Online creators are no strangers to controversy, but the latest allegations of misconduct to besiege the space involve one of the youngest influencers yet: 13-year-old Jacob Sartorious, who rose to fame on Vine and musical.ly — an explosively popular app that lets users record 15-second lip-synching music videos.
While there are several accusations surrounding Sartorious, perhaps the most serious involves screencaps of a Facebook conversation between himself and a fan in which he asks her to send him nude photos. She even posted a video of the messages on her phone to prove that they hadn’t been doctored.
This instance also speaks to a greater sense across the Internet that the tween heartthrob is reportedly rude to his fans, according to BuzzFeed. One fan shared a video of Sartorious at a meet-and-greet in which he appeared to be “disgusted at my size,” she said. And a screengrab of a purported conversation via Twitter DM is currently circulating in which Sartorious says, “I absolutely hate hugging fat and smelly fans.” In addition, there have been rumors that fellow Vine star Cameron Dallas expelled Sartorious from their Magcon Tour because he was insulting fans in his DMs.
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Sartorious has yet to comment directly on the allegations, though he has made what could be interpreted as veiled responses to the ordeal on Twitter. “Remember to stay positive,” he tweeted on Saturday, “and know that the people that try to bring you down are already below you!”
The controversy arrives as Sartorious’ nascent career is still in launch mode. He has 3.9 million Instagram followers, 876,000 on Vine, 794,000 YouTube subscribers, and 600,000 Twitter followers, In April, he released the single Sweatshirt, for which a music video is soon forthcoming.
