TikTok Australia has responded to allegations of racially motivated mistreatment at last week’s TikTok Awards in Sydney, after several creators went public with accusations of exclusion and discriminatory treatment.
Multiple attendees shared their accounts following the November 26 ceremony, including Florence Baitio – a nominee for Beauty and Fashion Creator of the Year – who said the behaviour she witnessed amounted to “blatant racism.” TikTok has now issued a formal statement addressing the claims.
She claimed she was barred from having her photo taken on the red carpet by a photographer who “shuffled” her off without explanation.
“Me and this other creator, she’s also a person of colour, we went on the carpet to get our photos taken, because as we should, we were nominated,” she said in a video posted to TikTok.
“I got on, and this guy [a photographer] didn’t take any photos and was telling me to get off. It was so embarrassing because what do you mean you didn’t take any photos and you just shuffled me off?” She added that she saw him take “lots of photos” of other people.
Florence Baitio
Similarly, another creator, Niiyèll, shared a video from the evening where an employee can be seen telling her, “This has nothing to do with you, we don’t need your photo. What are they going to do with your photo? It’s not going to go anywhere.”
In her ten-minute video posted to TikTok, she said the employee approached her with “so much aggression” and “he said what he said, he said it with his chest.”
Maxi Ducer, who was with Niiyèll waiting for the carpet, also shared a video detailing her experience at the event. “He [a photographer] basically just looked at us, like ‘who are these povos?’,” she said.
As the allegations spread online and more creators spoke out, criticism mounted.
In response, TikTok Australia stated on Sunday and turned comments off on the post. “We are all distraught that some of our valued guests had a negative experience at this year’s TikTok Awards, and we wanted to address our community personally,” the statement began.
Niiyèll
TikTok Australia went on to “contextualise” the situation, outlining that this year’s event was the biggest ever, that the change of venue was necessary to accommodate more of its “valued creator community” who couldn’t previously attend due to capacity, and that tickets were free for everyone.
It also attributed part of the evening’s chaos to unforeseen logistical challenges – namely, a last-minute change to bring the red carpet inside (instead of outside) triggered by a weather warning, which “halved the space available” on the red carpet and media areas, complicating the flow of people and press at the event.
On the second-to-last slide of the statement posted to TikTok, it said: “We sincerely apologise to anyone who felt excluded or uncomfortable at this year’s TikTok Awards. Our amazing and diverse community is what makes TikTok great, and the Awards are designed to celebrate that.
“Our priority is always to maintain a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for everyone.”
In its statement, TikTok Australia also pointed out that “more than one-third of this year’s nominees were from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds,” and said it appreciated the feedback to “help us improve future events.”
Main image: Maxi Ducer