Welp. It’s official. TikTok in the US has “gone dark” following the US Supreme Court upheld the controversial ban against the beloved app, and influencers are officially crashing out.
And as much as I do talk smack about my fellow Americans, I’m crashing out with them.
Hours before the ban was supposed to come into effect, TikTok shut down its app in America, alongside fellow ByteDance apps Lemon8 and CapCut.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” a message read for American netizens who tried to access the app.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Tiktok has adjusted their closing message pic.twitter.com/FcnG3BfAcl
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) January 19, 2025
While most American TikTok users have flocked to X (formerly Twitter) for a place to vent and another handful of users taking to RedNote — also known as Xiaohongshu — in attempts to continue creating while protesting the government’s ban of the beloved app, some influencers have taken to Meta’s Instagram to share their frustrations.
Influencers react to the US TikTok shutdown
Controversial beauty content creator James Charles immediately took to Instagram following the app’s descent into darkness in his signature crash-out, ranting style.
“I am crashing the fuck out right now. I don’t know what to do,” James shared.
“This is so dystopian! First of all, I feel pathetic that I’m freaking out like this over an application [becoming] unavailable on my phone. But also this was a massive part of our lives for the last six years and normally, when something happens, I would get on TikTok and start complaining and I can’t do that.
“I feel disconnected. I feel cut off from the world and my community. This is crazy.”
Towards the end of the video, James jokingly admitted to “rooting for [Donald] Trump“, cracking his infamous slogan, “Make America fucking great again, I guess”.
Soon after he shared this video, Charles uploaded another video of him sharing a post to TikTok, mentioning some kind of “loophole” to the ban. He has yet to share what it is, but fans have gone bonkers over his dedication to the app.
“Things are not good over here and I have to make this quick before they can get me,” he laughed in his cryptic TikTok post.
“‘Land of the free home of the brave’, I don’t fucking think so.”
IM WHEEZING HOW DID JAMES CHARLES GET IN???😭 pic.twitter.com/kPMxfDxZhh
— luke 🩶 (@taylorismygf) January 19, 2025
TikTok Comedian Brittany Broski, who has gone viral multiple times on the platform, penned a sweet note on her Instagram Story, reminiscing on all the joy the app brought.
“TikTok was groundbreaking and life-changing for almost every single person I know,” she began.
“It changed culture, united communities during unimaginable times; gave information, comfort, laughter, solidarity, visibility and contact to so many in so many different places.
“It offered opportunity — kick-started small businesses and careers — MY OWN INCLUDED!”
Broski went on to call out the US Government, and described the ban as “embarrassing” and “infuriating”.
“These are dystopian times that CONTINUE exponentially more dystopian by the hour, it seems,” she continued.
“The one positive is I’ll be taking this opportunity to detox from doom scrolling for a bit. Might get into writing or crocheting. But I Miss TikTok.”
One of TikTok’s breakout stars, Charli D’Amelio, subtly addressed the blackout, re-introducing herself to Instagram Reels, Meta’s version of TikTok.
“Hey Reels, how we doing?” she laughed.
TikTok Live icon Kelon (famously known as @_psyiconic_ or Terri Joe) didn’t really share a statement following the app’s descent into darkness. Instead, in true Kelon fashion, the comedian shared a funny selfie with the caption, “They played”.
While Instagram is quite tamed in its reactions to the devastating TikTok news, Elon Musk‘s X is literally the wild, wild west. Take a peep below at some of the reactions to the US TikTok ban.
TIKTOK!!! 💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/yIZVQqaN7x
— Sexyy Red (@SexyyRed314_) January 19, 2025
so tiktok & my ex just gon walk out my life💔💔💔 i cant take ts nm
— riah (@mariahalissaaaa) January 19, 2025
I had my TikTok open and I realized it was shutting down as I was scrolling, it was like I was on the deck of the Titanic
— milk (@lactosefreemom) January 19, 2025
Just scrolled through instagram reels… pic.twitter.com/BWwezwgouD
— taurus supreme (@jaxajueny) January 19, 2025
Rednote it is 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/TIWfM3FBsD
— Ichigo Niggasake (@SomaKazima) January 19, 2025
At the time of writing, President-elect Donald Trump has yet to make a decision revoking the ban. However, according to a recent telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said he would “most likely” delay the ban for 90 days but hasn’t made a decision just yet.
So, with that being said, I guess we’ll have to wait and see if our American friends will return. But until then, I’ll be scrolling through my saved list for shits and gigs.
The post American Influencers Are Crashing Out Over The Country’s TikTok Ban: ‘This Is So Dystopian’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
