The Napkin In Between

I'm Quitting TikTok...

• Daijné Jones • Season 1 • Episode 17

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Ever felt like you're screaming into the void while the walls keep closing in? That's exactly what it's like being a Black creator trying to combat racism on platforms designed to silence you.

When I started creating content in October 2022, I never imagined that simply responding to racist comments on my videos would lead to multiple account bans and being kicked out of TikTok's Creator Fund. The pattern became painfully clear: I would call out racism, my content would be flagged as "violating community guidelines," yet the original racist content remained untouched despite numerous reports.

The breaking point came when I changed my profile picture to an AI-generated image of myself as a white woman—and suddenly my banned account was restored within an hour. This wasn't coincidence; it was confirmation of what many Black creators have long suspected: that "community guidelines" function more like "Black people guidelines," applied selectively to silence those challenging the status quo.

What makes this struggle especially exhausting isn't just fighting the racism itself, but simultaneously battling the platforms supposedly designed to protect users. It feels like running repeatedly into a brick wall while being told to just keep going. And when I expressed needing a break for my mental health, I was met with well-intended but harmful comments urging me not to stop fighting—often from those not actively in the struggle themselves.

Finding your voice only to have it systematically silenced is triggering, especially after doing the internal work to overcome being talked over. That's why I'm shifting my energy to spaces where my voice can truly flourish: this podcast, YouTube, and Instagram. It's not about giving up the fight; it's about fighting smarter on battlegrounds where Black voices aren't automatically penalized.

Join me in these spaces where we can continue these important conversations without constantly being silenced. And remember: supporting Black creators means respecting their boundaries and understanding when they need to prioritize their wellbeing in hostile digital environments.

Daijné:

Is this thing on? Hello, hello. Uh-oh, another yapper with a mic. Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Napkin In Between Podcast. I am your host, Daijné Jones. I hope everyone is having a good week, except for that orange drink, lady, of course.

Daijné:

As always, I want to hear what the peak of your week has been, something that's made you smile, kept you grounded, made you feel joy in the chaos that is the world. For me, the peak of my week was last week's podcast episode. If you haven't seen last week's episode, my friend Sam came and we just got to chit-chat talk. It's always a good time whenever I get to connect with sam. She is great. Love her so much. Please stream her music. If you are looking for someone in the music industry to work with, reach out to her. She is like one of the coolest, best people that I have ever met in my entire life. So it was great to have her on the pod, because anytime we can get together and talk, kiki, it's always a great time. But it also allowed me to get a little taste of what I hope this podcast will one day be like. My dream for this podcast would be for me to be able to have my friends and other content creators and different people come on the pod and let's just talk about life and politics and just just anything. You know what I mean. And so it was so nice to have sam here. First of all, she was the perfect first guest because, like conversation with her is just the easiest thing in the world, but also it's just like like oh, like that's what I want. I want more people to come on. I want like I have always wanted a talk show. That's just something that is like my long-term goal is I would love to have a talk show, and so it was just like a little taste of that and it was really exciting and, again, extremely nerve-wracking. But at the end of the day, more than anything, it was exciting and it was great to have her on. So that was definitely the peak of my week.

Daijné:

It's just being able to kind of see what I hope for the future happen for a smidge of time. You know what I mean. So I do hope and I do plan to have more people on the pod. My friends, hopefully, will come on. Like I think I've said this before, I don't know if I said it on the podcast, but I've definitely said it before. A lot of my friends don't like being on camera, which I fully respect and I would never try to disrespect that. Like my friends', comfort and their boundaries is more important to me than anything. But my friends are so smart and I love picking their brains and hearing their thoughts and ideas about the world and politics and social commentary and different things like that. So hopefully one day they'll feel comfortable coming on the pod. If not, obviously, again, their boundaries are the most important thing to me, but I do hope to have more people on the pod, whether it be my friends or the content creators or different things like that. So that was definitely the peak of my week is just being able to have someone on the pod, and I hope to have more people on the pod in the future, and I hope that you guys enjoyed the episode. And again, if you ever need anything in the music industry, reach out to Sam. She is so talented and also so passionate about music and she's just a great person to work with.

Daijné:

So anyway, that was the peak of my week? Please tell me the peak of your week something that kept you grounded, made you smile, kept you sane in the chaos that is this world on the complete opposite side of being so happy and seeing something that I've worked really hard for come to fruition, um, I am heavily considering. Um, I am heavily considering leaving TikTok. I am extremely grateful for the community and the love and support that I have received on TikTok, but I feel like I have a community on TikTok in spite of the app, not because of it. Um, tiktok is really not a safe space for black people, black content creators and especially black people and content creators who call out racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, etc. And it's extremely bittersweet I don't want to cry it's extremely bittersweet to even be considering leaving TikTok because, again, that's like where I started in my whole content creation journey, but, at the same time, like it's always been a little bit mentally taxing, and it's only getting more so with creating content on TikTok, and so I'm really considering leaving and, as always, I love being candid and open and honest with you guys about my content creation journey and just life in general, and so I want to talk about the full timeline of how I got from starting my content creation journey on TikTok to now heavily considering leaving the app Not entirely, but mostly, so let's get into it. So I have been creating content on TikTok since October 22nd 2022.

Daijné:

Content creation has always been something that I was interested in, but I always had a lot of anxiety around being perceived and really putting myself out there, and I eventually just said to myself like I would rather try and fail than not try at all, because, at the end of the day, people are going to people. They're going to judge you if that's what they want to do. So I just got to the point where I was like I can't keep living my life afraid of other people's opinions when the only opinion that truly matters is my own Like. If I like what I'm doing and if I find joy and fulfillment in the things that I'm doing, that's the only thing that matters, not anyone else's opinion, of course, as long as that's not hurting anybody and me making silly little videos on TikTok isn't hurting anybody.

Daijné:

And so when I was finally like, okay, I'm gonna post on TikTok and try this content creation thing, the first thing that I did was I made a brand new TikTok page from scratch, because I had a TikTok page but people that I followed, or people that I knew in real life, followed me there, and I was just not comfortable with that. I just didn't want them to see my videos. And it's not that I felt like they were going to judge me or anything, but I was just like I just want to start from scratch. You know what I mean. And so I made a brand new TikTok page and I also blocked everyone that I knew in real life on this new page. And again, it's not that I thought that they were going to judge me or anything, but when you're creating content like your audience isn't gonna be people that you know in real life. I can't explain it. I I don't know the science behind it, but that's just how I felt was like like people that I know in real life just aren't my audience. So I blocked everyone that I knew in real life and I just started posting.

Daijné:

And when I initially started posting on TikTok, I was just posting silly little videos, like jumping on trends. I would do like daily vlogs, um, sharing my thoughts here and there, just like silly little thoughts, though like not like the political content that I post now. It was really just like silly little videos. And every video that I posted I've said this before, on the pod, I think but every single video that I posted, no matter what it was, whether it was just a trend, whether it was just me talking about like my daily life or sharing my thoughts there would be someone on my videos being racist towards me, commenting on my hair, on my skin, calling me the hardy are like. And I'm just like, like what the fuck is y'all's issue? Like like I'm just living my life. Why is that such an issue for you? You know what I mean, and so at first I was ignoring it because I was like I don't really want to give these people the time of day. But I noticed like the more I ignored it, the more the same people were coming back and like commenting the same thing. So I was like, okay, you know what, I'm gonna start calling you bitches out. So I started making response videos to some of the comments that I was getting and just like calling out the racism and also shaming them as well, because and I've said this before we need to bully bullies. If you feel like it is okay for you to bully someone, you need a taste of your own medicine.

Daijné:

I have a master's degree in social work and I worked as a therapist before I got into nanny and content creation, and something that we learned in school when I was studying social work is that you have to meet people where they are, and I I know they probably didn't mean it in the way that I'm taking it, but like, if that's where you're at, if where you're at in life is being a bully, I'm going to meet you where you are because that's what I learned in school. So if you don't like it, refer to the professors who taught me that you're supposed to meet people where you are. I don't know what to tell you. So I started, you know, clapping back and calling out their racism and also telling them that their parents were probably cuslings and their family tree is a wreath and you know, just just silly little things, nothing crazy. And eventually I was like you know what? Like I'm not hating enough, like, yeah, I'm doing a great job, but we can always do more. You know what I mean.

Daijné:

So that's when I started like reaching out to people's families and their employers and sending them you know, the racist bullshit they were spewing online, because I feel like the first step is publicly shaming you, but the second step is your life also being negatively affected by racism, because my life is negatively affected by it. So if my life is going to be negatively affected by racism and you're perpetuating that racism, I feel like your life should be negatively affected as well. Again, we got to meet people where they're at and we have to give them a taste of their own medicine. So I started sending you know messages to their employers and their family members and different things like that and posting about it. And I noticed that whenever I would respond to the racism, my content would be taken down or I would get strikes on my account or I would be told that I'm violating community guidelines and I'm like I'm calling out racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, etc.

Daijné:

Like a lot of my content was me responding to people's racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. So why is it a community guidelines violation when I'm responding to people's racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. So why is it a community guidelines violation when I'm responding to it? But they can do these things and when I report it, it's no violation. They're able to be racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, etc. And that's not a problem, but me calling that out is a problem and y'all don't see how that's a problem. Like, can we be fucking for real?

Daijné:

And also, mind you, this all started because I was posting silly little videos of just my life and people were upset that I was just living my life and felt the need to be racist towards me. Like y'all could have left me alone Crazy fucking thought, I don't know. But y'all could have just like scrolled. Like y'all could have left me alone Crazy fucking thought, I don't know but y'all could have just like scrolled, like I'm just living my life, I'm not doing anything, I'm not hurting anyone, so why are you here? If you don't like it, then just go. But of course racists they like. Hating for them isn't enough. They have to also inflict pain or misery or harm onto other people. That's the only way that they feel joy in their racism is if they feel like they're actively hurting other people.

Daijné:

Anyway, so I'm noticing that I'm getting all of these account strikes and my content's being removed and I'm told that I'm violating community guidelines. And it got to the point where my first account that I had it got banned in. I believe it was November of 2024. So I had previously had my backup account which I was on, but it also just got banned this morning. We'll get to that in a second, but I moved over to my backup account and I changed my content a little bit because I was trying to make sense of why my first account got banned and I thought that maybe it was because I was posting people's jobs and different things like that, and while all that information that I got was public information, so it couldn't be considered doxing, I thought, okay, maybe I just shouldn't post this information.

Daijné:

So when I got on my second account and I was calling out the racism, the homophobia, the transphobia, et cetera I wasn't posting their jobs and different things like that anymore. Like I was just calling it out. I would take a snippet of their video where they were, you know, being racist, homophobic, whatever, and I would respond to that. So again and this is how my content has really always been is like I take other people's videos that they're being very clearly racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. In and I respond to that while also bullying them, because, again, I feel like we need to bully, bullies. And so when I kind of changed around my content a little bit, I was still sending people's racist stuff to their employers, but I wasn't posting it online, which I don't know if you guys knew. But yeah, I was still sending it to their employers and different things like that. I just thought that maybe that was the reason my old account got banned because I was posting about it, and so my old account got banned because I was posting about it. And so I just stopped posting about it and I noticed that my content was staying up and I wasn't. It wasn't getting flagged anymore. So I was like okay, so like maybe that was the issue.

Daijné:

But then, in february of 2025, I got kicked out of the creator fund. Now, if you're not familiar with the creator fund, tiktok will pay you for your videos if they're over a minute. So I was making money off of some of my videos. So they kick me out of the fund because I'm violating community guidelines. Now, at this point again, none of my videos have been taken down. I have no strokes on my account. My account wasn't flagged in any way, like nothing.

Daijné:

So I appealed you know me being kicked out of the program. Because I was like none of my content has been taken down. Like what's the issue? I'm immediately met with appeal denied. They're not letting me back into the creator fund. So I'm like okay, whatever, like I still have my job. It's not like I'm dependent on TikTok. I would never quit my job and just depend on TikTok, because TikTok is way too fucking shady, especially with content creators who are black or who are, you know, speaking about racism and different things like that. So it was like, yeah, I was upset that I was kicked out of the fund and I wasn't making money, but at the same time, like again, I wasn't dependent on it and I felt like my content was important, so I continued to post my content and do what I was doing.

Daijné:

So then March rolls around and once they kick you out of the creative fund, after 30 days you can reapply. So I reapplied in March and I'm again was immediately met with your content violates community guidelines. So I'm like again, none of my content's been taken down, none of it's been flagged. Like what am I doing? That's wrong Because, let's not forget, also, on top of none of my content being taken down or flagged or anything, I'm responding to other people's content. Their content is fine. Whole time their content is littered with racism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, but my response to that content is a problem. You're confused, I'm fucking confused. But again I'm just like, okay, continuing to make my content.

Daijné:

April then rolls around, so it's another 30 days. I reapply for the creator rewards program Immediately, again told your content violates community guidelines. So at this point, three months in a row February, march, april I'm not allowed in the creator fund. So I'm like let me try to get some more information about, like, what the fuck I'm doing wrong. Because as of right now, I don't understand, because, again, none of my content was taken down, none of it was flagged, nothing. So I'm like let me maybe email them and try to figure out what is going on.

Daijné:

So I email TikTok and I'm like, hey, for the past couple of months I've been told that I'm not eligible for the creator fund because my content violates community guidelines. Can I please have some more information as to what I'm doing wrong, specifically what community guidelines I'm violating? Because the whole purpose of my page is to create a safe space and I do that by calling out racism, homophobia etc. In other people's content. So what exactly am I doing wrong by calling out the racism of other people's content that I've reported and y'all have told me there's no violation?

Daijné:

So I get an email back and I'm told that I have to refer to the in-app explanation that I received as to why I'm not being allowed in the creator fund. Now the only thing that it said was that I violate community guidelines. It doesn't say exactly which ones. Like that's all it says is you violate a community guideline. So I emailed back and I was like there really wasn't much of an in-app explanation. All it says is I'm violating community guidelines. It doesn't specify which ones.

Daijné:

And I'm also confused as to how I'm violating guidelines when none of my content has been taken down, when my account has no strikes. Like it's not making sense. I don't get an email back. They never email me back. I emailed them several times. I submitted several support tickets to try to understand what exactly I was doing wrong. I hear nothing back.

Daijné:

The only thing that happens is now my content starts to be taken down. I start to get strikes on my account Literally content that has been up for months. I posted a video in February. In April, they took the video down and gave me a strike on my account and said that my account was at risk of being banned. Now obviously I have two working brains, so I can put two and two together that this is no fucking coincidence. Y'all are trying to build probable cause as to why you're gonna eventually ban my account? Simply because I called out the bullshit of your explanation as to why you wouldn't just pay me for my content. Because, as we know, tiktok and society as a fucking whole loves to profit off of the work of black people while, in return, not allowing black people to profit themselves. So my account is now getting all of these strikes and I have this thing on my profile that says like account ban warning and then eventually my account gets banned.

Daijné:

The first time my account gets banned. The first time my account was banned was Saturday April 12th, and I had 30 minutes before my account got banned. I had made a backup account because y'all had asked me to make a backup account. I was really against making a backup account because the account that I was on was already a backup account. So I'm like I'm tired of creating new accounts on this app when they're just going to continue to do the exact same thing. It's like I'm running myself into a brick wall that I don't even really have to run myself into. You know what I mean? Because, at the end of the day, they are going to continue to let racism, homophobia, misogyny, etc. Flourish on their app and they're always going to demonize the calling out of those things. So I was really, really, really against making a third account at this point. But you guys asked me to and I do feel like the content that I create is very important. So I was like, okay, I'll make another account.

Daijné:

So, 30 minutes before my account got banned, I made a backup account and so I went on that backup account and I was very, very, very fucking frustrated because this is now the second account of mine that had been banned and I was just like I I really don't want to do this anymore. Like I was crying and like I made a video, just like I'm gonna take a break from TikTok, like I said that I would still be on my podcast, my personal YouTube, instagram, whatever. But like I just felt like TikTok is becoming well. If we're being honest, tiktok has always been an unsafe space for black creators. Whether it be the treatment that we receive on the app that, again, you can report and it says no violation whether it be, you know, creating content for the app and not being paid for it at all, or getting significantly less pay than your white counterparts, whether it be not receiving the same opportunities, like tiktok is just not a safe space for black people and it's just really exhausting and tiring to feel like not only am I trying to fight the system of racism, but I'm also fighting the app itself to be heard.

Daijné:

And I've done a lot of internal work because I used to allow people to speak over me, always like I was just like the go with the flow. People person call me a fucking doormat. I'm letting everybody walk over me and I feel like I've finally, in these past couple of years, I've really found my voice and I've really done the work to unpack why it is that I allow people to talk over me or to disrespect me. And so, if I'm being fully honest, it feels like I'm trying to use my voice on TikTok and they're constantly shutting me down, which is extremely fucking triggering for me, because I've done so much work to not be that person, to not allow anyone or anything take my voice away from me, and so to constantly feel like I'm being stripped of my voice, it's just really really triggering. So I was like I don't want to be on tick tock anymore, so I made a video and I was just like I'm gonna take a break from the app. I'll still be on, you know, my podcast, instagram, personal youtube, everything like that but like I need a break from this app.

Daijné:

Like an hour after I made this video, my main account was restored and I was like, oh well, this is awkward. I was like why was I just crying on the fucking internet only for my account to be restored? But also like that was real, like that's how I felt, like it was. It's so exhausting to feel like racism always wins and that's like how I felt in the moment. It was just like no matter how much I try to fight it, racism, like we're never gonna progress, we're never gonna get better. Racism will always have the upper hand at the end of the day. And I was just so exhausted and so defeated. I felt so fucking defeated in that moment.

Daijné:

But my main account was restored and I genuinely feel like like someone had commented on. I made a video on my main account where I was talking about how, you know, tiktok was telling me that my account was at risk of being banned blah, blah, blah. And someone commented and was like why don't you change your profile picture to a white woman and see if it makes Huckley be alone? And I was like, oh my god, like that's low-key, a really good idea. So I took one of my pictures. I put it in chat gbt. I asked chat gbt to make me a white woman and it did so. I put that as my profile picture and I genuinely believe that that was why my account got restored. They saw that white woman and they were like, oh my god, why would we ever ban a white woman's account? We have to restore this immediately. And so, like an hour after my account got banned, it was restored. So I was back on my old account. I still had, you know, the backup, just in case, and thankfully I had made that backup, because now we here we are today, monday, monday April 14th, and my main account was just banned, like an hour before I filmed this episode.

Daijné:

I don't know why I haven't really even created any content, since it's only been two fucking days Like I've posted two videos max since my account was restored. And yeah, I called out this man because he is a small business owner and voted for Trump, and now he's saying that he's gonna lose his business because of the tariffs. But like I was quite nice, I feel like, anyway, did I say he kisses his cousin. Yeah, is it probably true? Yeah, like god forbid, a woman speaks the truth fuck. But anyway, my main account is now banned again. Why, I don't fucking know, because I didn't even really do anything. I mean, I did post a video this morning about JLo but, like also again, I didn't say anything. That was a lie. I just said that she was delusional and she is Like God forbid a bitch have a fucking hobby, and that hobby is telling the fucking truth and spreading awareness, holy shit. So I submitted another appeal to see if my man account will be unbanned. So I'm waiting to hear back about that.

Daijné:

But at the same time, just like I am tired of playing the games that TikTok plays, like I genuinely don't even know that I want to be on the app anymore because it's just not a safe space. Black people are so mistreated everywhere digitally, socially, like and I'm just, I'm just over it and I I feel like they're not even worth my time and energy when they're just going to continue to do what they're doing right now, which is try to take away. You know me calling out racism, homophobia, whatever, while at the same time allowing people who are racist, homophobic, misogynistic to go viral, and when you call out that or when you submit a report that it's, you know, harmful, they'll just come back with no violation. But I'll get violations because I call it out like it's just not a safe space. It's not anywhere that I feel like I'm being as productive as I can be you know what I and it kind of sucks because I know that you guys enjoy those videos and I enjoy making them, but at the same time it's just like I feel like I'm screaming into the void because I'm just going to continue to be penalized for calling out racism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. And I have to say also, like on top of the frustration that I felt from the app and them banning my account, the response that I got on my video of me talking about how I needed to take a break also was quite upsetting. I will say the majority of you understood. The majority of you were like take your break, do what you have to do for your mental health, and I'm so, so grateful for that and I appreciate that more than I could ever express. But there was also some of you who were saying things like no, don't leave, like we need you, you have to keep fighting, don't cry. This is what they want. They want to see you upset and I need y'all to understand that that is so fucking harmful and so hurtful. I'm trying to be very careful with my words, because I understand that it comes from a good place. I understand that you guys think that that is helpful, but it's really not.

Daijné:

As I said before, posting on TikTok and calling out different forms of oppression and constantly being penalized for that, it feels like you know, I'm trying to fight the system and then I'm also having to fight the app as well, the app that says oh, we want this to be a safe space. And I'm trying to create a safe space by calling all of this out and they're telling me no, you can't do that. That's not the safe space that we're talking about, because, if we're being honest, they really need to change it from community guidelines to black people guidelines, because it seems like that's the only people that the community guidelines actually apply to is black people. And it's just exhausting to feel like I am constantly running myself into a brick wall and I'm just like I'm. I'm over it, I'm tired of doing it and I feel like we say so much like, oh, we should listen to black women. We have to listen to black women, and that includes every time, like that also includes when a black woman says, hey, I'm struggling mentally, I need to take a step back and again, I understand the sentiment.

Daijné:

But, like so many comments were like, oh my god, no, we need to keep speaking out, we need to keep fighting, we need to this, we need to that. Ho, do you speak french? Because I just clicked on your profile and it's completely blank. So who is this? We that you're referring to? Because we kind of just looks like me, like you. You haven't posted a single video, you haven't reposted a single video and you're here screaming about. We need to keep talking, we need to keep speaking out.

Daijné:

I'm a little confused, like I'm a little bit confused, because it's like I agree, we do need to speak out, we do need to call out racism and different forms of oppression, and the key word in all of this is we. This has to be a community thing. I am not captain, save a hoe. This needs to be a group project, and it sometimes feels like you know how in school, when there was like a group project and not everybody was pulling their weight. That's how it feels sometimes, especially when I get comments like no, please don't leave, like we have to keep fighting, and it's like you haven't posted a single video about anything. So I just want to encourage people like and again, I understand it comes from a good place, I understand that the sentiment behind it you mean well, but we have to consider impact over intent. Like your intentions might be great and I I see that, but the impact of your words is extremely harmful.

Daijné:

I am human. I am a real human with real emotions and real struggles, and for me to be vulnerable and for me to say, hey, I'm really emotionally drained, that was a lot for me to do, so to be met with. Oh my god, no, please, we need you. You have to keep fighting, not helpful, extremely invalidating to my feelings and to how fucked up the situation is. I shouldn't have to keep creating new accounts because I'm calling out racism.

Daijné:

Meanwhile, the racism continues to flourish and is allowed to flourish, and that's why I feel like I need to not fully get off of the app, but take a step back from the app Because, at the end of the day, like this is important for me to talk about. This is what I want to talk about and they're continuously showing me. We don't want you to speak about this here, and that's another thing is like when I posted that video and I was like I'm going to take a step back from this app, I literally said I'll still be on my podcast, I'll still be on Instagram, my personal YouTube channel, etc. And it was like I don't know if people didn't hear that, like I wasn't saying that I'm just not going to talk about racism or not call it out Obviously not. I'm always going to call it out, but I just don't feel safe and comfortable doing it on TikTok anymore, and I think that that is extremely valid, given how it's being received by the app. They're constantly taking it down, they're constantly telling me what you're doing is wrong, so why would I continue to run myself into this wall on TikTok and not just take my talents and my abilities elsewhere, where it will be appreciated, where it will flourish?

Daijné:

And I'm not saying that, like any other social media app, is completely safe for black people, because, again, I don't feel like there's any real safe space for black people and to call out racism and different things like that. But so far on the podcast. Knock on wood, like I haven't gotten in any trouble when calling out racism or homophobia or the shit that donald trump is doing. None of my content has been taken down, none of it's been flagged. I haven't been penalized for it yet. So for right now, this feels like a safer space for me to talk about the things that I want to talk about, and so that's why I feel like I need to get off of the app is because it's just not a safe space and I'm tired of being penalized for calling out racism. When I'm literally stitching other people's content and calling out their racism and their content is completely fine, nothing happens to it, but I'm penalized.

Daijné:

So I just wanted to remind everyone, as we wrap up this episode, like, think about what you're saying to people before you say it. Because, again, I understand that the intent behind the oh my God, we need you, da, da da. I understand you mean well by it, but it's extremely invalidating and it's just, it's just terrible advice. Like I saw someone had commented and was like don't, don't cry, don't show them, like that's what they want. They want to see you upset because of the racism terrible advice.

Daijné:

Terrible advice, first and foremost, if someone is actively trying to make your life harder, and not only trying, but also succeeding. That is frustrating and it is okay to be frustrated by that. That is a normal human reaction. And also, I don't give a fuck if that's what they want. I don't give a fuck if what they want is to see me upset because I'm not living my life under the microscope of racist white people. I don't care if that brings them joy. That's my feelings and my feelings are fucking valid. So, yeah, maybe you're right, maybe they do find joy and maybe that's what they want is to see me cry. And you know what? I don't care, because at the end of the day, it's upsetting and it's okay that I am being human and being real and raw and honest about how fucking upsetting it is. So just think about you, know what you're saying and please don't forget like yes, I guess I'm a content creator, but before I'm a content creator, I'm a human with real human emotions and it's frustrating. This entire situation is frustrating and I'm valid in my frustration and I'm valid in showing my frustration and I'm valid in saying I don't want to be here anymore because of the way that I am treated.

Daijné:

So, with all that being said, I am going to be doing what's best for me and, again, I'm not leaving the app completely, but I do plan on taking a major step back. So find me on my other socials. I have my podcast, I have Instagram, I have my personal YouTube channel. Find me on my other socials. I have my podcast, I have Instagram, I have my personal YouTube channel and that's that's where I will be, because I'm just tired of giving my time and energy to people and spaces that don't appreciate it and don't deserve it. So, moving forward, if you enjoy, you know, my political content, my social commentary, that's what I'm going to use the podcast for. But, as I've been saying recently, like I do want to do more lifestyle content and like, just like the content that I initially started out with on TikTok is just like silly little content, vlogs, different things like that. So that'll be on my personal YouTube channel and also probably some stories here as well.

Daijné:

But yeah, I'm just I'm really tired of TikTok and their antics and, honestly, I feel like the app's probably going to go away soon anyway, because Trump is in this trade war with China and TikTok kind of hangs in the balance of that. There was a deal on the table and then, because of his tariffs, tiktok reneged on the deal. So I feel like TikTok is probably going to go away at some point anyway. So it's probably a good idea anyway to get off of it, because it's probably not going to be available at some point in the near future. So you can find me here, you can find me on my instagram, you can find me on my personal youtube channel um, those are the spaces that I want to put my time and energy into, because so far I've had better reception, um, on those spaces. So, yeah, in the future, that's that's where I'll be.

Daijné:

And again, I I have a bittersweet relationship with tiktok because it is where it all started for me. Um, it's where my content creation journey started, and so it is a little bittersweet to be leaving the app or even be considering leaving the app, um, but at the same time, it's like growth is about realizing when a space is no longer safe for you and when a space is no longer serving you. And it's scary. It is really scary because it's like when I first started my content creation journey, I didn't even think that there was going to be one person who would want to like tune into me, let alone as my account has been right now. I was at 420,000, right and so I kind of feel like I am starting from square one again, which is really, really scary and intimidating and frustrating. But you know, I did it before and I can do it again. So this is where I'll be and these are the places that I plan on focusing on and building for the future.

Daijné:

So, for those of you who are only on TikTok because I've gotten a few people like, oh, tiktok is the only social media app that I'm on Thank you for supporting me while I was on there, and again I'll be on there here and there, but my main focus is going to be the podcast and my personal YouTube channel and Instagram. So if you decide to venture over here, I would love that. If not do what works for you, I have to do what's best for me at the end of the day. So, for those of you who are here and who will be here, welcome and thank you for following me and being a part of my community across all different platforms. I do not take this lightly. I am so, so grateful for all of you and I appreciate your love and support and just I appreciate you rocking with me, because I'm rocking with y'all and I love, I love you and I appreciate it so, so much. So thank you for tuning in to today's episode. I hope everyone is having a good day, except for that orange drink, lady, and I will talk to you in the next episode. Peace and love. Talk to you in the next episode. Peace and love. Talk to you later.

Daijné:

The Napkin in Between, hosted by Daijné Jones, produced by Daijné Jones, post-production by Daijné Jones, music by Sam Champagne and graphics by Isma Vidal. Don't forget to like and subscribe. See you next episode.