How TikTok Star Charli D'Amelio Lost 1 Million Followers Over a Paella Dinner

TikTok superstars and teen sisters Charli and Dixie D'Amelio are facing some serious online backlash after posting a video of themselves gagging over a dinner prepared by their private chef, which they followed up by complaining about their social media follower count.

Charli is still TikTok's biggest star with 98.5 million followers, but she lost at least one million of those followers this week after posting the first episode in a new series called “Dinner With the D’Amelios” to her YouTube channel. The series intends to feature her family eating a meal with a different surprise guest, starting with makeup artist James Charles. In the clip, the family and Charles sit down for a paella dinner prepared for them by private chef Aaron May. After Dixie encounters a snail in the traditional Spanish dish, May explains to the table, “It’s classic paella, and it’s actually an omen of good luck and fortune,” to which Charli scoffs, “Liars.” After everyone at the table urges her to try it, Dixie takes a small bite of the snail before gagging and running outside to vomit, all in front of the chef. Their mom, Heidi, gently chastises her daughter during the scene, covering her face with her hand and saying to Dixie, “So dramatic. Excuse yourself!” Charli then proceeds to ask May—who has been inducted into the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame as a “Chef Extraordinaire”—if she can just have some dino nuggets instead.

But that wasn't the only moment that had viewers up in arms. At a later point in the video, Charli says, “Ugh, I just wish I had more time because imagine if I hit 100 mil one year after hitting a mil." Charles quips, “95 million not enough for you?” To which she responds, “Well I was just saying, like, even numbers,” before trailing off with a smile and a shrug.

As the backlash emerged, Dixie posted a TikTok on Thursday to explain the story behind those moments captured on camera, saying, “I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve had, so I would never in any way want to be taken as disrespectful, especially from an out-of-context 15-second clip. So basically, my team knows I throw up a lot. I could throw up at the smell, the thought or the taste of anything. So, when they saw the snails, they were like, ‘Oh, let’s get her and try to see if we can get a reaction out of her.’ I love Chef [May] and I would never disrespect him in any way and maybe don’t judge someone’s personality over a 15-second video.”

Her sister Charli also shared her very emotional response to the controversy on Instagram Live, questioning whether or not she even wants to stay on the app anymore when she's receiving so much hate from “people blatantly disrespecting the fact that I'm still a human being.” She added, “I know this is going to be a huge joke to whoever sees it, but like, at the end of the day, just be nice.”

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