I’ll admit that as a nearly 26-year-old woman, I was slow to see the advantages of the app TikTok. I found myself constantly asking, What is this Vine rip-off that seems to create an endless supply of white girls dancing poorly in videos that somehow manage to go viral? Why are we rewarding this behavior? But last week, I realized the true potential of the Gen-Z-beloved app: an absolute treasure trove of unsubstantiated (but hilarious) celebrity gossip.

It started with this video, posted by one @JuliaCarolann. The @JuliaCarolann in question basically called out a bunch of celebs from her days as a hostess at a fancy restaurant in New York City. You’ve probably already seen it. It was, without a doubt, the best thing I saw all last week.

I mean, the TEA in here. Hailey’s allegedly rude as hell? Kylie’s allegedly a terrible tipper? In the midst of a global pandemic in which my friends and I are not doing anything and therefore have nothing to gossip about, this video was a lifeline of sorts. It gave me something to say “Oh my god, no WAY” about, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

And the better part came when Hailey came across the video and felt the need to comment on it and apologize! I mean, I’m thrilled I live in a world where people can call out rude celebrities on the internet and those celebrities look so bad publicly that they have to write an apology in the comments. Sure, it’s possible that absolutely none of this info is true. But frankly, who cares? The people mentioned here are so rich and powerful that a simple rumor about them being rude won’t derail their career. There’s no real harm being done, but there IS some magic happening by giving the people something to talk about. It just feels like the universe is trying to restore us to equilibrium. I love that for me, I love that for us.

The video went so viral that @JuliaCarolann made a part two.

I had to ask myself (in my best Carrie Bradshaw voice): What about this little app makes it such a great breeding ground for celebrity tea? This isn’t the first time TikTok users have given plebes like us the inside gossip on our favorite celebs. I mean, let us not forget @Muhkleet’s official “celebrities I’ve served ice cream to” ranking. Truly, these people are doing the lord’s work.

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I’m no expert, and as I’m over 21 years old, I know I will probably be roasted for this “How do you do, fellow kids?” style take. But maybe it’s that TikTok feels like it has no rules. It’s new enough and we as a society are bored enough in this moment that we’re all just throwing spaghetti at the proverbial TikTok wall to see what sticks. It’s the new frontier, the Wild West, whatever cliché you wanna throw in here—that’s what this platform is.

There’s also something about seeing these rumors in video form, with a real person speaking them to you, that makes them so much more fun to digest. The body language and delivery can bring these 60-second clips up about 12,120,192 notches. It’s more of an experience than reading a juicy Twitter thread or reading a blind item on Instagram. Don’t get me wrong, I like those too, but TikTok just hits different.

So here is my official plea: If you are a TikTok user with celebrity stories to share, please, for the love of god, post them. In these dark times, we need something to look forward to that has nothing to do with any of the bad stuff going on in the world. We need you now more than ever, TikTok youths. It’s time to shine.

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