LaVerne has previously announced hospital visits during controversies.
Laverne has previously announced hospital visits during controversies.
Instagram/@zoexlaverne
  • Zoe LaVerne is a controversial 19-year-old TikTok star who recently fled the internet after videos that appeared to show her kissing a 13-year-old fan were leaked. 
  • LaVerne apologized for “catching feelings” for 13-year-old Connor, who has over 400,000 TikTok followers of his own, and she denied that she was grooming him. 
  • After posting that she’d be checking herself into a hospital on November 2, LaVerne has returned to her social media accounts, posting a TikTok about Connor and commenting “I miss you” on his livestream.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Embattled 19-year-old TikTok star Zoe LaVerne is back online, and she’s already causing more controversy. LaVerne, who has more than 17.5 million TikTok followers, has been seen commenting on posts from the 13-year-old fan she was recently seen kissing in a video.

LaVerne announced on November 2 on a private account that she would be “checking [herself] into a hospital” after leaked videos appeared to show her kissing a 13-year-old fan. Before she stopped posting, LaVerne apologized for kissing and for “catching feelings” for the 13-year-old, who goes by Connor Joyce on TikTok, where he has over 400,000 followers.

LaVerne also denied that she had raped Connor or that she was in the process of grooming him. Grooming refers to building “a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or young person” so the perpatrator can “manipulate, exploit, and abuse them,” according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

However, LaVerne has already walked back the part of her apology where she said she had stopped talking to Connor. On November 8, Connor went live on Instagram and started broadcasting himself to his followers. LaVerne joined the live broadcast and commented “Hi connor.. i miss you” and “I hope you’re doing well. miss you lots!” from her verified Instagram account. 

so #zoelaverne joined #connor live😬

A post shared by First Ever Tiktok Shaderoom (@tiktokroom) on Nov 8, 2020 at 12:42pm PST

Connor didn't respond publicly to LaVerne but he deactivated his Instagram account the next day after screenshots of LaVerne's comments started circulating on TikTok gossip pages.

LaVerne also posted a TikTok on November 9 with the song "Yellow" by Coldplay, which has lyrics about being so devoted to someone that you would do anything for them. In the video, which LaVerne captioned "My happiness and two of them are gone," she included two pictures of herself with Connor.

@zoelaverne

my happiness and two of them are gone 💛🦋😞

♬ Coldplay - Yellow - ev

LaVerne previously claimed in her apology that she and Connor had never been in a relationship. LaVerne also said that she told Connor's mother about their kiss, and wrote that "She wasn't happy obviously but she understood that we are both teenagers and that feelings can be caught."

LaVerne's mother has defended the kissing video, saying "Anybody can reach over and kiss somebody. They're best friends." 

But LaVerne's former best friend Amber Van Pelt described the interactions between LaVerne and Connor as "pedophilia," writing in leaked direct messages with LaVerne's ex-boyfriend Cody Orlove that "I left because of her interactions with connor. They got very intense and it's something I do not stand by what so ever. It's pedophilia."

Fans and other TikTokers have criticized LaVerne, with one top comment suggesting that she leave TikTok permanently and "check herself into jail." A hoax that LaVerne had been arrested went viral due to a prank news site making a fake article about it, but LaVerne has not been arrested or charged.

Read the original article on Insider