It has been years, but the controversy surrounding TikTok and YouTube personality Isabella "OnlyJayus" Avila will not go away.
Avila, better known by some as "psychology facts girl," has built a sizable following online for her humor-filled videos focused on science psychology fun facts.
She has amassed over 18 million followers on TikTok and another nearly 5 million subscribers on YouTube. Still, like many big-name creators (i.e., Mama Tot), Avila has not been immune to online drama.
What Happened With OnlyJayus?
In her time in the limelight online, TikTok star Isabella "OnlyJayus" Avila has become familiar with being the center of controversy.
Plenty of fans have turned their backs on the social media creator in recent years, thanks to the drama surrounding her dating back to 2021.
Things started to fall apart for OnlyJayus in February 2021 when leaked text messages appeared online, showing the TikTok personality using racist and homophobic slurs.
The text messages allegedly started in August 2016, barely predating Avila's move from primarily focusing on YouTube to TikTok.
This caused plenty of outcry among the community, with large swaths of fans banding together to speak out against OnlyJayus' actions. A Change.org petition from TikTok users called for the creator to be removed from the platform entirely.
In the petition's mission statement, its creator wrote that "OnlyJayus (aka Isabella Avila) needs to be banned from TikTok" as they "have been caught and called out multiple times for mistreating disabled creators and creators of color:"
"OnlyJayus (aka Isabella Avila) needs to be banned from TikTok. They have been caught and called out multiple times for mistreating disabled creators and creators of color. In February of 2021, Jayus was caught in a scandal due to some racist remarks by Jayus being revealed. Jayus apologized by stating they would "lift black voices" and "share their platform with creators of color", but has failed to hold up on any of their promises."
In response to this initial wave of drama, Avila posted a public apology vision on her TikTok account, stating, "The screenshots and the things I’ve said in the past are not a reflection of who I am today:"
"There is no excuse, and there are no justifications for what I said, and you guys deserve better. When I first saw the screenshots, I did not even think that they were real, because I forgot how hateful and how angry of a person that I used to be. It hurts my soul knowing that I said those things. But the screenshots and the things I have said in the past are not a reflection of who I am today."
Those who started the petition against her have accused her of using a ghostwriter for Avila's first apology; however, those claims remain unsubstantiated.
She addressed these leaked messages yet again more than a year later in a video discussing how she, in her words, "became the most hated TikTok creator."
In the video posted on October 22, 2022, Avila discussed the text messages and several other online controversies she has been involved in.
She described the messages' circumstances, saying they had been between her and another creator over Instagram DMs. Because she had blocked him over the incident, only her side of the messages ever made it out to the public, when it, according to her, "had been a back and forth" of "awful shit."
Avila admitted that even looking back, she "cannot rationalize" the vitriolic and hateful language she used, and she "deserved to be called out on it."
She even specifically addressed the claim that her apology was ghostwritten, telling fans, "I want to be very clear. I wrote my apology."
Avila also denied claims of her being ableist, transphobic, and a supporter of former United States President Donald Trump.
Most recently, OnlyJayus was accused by ex-girlfriend Brittany Lee Dejardo of verbal abuse, prompting Dejardo to file a restraining order against the online creator (via TMZ).
Avila has since refuted these claims, and the restraining order has been dismissed on the grounds of Dejardo not appearing in court.
OnlyJayus remains active on TikTok and Instagram.
