TikTok's Biggest GRIFTER

Summary

The video script narrates the controversial journey of Kelly Cadigan, a trans influencer with nearly 1 million followers, who has stirred both ends of the political spectrum by shifting her views. Initially sharing her experiences as a trans woman, Kelly later adopted conservative stances, including misgendering a criminal and rejecting the LGBTQ+ community, which led to backlash. Her political flip-flops and public apologies raise questions about sincerity and the impact of social media validation on identity.

Takeaways

• 😶 Kelly Cadigan, a trans influencer with nearly 1 million followers, has experienced a significant shift in her political stance, causing controversy across the political spectrum.
• 🔥 Initially posting about her experiences as a trans woman, Kelly's content took a sharp turn towards conservative views, leading to actions such as burning a pride flag and rejecting the LGBTQ+ community.
• 🤔 Kelly's stance on misgendering certain individuals based on their actions sparked debate, suggesting that a person's gender identity could be conditional and subject to punishment.
• 🚫 She has criticized non-binary identities and the idea of transitioning before the age of 18, despite having transitioned herself.
• 🗣️ Kelly's political journey included adopting right-wing rhetoric, engaging in debates with activists, and making controversial statements about history, such as slavery.
• 💬 Her statements were met with backlash, prompting apologies and a series of videos attempting to clarify her views and regain trust.
• 🔄 Kelly's rapid changes in political alignment raised questions about her sincerity and whether her shifts were motivated by a desire for social media validation and acceptance.
• 🇺🇸 In one of her videos, Kelly burned a pride flag and declared her allegiance to the American flag, only to later reject this stance as well.
• 📉 Her apology videos were criticized for being self-centered and lacking genuine understanding or remorse for the harm caused by her previous statements.
• 👀 The community remains skeptical of Kelly's motives and the authenticity of her apologies, with many calling for consistent actions to back up her words.
• 📝 The script suggests that Kelly's situation highlights the dangers of identity being shaped by social media reactions and the need for more thoughtful reflection before broadcasting opinions.

Q & A

Who is Kelly Cadigan and what is her platform?

Kelly Cadigan is a social media influencer with nearly 1 million followers on TikTok, known for her content as a trans woman and her controversial political shifts.

What significant change did Kelly Cadigan's content undergo?

Kelly Cadigan's content shifted from general videos about her experience as a trans woman to increasingly conservative takes, including burning a pride flag and rejecting the LGBTQ+ community.

What was the controversy surrounding Kelly Cadigan's stance on pronouns?

Kelly Cadigan argued that she should be allowed to misgender the person responsible for the Nashville tragedy because they didn't deserve respect, implying that a person's gender identity could be a conditional privilege.

What was Kelly's controversial statement about the black community and slavery?

Kelly made a statement suggesting that many black people participated in the slave trade and seemed to defend it, which was met with backlash and accusations of racism.

How did Kelly Cadigan's political views evolve over time as per the script?

Kelly Cadigan's political views swung from the left to the right and back, initially embracing conservative ideologies, then claiming to be a right-leaning centrist, and finally rejecting political labels altogether.

What was the reaction of the community to Kelly Cadigan's apology?

The community expressed skepticism about the sincerity of Kelly Cadigan's apology, questioning her motivations and the performative nature of her apology.

What was the role of social media in Kelly Cadigan's political shifts?

Social media played a significant role in Kelly Cadigan's political shifts, as she seemed to mirror the opinions of those giving her the most likes and validation.

What does the term 'Pick Me' refer to in the context of Kelly Cadigan's story?

The term 'Pick Me' refers to Kelly Cadigan's attempt to align herself with the political right to gain acceptance and approval, which was seen as a betrayal by her original community.

What was the significance of Kelly Cadigan burning a pride flag?

The act of burning a pride flag symbolized Kelly Cadigan's rejection of the LGBTQ+ community and her alignment with conservative ideologies at that time.

What advice does the script suggest for Kelly Cadigan moving forward?

The script suggests that Kelly Cadigan should take a step back from social media, educate herself, and demonstrate genuine change over time to regain trust.

Outlines

00:00

🔥 Political Swing and Controversy

The video script discusses the transformation of Kelly Cadigan, a trans influencer with nearly 1 million followers, who initially shared personal experiences but later shifted to posting conservative content. This change included burning a pride flag and rejecting the LGBTQ+ community, actions that led to significant backlash. The summary highlights Kelly's controversial stance on misgendering criminals and her debate with a non-binary trans activist, revealing a complex and evolving narrative of identity and political alignment.

05:02

🤔 The Right-Wing Descent and Backlash

This paragraph delves into Kelly's rapid adoption of right-wing ideologies, including controversial statements about slavery and the trans community. It outlines her public debates, the ensuing backlash, and her attempt to align with conservative figures. The summary emphasizes her missteps, such as defending slavery and misgendering individuals, which led to a public apology and a reevaluation of her political beliefs.

10:04

🏳️‍🌈 Rejection and Reclamation of Identity

The narrative continues with Kelly's dramatic acts of rejecting her previous community by burning a pride flag and embracing the American flag as her new symbol of identity. The summary captures her declaration of being a 'right-leaning Centrist' and subsequent retractions, reflecting a struggle with political identity and a search for acceptance. It also critiques her actions as performative and lacking sincerity.

15:05

🧐 Apologies and the Quest for Redemption

The final paragraph focuses on Kelly's public apologies and attempts to regain trust. It details her specific apologies to various communities and individuals, her purchase of a new pride flag, and her acknowledgment of the need for change. The summary questions her motivations, the sincerity of her apologies, and the likelihood of her reverting to previous behaviors, suggesting that true rehabilitation requires more than just public statements.

Keywords

💡Multitasking

Multitasking refers to the ability to handle multiple tasks or activities simultaneously. In the context of the video, Kelly Cadigan is said to be good at multitasking, but it's used ironically to imply that she's adept at alienating people across the political spectrum with her shifting views. The script mentions her as 'multitasking' by making both ends of the political spectrum despise her.

💡Political Spectrum

The political spectrum is a concept that represents the range of differing perspectives on politics. The video discusses Kelly's ability to upset both ends of this spectrum with her actions, indicating her controversial and divisive behavior. It's used to describe the wide array of people who have been angered by her actions.

💡Tick Tock

Tick Tock is a social media platform, also known as TikTok, where Kelly Cadigan has a significant following. The script mentions her platform of nearly 1 million followers, highlighting the influence she has on the platform and how her content has shifted from personal experiences to political commentary.

💡Political Pendulum Swing

A political pendulum swing refers to a significant shift in political views or affiliations. The script describes Kelly's content shift from general videos to increasingly conservative takes, and then back to a more centrist stance, indicating a drastic change in her political alignment.

💡Pronouns

Pronouns are used to refer to someone without using their name, and respecting someone's chosen pronouns is a way of acknowledging their identity. The video discusses Kelly's stance on misgendering individuals, particularly the perpetrator of a tragedy, which sparked controversy and criticism within the community.

💡Trans Activism

Trans activism refers to advocacy for the rights and recognition of transgender individuals. The script mentions Kelly's initial content being about her experience as a trans woman, and later her controversial stances that conflicted with trans activism, such as misgendering and opposing transitions for minors.

💡Conservative Takes

Conservative takes refer to viewpoints that align with conservative ideologies. The script describes Kelly's shift to posting content with conservative viewpoints, which was a departure from her earlier content and led to significant backlash.

💡First Amendment

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech. The video mentions this in the context of Kelly's right to express her views, even if they are misgendering others, and the community's right to respond to her.

💡Non-Binary

Non-binary is a term used to describe a gender identity that doesn't fit within the traditional binary understanding of male and female. The script discusses Kelly's comments about non-binary individuals, suggesting that she doesn't view their identities as valid.

💡Transitioning

Transitioning refers to the process of changing one's gender presentation and/or sex characteristics to align with one's gender identity. The video mentions Kelly's own transition and her controversial stance on the age at which people should be allowed to transition.

💡Apology

An apology is a formal expression of regret or remorse. The script describes Kelly's series of apology videos, which are part of her attempt to reconcile with the community she had previously offended. The sincerity of these apologies is questioned in the video.

Highlights

Kelly Cadigan's shift in content from general videos to conservative takes on social issues.

Cadigan's controversial act of burning a pride flag and rejecting the LGBTQ+ community.

The debate over pronouns and gender identity, with Cadigan arguing against respecting pronouns of a criminal.

Cadigan's stance on non-binary people and her opposition to transitions before the age of 18.

Kelly's expression of superiority over non-binary individuals based on her surgical procedures.

Cadigan's adoption of right-wing rhetoric and her quick shift in political views.

The debate with non-binary trans activist Nomi Naomi on Cadigan's conservative beliefs.

Cadigan's controversial statement about black people's participation in the slave trade.

Kelly's backpedaling from her statement on slavery and her attempt to clarify her views.

Cadigan's series of videos mocking trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney and her political journey.

Kelly's dramatic video burning a pride flag and declaring her stance with the American flag.

Cadigan's flip-flopping between political ideologies and her search for validation.

The apology video where Kelly claims to unlearn her bigotry and become a better person.

Concerns about Kelly's motivations and sincerity in her political and social views.

The suggestion that Kelly should take a break from social media for her mental health.

The call for Kelly to prove her sincerity through actions over the coming months.

The final thoughts on the importance of discussing Kelly's situation as a cautionary tale for social media influencers.

Transcripts

trans tick tocker Kelly cadigan has

recently proved that she is very good at

multitasking specifically at making both

ends of the political Spectrum

absolutely hate her you know I'm

starting to think I have an act for

getting everyone to hate me like I'm

quite good at it honestly

Kelly cadigan has a platform of nearly 1

million followers on Tick Tock and her

recent political pendulum swing has

brought even more attention Kelly's

Tick-Tock debut began with just general

videos about her experience as a trans

woman

starting in late March however there was

a sudden shift in her content and over

the next few weeks she would start

posting increasingly conservative takes

to the point where she burned a pride

flag and rejected the lgbtq plus

Community entirely the burning of this

flag means I'm leaving this call the

same community that she's now crawling

back to after she realized that the

leopards eating people's faces party

would in fact eat her face too oh my God

who could have predicted such a Twist

the crock of that Kelly would be

spewing for the next two months straight

was officially kicked over when she

posted this video and yes I think we

should call this person a woman because

they don't deserve any respect if you

think me not using the Cur the correct

pronouns for a child on a liver if

that's your main priority I think you

need to get your priorities straight so

it seems like this is the first time

that Kelly received serious criticism

from her community

and she clearly took it super super well

in this video she's arguing that she

should be allowed to misgender the

person responsible for the horrific

Nashville tragedy because that person

doesn't deserve to have their pronouns

respected the argument seems pretty

straightforward if someone's a bad

person why should I worry about

respecting their pronouns but it's an

incredibly shallow way of viewing the

broader issue what you're implying by

this is that a person's gender identity

is a conditional privilege and it can be

stripped from them as a form of

punishment this obviously is a super

slippery slope because then the question

becomes very subjective as to how bad a

trans person has to be before you get

the free pass to misgender them the

person Kelly is misgendering let's be

clear is literal scum scraped off of

someone's shoe and forced into a

human-shaped Jello mold and I hope they

spend the rest of their life making

toilet wine but using their correct

pronouns is not about respecting them

it's about your view of gender identity

as a whole but if misgendering murderers

is a slippery slope then Kelly hit the

snow like a bobsled in January because

she immediately graduated to putting

down non-binary people and taking a very

hard stance against people transitioning

before the age of 18. even though she

got to do that so in America we have

this thing called freedom of speech if

I'm walking down the road and someone

wants to call me he him I might be upset

about it but there's nothing I can do

about it because that's People's First

Amendment right correct it is that

person's First Amendment right to

misgender you but it is also your first

Amendment right to call that person an

God Bless America now I've done

my entire transition I've been on HRT

I've had two different breast

augmentations I've had the literal

surgery I have female anatomy or at

least the closest thing I can get to

female anatomy if I'm not offended why

does it seem like so many people in the

community particularly the non-binary

community are offended notice the tone

of superiority as Kelly rattles off all

of her medical procedures She's Gotta

make sure that she's out trans and all

the other trans folks congratulations

Kelly you had access to incredibly

expensive surgical procedures I present

to you the gold medal of the trans

Olympics is it because a lot of you guys

the the only transition that's taking

place really is your pronouns because to

me my transition and who I am is a lot

more than my pronoun the implication

that the transition of a non-binary

person is simply an adjustment of

grammar ignores the intense body

dysphoria and feelings of isolation in

our heavily gendered society that many

non-binary people experience in fact

many non-binary people go through gender

affirming surgeries just as invasive as

Kelly's if you want to call me a

conservative call me a conservative I

believe in protecting children I believe

in not respecting child on the libraries

and I believe people that make

transitions should go through a lot of

therapy and make sure it's right for

them before they jump into this and they

should be over the age of 18. so at this

point it's pretty clear from Kelly's

verbiage that her algorithm was sending

her down the alt-right pipeline with

express shipping this is only a day or

two after her community confronted her

and she's already spouting off

right-wing catchphrases like

now it would literally take me hours to

debunk Kelly's entire catalog of

half-baked political takes that she

posted after dropping fat Banger so

instead I'm just gonna give you guys the

highlights of Kelly's magical journey of

radicalization and then we're all gonna

sit down with some popcorn and enjoy the

inevitable dramatic apology that she

posted a week ago I'm really tired of

being bullied by my own Community I

think it's so sad that I I've gone to

the right and I felt so welcomed

especially on Twitter I love Twitter you

know why guys because I can have a

conversation on there with people people

that I don't even agree with all the

time without it being a huge fight I'm

sorry but did you just say that you

could express an opinion on Twitter and

it not turn into a huge fight did we

download the same app it's the one with

the little blue Birdie on it right the

one where a woman's comment section

turned into a war zone because she had

the audacity to say that she enjoyed

drinking coffee in her garden with her

husband

Kelly I just want to remind you all that

this is only two days after Kelly first

got criticized for misgendering someone

and now she's not just flirting with

right-wing ideology she's getting to

second base it's at this point that a

formidable Challenger entered the ring a

very well-spoken non-binary trans

activist that goes by the username

nominal Naomi Kelly we need to talk

Naomi invited Kelly to debate her on

stream about her budding conservative

beliefs a debate that lasted over three

hours I'll have the full stream linked

down below but the highlight of the

debate was when Kelly let this stink

bomb loose honestly back then and a lot

of black people participated in the

slave trade themselves so yeah that

doesn't make slavery right are you

trying to defend slavery product of the

time dude it was trying to defend

slavery did you not see Matt Walsh's new

video on this topic I did and I think

that defending slavery is cringes

defending slavery but I think we're

illogical if we didn't realize that a

lot of black people enjoyed being slaves

back when slavery was a thing okay Kelly

that's enough here's a here's a here's a

friendly tip for my viewers

if somebody says

slavery bad

the first thing that should be coming

out of your mouth

is certainly not yeah but also for any

of you fortunate enough to not know who

Matt Walsh is he uh he famously said

this girls between the ages of like 17

and 24 is when they're technically most

fertile how you doing all right do you

have a seat over in that chair please

Kelly very quickly backpedaled on this

particular statement because who would

have thunk it people don't really like

when a Saltine sister says slavery

wasn't that bad in terms of what I said

about race I completely not only did I

phrase it the wrong way and I should

have said comfortable instead of enjoyed

I honestly shouldn't have said that it

at all because it wasn't my place it was

something that I read the headline out

of in the Atlantic a long time ago and I

didn't really read the article I think I

barely skimmed it and I should have

because clearly it made me say something

that wasn't accurate and now the

internet thinks I'm racist meet me when

I do a little uh oh spaghettio whoopsa

Daisy and say that black people may be

kind of like slavery pick me

choose me

love me is is cringe contagious should I

contact my family and tell them I love

them before I become infected I'm sure

Kelly would insist that this video was

supposed to be ironic but her intention

doesn't really matter because at that

point her comment section became flooded

with conservatives giving her the pat on

the head she was fishing for condemning

your own Community is a small price to

pay for the Adoration of a random

Tick-Tock user with a Confederate flag

as their profile picture huh Kelly it's

at this point that Kelly began her

Infamous series it's day blank of being

on the right openly mocking trans

influencer Dylan Mulvaney series it's

day blank of being a girl so it's day

one of being a conservative so it's day

three of being on the right and today

I'm going to be removing my pronouns

from all social media so it's day four

of being on the right and today I'm

talking about why I'm taking the term

sis out of my vocabulary so it's day

five of being on the right and today I

wanted to talk about what is a woman so

it's day six of being on the right and

today I want to talk about why the term

birthing people is offensive to women so

it's day 11 of being on the right and

today I want to talk about why I'm

owning the Pick Me status this little

series crescendoed with the very

dramatic video where Kelly went on a

lengthy tirade and burned a pride flag

this flag doesn't stand for equality for

everyone this flag stands for you're

gonna agree to what we say no matter how

many times we change the meaning of this

lag and if you don't you're a bigot well

if my own Community is going to call me

a bigot I'm not going to stand for my

community anymore the burning of this

flag means I'm leaving this call and

from now on this is the flag I'm

standing for this is my community

because this country is what gave me the

right to transition and be who I am so

this is the flag I'm gonna stand for

America

but

hey Kelly if you're gonna try to

convince your new super patriotic

conservative fan base that you're one of

the good ones maybe don't just drag a

United States flag all over the ground

and step on it but just as easily as she

abandoned her own Community for

right-wing approval Cali flipped like a

coin at the Super Bowl again her it's

day blank of being on the right series

abruptly ended and she posted that she

was actually just a right-leaning

Centrist

and then she posted saying that she

didn't know what she was politically

and then she posted saying that she

rejected labels all together

all within a couple days like all

disgraced influencers the lengthy

apology videos started popping up soon

after before we dive in I just want to

preface by saying I am completely in

support of rehabilitating people who

truly want to unlearn their bigotry and

become a better person I think people

like myself who unfortunately once also

identified as conservative are

especially sensitive to Kelly's

situation because we can remember a time

when the kindness and patience of other

people were integral to detangling us

from radicalized thinking that being

said Rehabilitation should not be blind

acceptance and the level of harm a

person has caused should also be taken

into account in this particular case

Kelly parroted right-wing talking points

to a massive audience and the ease with

which she yo-yoed between polarized

ideologies undermines any trust we can

have in her sincerity you know growing

up I always wanted to be friends with

the people who hated me oh wow we're

getting like a dramatic villain origin

story oh you thought I was kidding about

the popcorn just because I wanted to be

seen as normal so bad and

okay I almost feel like I kind of never

grew up

and even in my 23 year old self I still

feel like I'm that 15 year old that's

constantly looking for validation

through

not just CIS biological people whatever

you want to call it but just through

Republicans in general I'm I'm impressed

I mean she's really trying to get that

Oscar nomination and I think I'm coming

out of it because I've just kind of been

thinking

a lot about the people I talked to on

Twitter and the things they say to me

like calling me a trans identifying male

or a man so the leopard started eating

your face like everyone told you they

would is what you're saying you uh you

ready to head to the bank and cash that

reality check everything she's saying

might be completely true but it's not an

apology it's an excuse you didn't care

about the right oppressing trans people

until they didn't want you to be their

little mascot anymore and they started

oppressing you and if that's what it

takes to redeem Kelly cadigan so be it

I'm happy

but it doesn't change the fact that it's

pathetic I think I'm just starting to

see the reality that like the people on

the right don't actually care about me

breaking news a local woman discovers

that the sky is blue I felt like I was

gonna be like Candace Owens and and you

know get my own show on The Daily wire

and be a pick me and own that title and

it's just all like for what even if I

did like at Major success it would all

just be so

fake and full of hate and

I just don't know how I got here well

actually Kelly because you so carefully

documented every single random

politically charged thought that you've

had over the past two months publicly on

Tick Tock it's very easy to see how you

got here I think this first apology

video would get like a 17 on Rotten

Tomatoes it's pretty self-centered and

performative but you know what Kelly

give it another shot I don't want to

come on here and cry like I want to be

just

real I'm sorry to Dylan mulvani for

taking your days of girlhood stick and

using it for my own conservative grift

um I'm sorry to the black community for

what I said about slavery I I shouldn't

have said that

um into non-binary people I'm sorry I

said your identities aren't valid okay

this is a good start she's listed out

specific communities and people to

apologize to directly so I actually just

came to Target because I was gonna pick

up a new pride flag because I wanted to

prove to you guys that um I do support

this community and I do want to change

oh awesome regaining the trust of a

community that you completely sold out

for the low low price of ten dollars

call now and we'll double your order I'm

not gonna be like the bigots on the

right and tell you that I need to

understand you to accept you because I

don't guys I'm not like those crazy

bigots on the right aren't you a crazy

bigot on the right though oh come on

that is so last week me first off just

gonna say uh as someone who could easily

camouflage themselves inside of a

hospital not my place to accept her

apology to the black community so I can

only extend the Olive Branch Ranch so

far aside from that here are my thoughts

as usual take them or leave them I have

massive concerns about Kelly's

motivations why did she go to the right

because people on Tick Tock were mean to

her why did she go back to the left

because people on Twitter were mean to

her how do we know that some overzealous

14 year old with blue hair won't call

her out on something and she'll get

upset and go running back to the

conservatives again I think what we're

seeing is somebody whose sense of

self-worth is so closely tied to social

media that their identity has corroded

into just mirroring the opinions of

whoever is giving them the most likes we

really need to bring back journaling

instead of screaming every random

thought you have on a virtual megaphone

take a second write it out let it

marinate in the cranium for a little bit

and then you can declare your

potentially incredibly dangerous

opinions to a million people I would

actually highly advise Kelly to

immediately get off of social media at

least for her mental health most

recently she's been crying because Blair

white blocked her on Twitter which tells

me that instead of actually rejecting

the political party that denies her

Womanhood she sees the right as like in

estranged lover I think it's gonna take

a lot more from Kelly than recording a

few monologues in her car to prove that

she's sincere and I'm not the only one

who thinks that there's genuinely

nothing that gets under my skin more

than when bigots try to Rebrand

themselves without actually doing any

work or having any kind of internal

it's gonna take a hell of a lot more

than you posting Tick Tock videos and

tweets about your newfound Revelation to

undo the harm you actively caused within

our community the amount of damage that

you did just because you wanted to be a

pick me my conclusion is that we can't

really know if Kelly's apology is

truthful until we see what she does over

the next few months I welcome her to

educate herself in fact I highly

encourage it and I don't really have any

hostility towards her she just has a lot

of work to do I would absolutely love to

hear y'all's take on the situation

making this video was a lot like trying

to cut soup with the knife just really

messy but I think it's important to

discuss Kelly in her situation because

she is certainly not gonna be the last

person to try to play Red Rover with

political parties and with that let's

flip a coin

Tails well guess I'm a conservative now

[Music]