Taylor Swift impersonator pranks fans with bodyguards and instantly regrets it
Taylor Swift is a popular gal, there’s no doubt about that. The Grammy-winning artist has millions of adoring fans, a handful of ex-boyfriends, and a sprinkle of stalkers. What the singer also has, is a pretty relentless celebrity lookalike who has a tendency to go out in public and pretend to be Tay Tay herself.
Introducing Ashley Leechin, a content creator who frequently posts videos on TikTok where she acts and dresses up just like Swift. At first glance, some might think that the resemblance between the two is uncanny, but upon further inspection, some key differences are hard to miss.
@noitisashley13 This will be a road trip for the books 💀 moving newbeginnings momlife
♬ original sound - Jason Field
Leechin’s videos appear pretty harmless though, with the creator predominantly recording content in her own house—ranging from daily vlog-style content to Swift-specific clips and reactions. Things however recently took a turn when Leechin decided to take her hobby out into the world.
Over the weekend, Leechin took a trip to a nearby mall, bringing with her an excessive parade of ‘security’ bodyguards and, in sum, pretending to be the official Taylor Swift. Videos began to emerge of Leechin walking around the shopping centre as crowds of people swarmed and tried to capture a picture or video of someone they thought to be Swift.
@paolaamarcella Yall think this was taylor? #viral #taylorswift #thegrove #fyp #losangeles
♬ original sound - pao🍒🪩💃
Pretty soon, it came to light that Leechin had been collaborating with prank content creator Victor Galvan. While some users found the stunt amusing, others took serious issue with the video. A number of the comments criticised the pair, noting that it wasn’t fair to the fans and that Swift herself probably wouldn’t appreciate the practical joke.
Leechin did ultimately respond to the criticism in a video on her page, stating that it was a social experiment in collaboration with Galvan and that it wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously. In fact, the creator went on to say that the video was really to see how far the Swiftie fandom would go to get close to who they thought was the singer. Leechin even insinuated that she was playing the role of a supportive decoy for the singer… Not exactly sure how she got to that conclusion.
Either way, if you ever see a blonde with a pair of sunglasses and a red flat cap out in the wild, chances are it’s not the official T-Swift, so beware.
