The Kendall Monroe and Nessa Barrett TikTok drama explained

Among Gen Z, TikTok is a hugely popular app that has seen content creators become massive stars among their peers.

Original content can earn TikTok creators likes and new followers, but recently a row has erupted between two high-profile users over accusations of copying.

TikToker and singer-songwriter Nessa Barrett has a staggering 19.4 million followers. She along with some of her fans have taken aim at fellow TikToker Kendall Monroe, who has 73.7 thousand followers, for allegedly copying her looks.

But it’s not only her looks that Barrett’s fans are accusing Monroe of copying. Some have claimed she copied a matching butterfly tattoo Barrett had done with TikTok star Cooper Noriega, who died in June this year.

Barrett’s tattoo features two butterflies on the top of her hand, while Monroe’s tattoo is of three butterflies in a similar style. Fans have also likened Monroe’s voice to Barrett's in videos.

In response to the copycat backlash, Monroe posted a video apologising to Barrett in which she claimed she started the TikTok account as an “experiment” to see “how much hate there was in the world of social media”.

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

She added: “I want to apologise to Nessa because at no time in these past couple of months was it ever my intention to make her uncomfortable in any way.”

She continued: “I am not obsessed with Nessa, nor have I ever wanted to be Nessa.”

In a series of now-deleted videos, Barrett appeared to respond to the apology. In one clip reposted on YouTube, she jokingly said she was going to get both her nipples chopped off, a tattoo of a baby goat’s butt on her face and a lip ring.

Barrett said: “So, just for all the people that copy me, copy me if you dare, b**ch!”

nessa barrett SHADES kendall monroe for copying her! #nessabarrett #tiktokwww.youtube.com

In a since-deleted clip, Monroe hit back in an equally sarcastic fashion by editing a baby goat onto her face and asking fans, “do you like my new tattoo?”

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.