Going viral on the internet can be a strange experience, but nobody talks about what happens next. If you’re the main character of TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) one day, how do you return to a normal life? Is it even possible? For TikToker Brielle (@brielleybelly123), returning to life after becoming internet famous was less easy than she thought. The young professional, who went viral with her struggles with a 9 to 5 job, revealed she was dealing with a stalker off the back of her online fame.
“I’ve had a cyber stalker from this app since I went viral in October, and it hasn’t stopped,” she revealed. “And he’s just made it clear that he’s just trying to ruin my life.”
“He knows my parents’ phone numbers, he knows my address, he knows where I worked. He knows all my siblings, he knows my ex-boyfriend,” she said. “He’s been harassing and threatening and telling my best friends that he’s going to kill, chop them up, mail them to their parents. He’s been calling my friend’s parents; he will not leave me alone. And I need help.”
The creator explained how the stalking started after her 9 to 5 video went viral in October; finding her number on white pages, and spam calling her with different numbers to the point where she says she was unable to use her phone anymore.
@brielleybelly123 If anyone knows anything/anyone who can help me please lmk! Im really hoping @TikTok will start protecting me and my account, yes the PD have said he will be arrested when he is found, when that happens. #stalkingawareness #cyberharrassment #awareness #womensafety #stalking #breakingsilence someone write a news article on this please lmfao @Business Insider ♬ original sound – BRIELLE
“It started by saying I’m so relatable and he wants to talk to me because he relates to me, and then he started saying I’m a whore and he hates me, but then that he’s so obsessed he’s gonna drive himself off a cliff,” she added. “This started in October, and it’s now December.”
“Throughout that time, he’s managed to contact my friends, my friend’s parents, he knows my personal address, he knew my address of work and threatened to show up there, and he sent me a picture of a chopped-up naked woman,” she added. “And now he’s mass reporting my TikTok account to try to get to me and like ruin my platform. I’m not sure [why] but it’s been so exhausting. Like I know I don’t sound like I’m that concerned, but I had to change my personal phone number that I’ve had since I was 13 years old.”
According to Brielle, while she called the police on the stalker, who has also threatened to rape and kill her, they were unable to track him because he uses “burner numbers”, while the emails he sends her are encrypted.
“The most recent development is him watching and studying my YouTube video in the background to find out where I’m located,” she said. “He just wants me to be scared.”
As the stalking continues, Brielle said she felt compelled the “document” the things her stalker does, although she admits she was “hesitant” to post this because she “know[s] this is what he wants.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Brielle via email.