Overview

TikTok’s Lady in the Bathroom Voted for Donald Trump Rumor and Controversy refers to an online controversy centered on TikToker The Lady In the Bathroom (@ladyinthebathroom_) who was rumored to have voted for President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election as opposed to Vice President Kamala Harris. The rumor started when her followers looked at her reposts after the election results and purportedly saw multiple videos that relayed pro-Trump sentiments. Followers checked after the election and not before because the Lady in the Bathroom was silent about who she voted for after Trump won. Her silence and apparent support for Trump sparked discourse and debate on TikTok about the ethics of combining political beliefs and endorsements with social media influencerdom. Much of the outrage was levied by her Black followers who believed it was wrong to use rap and hip-hop music in her videos, build a Black audience and then vote against their interest by voting for Trump, likening it to cultural appropriation.

Background

TikToker^[1] The Lady In the Bathroom is a lip dubber and dancer who grew a large social media following on TikTok in the early 2020s. Her videos amassed duets and a large fandom among Black viewers (example from TikTok^[3] shown below).

Sometime in early November 2024, a currently unknown creator alleged that TikToker^[1] The Lady In the Bathroom (@ladyinthebathroom_) had reposted multiple pro-Trump videos ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election. The first known reaction to the claim was shared by TikToker^[2] @iamofficiallyher on November 7th, gaining over 336,100 plays and 5,600 likes in four days (shown below).

Online Reactions

In the following days, many TikTokers reacted to the rumor that The Lady in the Bathroom had voted for Donald Trump. For instance, on November 8th, 2024, TikToker^[4] @bk_smilezz posted a video, writing, "The lady in the bathroom used the oldest play in the book. Not sure why y'all are surprised. I could see it from a mile away." In the video's description, he wrote, "Cultural appropriation 101." Over three days, it received roughly 344,600 plays and 7,500 likes (shown below).

Some Black creators on the app aimed to replace the Lady in the Bathroom as the controversy spread. For instance, on November 9th, TikToker^[5] @lifewithstarr shared a video of her dancing in her bathroom, writing, "Heard y'all might need a replacement," and, "Reclaiming our bathroom." Her video amassed over 431,800 plays and 61,900 likes in two days (shown below).

On November 10th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @sarajmccord posted a video in which she discussed how the Lady in the Bathroom was demonstrating an interesting shift in the political beliefs of influencers. She noted that the Lady in the Bathroom omitted her politics from her videos, only making them evident in reposts. She furthered the discussion of how influencers spread their politics within their videos and the debate over whether or not influencers should express their politics outright. Her video received over 395,100 plays and 10,200 likes in a day (shown below).

Search Interest

External References