote, I think it's fair.
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I think it's understandable. I definitely have not been
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going. I've just been trying to stay in
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and work out. I've been working out a lot and
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also preparing for my movie. Ultimately, Addison and Bryce's
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extremely on again and off again relationship alongside her stint
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in the Hype house captivated the online world and skyrocketed
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Addison to mainstream success. Through the second-half of 2020
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to 2021, Addison started cementing herself in traditional
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entertainment. This all started with Addison's
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first foray into beauty. Launching Item Beauty in July
13:31
2020 with backing from Made by Collective, which was Ipsy's
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sister company, the Beauty brand officially launched on August
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11th with a mascara, a Jelly eyeshadow, A brightening powder,
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a brow definer, a lip oil, and a contour duo.
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While the Beauty brand had a few fan favorites like the lip quip
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oil, it was arguably premature. Addison Starr had just started
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to rise, and she had not yet solidified herself as a beauty
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icon. To make matters worse, the brand
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found itself in a number of controversies.
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There was first, a plagiarism issue when the brand was accused
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of copying clothing label Lonely Ghost.
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After printing the phrase quote I love you, say it back on the
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inside mirror of the cheek money compact I Love you Say It Back
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had been the slogan of Lonely Ghost for years.
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Perhaps more seriously, the company was accused of scamming
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consumers upon the launch of screen break, a hydrating face
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mist promising to protect skin from screen emitted blue light
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and everyday pollutants. Social media users were quick to
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criticize Addison, claiming that the research linking screen
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emitted blue light skin damage is limited and unreliable.
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Nevertheless, ITEM entered into an exclusive retail deal with
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Sephora in August 2021. However, by January 10th, 2023,
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reports emerged that the beauty retailer would be dropping ITEM
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from its shelves, leading many to question Addison, Star Power
14:50
and the ability of Tik Tokers to build successful consumer
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brands. After Item, Addison ventured
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into music, dropping her single Obsessed on March 19th, 2020.
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This marked the start of Addison's transformation into a
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mainstream celebrity as she attempted to break into the
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world of pop stardom. On March 19th, 2021, Addison
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premiered her debut single Obsessed, along with the
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accompanying music video. Addison began working with
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songwriter Jay Cash at his private Hollywood studio.
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About six months before the release of Obsessed, Addison
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would visit the studio four to five times a week to study
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melodies, songwriting, and production and write some songs
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of her own. With the help of J.
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Cash, Addison put together a legendary team to help her and
15:32
teach her the ropes. This team was made-up of eight
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producers and songwriters who had worked with the likes of
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Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Blackpink, and Lady Gaga to name
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a few. After four months of studio
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time, Addison and her team created Obsessed.
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The concept of Obsessed was all about joking around with a
15:49
friend. The premise, according to
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Addison, was quote you love me. While I can love myself too, I
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don't need that from someone else when I have it inside.
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I think that's a great place to be at in life.
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I'm working on it and I think it's a great thing for everyone
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to work on. It's not easy to love yourself,
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especially since there's so much comparison in this world today.
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Addison also said that the song shouldn't be taken too
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seriously. Now.
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That comment was likely because rumors online suggested that
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Addison wrote it about Bryce Hall being obsessed with her.
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For the release of Obsessed, Addison decided to go with J
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Cash's independent label, Sandlot Records.
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When asked about going with an independent label, Addison said
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quote, a lot of people assume that just because of TikTok I
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get things handed to me by doing it this way.
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It feels so much more organic. I want to show that this is a
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real passion of mine and not just something that I jumped
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into and got the chance to do. Obsessed initially received a
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mostly negative response, receiving critical reviews from
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Vulture, Pop Dust, Entertainment Weekly, and countless people on
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TikTok and Twitter. Commercially, however, Obsessed
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fared decently, peaking at #10 on the US Billboard Bubbling
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Under Hot 100 chart. This is the chart that includes
16:58
songs that are basically right under the top 100.
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Despite the relative commercial success and the initial creative
17:05
empowerment that Addison felt from her debut single, Obsessed
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Reception almost LED Addison to quit music, Addison told Liam
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Hesa Vogue quote. I think I had a really fragile
17:16
sense of self at the time. I was 19, you know?
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It kind of crushed me for some time.
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I started feeling a lot of self doubt and those big dreams that
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I was pursuing. I just thought maybe I'm not
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good enough to do this. Addison faced even more
17:28
criticism later that month when she appeared on The Tonight Show
17:31
with Jimmy Fallon and months later when she fangirls Donald
17:35
Trump. In late March 2021, Addison made
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an appearance on The Tonight Show, where she performed 8
17:41
viral TikTok dances for host Jimmy Fallon.
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Addison and The Tonight Show received backlash for failing to
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credit the creators of the dances, who were mostly creators
17:50
of color. This controversy went quite
17:52
viral as creators of color have consistently been denied access
17:56
to the same accolades as their white counterparts and there was
17:59
a big issue on Dance Talk at the beginning around 2019-2020 with
18:04
white creators taking dances from creators of color and not
18:07
giving them the credit. Addison responded to this
18:10
incident saying quote, I think they were all credited in the
18:13
original YouTube posting, but it's kind of hard to credit
18:16
during the show. But they all know that I love
18:18
them so much and I mean I support all of them so much and
18:21
hopefully one day we can all meet up and dance together.
18:23
Addison continued to receive backlash when in July 2021, a
18:28
video surfaced of her maneuvering through the crowd at
18:31
UFC Match to introduce herself to former President of the
18:34
United States Donald Trump. In the video you can hear
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Addison saying, hi, I'm Addison, nice to meet you.
18:40
I have to say hi, hello, so nice to meet you Now.
18:43
This match was UFC264 which occurred on July 11th, 2021,
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which is notably after the capital attack on January 6th.
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This instance LED fans to search through her social media and
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they found that Addison had liked a tweet endorsing Donald
19:00
Trump in 2016. The backlash continued as
19:03
Addison refused to address the incident for well over a month.
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She eventually addressed it in August in an interview with the
19:10
LA Times. She said quote, I mean, I don't
19:13
support Trump and if someone does, that's their opinion and I
19:16
respect everyone's opinion for each their own.
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But it's a very rare on occasion that you get to meet a former
19:21
president, and I think most people could agree with me on
19:23
that. It's very uncommon and I
19:25
consider myself a friendly person, and so introducing
19:28
myself does not mean I stand behind anything that any
19:31
respective person condones. While 2021 wasn't going too
19:35
smoothly for Addison, she continued to pursue mainstream
19:38
celebrity, picking up her first acting gig as Paget Sawyer and
19:42
he's All That, a gender flipped remake of the 1999 teen comedy
19:46
She's All That. The film was released on Netflix
19:49
on August 26th, 2021. The reaction was mixed.
19:54
Instead of viewing her pivot as a genuine effort to expand her
19:57
craft, users saw her casting as an attempt for the film to
20:00
capitalize on her fame and make money.
20:03
Much like Charlie D'amelio and her TikTok peers, it became
20:06
clear that Internet users did not support Addison's move away.
20:09
Nevertheless, Addison's * rose in the mainstream as she
20:12
documented her friendship with Kourtney Kardashian, who also
20:16
happened to make a cameo. And he's all that.
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The two were first seen hanging out together back in March 2020
20:22
and were soon inseparable. Right Seemingly having nothing
20:26
in common and a 22 year age gap, Addison later confirmed on the
20:30
Tom Ward show that David Dobrik actually introduced the dynamic
20:34
duo. According to Addison, Courtney's
20:36
son, Mason Disick is a huge fan of Addison's from TikTok and
20:39
that's how they met. Soon after meeting, the pair
20:42
were inseparable, appearing together in TikTok content and
20:45
paparazzi photos. Addison even appeared on an
20:47
episode of Keeping Up the Kardashians in April 2021.
20:51
Many social media users believed that their friendship was PR,
20:54
both to help Addison solidify her mainstream stardom and to
20:57
keep the Kardashians relevant with Gen.
20:59
Z. Soon after Addison found
21:01
mainstream success, however, she seemed to take a step back from
21:04
the spotlight. This was around the same time
21:07
that her parents started to become really problematic.
21:11
In early July 2022, influencer Renee Ash, who was 25 at the
21:16
time, came forward and said she was in a five month long affair
21:20
with Addisons father Monty Lopez.
21:22
She accused Monty of lying to her about his marital status and
21:26
she later did an interview with Page 6 saying quote, he
21:29
introduced me to his mom, his youngest brother and I thought
21:32
we had something real. He told me a story of his
21:34
marriage and that convinced me that they were apart and in the
21:37
process of getting a divorce. Sherry responded to the
21:40
accusations against her husband in an Instagram post that read
21:43
quote Personal matters being brought public are always
21:46
challenging and overwhelming for anyone involved.
21:48
I will be OK. My biggest concern is, and
21:51
always will be, my children and their fragile hearts and minds.
21:54
I will always do my best to try to protect them.
21:56
Over the next few weeks, Addison and Sherry both unfollowed.
21:59
Monty and Sherry then updated her her Instagram bio to say
22:04
single mom. Things only got worse for
22:06
Addison after rapper Young Gravy appeared on Jeff Wittek's
22:09
podcast Jeff FM in August 2022. During the episode, the artist
22:14
said that he quote has a thing for milfs and was quote going on
22:17
a date soon with Addison's mom Sherry.
22:20
In response to Young Gravy's comments, Monty threatened the
22:23
26 year old on TikTok for talking about his estranged
22:26
wife. Watch your mouth boy, you're
22:28
going to get Chris rocked, Monty wrote on a TikTok video duetting
22:32
the clip of Young Gravy on Jeff's podcast.
22:35
In the comments, Monty challenged the rapper to a
22:38
boxing match writing quote at Young Gravy.
22:41
Let's get in the ring please. If you have the balls, I'll take
22:44
them. He then made a follow up TikTok
22:46
pretending to transform into the Hulk writing quote when Young
22:51
Gravy won't accept a boxing match.
22:53
During Monty Lopez and Young Gravy's back and forth, Tana
22:56
Mojo commented on one of Monty's tik toks where he appears to be
23:01
threatening Young Gravy writing quote.
23:02
I'm calling the police. Monty then replied about your
23:06
body count. Go take a bath.
23:09
Reminder. Tana was in her 20s.
23:12
Tana then checked to TikTok to defend herself, stating quote,
23:15
first of all, why a grown man, a father, is even remotely
23:18
discussing my body count is beyond me.
23:21
So Monty, my dear, if you want war, so be it.
23:24
I feel kind of strange beefing with this man at his prehistoric
23:27
age, especially when I've seen him put so many things up his
23:30
nose at several teenage events. And this wasn't even the first
23:34
time that Tana had discussed Monty's drug habits.
23:38
A few weeks earlier, Tana appeared on Jeff's podcast and
23:41
discussed seeing, quote, a celebrity father doing a good
23:44
amount of cocaine. She confirmed that the celebrity
23:47
father was Monty and called his behavior just the tip of the
23:51
iceberg. Since Tana posted her video, she
23:54
shared several DMS that she had allegedly received from young
23:57
women claiming to have had creepy experiences with Monty
24:01
when they were as young as 18 and 19 years old.
24:03
The situation, however, escalated further when Young
24:06
Gravy took Sherry to the 2022 VM as they posed for photos
24:12
together on the red carpet and kissed on camera.
24:14
Addison unfollowed her mom on Instagram and added Not Your
24:17
Doormat to her bio. In the midst of the young Gravy
24:20
debacle, her mom even commented on a viral Instagram post that
24:25
highlighted that Addison had unfollowed her writing, heart
24:29
wrenching with a sad face. After all this went down with
24:32
her parents, people were really sympathetic to Addison, but this
24:35
changed when the TikTok star found herself in a controversy
24:38
of her own also in August 2022. On August 2nd, Addison posted on
24:43
social media wearing a bikini from the collaboration between
24:46
Adidas and Praying. The words father and son were
24:49
across her chest and on the bikini bottoms, which were not
24:52
featured in this photo. They said Holy Spirit on the
24:55
crotch. The photo quickly gained
24:57
traction with Christians criticizing the young influencer
25:00
for making a mockery of their religion, while Addison found
25:03
herself at odds with conservative audiences.
25:06
This was the start of Addison's rebrand.
25:08
Embracing a more Cool Girl aesthetic, This rebrand had been
25:13
in the works for a while, starting when Addison had two
25:16
leaked unreleased tracks go viral in January 2022.
25:20
I Got It Bad and nothing on but the radio.
25:23
In August 20, 2210, more of her unreleased tracks leaked to
25:27
SoundCloud. Soon, an ironic and unironic
25:31
cult following began to grow. Most of the initial positive
25:34
reaction was among the LGBTQ community and a lot of it was
25:39
ironic. Per BuzzFeed News 1 online
25:42
commenter wrote quote Addison Ray did the first TikTok at
25:45
Stonewall. This standing of Addison Ray as
25:47
a pop icon for the gays only started to snowball, and by the
25:51
time 2023 rolled around, many people were viewing Addison's
25:55
debut Obsessed in a different light, seeing it as more camp
26:00
rather than just bad. She subsequently released her EP
26:04
called AR Via Sandlot Records on August 18th, 2023.
26:09
Let the TikTok success of the single To Die for featuring
26:11
Charli XEX altered Addison's trajectory, providing her with
26:15
another opportunity to change her persona, this time as a
26:22
niche hyper pop artist. This new trajectory has seen
26:26
Addison join Charli XEX for her Boiler Room set and collaborate
26:30
on a remix of Von Dutch, the lead single off Charlie's next
26:33
album, Brat, and that aforementioned clip of Addison
26:37
screaming on the track for an ad.
26:38
Lib has cemented her rebrand in the best way possible.
26:42
Quote Ray's ironic redemption has revealed an unspoken fandom
26:46
Internet rule There are two roots to become a gay icon.
26:50
Either a performer is inherently an outcast because of how they
26:53
look or the ways they don't fit into the status quo, or they
26:55
become so hated, so scrutinized and hated on that it's camp to
26:59
stand them, writes Steffi KO for BuzzFeed.
27:02
As Addison shifted away from mainstream an artist, she began
27:06
moving in a more unexpected direction and people really
27:09
liked it. This shift was also evident to
27:12
many when she started dating music producer and songwriter
27:15
Omar Fetty. Whispers of a possible romance
27:18
were first sparked after the two were seen leaving Machine Gun
27:21
Kelly and Travis Barker's surprise rooftop concert
27:24
together the weekend of June 20th, 2021.
27:27
Omar, who originally hails from Tel Aviv, proceeded to post an
27:30
Instagram story that showed a woman's feet and heels cuddled
27:33
up next to him. The two were then spotted
27:35
together on red carpets and on dates with Kourtney Kardashian
27:38
and Travis Barker. In late 2023, there were rumors
27:42
that they had split and that Addison was dating an Australian
27:44
DJ named Petro. However, in December 2023,
27:47
Addison did an interview with British Vogue during which she
27:50
referenced a vacation she took that year prior, referring to
27:53
Omar as her boyfriend in the answer.
27:55
Not only is Addison expanding her audience when it comes to
27:58
her music, but she is also changing her aesthetic.
28:01
After her father's problematic behavior years ago, she took a
28:04
step back from the public eye. This helped her curate a more
28:08
mysterious public image. Since then, she has gradually
28:11
been shifting her aesthetic with cool girl photo dumps and edgy
28:15
fashion choices. Addison's new style began
28:18
catching people's attention in 2021 at the MTV Movie Awards and
28:22
the Met Gala. Both outfits were styled by La
28:24
Roche. Her bold choices continued into
28:27
2022, with her current stylist, Ryan Hastings becoming a Gen.
28:31
Z style icon. She has also embraced nostalgic
28:34
fashion, wearing a lot of Y2K inspired pieces.
28:37
She has also been credited with bringing back the 2014 Tumblr
28:40
aesthetic after posting a photo from an iPhone 4 on Instagram
28:44
quote. Over the past few months, Ray's
28:46
personal style has undergone A subtle shift.
28:49
The dancer, actor, and singer has always embraced laid back
28:52
California cool, opting for crop tops, denim cut offs, and
28:56
oversized shirts. And while her recent fits retain
28:59
this sporty, casual aesthetic, Ray has begun leaning heavily
29:02
into the nostalgia of Y2K fashion, causing her St. style
29:06
to take off online, writes Alexandra Polly for High
29:09
Sobriety. Now that Addison has well and
29:12
truly rebranded herself, there are two main reasons why this
29:15
has worked. First, liking her became deemed
29:18
as campy, which is often associated with online gay
29:21
culture. And rather than steering away
29:24
from this and taking herself too seriously, she decided to lean
29:27
in. She embraced this label and this
29:30
fan base. Second, Addison hasn't been
29:33
super overexposed. Ultimately, her decision to
29:36
scale back from mainstream celebrity to a more niche
29:39
demographic helps her maintain that underground feel that
29:42
resonates with influencer culture and social media users.
29:46
There's just something so cool and mysterious about her, to the
29:49
point where you don't know what move she's going to make next.
29:52
And it's crazy to call someone who came up on TikTok
29:54
mysterious. But it's true.
29:56
Like Addison kind of disappeared from the public eye in terms of
29:59
like, the way we once knew her. And then she'll pop up
30:02
occasionally posting like these super cool photo dumps.
30:05
So this is where we leave off with our deep dive into the life
30:08
and career of Addison Ray. After finding astronomical
30:11
success on TikTok, Addison is one of the only creators to
30:15
success break out from that very narrow box.
30:18
Though she's weathered her fair share of controversies, her
30:20
recent rebrand from mainstream Tick Tocker to indie pop star
30:24
has put her back on top, proving that sometimes the influencer
30:28
rebrand can actually work. JoJo Siwa, take notes.
30:34
Infinite Scroll is a podcast written, produced and presented
30:37
by me, Lauren Meisner for Centennial World.
30:40
Additional research and reporting is by Annabelle Ben
30:42
David and preliminary research is by Nick Meisner.
30:46
Editing is by Danny Fennick. Thank you so much for listening.
30:49
I love you guys and I will talk to you next week.
30:52
Bye.