Who is TikTok bully Liana and has she finally met the David to her Goliath?

TikTok makes space for pretty much anyone, but bullies aren’t typically on that list.

That doesn’t necessarily disclude bullies from signing up for an account, but it does guarantee they’ll find an unwelcome audience among the free-spirited souls that frequent the app. Plenty of people have discovered TikTok’s lack of patience for bullies in the past, and the latest on the list isn’t enjoying her lesson much.

TikToker Liana went private within days after a starkly unpopular upload went viral. In the video, she was kind enough to share her hugely unpopular opinion on bullying, and quickly landed herself on the shit list of nearly everyone on the app. Liana’s getting a taste of her own medicine in the wake of the viral video, and she’s not enjoying the flavor one bit.

Who is TikToker @Liana?

I’m not going to dox the user behind TikTok’s mega-viral reverse bullying PSA, so don’t look for any personal details in this section. She’s already been identified by plenty of users, largely thanks to the fact that she’s happily shared personal details like candy in the past, but that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here for the drama.

And that drama started with a recent TikTok posted to user @Liana’s account. A woman in her early 20s, Liana sits down for a GRWM (get ready with me) video to unabashedly share tales of her days as a high school mean girl. Shamelessly admitting her former — and current — bully status, Liana starts by informing everyone of the reasons why all that bullying was totally fine.

Starting off strong by explaining how much she’s grown, even as she relies on the same condescending tactics that likely landed her the bully label, Liana explains how many “life lessons” she’s learned in the years since she graduated. She mocks anyone who still holds onto damage done during school days, and then dives into the real doozy of the video.

Y’all, this woman full-on defends bullying as a key and essential element of childhood. Liana labels bullying a good thing, from a “biological” or “evolutionary standpoint,” and gives herself, and fellow bullies, a nice pat on the back for providing all the rest of us with necessary growth opportunities. Apparently we have our high school mean girls to thank for our eventual strength and self-confidence — who knew?

Skipping past the bit where she downplays American bullying because — checks notes — it’s “worse in other countries,” Liana proceeds to dig her heels in and defend bullies as the real victims. And, since all they did was help us in the end, shouldn’t we be praising them?

Liana’s decision to continually mock the commenter who prompted the video in the first place is easily the most telling aspect of the pitifully spiteful video, and it won her exactly zero fans. Her video absolutely blew up in the wake of its posting, and not in the way Liana intended.

TikTok’s response to the video

TikTok descended upon Liana like a vengeful swarm in the wake of her “hot” take, and it seems the grass isn’t quite so green as she thought. Even as TikTokers offered her countless opportunities to “grow” and get “stronger” from their spoonful of Liana’s own bitter medicine, she fled from their ire, made her account private, and decried the mean-spirited tactics used against her.

And don’t get me wrong, I may sound satisfied — because, honestly, I am — but I’m not trying to condone the bullying pointed Liana’s way. Do I think she deserves it, particularly in the wake of that smug, self-satisfied video? Absolutely. But do I think it reinforces the very ideas she laid down in her upload? That we can, and should, attack people we don’t like as though it doesn’t have consequences? Also yes, and ultimately, I think that’s more important.

I am but a single soul in a sea of enraged former bullying victims, and they care not for my opinion. They care only that they were handed an opportunity of a lifetime on a silver platter, and they relished every moment of it. They took out the pent up rage of a generation of bullied teens on Liana, and she buckled like a Trump ally under oath.

Within days, Liana was attempting to backtrack — it was a troll video all along! — and, when that failed, she deleted the video, put her account on private, and tried to dodge the consequences of the internet. Meanwhile, her video — which, despite her attempts at erasure, is easily accessible — continues to make the TikTok rounds as people stitch it, share their own perspectives, and generally use the moment to share better information on bullying.

In the end, the video might actually do some good. Liana might just learn a valuable lesson, and real, relevant information about bullying is spreading across TikTok as educated people work to correct Liana’s false perspective. Hopefully, by the time she rejoins the video sharing app, Liana will exercise a bit more caution with what she shares with the world, and people will walk away from the experience with a fresh perspective on the damage bullying can cause.