Yes, TikTok has its current crop of stars. The household likes of Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Bryce Champion, Luke Magnetic and Kristen LaCroix. Ok, some of those names may be fabricated. But you get the idea. The TikTok influencer is influencing like no other before them.
On the flipside of that, there’s a corner of the app where traditional celebrities operate, making more or less the same content, but with fewer teenage Stans.
There are many celebrities that have TikTok accounts. Some of these include Vanessa Hudgens, Bella Thorne, Justin Bieber, Dwayne Johnson and Mariah Carey.
Here are ten that you may want to consider following if you’re looking for a more experienced celebrity TikToker.
Gordon Ramsay
In a twist nobody ever saw coming, Gordon Ramsay, the 54-year-old chef who is usually seen shouting his mouth off on the likes of “Kitchen Nightmares”, has become the second most-followed British creator on TikTok, the app most associated with teenagers. Much like his Twitter and Instagram presence, Ramsay’s TikTok presence is an exaggerated extension of the famous TV persona he’s spent close to twenty years cultivating. His feed on occasion features his recipes, but it’s mostly clips of him slating meals that fans have asked him to rate.
In typical Angry TV Chef style, Ramsay treats the denizens of TikTok no different than he would contestants on one of his shows, criticising all and every aspect of their dishes. “Man, what are you doing to that hotdog?!”, he screams, at a video showing molten cheese being poured on top of a frankfurter sausage. “You’re going to get whacked for this!” he shouts at a chicken nugget-based “Italian tragedy”. Proof that Gordon’s schtick is still persevering, much to the chagrin of cooks he’s put on blast over the years.
Jessica Alba
Thought the Fantastic Four film drew Jessica Alba’s career to a halt? Think again. Instead of trying to make it as a serious actress, Alba decided to fully embrace social media from day dot, hiring a specific team for it at a time when most celebrities were just winging it on their own. Today, she’s known more by younger generations for her make-up tutorials, some of which are done in an ASMR whispering style. Very hip!
“Just really understanding each platform and being authentic to each platform I think is key in communication,” she said in 2017. “Every channel is different. On Twitter, we communicate differently than how we communicate on Instagram. And Facebook, people are spending more time on Facebook and it’s more probably, family and and close friend relationships. The content really has to be reflective of the platform. Where on Pinterest, it’s super visual. You got 5 seconds, so how are you telling stories in 5 seconds? In a tile. That’s a square.” Now she’s on TikTok dancing with Zac Efron! The devil works hard…
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey doesn’t seem like the type of celebrity to be sat in a chair, slouched, eating Doritos, scrolling social media. It’s hard to imagine even holding something as humdrum, as common, as a phone. But apparently she does, as her TikTok account proves. Not only does she have social media, but she has fun using it. A few years ago, Carey dressed up as Eminem to mark the anniversary of her 2009 single “Obsessed” which appeared to adress rumours of their old romance.
The singer shared her own version of the “Wipe It Down” challenge in which she’s seen transforming herself from a housewife to a dolled-up singer and then, out of nowhere, Slim Shady. The rapper claimed the pair had a six-month relationship, something which Carey has continually denied. Do we really care? The most important thing is that she’s on TikTok, just like the rest of us.
Jennifer Lopez
What separates Jennifer Lopez from the others on this list is that she didn’t join TikTok for personal enjoyment or to bolster her own brand. J-Lo signed up to get fans excited about competition show World of Dance for which she serves as a judge.
“Hey guys, I want you guys to show me your best dance moves using hashtag #WODChallenge,” Lopez said in her first video posted to TikTok. The response was huge, with about 110 million views for videos with the #WODChallenge in little over 24 hours. Lopez carried on with TikTok outside of promotional work, amassing a whopping 15.1 million followers in the process.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon made a name for herself in Pleasantville and Election, later portraying Elle Woods in the box office hit Legally Blonde before going on to win an Academy Award in 2005 for her role in Walk the Line. Considering this, it’s nothing short of incredible how she maintains a youthful spirit. Something that helps her being a TikTok favourite.
Witherspoon revealed she was going to join the app in an Instagram video with her teenaged son Deacon. In it, she asks “What is TikTok?” and if he’d help her make a video for it. Deacon obliges, Witherspoon drops some content, the rest is history. She now has 8.2 million followers.
Dwayne Johnson
In 2021, the 25th Annual Webby Awards honoured Dwayne Johnson with a Webby Special Achievement Award for his outstanding use of social media where he connects with his fandom, providing inspiration and motivation for his following. Go ahead, laugh. Point and laugh at the Rock for winning an award for posting. But this will be the norm, my friends. We won’t bat an eyelid a decade from now, when the Webby Awards get more viewers than the Oscars.
Dwayne Johnson’s use of social media has earned him over 100 million followers on Instagram, and millions more on other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, totalling at over 200 million online followers. Thanks to his motivating and inspiring content, the former wrestler enjoys one of the most viral presences online. But it isn’t all gym motivation and film plugs. Johnson also uses his internet presence to amplify important community issues, calling out the likes of police brutality and Donald Trump.
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez, like Jennifer Lopez, has become famous for many things outside of her acting roots, in particular her singing career for which she’s received many accolades. Another pastime of hers is being a TikTok celeb with 40.1 million followers.
The 29-year-old actor has made headlines a few months back for her videos poking fun at her single life in a friendship group where everyone is paired off with a partner. In one clip, Gomez is sat on a couch shaking her head as she says, “No, I’m fine. I’m totally fine being single.” She then pans the camera over to the other side of the couch where two couples can be seen cuddling up with each other. Highly relatable content, no matter your social status.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber, as you can guess, hasn’t exactly been doing dance challenges on TikTok. The singer was recently diagnosed with facial paralysis. “Obviously, as you can probably see from my face, I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” the Grammy winner said.
On June 13, the “Love Yourself” singer revealed, “Wanted to share a little bit of how I’ve been feelin. Each day has gotten better and through all of the discomfort I have found comfort in the one who designed me and knows me. I’m reminded he knows all of me. He know the darkest parts of me that I want no one to know about and he constantly welcomes me into his loving arms. This perspective has given me peace during this horrific storm that I’m facing. I know this storm will pass but in the meantime JESUS IS WITH ME.” Hang on, is Jesus on TikTok? Imagine the numbers.
Jason Derulo
Here’s the thing with Jason Derulo. He hasn’t really got anything to prove. He doesn’t need to constantly peck at the public and promote himself and his work. Those who love him will support him. That’s enough for Jase.
Outside of that, he just wants to crack wise on TikTok, join in the fun, try his hand at trends, not in a tragic youth-chasing way, but a “Woah! Looks fun!” way. That being said, Derulo has claimed to earn $75,000 per TikTok video, so maybe everything I’ve said is naïve, if not an outright lie.
Will Smith
Before he assaulted Chris Rock at the Oscars, Will Smith was social media’s universal ambassador. Somebody every followed, everybody engaged with. He still has a TON of followers but that golden boy image is gone – and likely passed on to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with his motivational, non-assault-laden image (a little ironic for someone who used to throw people around a wrestling ring).
Smith’s content, likely curated by a team of zoomers, is very “young” in its vibe, unlike other celebrities who embrace the idea of being old and confused and out of touch. Smith incorporates trending audio, songs and memes into his content to great success. He hasn’t posted on any platform since March, however, because… you know. I’m sure he’ll make a comeback one day.
