YouTube star Lele Pons is one of the net’s most popular online entertainers — but life as a social media celebrity isn’t all sunshine and roses, as she revealed in her new YouTube Originals series, “The Secret Life of Lele Pons.”
Pons is touted for her hilarious sketches and over-the-top sense of humor, garnering over 16 million subscribers on YouTube and over 40 million followers on Instagram after finding massive success on Vine.
While Pons’ life might seem perfect from in front of a smartphone screen, the star revealed it’s anything but, as told in the first episode of her YouTube Originals series that aired on May 19.
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The show’s first episode, titled, “I Have Severe OCD,” revealed that Pons has been diagnosed with OCD, depression, ADHD, and even Tourette’s Syndrome — with her OCD taking an especially heavy toll on her day-to-day life.
“OCD doesn’t leave you,” the YouTuber explained. “In times that I’m sad, in times that I’m going through stuff, OCD is there. It’s just really hard, because there’s triggers, and in OCD, if you are triggered — let’s just say, to do something — you have to do it.”
“My OCD is thoughts,” she continued. “Very, very powerful thoughts that make me do stuff that I don’t want to do. …when you have a condition that controls you most of the time, you wish you didn’t have that.”
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Pons went on to explain that she’s had the disorder since she was a child, and often has to carry out certain “rituals” three times before moving on, which was evidenced by a tearful video of the star trying to resist getting up and sitting down from a chair three times.
Pons’ docuseries also touched on the hateful comments she receives online, with the star admitting how much the negativity affects her.
“When did it all become that?” Lele said in another tearful segment. “When did it all become so, like, evil? What’s happening here is that people are making hating me ‘cool.’”
Pons’ docuseries has since taken to the top of YouTube’s trending page, with fans speaking out in support for one of the platform’s biggest content creators in wake of her soul-baring confession.