YouTuber Tana Mongeau has decided to take part in the controversial “mugshot” TikTok challenge, despite James Charles coming under fire for his participation.
For those who missed it, with the use of makeup and prosthetics, various influencers have been creating mock mugshots and posting them online. But when James participated in the challenge and shared a photo which showed him with fake black eyes and a bloody nose, some people felt it glorified domestic abuse.
Now, Tana has joined in on the viral challenge, sharing a snap of herself with smudged makeup and a fake bloody nose to her Instagram Stories, which she captioned, “nO bUt liKe wHaT dId I gEt aRrEsTd foR?”
After James received backlash for his post, he took to Twitter to address the situation.
“Only I could lazily smudge on some purple eyeshadow and fake blood to recreate a dumb TikTok trend and have it twisted into an actual scandal,” he wrote in a now-deleted tweet.
But when one fan opened up about her past abuse and admitted the trend has made her feel “dehumanized,” he explained, “I’m so sorry that you went through something so awful and traumatic. It’s a TikTok trend going around where people post their ‘mugshots’ and has nothing to do with domestic violence whatsoever. Love You.”
“This dumb trend has nothing to do with domestic abuse. What about action movies? Halloween? Special effects? Simple bloody noses? This is nothing new,” the 20-year-old continued.
“Despite the fact that hundreds of other influencers and artists have done something similar, I deleted the mugshot trend because it was never my intention to trigger anyone,” he wrote in one final tweet. “It’s a waste of time trying to have an open discussion with people who hate me regardless.”
Other social media stars including Corinna Kopf and Avani Gregg have also taken part in the viral challenge.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224 for confidential support.
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