Chrissy Teigen has become the latest celebrity to voice her opposition to the TikTok ban, accusing former President Donald Trump of orchestrating a scheme to position himself as a hero. The federal ban, which took millions of U.S. users by surprise, has left TikTok inaccessible, with the app removed from major app stores like Apple and Google. By Saturday evening, the platform’s website displayed a message confirming that the popular social media app was no longer available.
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Chrissy Teigen accuses Trump of manipulation amid TikTok ban
Right before the law was enforced, Teigen took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the TikTok ban and the alleged role Trump would play to manipulate the public. On her Instagram stories, she said, “Let’s talk TikTok. Everyone’s bummed—‘OMG, I can’t believe it’s shut down.’ It’s not going to be shut down.”
She continued, “[TikTok] is on a hiatus for now, and it’s going to come back. And it’s gonna come back under Trump’s leadership, so every young person is going to be like, ‘OMG, I’m so grateful he brought it back, he brought back free speech,’” as reported by The Blast.
Married to singer John Legend, Teigen suggested that the ban and its eventual reversal could be part of a strategy to position Trump as a saviour in the eyes of TikTok users. She claimed, “It gets to be claimed by him as this amazing thing he did for people, and you’re all going to fall right into it.”
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Trump’s big announcement about TikTok
On Sunday, the President-elect announced on his Truth Social platform that he asked companies “not to let TikTok stay dark” and declared that he would sign an executive order to postpone the ban, on Monday afternoon.
He wrote, “I am asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”