How The TikTok Ban Almost Threatened Joey Graziadei And Kelsey Anderson's Careers As Social Media Influencers

The social media giant TikTok was briefly banned in the United States recently, which could have done real career damage to The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei and Kelsey Anderson. Before becoming The Bachelor, 29-year-old Joey was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 20, but before that, he was a tennis pro living in Hawaii. For her part, Kelsey was a 26-year-old junior project manager from New Orleans. Since appearing on Bachelor franchise shows, Joey and Kelsey have started new careers as public figures and social media influencers.

After getting engaged on The Bachelor season 28, Joey and Kelsey parlayed their newfound fame into careers as social media influencers. Because of this, Joey and Kelsey now rely on social media platforms for work. TikTok was recently banned in the United States, and though the ban was lifted, the threat is not over. The social media platform has a 75-day extension but could be banned later.

Joey & Kelsey Changed Careers

They're Influencers Now

Joey and Kelsey left The Bachelor season 28 and started their new lives together. They transitioned their careers and became prominent public figures. Currently, Joey has 986K Instagram followers and 416K followers on TikTok, while Kelsey has 837K Instagram followers and 683K Instagram followers. Losing TikTok would mean losing over a million followers between them, and it would be a big blow to their careers. They make their living in large part from their work on social media, so losing such a massive platform would hurt.

In addition to expanding their social media followings, Joey was cast in Dancing With The Stars season 33, which upped his celebrity status. Joey and Kelsey move to Los Angeles, where the show films live before a studio audience. Kelsey was in the audience every night, and often posted about her and Joey's DWTS experience to Instagram and TikTok.

Kelsey's Not Happy About The Situation

"Baby Come Back"

In addition to being a content creator on TikTok, The Bachelor season 28 alums are also TikTok consumers, so they hated the TikTok ban on many levels. Kelsey recently posted an Instagram video in which she expressed her unhappiness about the ban. In the clip, Kelsey jokes about the pain of opening TikTok for the hundredth time out of habit. The post has 54K likes, and Kelsey's caption reads, "baby come back." Notably, Kelsey posted the message on Instagram, due to the TikTok ban.

Are Joey & Kelsey Still On TikTok?

It's Back...For Now

Thankfully for Joey and Kelsey and the rest of the TikTok universe, the TikTok ban was brief, and the social media giant is back online in the United States. Kelsey often shares her feelings on TikTok, as opposed to Instagram, so it's personal for her. Though it's back for now, it may not be around for much longer. The app was banned because the American government alleges it presents an international security threat. ByteDance, a China-based company that owns TikTik, has 75 days to sell the company.

Though the future of TikTok is unclear, Joey and Kelsey are currently still posting on the social media platform. Kelsey even posted a hilarious TikTok in which she humorously accused the government of being personally jealous of her. Since leaving The Bachelor season 28, Joey and Kelsey have used TikTok to grow their careers. If TikTok gets shut down in 75 days, they'll have to move their entire business over to Instagram, and hope it's not banned eventually.