TikTok star Charli D'Amelio, 16, has made history as the first person to reach 100 million followers on the social media platform.
The Connecticut, US, native hit the milestone only 18 months after posting her first-ever video in May 2019 on the content-sharing app. Since then, the dancer has seen her net worth swell to more than $4 million.
But despite her huge following, she still lags behind in earning power to the person with the second-highest following, fellow dancer Addison Rae Easterling.
Taking to Twitter, on which she has 4.8 million followers, D'Amelio said: "100 million people supporting me, I truly cannot believe that this is real."
100 MILLION PEOPLE SUPPORTING ME!! I TRULY CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THIS IS REAL
— charli d’amelio (@charlidamelio) November 22, 2020
The teen, who has attended dance classes since she was 3, started on her journey to global fame by posting videos of herself dancing to songs that were trending on the app. But it was the Renegade dance which started garnering her more followers, as she performed the moves to the K Camp song, Lottery.
“Congrats Charli D’Amelio, the first TikTok creator to reach 100m followers!” wrote TikTok, who pledged $100,000 to the charity American Dance Movement in D’Amelio’s name to celebrate the achievement. “We’re so proud of everything you’ve accomplished, what you’ve contributed to the TikTok community, and how you’re continuing to use your platform to give back.”
Lost followers over paella controversy
The teen hit the record-breaking milestone just after a recent controversy which saw her lose almost a million followers in the space of a few days.
During an episode of the D'Amelio family's YouTube series, Dinner with the D'Amelios, Charli and her sister Dixie, 19, were criticised for pulling faces, vomiting and requesting chicken nuggets when chef Aaron May cooked a paella for the family.
"I don't even know if I want to do this anymore, this is messed-up stuff what people are saying," said D'Amelio in an Instagram video. "All this is happening over a misunderstanding and I just feel like that's not OK."
The teen was also criticised for appearing to be dissatisfied that at the time she had only amassed 95 million followers, with fans left wondering if they were merely numbers to her.
The dinner video, which has so far garnered more than 14 million views, led to the teen losing almost one million followers over a few days. However, she later bounced back after a series of tearful online mea culpas.
With her earning ability soaring into the millions, D’Amelio launched a make-up line with her sister in July, appeared in a Super Bowl commercial and opened a concert for the Jonas Brothers. D’Amelio and her family are also in talks to star in their own reality TV series, after they relocated to Los Angeles.
