Facebook Twitter

So TikTok’s most popular creator has joined the rival app

Charli D’Amelio has moved on to Triller

SHARE So TikTok’s most popular creator has joined the rival app
This Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 photo shows the icon for TikTok taken in New York. From the perspective of teens flooding onto TikTok, the Chinese-owned online video app is a major new outlet for self-expression, one proudly home to the silly, the loud and the weird. To others, though, the service is an unnerving black box that could be sharing information with the Chinese government, facilitating espionage, or just promoting videos and songs some parents consider lewd. (AP Photo)

This Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 photo shows the icon for TikTok taken in New York.

Associated Press

Charli D’Amelio is no longer exclusively on TikTok — she has joined the rival app Triller.

What’s going on?

D’Amelio — the most popular TikTok creator with 87 million followers — joined the rival app Triller this week.

  • “We couldn’t be more proud to welcome the D’Amelio family to the Triller family with open arms. They are an incredibly multi-faceted and talented family who have already been invaluable to us,” Bobby Sarnevesht, executive chairman at Triller, said in a statement to The Verge.

D’Amelio joins her sister Dixie, father Marc and mom Heidi on the platform.

“Charli isn’t joining Triller in an exclusive deal, meaning that she’ll continue to create content for other apps like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram,” The Verge reports.

  • She has yet to join Reels — the Instagram rival of TikTok.

Why it matters now

D’Amelio’s move comes as TikTok’s operations in the United States remain in flux. On Monday, multiple reports suggested that TikTok would partner with Oracle to continue its future in the United States, rejecting Microsoft’s bid for the app.

President Donald Trump has been working against TikTok — whose parent company is based in China — in recent weeks. He has joined Triller as part of his presidential campaign.