After he won quickly more than half a million followers sharing glimpses of her life as a “plain” woman – a term used to describe sects such as the Amish or Mennonites – TikTok influencer Sarah Joy Nelson abruptly left the platform last week, signing an ambiguous apology . Her disappearance initially worried fans, who speculated that the account, @thatplaingirl, had been discovered by Nelson's island religious community and that Nelson might be in danger. However, these fears soon gave way to suspicions that she never belonged to any such denomination, prompting claims that she was merely pretending to be “in the clear” for influence.
Nelson, who did not respond Rolling rockHer request for comment, she started her account in late 2023, quickly amassing hundreds of thousands of followers for her cheerful, down-to-earth nature and apparent honesty in discussing her simple upbringing. In her content, she chronicled everyday activities such as working at a “simple” store (a term for a general store owned by Amish or Mennonite people) and spoke openly about her struggles with the community, as well as past struggles her with mental problems. health.
At her farewell on March 26 videoHowever, Nelson exhibits a completely different behavior. “This is the last TikTok I'm going to make while I'm still in the community,” she says in the farewell video, which has since been deleted along with the rest of her account. In the clip, she appears stiff and puffs nervously, at one point looking off camera. “It's been great meeting you all and I appreciate the opportunity you've given me to talk about the community,” he says, concluding, “I wish you all well.” A caption on TikTok reads: “I deeply apologize if I offended anyone who went outside of community guidelines.”
The video alarmed fans who speculated that Nelson was being coerced into sending the message by older men who were trying to silence her. In addition to maintaining simple dress and a certain distance from the modern world, commoners adhere to strict gender roles and patriarchal church systems, which have been reported to internally suppress claims of sexual and domestic abuse. Nelson had often acknowledged such issues in her TikToks, and when she signed off, followers flooded local law enforcement officers near her home with pleas for a wellness check. While a sheriff said so would investigate, it is unclear if officers made contact with Nelson. (A representative for the Nelson County Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond Rolling rockhis request for comment.)
Nelson then returned to TikTok to respond to the backlash to her latest message, insisting she hadn't recorded it as a 'hostage' but claimed she had been given the choice to remain in the simple community or pursue a life outside of it . Despite previously sharing a lot of content expressing a desire to leave to pursue her education and other aspirations, Nelson explained that she had decided to stay. She also shot an unnamed person for calling her a “crook” and a “fraudster,” claiming she “converted” to her lifestyle around 2018 or 2019. In the rage, Nelson's sister — who Nelson had identified as “boyfriend” in her videos — also announced that he was taking a break from TikTok.
Because Nelson did not respond to our requests for comment, it is unclear if she has officially joined the Amish. But two women who knew Nelson who spoke to me rolling rock – one of them on condition of anonymity for fear of alienating Nelson's family members — say they are not aware of the TikToker “converting” to the casual lifestyle at any point. Both women, who knew Nelson and her sister from a home and co-op school they attended as teenagers, alleged that Nelson has a history of fabricating, telling people he had Tourette syndrome when in fact he had no such diagnosis. Both women also shared photos Rolling rock themselves with Nelson over the years, showing Nelson apparently living the life of the average American teenager: hanging out at the mall, going bowling, using makeup, dressing up in costumes, and taking silly selfies with Snapchat filters .
In addition, Nelson's father is a pastor in a Pentecostal church, which does not seem to have anything to do with ordinary groups. (His Facebook page is no longer publicly accessible because the church has received multiple threats, according to the women; the name of the church is being withheld for that reason.) The church did not immediately respond. Rolling rockhis request for comment.
“She said she was Mennonite” a few years ago, before her TikTok account took off in late 2023, says Alyssa, one of the women who befriended Nelson at homeschool in Virginia (and preferred to be identified only by the small her name). “He did that for a few weeks and then he came back. [But] when i saw her [in 2020], she was just living her normal life in her normal clothes.” Alyssa recalls that Nelson, now in her twenties, had experimented with both Amish and Mennonite identities, and had also experienced a “goth” phase.
The second woman, who chose to remain anonymous when speaking with her Rolling rock about Nelson, says her TikTok account seemed to take off thanks to her place of work: a local Mennonite-owned convenience store (or general store). Nelson recorded much of her content at this location. “I didn't really understand the whole thing because she does work in a simple shop,” says the second woman. “That's true. Because there are no other jobs out there.” She says she believes Nelson's job “triggered” her decision to claim to be Amish, adding, “I'm not sure if the requirement was that she had to wear plain clothes or if he continued it to suit.”
Nelson's childhood friend says she was hesitant to come forward to question Nelson's background because she was close with her family members and didn't want to upset them. She changed her mind, however, after she posted a video of herself leaving TikTok, causing concern among mutual friends. “It was like, what's going on? Something has to be done. You need to take action,” says the friend.
While some fans believed Nelson's story about the “conversion” on the Plains sometime before 2020, such cases are extremely rare. (According to one assessment, there may be only about 150 to 200 Amish converts living today, due to the relative hardship of the Amish way of life. There's no evidence to directly disprove Nelson's conversion account, though both sources for the story say it's unlikely, and Alyssa claims she saw Nelson dressed normally at a wedding in 2020.) Most users of TikTok watchers of the drama pointed out that Nelson's own videos revealed how she lives in a relatively modern home – the same as her sister – and took photos on Facebook showing her celebrating last Halloween with her father's church. (Common people generally do not observe holidays.)
Internet researchers have even located what appears to be Nelson's previous TikTok account, which was active from June to December 2022, which shows no sign of belonging to a simple religious community. In previous videos on this profile, Nelson acts out stories of Norwegian ancestors who survived Nazi occupation in the 1940s before immigrating to the US. is an extremely unusual gift for an Amish child, as Amish people typically shun commercial toys and products.
While many TikTok commenters enjoyed the messiness of Sarah Joy's saga and the expanding “fame” surrounding Nelson, some expressed sympathy for what they saw as problematic behavior. “I know I'm going to get dragged but I feel sorry for her,” one wrote under a video from Nelson's old TikTok account. “He's obviously fighting mental battles and just wanted attention and maybe love.” Another added: “It's the internet, people lie every day, she was doing something for fun.”
Nelson's two classmates at home agree that mental health struggles may have led Nelson to play a character different from herself. “I think it has to do with him not really knowing what to do, where to be, and just trying to fit in somewhere,” says one of those friends. “And, of course, the people in this community on social media are very supportive. I think he just felt supported there.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/sarah-joy-tiktok-influencer-accused-of-pretending-to-be-amish-1234996771/
