TikTok star Freek Da Gemini says he has received death threats and been repeatedly banned from the platform because people keep mistaking him for another creator, Gemini Official, who is facing accusations of grooming underage girls.
The 21-year-old, who has more than 797,000 followers on TikTok, says other creators and users keep reporting his account because they are confusing him with Gemini Official, resulting in him being unable to create new posts.
The viral star, who is also a nursing student and lives in Orlando, Florida, told Monsters and Critics exclusively: “I have been spam-banned on TikTok for the past four weeks, which means they ban me from posting content for seven days, then on the last day of the ban I get put on another seven-day ban.
“All because people have been confusing me with Gemini Official because our names are similar and it seems like we are the main two black creators with the name “Gemini”. I have received death threats, and been tagged in videos calling me a pedophile.
“I have also had big creators and fans who followed me unfollow me or block me due to them believing I am the ‘Gemini’ in question.”
Gemini Official faced a huge backlash following online grooming allegations
Freek Da Gemini’s comments come after Monsters and Critics recently told how TikTok users were calling for Gemini Official to be banned from the platform following allegations that he was seeking to have inappropriate relationships with underage girls.
The backlash against Gemini Official started after multiple underage TikTok users accused him of engaging in grooming behavior.
Gemini Official, best known for his comedy clips, had more than 3.5 million followers on the video-sharing platform.
The TikTok creator set his account to private after the online backlash gained traction on multiple social media platforms, including Twitter. He also uploaded an apology video.
But the apology did not go down well with most social media users who continued calling for TikTok to completely remove him from the platform. His account appears to have now been removed.
Freek Da Gemini reveals how he keeps getting banned from TikTok
As well as being repeatedly banned and subject to online abuse, Freek Da Gemini says he has also almost lost several sponsorship opportunities because people have contacted the sponsors in question and wrongly told them he is Gemini Official.
He also explained how users keep getting him banned from TikTok by repeatedly reporting his videos en masse.
“A spam ban is when people repeatedly report a video or your page to the point TikTok bans you from posting as a means of punishment. I know people keep reporting me because [in other instances] TikTok usually tells you which video violated guidelines then bans you.
“When you’re being spam-reported they won’t tell you a video or what have you done, they just ban you.”
Freek Da Gemini also shared a screenshot showing how he was banned earlier this week just after his previous ban ended.
Freek Da Gemini calls out other TikTok creators
During a brief period when he was able to post on TikTok four days ago, Freek Da Gemini posted a video complaining how he had been banned “four times consecutively”, and blaming some of the platform’s other creators for playing a part in his ordeal.
@freekdagemini
Freek Da Gemini was then banned a fifth time
The TikTok creator then ended up getting banned for a FIFTH time, but only after he briefly had time to make another video calling out the users who keep reporting him, and also other creators who have turned a blind eye in helping him set the record straight.
He told Monsters and Critics, “[On] Monday before I could get banned for the fifth time I made a video calling out the creators who haven’t been correcting their fans, and calling out people who falsely accused me without even doing any searching to make sure I am the one in question.”
In the video, Freek Da Gemini complained (see video below) that despite his attempts to clear up the name mix-up, people have continued to blame him for Gemini Official’s actions.
“I don’t know if y’all girls just think that all black people look alike or whatever.”
@freekdagemini #stitch with @papa_gut #EmilyinParis #Artober #CollegeGotMeLike #CTCVoiceBox #fyp
Fellow TikTok creator Papa Gut also made a video calling on other TikTok users to stop mass-reporting Freek Da Gemini.
@papa_gut##stitch with @freekdagemini♬ original sound – Papa Gut
Freek Da Gemini says that the situation has prevented him from making videos highlighting important issues.
“I have attended Asian rallies in protest of the elderly woman burned alive in New York twice with rapper China Mac and O.T Genasis [see here]. And as a sexual assault survivor, from my adult baby-sitter when I was five, I take matters like this to the heart and try to spread awareness with my platform.
“But now I can’t because people think it’s me or they are getting my account repeatedly ban from posting.”