Taio Cruz says he was “ambushed” by hate on TikTok

The singer quit the app last month, blaming a "feedback spiral" of negative comments

Taio Cruz says he left TikTok because he was “ambushed” by hate on the app.

The singer quit the social media service just a few days after he joined in September, writing in a now-deleted Instagram post that his “body was shaking and I had suicidal thoughts”.

Speaking to the BBC about the experience, Cruz said: “I think there’s a mob mentality that happens in comment sections. A lot of the time people will see something, then look at the comments to give them the answer of how they should feel about it, or how they should behave.

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“And I think that’s really what happened with with my stuff. I was making fun videos, then someone decided to be toxic – and a bunch of other people decided, ‘Oh, I’m gonna join in on that.'”

TikTok announces $200million Creators Fund
TikTok. Credit: Chesnot/Getty Images

“Tik Tok really emphasises making users’ content go viral through their ‘For You’ page,” the singer said, “and it has this sort of feedback loop or a feedback spiral.”

He explained: “So if you create a piece of content, then someone else creates content from your content, it loops over and over and over again.”

“If someone says something good, it’s a positive loop, but if somebody uses it badly, the exact same thing happens in the negative way.”

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Reflecting on his now-deleted post detailing his suicidal thoughts after the hate he received on the app, Cruz said: “The reason I had those thoughts and that level of depression and that level of anxiety [was] the injustice of it.

“Everyone’s screaming at you going, ‘He’s a witch,’ and you’re like, ‘I didn’t do the black magic,’ and they’re like, ‘Well, he’s a witch anyway’. So it was horrible. I’m not a fan.”

A TikTok spokesperson has responded to Cruz’s claims, writing: “We’re huge fans of Taio and we were extremely disappointed that he experienced negativity from a limited number of users.”

They also said they’d been speaking to Cruz about how he believes the app can make positive future changes in these areas.

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