"What took them so long" - Internet reacts as Ariana Grande lookalike Paige Niemann is banned from TikTok
After several controversies, Ariana Grande’s impersonator, Paige Niemann, has been banned by TikTok. Paige Niemann has faced repeated criticism from netizens for mimicking the singer's signature style, including her high ponytail, makeup, and fashion choices.
As soon as the news about Paige Niemann being banned from the platform became public, netizens took to social media to share their responses. Pop Crave shared the same on their X page, and a social media user responded by saying:
“What took them so long.”
Others also reacted in a similar way.
“Maybe she can find her own identity apart from pretending to be Ariana,” commented an X user on the post.
“What a relief, she’s so creepy. Last time I saw her account she was posting her bf and responding to a comment about how he only loves her for looking like Ariana,” stated another user.
“That’s probably a good thing. when i first saw her, i very much thought that she was arianna grande, so she could have done anything to cause confusion or drama in her life. some people are saying she had an OFs too. id have sued her with a quickness,” exclaimed another.
Many also talked about how Paige Niemann impersonates Ariana Grande on other platforms.
“Her OF next pls,” wrote one social media user.
“Why she being posted like she’s a celebrity,” questioned another.
“The fact she was making OF content cosplaying as ariana is disturbing. i’m glad they got her out of here,” said one more X user.
“Degrading it’s entire value”: Ariana Grande’s previous statement revisited as the singer criticized her impersonators like Paige Niemann
While Ariana Grande has not yet spoken up about Paige Niemann being banned from the social media platform TikTok, in 2020, Grande indirectly addressed the trend of people imitating her, sharing her disapproval without naming anyone specifically.
She reposted a video on her Instagram story by filmmaker Jordan Firstman, who humorously criticized how memes reduce people’s original work to simplified imitations. In his video posted on Instagram, Jordan said:
“What if we, like, we took a moment, like a small clip from a movie or a TV show — something that, like, an artist really poured their soul into and it, like, it just took them years to make, and it was an uphill battle the entire time — what if we took a moment from that and we kind of, like, recontextualised it? Like, does that make sense? And we put a completely arbitrary meaning onto that thing that the artist loves so much? Kind of, like, degrading its entire value?"
Grande then appeared to agree with the filmmaker and reposted the video as her Instagram story, possibly expressing her frustration with those who mimic her style and persona. While she did not mention TikTok creator Paige Niemann by name, fans speculated that the message could have been aimed at her or other impersonators. Ariana wrote:
"Can this please also double as your impression of the pony tail TikTok girls who think doing the Cat Valentine voice and that wearing winged eyeliner and a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me. Cause this really how it feels. “Degrading it’s entire value” I screamed."
As per Buzzfeed, Paige Niemann also addressed the incident in a live video on TikTok and talked about how she impersonates Ariana only to “entertain people.” She said:
“I’m used to Ariana shading me, so it’s whatever. I’m just here to entertain people. It’s not how I am in real life. It’s kind of why I’m not a fan of her anymore, honestly.”
Neither Ariana Grande nor Paige have yet spoken up about the latter being banned from TikTok.
