Influencer and reality TV star Harry Jowsey isn’t a fan of folks who criticize TikTokers for getting into acting, calling the outrage “silly” and praising social media stars for branching out.
Harry Jowsey is an Australian social media celebrity with millions of followers across platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
However, he’s also earned his star status from appearances on reality TV shows like ‘Too Hot to Handle’ and ‘The Floor is Lava,’ and is looking to get into scripted programs next.
In fact, Jowsey is already taking acting lessons and has cozied up to actors in shows like Outer Banks, which he says would be one of his “dream” series to be a part of — but not everyone is comfortable with influencers breaking into mainstream media.
When Addison Rae — a TikTok star with over 88 million followers — scored her acting debut in Netflix’s ‘He’s All That,’ she was instantly met with a tidal wave of criticism from netizens who felt that she hadn’t worked hard enough to “deserve” the role.
We spoke with Harry Jowsey about his thoughts on the subject… and he’s not here for the backlash at all.
“I think everyone deserves to do whatever the f**k they want, to be honest,” he said. “I think people who are sour or bitter because one person didn’t do it the traditional way is someone that’s not gonna go very far. If you’re putting your time and energy into focusing on someone’s abundance and their happiness, then your own abundance and happiness is going to diminish and you’ll be continually watching how other people move.”
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Jowsey went on to praise TikTokers like Addison, as well as Griffin Johnson, Bryce Hall, and Charli D’Amelio — all of whom have stepped into the movie biz recently.
“I think the fact that Addison, Charli, Bryce, Griffin Johnson, all of these amazing people have been able to transition into something more than just TikTok is inspiring,” he added. “It’s the way that internet culture is moving. You see a lot of people from Vine, they kind of just disappeared and diminished off.”
“The fact that all of these people have decided to put their time and energy into taking their career to the next level, and also putting respect and doing their absolute hardest to get to the next stage in their career… It’s exciting. I think it’s inspiring. All these people can transition and continue to move the needle and move forward.”
Jowsey further elaborated on his stance about the criticism toward TikTok actors and opened up about his own acting endeavors, reminding critics that they “don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.”
“For people who talk down on hard work and how much time, energy and effort these people put into it, it’s just silly,” he continued. “You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. For me, personally, I’ve been taking acting classes for the last six months. A handful of times a week and dialect coaches, meeting with directors and getting the feel for it before I do anything that is on screen. I’m not doing it for a paycheck. I’m trying to do it because I enjoy it and I enjoy the process. I enjoy learning about it and it’s a fun experience.”
“I understand that maybe people who come out of high school and go straight into film school and put their time and energy into that and they see these TikTokers coming in, I understand they’re upset. I also get the fact that everyone is working as hard as they can. You should never be worried about someone’s abundance. You should be worried about your own and make your own abundance grow.”