Bella Poarch

Singer and Tiktok star Bella Poarch, who first went viral for a lip syncing video on Tiktok in August of 2020, began talking about her struggles with past abuse, PTSD, depression, and anxiety in December following criticisms of her tattoos on social media platforms. Poarch responded to a Tiktok commenter explaining that she got her tattoos to cover scars from childhood abuse, sparking an outpouring of support on Twitter as well as public conversation about the lasting effects of trauma.

The 24-year-old Tiktok celebrity posted a tweet expressing her gratitude for her platform and opened up about how her overnight fame has changed her mental health battles. Poarch wrote, “before any of this happened to me, I was in a really dark place. I would wake up going to war with my depression, PTSD, and anxiety.” She credited Tiktok with “changing her life overnight” and thanked her fans for supporting her through her ongoing struggles. Though Bella’s response to her supporters suggests that she still deals with the challenges presented by trauma and mental illness, she also reminds her Twitter following that “things can change. Life can happen and it can be beautiful.”

Bella Poarch’s vulnerability and honesty is an important reminder that the versions of celebrities that the public sees are often heavily curated and edited in order to provide an idealized snapshot of a much more complicated life. Opening up about past abuse and mental illness is incredibly difficult and takes great bravery. Influential people who start these conversations can often play a big role in de-stigmatizing public transparency about mental health as well as in normalizing discussions surrounding sensitive topics such as trauma and abuse. As someone who also lives with the after effects of past trauma, I’m really thankful for Bella’s willingness to share her own experience and help others with similar struggles feel less alone.