Laith Ashley was banned from TikTok Live for supposed “sexual activity”—but that’s not the full story
RuPaul’s Drag Race Pit Crew member Laith Ashley called out the app after he was unfairly suspended from using its TikTok LIVE feature, and has given voice to a growing concern over queer censorship.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Over the weekend, Ashley went live with a stream he titled “That trans guy you might know.” According to the actor, he was talking about the SAG strike last year, which lead to a discussion about how difficult it is for LGBTQ+ content creators right now because our very identities are being deemed political.A post shared by Laith Ashley (@laith_ashley)“I was talking about how a lot of [LGBTQ+] content creators are unable to make a living creating content because brands are no longer hiring us for brand deals,” Ashley clarified in a later post to his Instagram story. “Our identities have now been politicized… well, now, my transness is political, so me being trans and posting about who I am is political.”“So I’m not going to get the reach because the app is going to limit the reach that I would have gotten otherwise, even with my following,” he continues. “So if I can’t get [that] reach, the brands aren’t going to want to utilize me to promote their product.”Ironically, it’s those very sentiments that got Ashley banned on TikTok LIVE.
After he was “kicked off” the platform, Ashley shared a screenshot showing his “LIVE access” was removed, meaning he would “no longer be able to go LIVE or join a LIVE as a guest.”The reason?
According to Ashley’s message, it was because he was promoting “sexual activity and services,” which is categorically false.A post shared by Laith Ashley (@laith_ashley)In the comments on the post, actor-model-friend of Queerty Arisce Wanzer said the same thing has happened to her, and former Drag Race contestant Kerri Colby chimed in to say, “TikTok’s live policing on our community is deplorable to say the.
