What are celebrity 'blind items'?

When the tragic news emerged that TikTok star Kyle Marisa Roth had died, fans bid farewell to the “Queen of blind items”.

The content creator, whose family confirmed her passing on Monday (15 April) at the age of 36, was known for her often controversial “hot takes” on celebrity gossip and regular “tea spills”.

But whilst her fans have grown familiar with her terminology and catchphrases – most notably: “You want more, I’ll give you more” – many of us are having to play catchup.

The main questions people seem to be asking are: What exactly are “celebrity blind items?” And how do they differ from traditional hearsay?

From left, three of the most popular 'blind items' spillers: Kyle Roth, Celebritea Blinds and Shannon McNamara (a.ka. FluentlyForward)(@thekylemarisa_/@celebriteablinds/@fluentlyforward/TikTok)

Traditionally, a blind item is a piece of gossip whose details have been reported while the identities of those involved aren’t revealed with a name or a picture.

According to Timemagazine, the technique was invented by 19th Century New York publisher William d’Alton Mann who often used it for blackmail.

Now, of course, the internet has driven the popularisation and spread of salacious rumours, focusing largely on celebrities.

According to Medium, blind items typically provide some information about the celebrity in questionbut are vague enough to not give away too much information.

The posts are usually riddled or coded, inviting readers to speculate about the famous person, or persons, in question.

One of the most popular social media accounts for juicy tidbits is DeuxMoi, which is run anonymously and shares content (often celebrity sightings) contributed by its followers, as Mojonotes.

Naturally, critics often dismiss blind items as unreliable, unverified, and potentially damaging to their subject, tarring them with the same brush as conspiracy theories.

On her popular podcast @FluentlyFoward, TikTok influencer Shannon McNamara has stressed that blind items shouldn't be taken as fact. And yet, she regularly points out how many of them end up "coming true".

Other TikTokers say the same, capitalising on the insatiable appetite for such content.

The woman behind popular account Celebritea Blinds, which has racked up more than 13.8 million likes on the video-sharing platform alone, explained the role of people like her, McNammara and the now late Kyle Roth in breaking down blind items.

She said in a clip: “For those of you who don't know, blind items are essentially alleged insider information about celebrities that is leaked by the people closest to them. Descriptors are used in the blind items instead of names for legal purposes.

“And on this account, I am revealing what those alleged guesses are.”

She continued: “Blind items have been around on the internet since the late nineties. I do not write the blind items that I read on this account, most of the blind items that I read come from [the account Entertainment Lawyer] who runs the website Crazy Days and Nights.

“He has run this account since the early 2000s, and he is responsible for exposing many people in the blind items before it was ever in the news.

“I read the daily blind items along with their alleged guesses, and I also cover the blind items that [Entertainment Lawyer] reveals each day, as well as doing deep dives of the past five or 10 years of celebrities' blind items.”

Concluding, she added: “I've personally been reading the blind items for over 10 years now, and I always find it so interesting to see which ones end up coming true. And it really just goes to show that we know nothing about what's going on behind the curtains of celebrities and elites lives – allegedly.”

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings