Reality TV star and American model Kendall Jenner debuted her highly-anticipated TikTok account on February 2 — but just 24 hours later, her profile was nowhere to be found.
Jenner made her appearance on the platform with a video set to King Staccz’s “Pretty Face,” which subsequently went viral.
Boasting over 920,000 likes, the model’s account quickly garnered a similarly massive following, with half a million users flocking to stay tuned to her upcoming content.
https://twitter.com/MARGlELJUANA/status/1224432215343292417?s=20
Unfortunately, these fans won’t be receiving any new videos from the Jenner family mogul anytime soon, as her TikTok profile disappeared without any fanfare the very next day.
Both TikTok and Jenner herself didn’t comment on profile’s mysterious deletion at the time, which came shortly after the suspension of YouTuber Tana Mongeau’s own channel on the highly popular mobile app.
However, Mongeau gave a convincing explanation for the development, claiming that she had “thrown a bong” during one of her videos (although her “promise” to wear clothes had fans confused as to the actual reason for her surprise ban for a moment).
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In comparison, it didn’t seem like Jenner had committed any faux-pas on the app, prompting critics to scratch their heads in concern and throw around theories as to why her account has gone missing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzFAeOfBuL6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Now, they have an explanation, and it takes a turn worthy of a mystery novel: it seems that Kendall’s account wasn’t actually Jenner at all, but instead an impersonator, who posted old videos to the site from the model’s Instagram stories using her name.
Thus, TikTok’s suspension of the account comes as a welcome development, although the company has yet to comment on how or why the fake Kendall Jenner was verified, in the first place.
TikTok’s verification guide states that there are “a number of factors considered in granting a verified badge, including whether the notable account is authentic, unique, active, and – of course – adheres to our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.”
We’ll bet that impersonating a celebrity goes against those Guidelines, although further info from the site is still pending at the time of writing.