We’ve all been paid a sweet, “you look like so-and-so” compliment in our lives, but rarely does that compliment come with a thinly veiled death threat. TikTok user Ashley Leechin — or @Noitisashley13, as she’s known on the app — has been fielding compliments and death threats alike over the simple fact that she bears a resemblance to Taylor Swift.
The TikToker might look like, act like, and do her makeup like one of the world’s hottest pop stars, but all that glitters is not gold in the life of this over-harassed and under-paid look alike.
Who is Taylor Swift’s look-alike?
Ashley Leechin may have started her career as a Registered Nurse, but these days she’s less about the NICU and more about pursuing her dreams of being an actress. Leechin discovered her passion for the screen during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Like many people in health care, she was on the pandemic’s front lines, and was sent to help the military in the southern states with crisis management.
While working in a testing facility, Leechin contracted the Coronavirus. A friend recommended TikTok to her, and Ashley started making skits about Grey’s Anatomy, and talked about her mental health as well as nursing. Her resemblance to Taylor Swift was regularly brought up, with patients and their families regularly asking to take pictures for loved ones.
Her uncanny similarity reached its peak when she and her husband moved to Nashville, Tennessee. She was so regularly asked if she was Taylor Swift, or if she knew she looked like T-Swift, that she and her husband made a game of it. Leechin leaned into the joke and posted her first viral Taylor look-a-like video, which saw her in several outfits that looked like Swift’s before finally being forced to hide in a sweatshirt and hoodie.
Overnight the video got 30,000 hits. Viewers wanted more Taylor content, and with Swift herself absent from the app, Ashley filled a void. She started by Lip-synching while wearing red lipstick. She didn’t start with the eyeliner until much later (she says she was never a makeup girl). She wasn’t able to start monetizing, but the app was entertaining, and having a following was exciting. Leechin says there were always trolls in her comments but things didn’t come to a head until 2021.
Despite the heartache the Swifties have put her through, Leechin doesn’t dislike the crowd. Like most fandoms, there are toxic and positive people and her comment section is split down the middle. Some fans are in love with the uncanny resemblance, others comment that Ashley must have mental problems or be desperate for attention.
The Calendar Incident
Leechin’s success on the app made her realize she had a passion for acting. She looked for a manager, but serendipitously, one found her. He tapped her for commercials, demanding that she sign an NDA before they even spoke about the opportunity. He presented scripts, contracts, and even audio files that sounded like Taylor Swift, and claimed that he and Swift were working on a big project together.
Their talks dragged out for months, and as Ashley got frustrated with waiting, he pushed her to make a video, claiming that Swift was making an identical one. Allegedly both women would point to a calendar date, proving that Swift and Leeching were connected and were working on a project together.
Leechin upheld her end of the bargain, posting a video with the calendar and declaring that she and Taylor would meet soon. Swift’s video never materialized, and Leechin was nearly drown under a wave of Swiftie vitriol. Fans assumed she had revealed the location and time of a “Secret Session” a hallowed fan experience that only the most dedicated listeners get to indulge in.
Worse, they saw the video as a stunt for attention. Leechin says no one reached out to her to take the video down, rather, she was bombarded by hate in her comments and DMs. Through it all, Leechin only blames herself. Though she researched her scammer’s claims (she found websites, an Instagram, flight numbers, and other “proof” of his credibility) Leechin blew past the red flags.
Ashley says that after the Calendar Incident, the hate became unbearable. Commenters ripped her apart for her attention-seeking behavior, her obsession with Taylor Swift, for not being obsessed enough with Taylor, criticized her appearance, and claimed she had undergone plastic surgery.
Leechin attempted to debunk the claims she could, even collaborating with a plastic surgeon who could corroborate her denial of going under the knife. Though he checked her over for scars and debunked the common comments, it added fuel to the fire.
It pushed her to adopt a “post and ghost” strategy. Rather than engage she puts up her videos and moves on, unwilling to dredge the comments.
The Grammy Drama
Leechin’s first experience with a ner-do-well might have taught her a few lessons, but it didn’t stop her from being bamboozled again. The TikToker was invited to the 2022 Grammy’s by a company that she wouldn’t name (she did say they have 13 million followers and the hallowed blue checkmark). Leechin was invited to participate in what the company representative referred to as “humble brag.” Meaning that though she wouldn’t be paid, she and several other creators would walk the red carpet and attend events.
The company refused to pay for travel or lodging but Leechin decided to pay her way. Her Husband was cleared to walk the red carpet with her, but days before the event, the company revoked his attendance. Before the event, Leechin was required to make a video announcing her partnership. The company retweeted her message, and the day she left for the event, the company reached out and confirmed her position.
Unfortunately for Leechin, as soon as she touched down in L.A. there were problems. She received a panicked phone call from upper management telling her that they never had a ticket for her.
“She was just like, ‘You’re not going to the Grammys. Just get over it, at this point. It’s Hollywood, you don’t have a ticket anymore, you just need to go back home.”
If there had been issues with more than just Leechin, she could understand better what had happened, but she was the only creator who was pulled from the event. In Leechin’s opinion, the company was trying to use her for some kind of publicity stunt at the Grammys and feels like it was all for the best that she never made it. Her resemblance to Taylor Swift can cause problems, “If I walk on the street with red lipstick, sequins… Out in New York City, I’ve done that… Oh my gosh, just mobbed.”
Taylor Swift has only commented on Ashley’s content one time. As far as the TikToker can recall, it was just to comment that Swift’s mother had sent her Leechin’s way saying, “This girl looks just like you.”
Published: Jan 16, 2024 03:53 pm