As 2024 came to an end, TikTok creator, Vexbolts, infamously known for his “Let him cook” meme, became the center of a unique social media phenomenon known as “The Mass Unfollowing.”
Set to take place on New Year’s Day at midnight, the mass unfollowing of Vexbolts took the internet by storm, encouraging TikTok users to unfollow Vexbolts as a form of collective action.
Now, why might something so bizarre take place out of the blue? The reasoning behind this coordinated unfollowing was simple. Most participants viewed it as a way to punish the content creator for “milking,” or overusing memes that he created, in hopes of staying relevant. However, the sheer strangeness of this trend captured so much attention that many people joined in without even understanding the reason behind it.
The unfollowing movement became so massive that athletes, musicians, and large companies joined in on the trend, some not even knowing what they were promoting. From Microsoft to NBA teams, to restaurant chains like Applebees, the mass unfollowing of Vexbolts completely took over TikTok.
By New Year’s Day, Vexbolts amassed over 8 million followers, with over five million of them being new, all planning to unfollow him on New Year’s Day. Even one of the most prominent YouTubers Mr. Beast joined in on the countdown.
Within seconds of the New Year, Vexbolts’ follower count plummeted by over a million, and by the first hours of 2025, he’d lost more than five million followers. In the end, Vexbolts left this trend with the upper hand. Even though he lost so many followers, because of this challenge, he went into 2025 with more followers than he’d ever had.
In the following days to come, Vexbolts hosted a revival event in Houston, Texas, in hopes of not being “left in 2024.” Hosted at the renowned Warehouse Live in Midtown, the event was free and open to all ages, drawing an enormous crowd eager to be part of the moment. Vexbolts brought together an impressive lineup of popular TikTok creators, artists, and rappers, including Texas native, That Mexican OT. The event was filled to the brim with raving teenagers and young adults and was a huge success, carrying Vexbolts into 2025 as a massive content creator.
