Ed Sheeran lookalike Ty Jones accused TikTok of discrimination after the social media platform reportedly banned him on account of his striking resemblance to the famous musician. His unfair treatment allegations emerged online shortly before hot tub streamer ExoHydraX levied a similar discrimination accusation against Twitch, having proclaimed that the service banned her for being "black and curvy."
Professional celebrity lookalikes were making a living off their resemblances to famous people long before the Internet was even a thing. But the advent of social media made it way easier for them to build an audience and advertise their services. Jones, who rose to prominence for his entertaining Ed Sheeran impressions boosted by his likeness to the famous musician, is an example of one such success story. But while some companies like Netflix are actively seeking celebrity lookalikes, TikTok appears to have some reservations about giving a platform to famous people's doppelgangers.
This was most recently underlined by Jones himself, who took to Instagram on May 16 to reveal that his TikTok account was banned for impersonating Ed Sheeran. The Manchester-based Internet celebrity labeled that notion as baseless, arguing that he was always careful to clearly communicate that he is not Ed Sheeran, to the point that he routinely titled his TikTok broadcasts "I'm not Ed Sheeran" in all caps. Based on his firsthand account of the event, the suspension wasn't accidental, seeing how TikTok denied his initial appeal of the decision within minutes. Jones revealed he even contacted Sheeran's team to ask if they had anything to do with his ban, which they denied.
The Ed Sheeran lookalike said the suspension made him feel discriminated against due to the way he looks. Jones had nearly 110,000 followers at the time of his removal from TikTok. The professional lookalike managed to get his account reinstated following a second appeal on May 19.
Given that turn of events, it would appear that Jones was merely caught in the crossfire of TikTok's everlasting battle against malicious impersonators. Professional lookalikes aside, most contemporary social media services tend to actively police impersonators, whose activities can erode user trust in any given platform. This was most recently exemplified by a wave of Elon Musk impersonators causing chaos on Twitter in protest of the company's changes to its verification mechanisms.
Coincidentally, Jones' unenviable experience with TikTok isn't the first occasion that a social media platform has caused issues for its users over Ed Sheeran. In late 2022, a Pokemon Scarlet and Violet song with Ed Sheeran prompted an influx of DMCA strikes on Twitch, evoking criticism against everyone from The Pokemon Company to the famous musician's record label.
Source: Ty Jones/TikTok