The back and forth between TikTokers Halley Kate Mcgookin and Sophia La Corte has been going since the end of 2023, and yet in September 2024, more info is still being revealed. (That’s great news for those who love influencer drama, not exactly great news for those involved!)
For those living under a rock — or maybe just those who don’t have TikTok — in early December 2023, a post on a Reddit page about New York City-based influencers (which Halley Kate and Sophia both are) shared a rumor that Sophia was recently spotted cuddled up with Halley’s recent ex-boyfriend, Reed Williams. From there, everything spiraled: Halley immediately took to TikTok to vent about the situation (in a now-deleted video), talking in vague terms about feeling betrayed by a friend for going out with her ex. Not long after that, Sophia La Corte released a podcast episode with Brad Mondo on Jan. 25, starting off by discussing the concept of a “girl’s girl.” The entire episode was seemingly about Halley, with Sophia saying she knows she’s a girl’s girl because she would never “stab one of [her] friends in the back” or “drag a woman online.”
Many fans thought that things had finally died down by the summer of 2024, but then, on Aug.18, Sophia reignited the drama by posting a three-part TikTok series detailing how she was “canceled” by someone she “barely knew” (which is a sharp contrast to Halley’s previous claim that they were friends). Since then, fans have been locked in on the beef all over again, trying to make sense of all the “he said she said” going on.
In an apparently attempt to end the feud once and for all, Halley posted a new TikTok about the drama on Sept. 1 — but she also speilled some new tea about their drama with some receipts, proof, and timelines for fans to feast upon. Let’s break it down:
Halley revealed where she stood with Sophia before their drama began.
Despite Sophia claiming she barely knew Halley, according to Halley in her Sept. 1 TikTok, they were more than just casual professional acquaintances. “Sophia and I have hung out in both influencer and non-influencer settings,” Halley said in the TikTok. “We even went on a three-day-long brand trip to Houston together where we went out to the bar every single night … We know each other, whether you want to call us friends or not, doesn’t matter.”
Halley revealed the initial DMs between Sophia and Reed.
In her new video, Halley shared her side of the story regarding what led to Sophia and Reed going on a date. According to her, it all started after Halley posted an emotional video about her breakup on Nov. 11, 2023. In her TikTok, Halley shared a screenshot of Sophia and Reed’s DMs from Nov. 19, with Sophia sending him first a “hi” message before asking “when is our first date?” After exchanging numbers, it looks like Reed and Sophia set up their date. (Quick math, that was only 8 days after Halley and Reed’s breakup. Yikes.) Her Campus reached out to Sophia regarding Halley’s claims that Sophia contacted Reed right after seeing her TikTok about their breakup, but did not hear back in time for publication.
This is important context, because as fans already knew, Sophia and Halley ran into each other at an influencer event the night before Sophia and Reed were spotted together, meaning Sophia had apparently already planned her date with Reed when she was out and about with Halley. This is especially noteworthy because during that run-in the night before the date, Halley said Sophia came up to her and told her she loved her and missed her, and the two hung out. “The whole time she was doing this, she knew that in 24 hours she was going on a date with my ex-boyfriend who I was absolutely heartbroken over,” Haley said in her TikTok.
Halley regrets bringing this drama online.
The day after Reed and Sophia’s date, influencer drama channels were posting about it and fans were asking for more information in Halley’s TikTok comments. That’s when Halley posted a video explaining the situation, but 24 hours after posting, she took it down. “I have a problem with having a parasocial relationship with my followers, thinking I always owe them an explanation and that they need to know what’s going on in my life 24/7,” she said in her Sept. 1 video. “While everything I said was valid, at the end of the day, it didn’t need to be online. I wish I didn’t bring it online.”
Halley is moving past the drama and wants fans to do the same.
In her TikTok, Halley said she’s done talking about this drama, and wants her fans to back off too. “This is the truth and I don’t care what is made up or said back. This needs to be done and I am never talking about this again,” she said, before adding: “No one deserves hate on the internet. These are real people’s lives. Please do not send hate to [Sophia] because of this video. Stop picking teams.”
Further, in a separate video posted on Sept. 1, Halley acknowledged the money she’s earning from this highly viral drama via the TikTok Creator Fund, saying it was “gross to profit off of this situation.” So, she announced she would be donating the money made from her posts about the drama to teachers by purchasing items on their Amazon Wishlists. “My mom is a teacher for the visually impaired and she has worked in public school districts since before I was born, so I know firsthand just how hard teachers work and how underpaid and under-appreciated they are,” she said. “Since it’s back-to-school season, I thought it was perfect timing.”
So, while this whole situation has obviously been emotional and hard for Halley to relive, at least she’s turning it into something positive!