TikTok star Sienna Mae was canceled after accusations of sexually assaulting Jack Wright. Jack told his side in a recent video; now Sienna responded.
A major backlash against TikTok star Sienna Mae Gomez has been fomenting online. The influencer, who is a member of The Hype House, became popular on the social media platform thanks to posts about body positivity. Her relationship with fellow TikTok star Jack Wright also contributed to her popularity. But in 2021, Sienna Mae was accused of sexually assaulting Jack throughout their relationship. And Jack recently opened up about it in a January 2022 video. Now, Sienna is responding.
First, let's take a look back at how everything began.
Sienna Mae was canceled over accusations related to Jack Wright.
Sienna Mae's cancellation started in spring 2021 after weeks of speculation that she and Jack had potentially called it quits. Then, Mason Rizzo, one of Jack's close friends, offered additional detail on what happened between them on Twitter.
In the tweet, which has since been deleted, Mason accused Sienna of repeatedly sexually assaulting Jack in spite of the fact that Jack had established clear boundaries in their relationship.
Mason also said that Sienna told Jack to kill himself and that she had a history of being verbally abusive, often prioritizing her own growth over everything else.
In a follow-up tweet, Mason explained that he had deleted his original tweet after all parties involved in the matter agreed that it would be best to handle the situation offline.
At the time, Sienna addressed the allegations in a now-deleted post on Instagram, saying that the allegation was false.
"Friends fight and relationships sometimes change, but allegations of a criminal act are not to be thrown around loosely," she said. "Making an untrue sexual assault claim is never okay. I'm beyond saddened by this situation. In order for all of us to move forward, I will be taking this offline with Jack. Thank you to all who have reached out with love and concern."
Jack released a YouTube video talking about his side of the story.
On Jan. 20, 2022, Jack uploaded a YouTube video titled "what Sienna Mae did to me." In it, he talks about how he agrees with everything that his friend Mason Rizzo said in his now-deleted tweet about Sienna Mae sexually assaulting Jack multiple times after he had established boundaries and telling Jack to kill himself. Jack even says that Mason saw a lot of it happen.
Later on, Jack says that what Sienna Mae said in her own video "hurt a lot" and that much of what she had to say about him was untrue. In the video, he starts crying when talking about how a creator on TikTok explained that what he went through was a trauma.
Jack also explains that he met Sienna Mae through a friend of his she was dating at the time, and that she cheated on his friend. After she had gone viral a few times, she invited Jack to do an interview with her in L.A. and he accepted.
Jack clarifies that they both knew they were just friends. "She was sitting and talking to other guys in L.A. all the time," he says. They started making videos and having fun together.
After some time, Jack says that the first time Sienna Mae tried to start something sexual with him was after making a video. He says she took off all her clothes and straddled him. He pulled her off and left the room.
Jack says that the next day, Sienna apologized but the cycle of her doing something sexually inappropriate and saying sorry would continue. "Looking back now I don't know why I stayed friends with her, stayed around her," Jack says. "I truly thought she was going to change for some reason." He says that one day, she would say how much she cared about him, while the next, she would cross his boundaries.
"Now I realize I was stuck in this manipulative cycle of her acting like she extremely cared about me and then that night she would do stuff to me," Jack says. "And it was just so normal for me I got used to it."
He also accused her of breaking into his house, and said she remembered his door codes. He recalled being asleep and waking up to her hand in his pants.
Toward the end of the video, Jack says that multiple other guys came to him with similar stories about Sienna Mae, and shares messages they sent him with their permission.
Sienna Mae responded to Jack's video with a 'Medium' post.
On Jan. 23, 2022, Sienna published a response to Jack's video on Medium titled "Sienna Mae Gomez: Reflections from an 18-Year-Old Me." In it, she talks about how turning 18 hasn't been anything like she expected because of the allegations, how she and Jack met, and their relationship, and she continues to deny that she assaulted him in any way. "I've never been so scared in my life," she wrote in the article.
In the post, she said that she was cut from the Hype House Netflix show because her team was concerned for her mental health, but that a lot of her storyline on the show would be revolved around defining the relationship she had with Jack. Fans always wondered if they were dating, and Sienna says that while Jack wanted it to look that way for the camera, he basically ignored her any other time.
"We would talk in a quiet place and say we were just friends and then the next day be making out with each other for the cameras," Sienna wrote. "I didn’t know what was being set up by producers and if it was real or fake." She says that all of this confused her and although she wanted to be his girlfriend, he would tell her "not yet." She claims she wanted to make a video with him clearly saying they were just friends for their fans, but Jack didn't want to put brand partnerships in jeopardy.
Later on, Sienna does deny some of the things Jack said she did in his video. She said she never broke into his house. Other people were also over at his house when she showed up really late and she had the code for his garage because he gave it to her. She also said that they only kissed and there was never a time when she saw him naked. "We spent several nights at the Hype House together but I never grabbed him asleep or awake," she said.
While Sienna did say that she did some things "wrong and sloppy," she says she's not the only one who made mistakes and that's she's being called a "rapist" when she says that isn't what happened. In the end, she apologizes to Jack "if there were times that I made you feel uncomfortable" or triggered him.
Sienna also apologizes to survivors of sexual assault who she "offended with my ignorance in responding to these false allegations."
Sienna Mae has also faced backlash in the past over her merchandise.
After Sienna was initially accused of assault in 2021, other Twitter users took the opportunity to bring attention to controversies that she has faced in the past. In particular, Sienna was criticized for a line of merchandise that she promoted that some critics suggested promoted eating disorders. In one tone-deaf photo, Sienna can be seen posing with a sweatshirt that says "did you eat today?" on it.
since sienna mae is trending for being an awful human being i want to remind ppl she’s also posted these pic.twitter.com/dwKCxFr96e
— bri (@imma_messbro) May 31, 2021Sienna eventually apologized and took down the merchandise, but her critics say that her approach toward body positivity often misses the mark. In some TikToks, she has posted images of herself before and after eating, which critics say can also exacerbate an eating disorder.
Between the controversy over the accusations against her and her history of controversial merch, plenty of people were ready to cancel Sienna online.
"I hate to put down women but Sienna Mae is the same girl that filmed her perfectly skinny body before and after eating four tacos both times looking the same," one user wrote on Twitter. "She spreads body positivity but one of her first videos on TikTok is her talking about another girls ED."
"No, because did anyone actually genuinely like Sienna Mae?" another asked.
As Sienna deals with the fallout from her backlash, it's unclear whether she'll be able to retain her popular online presence. Given the serious nature of the criticism against her, it's possible that this cancellation will be justified, at least in the eyes of some.
If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual violence, please call (800) 656-4673 or visit RAINN.org.
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