White House condemns Libs of TikTok attacks on queer member of staff: ‘Cruel and unacceptable’
Tyler Cherry, a spokesperson for the department of the interior, was targeted in a thread of tweets by the Libs of TikTok. (Credit: White House / LinkedIn)
The White House has slammed attacks by Libs of TikTok on a queer staff member after several social media posts about the employee, their beliefs and identity as “cruel and unacceptable”.
Taking to X, formerly named Twitter, creator of Libs of TikTok, Chaya Raichik, posted a photo of Tyler Cherry, who works as a spokesperson for the department of interior, on her account in a personal attack on the government employee.
On the Libs of TikTok account, Raichik escalated the attack, writing that Cherry has claimed “healthcare is racist and transphobic”, and stated that Trump won his presidency because of “white supremacy.”
Raichik wrote that it’s “impossible” for the Biden administration “not to hire complete weirdos”.
Raichik also posted a montage of photos, including Cherry’s official headshot and a photo of the first trans US assistant health secretary, Rachel Levine.
She captioned the post: “Is this the ‘return to normalcy’ we keep hearing about from the Biden admin?”
The Libs of TikTok account, which frequently posts anti-LGBTQ+ content, has reportedly been linked with bomb threats made towards schools across the US, according to a recent investigation by Vice.
A White House spokesperson responded to the attacks, and said, as reported by Advocate: “No one should be targeted simply for being themselves.
“It is cruel and unacceptable. This is an administration that believes to our core in the principle that out of many we are one — and we are proud that the people who serve in it reflect those values as well.
“Tyler is an invaluable member of our team who continues to deliver for the Department of Interior and the American people.”
The attacks on Cherry have also been condemned by Elliot Imse, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Brandon Wolf.
Imse said: “While this ugliness is damaging and disgusting, many more Americans stand with Tyler and other LGBTQ+ appointees than stand with these bigots.”
In September Libs of TikTok launched posts about trans student Tristan Young who was named homecoming queen at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, sparking personal attacks online about the teen.
Elon Musk amplified a Libs of TikTok tweet in December which implied being trans was “harmful”.
Musk’s own trans daughter has publicly disowned him.
