Charli D’Amelio Just Joined Triller, Is This It For TikTok?

Charli D'Amelio is queen of TikTok. She has more followers than anyone else and through all the Hype House drama, she remains a fan favorite. She's only grown more popular since leaving Hype House. But any savvy TikToker should be working on a back-up plan in case Trump isn't happy with TikTok's response to his ban.

D'Amelio joined Triller earlier this week to promote her sister Dixie D'Amelio's song, "Be Happy." On the platform, the 16-year-old was half-heartedly doing the Whip and Nae Nae to her sister's song about wanting to be sad and lonely, which is exactly what you'd expect a little sister to do with her big sister's sentimental song. Speaking of, Dixie D'Amelio also joined Triller recently, and it seems like the sisters joined the platform not only to promote "Be Happy" but maybe to start working on a backup as well.

Triller has been around since 2015, but it made headlines last month when four of the Sway House boys announced they're leaving TikTok to focus on creating content on Triller, with Josh Richardson even becoming its chief strategy officer. It made sense for Sway House to make the move — people on TikTok were growing tired of their thirsty dances. Plus, they played the offensive in a highschool cheating scandal that slut-shamed Nessa Barrett and put the D'Amelio sisters through a whole lot of hell. Not to mention, Bryce Hall's flagrant mid-pandemic rager. It's one thing for TikTok's least-liked jocks and popular boys to abandon the app for one that put them on the payroll, but it's quite another to see TikTok’s golden girl try out Triller. 

Triller is an unlikely TikTok alternative. For the past few years, the platform has been crowded with up-and-coming artists and celebrity has-beens. While its original service, which offered to edit videos for you, was promising, TikTok's commitment to creative control is what brought us the boom in short-form video that we know and love. Apart from being many popular TikTokers' reluctant alternative, Triller is probably best known for being one of Donald Trump's preferred apps.