What to Know About the Lilly Tino Controvery on TikTok and What People Are Saying

Transgender influencer Lilly Tino, whose full name is Lilly Contino, made a name for herself by creating content about traveling to different places, being misgendered, and her experiences in general as a trans woman. But she faced a ton of backlash on the short-form video platform when she shared a series of selfies in the bathroom at Disney World. It sparked some major controversy for Lilly Tino, but some users still aren't sure what's going on.

In her post on TikTok, Lilly shared a slideshow of mirror selfies in various women's bathrooms at Disney parks. In the caption, she wrote that she was "pretty worried at first" about inclusivity in regards to "trans people." But, she added, "Overall it was a great experience." The only problem was that, in some of her mirror selfies, there are other people in the background who did not give permission to be photographed.

The controversy with Lilly's post began when people pointed out that other individuals are in the background, some with their faces showing, and that they did not ask to be photographed in pictures that would be posted on the creator's public TikTok account. Some users commented on the post to shame Lilly for taking photos in a public bathroom and not blurring out other people entirely.

Other users on TikTok used the controversy as an opportunity to shame Lilly as a trans woman. And, somewhere in the middle of everything, criticism turned to outrage for some users. Many began calling out Lilly's dead name, which other users in the trans community strongly advised against. One user, whose name is Jade, shared a TikTok where she gives her perspective as a trans woman.

In her video, Jade explains that Lilly's behavior, where she seemingly "rage baits" people and social media with her actions, is not a good idea. Jade says she doesn't condone Lilly's behavior in taking mirror selfies in public bathrooms with other people in the background. She does call out Lilly for representing the trans community in a way that doesn't help anyone.

"This kind of behavior in the name of content creation is not only selfish, but it is incredibly dangerous to a marginalized community that is already at risk of harm and malice," Jade says in her TikTok.

She also says that she believes Lilly is "begging people to misgender her so that she can create content."

Following the controversy surrounding Lilly's post and now, of her content in general, author J.K. Rowling wrote a post on X (formerly Twitter) about Lilly's Disney World post. She misgendered Lilly in her post and said that the photos are Lilly's "trophies." While Lilly has not responded to the controversy about her Disney World photos directly, she did share a screenshot of J.K.'s post on Instagram.

In the caption, Lilly urged her followers and supporters to "spin her nastiness into something positive by supporting @trevorproject," in reference to J.K.'s X posts. "Every donation provides counseling, crisis management, and so much more for the trans kids that need it most."