I thought it would only be appropriate to start this statement with TikTok’s own guideline in which they have refused to follow: “TikTok is an inclusive platform built upon the foundation of creative expression. We encourage users to celebrate what makes them unique, while finding a community that does the same. We deeply value that our users come from a huge breadth of nationalities and cultures, and we take into account the cultural norms and local regulations of the countries we operate in. Offering a safe and supportive environment is our top priority. We believe that feeling safe is essential to helping people feel comfortable expressing themselves openly and creatively…”

As I reflect on the statements that TikTok has written, it is very hard to believe that their goal is to uphold their own standards based on the actions they have deliberately taken to suppress and silence marginalized creators. In addition, the silence that they have shown when it comes to slurs being put on the pages of marginalized creators has been more loud than the creators calling out these slurs being used; and much rather than taking down the problematic content or the comments that are being reported for hate speech and violence against marginalized creators, they are actively taking down videos of creators who are being targeted by these slurs. And while I cannot speak for all intersectionalities, I can speak on behalf of autistic creators and disabled creators.

As an autistic creator on this app, not only have I been targeted with slurs on my page like the r-word, but I have also been policed in how I need to feel my feelings (I’m hypersensitive), I’ve been policed in how I should address myself based on what neurotypical creators find appropriate, I have been spoken over and told that “I should be grateful,” for policies put into place to harm my community, I have been told that I deserve to have meltdowns (which within the autistic community are extremely traumatizing, and for me in particular, my meltdowns are seizures), and I have been bullied on lives to the point where I have had seizures and panic attacks on camera. Each day, I feel more and more unsafe on TikTok, but the events of December 14th made me feel the most unsafe I have ever felt on the app.

In one of my videos calling out implicit racism of another creator on the app, the user @John_253431 decided to leave this comment on my page: “you should see how liberals act bec they think r*t*rd is a slur.” As a disabled creator who was diagnosed as a child with the r-word by a bigoted teacher who had no medical history to do so, I was hurt. And not only was I hurt, I was angry. I took it upon myself to call out this ableist comment and to allow myself to express my anger to this blatant ableism on my page. And after I posted the video I went to therapy to talk about the trauma that this comment created within me. And once I was done with my therapy appointment, I read from another creator that sent me a direct message that my video had been taken down for a Community Guidelines violation for “harassment and bullying”. My video was only up for two hours before it was taken down. I felt invalidated; I felt as if the person who made the ableist comment and had caused mental damage to me was being rewarded for making these comments. I appealed the removal of my video, and I have yet to hear from TikTok in regards to removing my video for “harassment and bullying.”

In an effort to create change, I made a video calling out TikTok. And in this effort, my video still has not been restored. And in calling out TikTok, I had a video from @savannah_gurlie come across my “For You Page” that used a sound that blatantly and unapologetically used the r-word while she’s laughing about it. In addition, she claims in a comment that “ableism doesn’t exist.” It has been six days since her video was posted; I have reported not only the video, but her account more than once and it still remains up as we speak. It is this harmful rhetoric that hasn’t been addressed by TikTok that continually makes me feel unsafe as each day passes.

In making this statement, I hope it allows not only myself, but all disabled creators to feel more safe on TikTok. Because as it stands right now, TikTok is more likely to choose the side of extremely harmful creators, silence creators who are BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA+, disabled, Jewish, Muslim, etc than address the true harm being done to these creators; and silence and suppress the voices that make their app so diverse. The trauma and harm that I have endured in the last day as well as the last few months on this app from all of the ableism I have dealt with and the silence I have experienced from TikTok regarding these slurs and hate is unacceptable. And I know I’m not alone when I say that something needs to be done to combat this silence from an app that has the capability to bring so many creators together.