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Zara Larsson Calls Out TikToker Who Joked About Her Being Homophobic
Zara Larsson called out the trend of making memes about female celebrities being homophobic.
In the age of misinformation and TikTok, sometimes even memes need to get fact-checked.
On Tuesday, August 15, Zara Larsson shared a new TikTok video reacting to a post by @ryanthetwat alleging that the singer had pushed him on stage during a concert and called him a homophobic slur. Ryan Crouse, who has 1.5 million followers, creates funny content on TikTok… but a lot of people might not know that what he’s saying is a joke.
“You seem like such a sweet guy. I love your content. I love your personality and I get that it’s a joke,” Larsson explained. “But we need to make a study on what it is that makes men like gay men feel like making a woman look homophobic. It’s like it’s the funniest joke ever? I thought that was a little played out. It’s 2023. Why are you still trying to like Millie Bobby Brown people?”
She continued, “And I get that [it’s] self-deprecating humor, I guess, but it’s always on the expense of the girlies and I don’t like that. Everybody who knows me knows that I am an ally. I’ve always been, I will always be. But for people who don’t know me and who don’t get that it’s a joke… let’s think. Let’s be realistic.”
“Would it make sense for me to stand on a stage and say a slur to an audience, to a crowd with live people?” she pondered. “Would it make sense for me to jeopardize my career? Come on guys, I believe in you. Use your brains. I don’t wanna be Negative Nancy. Trust me, I don’t take myself too seriously. But at the end of the day, what’s so funny about this?”
@zaralarsson #stitch with @ryan crouse see you in court Ryan
Larsson then recalled that a very similar situation had happened to her recently when another person accused her of something that was meant to be a joke. “This happened to me just a few months ago. Someone basically did the exact same thing,” she noted. “But it got way more spread and people were way more upset. They really thought it was real, strangely enough. And it just makes me sad. It just hurts me because that is so far from my character and what I would do.”
To further her point that some jokes aren’t very funny when they could have very real and very serious repercussions in someone’s life, Larsson concluded with a joke of her own. “So, Ryan, I’m going to sue you,” she said at the end of the video with a laugh. “It’s a joke, it’s a joke,” she added.
We love a good laugh, but Larsson does make a great point. Lying about a person or situation for the sake of a meme/joke can have real consequences for people’s lives and careers, or even be straight-up offensive depending on who is being targeted. This is also not the best time to be alienating people who have proven themselves to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community. We already have enough high-profile individuals targeting us and trying to take away our rights.
Hopefully, Zara Larsson’s video has cleared things up and a lesson can be learned here!
Bernardo Sim is a writer, editor, and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is a writer, editor, and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
