If you don’t know who Claudia Conway is and why she’s famous, it’s time to take a break from the Hype House and look at a source a little closer to the White House. The Conway name is nationally recognized due to Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former counselor, as well as her husband George Conway, a known attorney and Trump critic.
However, the name Claudia Conway – or perhaps the TikTok handle @claudiamconway (formerly @datjerseygirl) – is becoming a frequent topic within the Gen-Z community. Over the past few months, the 16-year-old daughter of Kellyanne Conway has accrued a following of 1.5 million users on TikTok and earned the blue check mark of verification, marking her as an official influencer. This has prompted much intrigue about her rise to fame.
Most notably, Claudia Conway is known for being shamelessly vocal about controversial social and political issues. According to Insider, she uses TikTok as a unique opportunity to share her views with a large platform; she is spurred by the support she receives from fans at what she views as the beginning of her future career in social justice. Many times, she’s used her TikTok platform to express support for the Black Lives Matter movement. She has also posted in favor of the #SaveBarron trend and against the stigma surrounding mental health.
Those familiar with her account would describe a large fraction of her videos as unapologetically confident expressions of contempt for Trump – a surprise if one were to only know about her familial relations. In fact, Conway cites herself as one of very few leftist liberals in her family, making joke videos criticizing her family’s support for Trump. She has made several videos expressing her disapproval of Trump and has explained the shift in her political beliefs since the 2016 election, citing the fact that she has educated herself to form independent opinions.
Although Conway is only 16, a large portion of her recent posts on TikTok encourage her viewers to exercise their right to vote. Some videos of this nature express her leftist political beliefs, while others urge voting in general.
Much of the hype and controversy around Claudia Conway boils down to fans feeling like they’re getting an “inside scoop” from a relatable user. A few weeks ago, she posted a TikTok insinuating that her mother had COVID-19 before Kellyanne Conway publicly announced she had tested positive.
Claudia Conway alluded to the fact that her mother had been with the presidential team, who had recently been testing positive, and that she was beginning to cough around the house. The views on the video soared, not only for its comic delivery, but also because viewers believed she was breaking national news via the app.
The situation escalated when she posted more on the topic, including a video of Kellyanne Conway yelling at her for “lying about [her] mother about f***ing Covid?” as Claudia Conway stifled laughter.
In a later video, Claudia Conway would explain that her initial post was not fact-based, but there are some who believe it was scripted by her mother. In the later video, she explained that she didn’t intend to suggest her mother wasn’t following CDC safety protocols, and that Kellyanne Conway had tested negative before testing positive.
Kellyanne Conway publicly replied to the debacle with a tweet reminding people that Claudia was 15, should not be mistaken for having inside access, and was only speculating.
Just like other famous creators we see on the app, Claudia faces superficial, non-political issues every day. While exploring the power of the app, she has run into some problems less unique to her familial position and political beliefs, and more commonplace for trending stars on the app. Like other young, up-and-coming creators, she posts videos dancing and showing off trendy outfits, new hair extensions, and makeup looks. Occasionally she even reminds her viewers of her versatile talents by singing.
A week ago, she found herself facing “TikTok drama,” as she posted a dozen apology videos to creator Cynthia Parker, whose boyfriend’s post she flirtatiously commented on without realizing it was him. Along the same vein, Claudia receives hateful comments that she sometimes responds to, just like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae. Her mother’s tweet serves as a reminder that Claudia is a young adult – a check-in that some of her commenters should keep in mind before being hateful or sexualizing her.
Regardless of where you stand in terms of Claudia Conway’s political affiliations, she can be viewed as a relatable figure for much of our generation. Maybe you only relate to her videos about dressing up and getting ready for a birthday outing; maybe her views on the social climate resonate with you. However, hopefully, she can teach us about using one’s voice, supporting other girls, taking responsibility for mistakes, and accepting different beliefs from those close to us.