Backlash be damned, TikTok star Charli D'Amelio just made history on the platform

Nardine Saad
·2 min read
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 1222 -- Pictured: (l-r) Dancer Charli D'Amelio during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on March 10, 2020 -- (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)
Charli D'Amelio, seen talking to TV host Jimmy Fallon earlier this year, has set a TikTok record with 100 million followers on the platform. (Andrew Lipovsky / NBC)

Despite her family's dinner party from hell, TikTok superstar Charli D'Amelio recovered quite nicely to hit 100 million followers over the weekend, setting a record on the social-media platform.

The 16-year-old from Connecticut announced the elusive milestone on Sunday, just days after hemorrhaging about 1 million fans and seemingly getting canceled for being disrespectful in her family's "Dinner With the D'Amelios" series.

(Upside: She scored the free dino nuggets she and her sister, Dixie, requested during their infamous meal that involved snails and fellow internet star James Charles.)

"I still feel like it's a dream. Kind of waiting to wake up," D'Amelio said on the platform when she hit 100 million, later tweeting, "I TRULY CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS REAL."

By Monday morning, she had racked up 100.8 million followers.

D'Amelio, who built her following with choreographed dance videos, celebrated by plugging American Dance Movement, to which TikTok will be donating $100,000 on Dec. 1 to increase and improve access to dance education in the U.S., she said.

"It's literally insane," D'Amelio said on TikTok. "I'm excited to see where this journey goes from here."

Few celebrities and influencers have surpassed the 100-million follower milestone on various social media platforms. D'Amelio is the first to do so on TikTok. She appeared on the polarizing app in 2019 and skyrocketed to fame after re-creating the "Renegade" choreography created by 14-year-old Atlanta teen Jalaiah Harmon. (The two have joined forces a few times since.)

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A post shared by Jalaiah S. Harmon🦋🪐 (@jalaiah)

The popular influencer has reportedly become one of TikTok's top earners. In August, Forbes estimated that D'Amelio earned $4 million through the China-owned app. Her older sister, Dixie, who also got flack for the "Dinner With the D'Amelios" kerfuffle, reportedly earned $2.9 million.

Since going viral, Charli D'Amelio has teamed with Bebe Rexha to open for the Jonas Brothers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, moved to Los Angeles and hired a talent agency. She has struck brand deals with Hollister, Morphe 2, EOS, Dunkin' and Sabra hummus, appearing for the last in a Super Bowl commercial (yes, the "OK, boomer" ad). Her family is also working to build an entertainment empire.

In terms of TikTok-follower rankings, D'Amelio is followed by fellow teen dancer Addison Rae Easterling, who appears in a video with D'Amelio and Harmon and is the platform's top earner, and special-effects artist Zach King. Easterling has more than 69.8 million followers and King has more than 52.9 million.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.