Everything you need to know about Tony Lopez

Tony Lopez is an American TikTok star who gained fame alongside his brother Ondreaz Lopez. The pair gained recognition for their joint YouTube channel, Lopez Brothers, which currently has 1.85 million subscribers. Tony gained more fame after creating a TikTok account. So far, his viral dances and hilarious skits have earned him 22.1 million followers.

Lopez is also a star on Instagram, where he mostly posts photos of himself. Tony is a polarizing character: he has a legion of fans who love him and defend him no matter what he does, while some people detest his controversial nature.

This piece will look at Tony’s sexuality, his reactions to his nudes leak, and the effects of his grooming scandal on his career.

In mid-July 2020, Tony caused a social media storm after he posted the following tweet: “So for ‘straight tik tok’ is it that you guys are annoyed by the dances? Or because they have a high following and support system? Is it an envy thing? I don’t understand why people would hate individuals for having fun and dancing.”

TikTok is generally divided into two: straight TikTok and ‘alt’ or ‘gay’ TikTok. Straight TikTok contains viral dances and verified influencers, while alt TikTok embraces queer culture and contains content that isn’t mainstream. Fans and celebrities alike took issue with Tony’s tweet. Social media influencer Elijah Daniel was one of the most vocal critics against Tony.

Elijah accused Tony and other influencers of attacking a safe space where queer people can create content without being bullied. “Personally, ‘gay’ and ‘alt’ TikTok have created a safe space for themselves and others like them, away from the toxic side,” Elijah said. “However, more recently large TikTokers have gotten mad they’re not a part of it, and have been trying to get in, in essence ruining the kids’ safe space within the app.”

Daniel added that he didn’t support cyberbullying, but he wasn’t against ‘bullying bad people off platforms.’ Angry fans reacted to Tony’s tweets by unearthing racist, homophobic, and misogynistic tweets that Tony had made a while back. Tony apologized for his ‘childish’ tweets via a July 10th Twitter post. “If I offended anyone I apologize deeply, it offends me reading those now as well,” the tweet read.

In light of Tony’s comments, it is safe to assume that he isn’t gay. In addition, he has been linked to female content creators such as Addison Rae and Sofie Dossi. In early July 2020, Tony confirmed via Twitter that he is currently single.

In February 2020, a Twitter user leaked Tony and other TikTok creators’ nudes online. Tony posted a YouTube video after the leak, confirming the validity of the nudes. He stated that he’d sent the nudes to a user via Instagram and Snapchat months before the leak.

Other content creators chose not to address the nudes in attempts to invalidate the leak, but Tony adopted a different approach. Instead of viewing the leak as damaging to his career, he saw an opportunity to gain publicity. He didn’t seem bothered at all by the leak. On 10th February, he posted the following tweet, “My mom calls Ondre and says, where is your pornstar brother…”

Ondreaz, Tony’s brother, confirmed the brothers’ relaxed approach to the leak but also acknowledged the seriousness of the matter. He posted the following tweet:

“I’d like to know that even though we [are] taking this whole situation as easy and light as possible, leaking or exposing anyone’s privacy is beyond terrible and even illegal. Also, some of these individuals who’ve been exposed did such things LONG ago (making them minors).”

Tony and Ondreaz still view the leak as something funny. During a joint Q&A on Awesomeness TV, Tony humorously revealed how he felt after the leak. “Kind of shocked, but at the same time, not too shocked,” Tony said. “Sounds like a very me thing to happen.”

In early August 2020, Tony found himself in the midst of a grooming scandal. The accusations started after a Twitter user released screenshots of conversations Tony had with a 15-year-old girl. Tony had sent the girl messages of a sexual nature and asked her for explicit photos. The girl had earlier tried to expose Tony’s behavior, but Tony thwarted her attempts by marking her tweets as ‘hidden replies.’

Shortly after, another girl came forward and accused Tony of sending her explicit messages via his private Snapchat account. Lopez initially ignored the accusations, but he was forced to address them after the beauty brand Bliss ended their association with him. Bliss posted the following comment on TikTok:

“We take these accusations seriously and will not work w/ Tony Lopez going forward. We’re committed to working w/ partners who uphold our brand values.”

Bliss’ move prompted a response from the previously silent Tony. He didn’t address the accusations specifically, but he stated that he was ‘not proud of my past choices and actions I have made, and I am truly disappointed in myself for them.’ He concluded his message by promising to make better decisions in the future:

“I know these actions are not taken lightly and were extremely irresponsible of me. As a young man, I will hold myself responsible for this mistake, rather than run from it. I will learn from it, to help better educate myself for now and the future. I promise I will make better, well-informed decisions.”

There were calls to ‘cancel’ Tony, and although he lost many followers, the accusations haven’t dented his social media following significantly.