DIY Influencer Accused A Woman Of Copying Her Stuff — Even Though That's The Point Of DIY

There's no question that copying, or outright stealing people's content and ideas, is rampant online. It's part of the content ecosystem at this point.

But a recent dust-up between two TikTok creators has stirred a heated debate about what constitutes theft online — especially when one chooses to share their work online in the first place.

A DIY influencer accused a woman of copying her.

It's the latest iteration of what TikTok does best — taking totally niche internet spaces and blowing them up to an enormous audience staring slack-jawed at the weird drama that has ensued.

TikTok creator @taybeepboop is a DIY influencer with nearly two million followers who chronicles the refurbishments she does to her San Francisco house and the designs she creates for clients, along with the processes and materials she uses to create them.

All seemed to be well until fellow TikToker @kaarinjoy decided to actually do what @taybeepboop's whole platform is at least nominally about — recreate some of TayBeepBoop's designs in her own home.

After seeing @kaarinjoy's version of her designs (which, it's important to note, Kaarin credited TayBeepBoop for in her videos), the influencer posted a video of her own accusing Kaarin of stealing her ideas, right down to claiming colors as her own, resulting in waves of harassment directed at Kaarin.

The influencer's accusations immediately sparked drama since the entire point of 'DIY' is to teach people to replicate your designs for themselves.

Kaarin was hit with torrents of abuse online for her use of TayBeepBoop's designs — so much so that she posted an emotional response to TikTok talking about how hurt and disappointed she is to be attacked by someone whose designs inspired her.

Kaarin also revealed that she and TayBeepBoop had struck up a sort of friendship prior to this drama, exchanging messages in which Kaarin complimented the influencer on her designs.

But while this whole drama may have started with Kaarin in the crosshairs, that quickly changed. People all over TikTok, and especially those active in the app's "DIY" community, quickly began calling TayBeepBoop out for what they see as a pretty absurd overreach.

In a video commenting on the debacle, London-based sculptor and housewares designer Sebastian Sochan, known as @imnostudio on TikTok, took TayBeepBoop to task for the obvious. "DIY literally stands for 'Do It Yourself.' So how are you going to be a DIY influencer [and] creator and then [not] want people to be inspired by you?"

Others have called TayBeepBoop out for something that makes this drama even more absurd — many of her designs are not even original in the first place.

The ready availability of imagery and content on the internet has absolutely blurred the lines between what can be called an "original" idea, and many people on TikTok seem to feel that TayBeepBoop is a perfect example of this.

One TikToker, @harleybruuuh, created a video full of screenshots of the readily Googlable inspiration TayBeepBoop has obviously taken from others. She called her accusations against Kaarin "crazy... considering everything you're accusing her of copying can be found online and on Pinterest."

"Kaarin didn't copy anybody," she went on to say. "Everyone gets their inspiration from somewhere. You should be flattered. If you don't want people getting ideas from you, you really shouldn't post your stuff."

The tide has definitely turned, and people seem to now be firmly on Kaarin's side.

The videos that started the drama may have been deleted, but people are still letting TayBeepBoop know what they think about the uproar — her other videos are full of frankly hilarious comments about the matter.

A recent video in which TayBeepBoop went to Home Depot to gather materials for painting clouds on a client's ceiling elicited comments like "did you ask the sky if you could paint those clouds?" and "am I allowed to shop at Home Depot or do I need a referral?"

Others snarkily asked if they were allowed to use paint and ladders or if that constituted theft of TayBeepBoop's ideas. One person even called TayBeepBoop out for filming herself using Home Depot's escalator, writing, "I have a downstairs …….. credit?"

DIY Influencer Accuses Another Woman Of Copying Her Stuff — When The Whole Point Of Her Content Is To Help Other People Do It Themselves

The drama between DIY TikTokers TayBeepBoop and KaarinJoy has sparked a heated debate about what constitutes theft on the internet.

A DIY influencer accused a woman of copying her.

The influencer's accusations immediately sparked drama since the entire point of 'DIY' is to teach people to replicate your designs for themselves.

Others have called TayBeepBoop out for something that makes this drama even more absurd — many of her designs are not even original in the first place.

The tide has definitely turned, and people seem to now be firmly on Kaarin's side.

DIY Influencer Accuses Another Woman Of Copying Her Stuff — When The Whole Point Of Her Content Is To Help Other People Do It Themselves

The drama between DIY TikTokers TayBeepBoop and KaarinJoy has sparked a heated debate about what constitutes theft on the internet.

A DIY influencer accused a woman of copying her.

The influencer's accusations immediately sparked drama since the entire point of 'DIY' is to teach people to replicate your designs for themselves.

Others have called TayBeepBoop out for something that makes this drama even more absurd — many of her designs are not even original in the first place.

The tide has definitely turned, and people seem to now be firmly on Kaarin's side.

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