Tayler Holder and Zach Clayton apologize after massive TikTok backlash

TikTok stars Tayler Holder and Zach Clayton have come out and apologized after receiving huge backlash for a post that some deemed to be racially insensitive.

With an expansive generation of young adults gaining mass fame thanks to TikTok, a lot of them have been thrust into the public eye where the mistakes they make are more evident than ever.

Now, a TikTok posted by Zach Clayton and Tayler Holder has come under fire, forcing the stars to apologize for the way “it came off.”

On Thursday, May 21, Clayton posted a now-deleted TikTok depicting himself and Holder singing and dancing to a song. He picked up their friend, Jeff, from out-of-shot as a racial slur was used in the song.

While they obviously didn’t think this would be much of an issue, it did turn out to cause a stir among fans, and they were pushed to respond after facing backlash.

After realizing that some weren’t seeing the TikTok in the same innocent way he did, Clayton posted a tweet apologizing for the post.

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“I would like to apologize for this coming off the way it does,” he started. “It was Jeff’s idea to pull him up for that part… never meant for it to come off in a rude disgusting way.”

He added that he has “got love for everyone no matter what,” and he clearly didn’t expect to face backlash for this post, especially since it was Jeff’s idea.

Holder didn’t put out his own statement, but he retweeted Clayton’s in agreement with what had been said, also obviously not realizing the potential backlash that would come from the clip.

While their explanation seems innocent enough, they’ll definitely think twice before posting something similar, especially when accusations surrounding topics such as racism crop up.