TikTok Star Zoe LaVerne Faces Backlash For Allegedly Kissing Underage Fan

TikTok star Zoe LaVerne has come under fire after videos surfaced allegedly showing her kissing an underage fan. Amid the social media backlash, LaVerne’s mother, Debbie Pemberton, has come to her defense.

LaVerne’s alleged relationship with 13-year-old fan Connor Joyce, who regularly appears in her TikToks, came to light after a hacker going by the name @btxsnail took over her ex-boyfriend Cody Orlove’s Instagram account and leaked his direct messages. Instagram account @tiktokroom obtained screenshots of the alleged exchange between Orlove and LaVerne's former best friend.

Amber VanPelt made serious accusations against the 19-year-old in her exchange with Orlove, alleging that LaVerne had an “intense” relationship with the underage fan. She also describes LaVerne as being “toxic to [her] mental health.”

Following the alleged leak, YouTuber Def Noodles posted a short video clip on Twitter allegedly showing LaVerne and the underage influencer kissing, just one of a series of videos of their interactions. LaVerne has denied allegations that she and Joyce were more than friends, Def Noodles said.

“*SERIOUS* Several videos of Zoe Laverne (19) kissing 13-year-old fan surfacing. Zoe had denied allegations she had a relationship with an underage fan after a hacker exposed Zoe’s ex-boyfriend’s DMs discussing the situation,” Def Noodles wrote alongside the video.

LaVerne has been slammed on social media after the release of the videos.

“connor is 13 zoe is 18? what she’s doing is pedophillia it’s wrong and disgusting, just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she can’t be a predator and she’s gonna struggle to get herself out of this one,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Why is nobody talking about the fact that zoe lavern is a literal predator, if the roles were switched rn and this was a 19 year old man with a 13 year old girl yall would be outraged, we need to keep that same energy right now,” wrote another social media user.

LaVerne’s mother then took to social media to address the video Def Noodles shared.

“Anybody can reach over and kiss somebody. They’re best friends,” said Pemberton.

LaVerne has deleted her Instagram once more, the second time in two months. She also took down her account in September due to a separate lip-syncing controversy.

However, LaVerne posted a message for fans on a private fandom account known to be run by the TikTok star, Dexerto reported.

“Thank you for everything, really,” the account called “zlpfandom0.2” wrote. “But for right now I don’t think I’ll be back on soial media again. I (still) have a lot to think about. I reall don’t wanna leave you guys but I’m tired of feeling this way. I’m tired of crying and hurting. It’s nothing but negativity to me anymore. I love you so much.”

LaVerne has over 17 million followers on TikTok and nearly 450,000 subscribers on YouTube.