TikTok star Addison Rae is on the cover of Glamour UK this month, and the 20-year-old’s accompanying interview covered topics including her rise to fame, online comments and mental health. “I’ve dealt a lot with online hate and social media drama, with people that are very opinionated and don’t want people to be happy,” she said.
“People see people’s successes sometimes and wish it was them, which is totally understandable,” Rae continued. “I’ve even been there in my life too, where I’m like, ‘I wish I had this or I wish I had what she had.’ That brings you envy sometimes and I would bring that anger out onto them, which has never been a fulfilling thing. I’ve realised you have to be happy for people.” She’s learning not to letting the negativity affect her, explaining, “When I look at negative comments, I can’t let it get to me that much and I think, ‘That doesn’t define me, and they don’t really truly know me in my heart. There’s going to be people that don’t like you and that want to tear you down, but you have to love yourself for who you are.”
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Rae revealed that some of the most hurtful comments for her to read are the ones discussing her appearance. “It’s a really hard thing to deal with when you’re a girl, especially going through your teens,” she said. “I am 20 and my body is constantly changing, but people have this high standard around body image and say, ‘Oh, you have to look like this to look great or to look hot or to be cool or to be pretty.’”
She has started seeing a therapist, which she shares “was really helpful just to not feel so down about myself.” “Self-worth is a big thing that I’ve been working on the past few months because it’s definitely a real struggle, and it does affect you in your daily life, not having high self-worth,” she mused. “Therapy is a great way to work on that and it’s an outlet to speak on things that are bothering you internally. Just being able to have someone to talk to has been a big thing for me and understanding that if you let people understand you a little more, then they will.”
Rae began posting on TikTok in August 2019, and she soon found herself racking up likes and followers. As of February, she has amassed 4.9 billion likes and 76 million followers on the app and is worth an estimated $5 million thanks to sponsorship deals with brands like American Eagle and Reebok. Rae also has her own cosmetics line, ITEM Beauty, and is set to star in her first feature film, He’s All That, the upcoming remake of She’s All That.
“In my senior year, I was trying out for the college dance team, and I ended up not making it,” Rae reflected. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. How am I going to continue entertaining and performing without making the team?’ I thought I had to give up on all my dreams, but about four to five months later, I started social media and TikTok. All of a sudden, out of nowhere – I was posting all the time and getting likes, views and followers. Social media offered me a really awesome roadway to take. Sometimes the road you didn’t think you were going to take is the one that you do, and you’re glad that you did.”
