Content warning: This article discusses animal abuse. The era of TikTok content houses has, mostly, ended β but the controversy created inside them has a way of sticking around. On June 12, podcast clips of TikToker Antonio Garza resurfaced accusing content creator and former “Go House” member, Rhegan Coursey (or Rhegan777), of neglecting her cat Sevyn, who passed away in 2021. The controversy has been all over TikTok, and with former members of the house coming out to share their stories, as well as Rhegan herself releasing a three-part statement, here’s what you need to know about the Rhegan777 cat controversy going down on TikTok and Reddit.
Before we begin, let’s go over some background. Rhegan Coursey is a popular TikTok creator with over 4 million followers across platforms β you may remember her from that whole REVOLVE X Pizzaslime discourse during the festival season. In the summer of 2021, Rhegan appeared on a YouTube reality show called The Go House LA, which featured various content creators living in a mansion together and stirring up drama. The show ended in September 2021.
At some point during The Go House, in July 2021, Rhegan’s cat Sevyn was said to have run away. However, three years later, various content creators are coming out to accuse Rhegan of animal neglect, stating she was responsible for her cat’s illness, as well as its alleged disappearance. Her Campus reached out to Rhegan for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
With various storylines and statements, here’s a timeline, and breakdown, of the Rhegan cat controversy.
October 5, 2022: Antonio Garza talked about an unnamed content creator on the Put A Sock IN It podcast.
About a year after the cat’s alleged disappearance, TikToker Antonio Garza went on the Put A Sock In It podcast, hosted by Noah Beck and Larray. “I know an influencer who killed her cat,” Garza said in the episode titled “The Gworls Are Unhinged.” She continued, “[She] neglected it, and then her friends had to take it out of her house.”
Garza told the other creators who the TikToker was, but production bleeped out the name. And, despite the episode being released in 2022, the clip has resurfaced in 2024 to much controversy.
June 12, 2024: Rhegan addressed the podcast clip.
Shortly after the clip resurfaced, and internet users began to name Rhegan, the TikToker posted a video addressing the allegations. “There’s this podcast going around saying that I killed my cat,” Rhegan said. “In 2021, I had a cat named Sevyn β I would post with her all of the time.”
Rhegan stated that, while she was moving rooms in the content house, the back door was left open and Sevyn escaped. Rhegan says she tried all that she could to locate the cat, including looking for days, but was never able to find Sevyn. “This is obviously word-of-mouth and gossip and made-up sh*t from 2021 that just, flat-out, did not happen.”
June 15: THe r/LAINfluencersnark and r/rhegan777snark reddit pages went viral.
A few days after Rhegan’s initial statement, various Reddit snark pages began posting about the Rhegan cat controversy. The posts included videos of the cat, where they allege that it looked “malnourished” and that the fur was “matted.”
June 16: Antonio Garza addressed the podcast clip.
Then, Antonio Garza posted a TikTok speaking more about the allegations made on the Put A Sock In It podcast. “There was a podcast clip that went viral earlier this week where I said that a TikToker, or influencer, had allegedly unalived their cat and people went crazy with it because, obviously, that’s a really crazy statement,” she said. “Here’s the thing: one, I did not come up with that story, I did not make it up. It was a rumor that I was told by people who lived with her at the time.”
She continued, “Obviously the wording of what I said was gross and I regret that, and the fact that I spread a rumor on a podcast was also dumb.”
Garza did say that, after videos of the cat were posted, she believed what she said entirely. “I think it’s nasty.”
June 16: Several influencers came forward.
After Antonio’s video, more popular content creators came forward to share what they witnessed when it came to Rhegan and her cat. TikToker Haley Sharpe posted a video saying that she knew about Rhegan’s animal neglect for three years, and said that she never spoke up because other witnesses said that they wouldn’t β but now that the “proof” is resurfacing, she felt comfortable sharing her story.
“Please go on the Reddit and watch the videos before leaving hate on my video,” Haley said. “I just think you need to see it.”
Additionally, Jacob Kausch β who lived with Rhegan in The Go House β released a video with his perspective on the allegations. “Recently, there have been some allegations involving one of my old roommates and what happened with her cat,” he said. “Unfortunately, I have to say that those allegations are true and I was the one who tried to save the cat.”
Jacob alleged that the cat was sick and that Rhegan did not take it to the vet. Jacob says that he “took matters into his own hands,” took the cat to the vet, and left the backdoor open to make it look like the cat ran away. Jacob also said that, after the vet said the cat would have to be put down, the cat lived with him until it passed just a week later.
Jacob also posted a follow-up with evidence that he took the cat to the vet.
June 16: Rhegan released a three-part statement.
After the responses continued to go viral, Rhegan released a three-part statement about the controversy surrounding her cat. She posted a series of videos and photos where she stated that her cat was not neglected and that it often got sick due to an underlying condition.
Rhegan also said that she should’ve taken the cat to the vet sooner, instead of calling the adoption center.
Rhegan also responded to Jacob’s video, criticizing him for “taking” her cat. “To be the one person who wasn’t at the house constantly and was gone for a month, and to think that you had the authority to take my cat when she was not in [poor] condition, and then take videos of my cat after taking my cat, and pretending that she ran away, in a completely different condition is beyond me.”
As more videos continue to come out, I’ll be sure to update you on where things stand.