- Sisters Charli and Dixie D'Amelio are two of TikTok's biggest stars.
- In a new video for Unicef, the pair shed light on the perils of finding fame on the platform.
- Both Charli, 15, and Dixie, 18, have struggled to overcome the impact of cyberbullying and body shaming on their daily lives.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
In a new campaign with Unicef, TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D'Amelio are getting very real about their experiences with cyberbullying. As two of the platform's most popular creators, both sisters have been forced to contend with internet negativity and the real-life fallout it can cause.
"Some of the most hurtful comments I've read about myself online are, 'She's fatter than when we got her famous.' Or, 'she's ugly,'" Charli recalled in the clip. "They don't like how my face looks for some reason. A lot about my body shape, my body type, which hits close to home because I struggle a lot with body image, body dysmorphia, bad eating habits."
"No one really knows that," she continued. "I'm still a 15-year-old teenager — girl, especially. It hurts for everyone, no matter who you are. Getting hundreds of thousands of hate comments per week is a lot to handle."
Charli says she can get hundreds of thousands of hate comments every week.
Dixie acknowledged that, compared to her younger sister, she doesn't deal with as much online hate. But she, too, has been the target of body shaming. After sharing a photo of herself at the beach on social media, followers left similarly harsh remarks about Dixie's weight in the comments, claiming they could see her ribs and telling her to "eat a burger."
"I've also struggled trying to gain weight for a very long time," Dixie said. "No matter what, they're gonna find something wrong."
For Dixie, the situation boiled over during a "very hard" sophomore year in high school.
"I would go to therapy every week and I wouldn't talk," the 18-year-old said. "It has gotten that bad, to the point where I felt like I can't go on."
Charli, on the other hand, said her first encounter with cyberbullying occurred in elementary school, long before her rise to TikTok stardom.
"But throughout the years, I've realized that holding it in causes a lot more damage," she said.
Luckily, the sisters have found healthy ways to cope. In addition to confiding in a trusted family member, friend, or guidance counselor, Charli suggested picking up a new hobby.
"I know my outlet was dance," she explained. "It helped me get out all of the anger and sadness."
Of course, this isn't the first time creators have spoken out about cyberbullying. Loren Gray, notably, dropped out of school twice due to social media-related bullying as her music.ly (now TikTok) account began to gain traction. And more recently, Rebecca Black has tweeted about the depression she entered at 13 after a music video for a song called "Friday" went viral.
Source: Read Full Article
