Baylen Out Loud, the latest reality TV show from TLC, has some viewers questioning its legitimacy and how much it may dramatize Tourette Sydrome, leading to the U.S. Tourette Association issuing a statement and information on the program.
Marking the latest of various anticipated reality TV shows coming in 2025, Baylen Out Loud shares an inside look into the life of social media/reality star Baylen Dupree. Dupree boasts over 1 million followers on both her TikTok and Instagram accounts, which helped lead to her taking center stage in her own TLC series.
The new reality show began its run on TLC on January 13.
U.S. Tourette Association's Statement on Baylen Out Loud
The official Tourette Association website shared a statement on the release of Baylen Out Loud, which centers on Baylen Dupree and her experience with Tourette Syndrome (TS).
The statement began by offering gratitude for Dupree's efforts to "raise awareness by bravely sharing her experience with TS" through her show:
"'Baylen Out Loud' is a new reality TV show that follows Baylen Dupree, a young woman diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS), as she navigates daily life with the support of her family. The Tourette Association of America (TAA) is grateful for Baylen’s efforts to raise awareness by bravely sharing her experience with TS, coprolalia, and other associated conditions."
The Association acknowledged hearing from community members who worry that audiences will watch the series "without the context necessary to counter the common misconceptions and stereotypes" that stigmatize the condition.
The group also vowed to share "science-backed-information" about each new episode weekly to help educate audiences on what it's really like to live with TS:
"The TAA has heard from members of our community who fear that audiences will leave the show without the context necessary to counter the common misconceptions and stereotypes that make TS such a highly stigmatized condition. We understand these concerns and are taking steps to mediate and educate throughout the duration of the season. Each week, we will update this page with science-backed information about the themes discussed in the show to help audiences understand and appreciate the realities of living with these conditions."
Such a statement from the Tourette Association, which actively avoids criticizing any dramatic or outright fabricated aspects of the show, is a great stamp of approval for Baylen Out Loud from the health organization.
When asked by Page Six what Dupree hopes people take away from her show, she wanted to make it clear that she is "not the definition of Tourette" and that cases vary across the spectrum:
"I would like people to take away that Tourette and Baylan…I’m not the definition of Tourette, I’m not. I’m just demonstrating and showing you my life with Tourette, and I don’t want people to think 'Oh, this is what Tourette looks like in everyone,' because it doesn't.
The first episodes highlight different symptoms of Tourette that Dupree experiences along with diagnoses of OCD and coprolalia (which leads to involuntary obscene vocal outbursts). These tics started when she was as young as 7, and she was diagnosed with Tourette at 18 years old.
Before the series began airing, many fans expressed concerns that Tourette would not be highlighted properly or accurately, considering how TLC has previously exploited disabilities for comedy or drama in the past. Others worried that the network would play the condition off as a joke.
However, that appears to not be the case, as detailed by people who truly deal with Tourette daily.
The Ticcing Together YouTube channel (run by a woman named Carly, who also has Tourette Syndrome) gave credit to Dupree and TLC for their depiction of the neurological disorder.
She praised the team for teaching people about the spectrum of Tourette's and for providing detailed facts about people diagnosed with Tourette's as well. She was able to relate to many of the same symptoms from which Dupree suffers and loved seeing her family stand up for her during her episodes.
New episodes of Baylen Out Loud air on TLC on Mondays at 9:10 pm ET and can be streamed on Discovery+ and Max.
Read more about another recent TLC show, Forbidden Love, here.
