Unless you’ve been in a coma or on another planet you’ve probably heard about, That Vegan Teacher.
But who is she? And why kept going viral on TikTok?
Her name is Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, she is an elementary school teacher and vegan advocate.
She posted several educational videos on veganism on social media gathering 1.6 million followers and a gazillion of likes. She also promotes veganism through song and has a Spotify playlist of her original creations.
Lately, she was banned at TikTok. Why?
That Vegan Teacher recently attracted lots of global media attention after she urged celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to go vegan.
In the video, Diekmeyer sings to Ramsay a song, telling him ‘hurting animals is wrong. She adds: “And if you call me a donut, that’s fine, as long as you’re vegan from now on.
Ramsay answered by posting a video nodding along to the song whilst eating lettuce. He called her a ‘vegan donut’ and at the end of the video, took an enormous bite from an extra-large burger.
“It’s an honor a song was written about me….and now back to my beef burger.”
Ramsay
The Controversy
Despite her popularity That Vegan Teacher’s content has stirred lots of controversies online.
Most of her criticism comes from her comparison of animal agriculture to the Holocaust, as well as using the term ‘meat is murder’.
Earlier this year, she came under fire for arguing that ‘coming out’ as a vegan is ‘more special’ than coming out as gay.
“Coming out as a vegan animal rights activist, as someone who cares beyond themself, is much more special than it is to come out as a member of the LGBTQ community,”
“Coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community is an entirely selfish act. It’s talking about you only. It’s not talking about the things you’re going to do to better the world.”
That Vegan Teacher
Last week, TikTok banned That Vegan Teacher for ‘violating community guidelines.
The move was followed by a petition urging the social media platform to delete the activist’s account. It gathered more than 20,000 signatures at the time of writing this article.
“Being a Vegan or Vegetarian is a healthful lifestyle that is a choice for some people,”
“However it isn’t always the best option medically or financially. The Creator known as That Vegan Teacher has violated multiple community guidelines in various videos, duets, and sounds.
“She’s a former certificated educator however has no background in veterinary nor human medicine. She has made blatantly racist, bigoted, discriminatory statements against anyone who doesn’t view veganism her way and her way alone.
“She has promoted multiple films that are dangerous to children given TikToks 13 yr old age requirement and many children under that age access it on a daily basis. These videos show violent depictions of animal slaughter in graphic detail.
“Her targets have included minors under 18, the LGBTQ+ Community, Person’s with disabilities, people of the black community, various religions and more. Multiple reports have been made against her content yet her platform remains active.”
