TikTok Influencers Converge For Star Bryce Hall’s Party And Flout Health Rules. Online Backlash Followed.

August 16, 2020
lenakhalid
Social Media

KEY FACTS

Hall has 12.8 million followers on TikTok and is a member of Sway House, a collective of TikTok creators and social media influencers who live and make content together. (Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.)

A person who attended the party, but did not want to be named, told Forbes that at least 75 people attended, guests used hand sanitizer before entering and that about 20 strippers were hired for the event.

Videos posted on social media—compiled in a Twitter thread by YouTuber Dennis Feitosa—show large groups of people gathered both inside and outside the house without any social distancing or masks, as well as strippers giving Hall lap dances while attendees stand shoulder-to-shoulder looking on.

Social media posts documented dozens of other influencers at the party, including the Harry Jowsey from Netflix reality show Too Hot To Handle and former Dance Moms star Brooke Hyland. (Neither immediately responded to a request for comment from Forbes.)

The LAPD reportedly broke up the party, which defied local health orders, early in the morning, according to social media accounts and the person who attended, but the police department did not respond to a request for comment from Forbes before publication.

A number of large Hollywood parties have provoked the ire of LA officials, prompting Mayor Eric Garcetti to order water and power shutoffs to houses that host them, though the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to questions from Forbes asking if the city will do so in this case.

Crucial quote

“I wouldn’t say it was safe, but it was free. I think people want to be free right now, that’s what’s going on. There’s people having parties everywhere now because they want to be free. So I understand the whole situation with Covid, but you’re already dead if you’re not living,” the person who attended the party told Forbes.

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Chief critics

Other influencers rebuked the party, criticizing Hall and Sway House directly.

“hi @BryceHall @jadenhossler @BlakeGray @JoshRichards & others who have been partying with large groups – please consider social distancing, mask wearing, & using your huge platforms to encourage responsibility during a worldwide pandemic. the below thread is… disgusting,” tweeted YouTuber Tyler Oakley.

“Think of others for like two seconds in your life,” said social media star Matt Espinosa in a video on Instagram.

Key background

Hall isn’t the only influencer to draw criticism for throwing dangerous parties during the pandemic. Another TikTok collective, Hype House, threw a large birthday party for creator Larri Merritt last month with major influencers such as James Charles and Charli D’Amelio in attendance. The gathering sparked widespread outrage and Merritt eventually apologized on Twitter. “It was a dumb thing to do. I will do better & will actually take this shit seriously,” he said. YouTube megastar Jake Paul told Insider last month he won’t stop partying because, “no one has answers, our leadership is failing us, and everyone kind of just doesn’t know what to do.”

Big Number

219,083. That’s how many coronavirus infections Los Angeles County has, according to state data. The county has the highest number of cases in California.

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