Benito Skinner got DEATH THREATS – A TikToker who was enlisted by the White House to promote Biden’s administration has revealed he got death threats and homophobic messages after posting a video supporting the president.
Last year, well-known influencer Benito Skinner, who is known online as Benny Drama, 28, uploaded a video of himself pretending to be former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki‘s intern.
The social media star – who has racked up more than one million followers for his hilarious videos, in which he often impersonates famous figures like the Kardashians as well as original characters that he creates – posted the video to his TikTok last August in an attempt to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage his followers to get the shot.
However, Skinner has now revealed that teaming up with the president resulted in him receiving a slew of hateful comments and death threats – with the comedian revealing that people sent him pictures of guns and even contacted his family members.
TikToker: Benito Skinner got DEATH THREATS
A TikToker who was enlisted by the White House to promote Biden’s administration has revealed he got death threats after posting a video supporting the president
The social media star posted the video to his TikTok last August in an attempt to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage his followers to get the shot
Skinner, who is openly gay, told the Today show in a new interview that he was flooded with social media messages from ‘homophobic’ trolls – some of whom actually believed that he was working at the White House.
Skinner has racked up more than one million followers for his hilarious videos, in which he often impersonates famous figures like the Kardashians as well as original characters that he creates
‘I got to see how lies can be spread and how people can take something that is obviously satirical and a bit,’ he told the outlet.
‘There were people who thought I was a real person who worked at the White House, which is terrifying. People sent things to my family members. It was really disgusting.
‘I think it kind of woke me up – I’ve been in the New York and Los Angeles bubble for a lot of my adulthood – to the rest of this country and the way that they view gay people. It was kind of very eye-opening for me and scary.’
The video showed Skinner pretending to be an intern named Kooper, as he showcased what a ‘day in the life’ as a White House staffer was like.
Clips showed him strutting around the White House, doing dance moves and striking poses in front of important spots throughout the building, joking around while Psaki tried to get her work done, and doing his makeup at his desk.
‘Hi, my name is Kooper, and this is a day in my life as a White House intern,’ he began in the clip.
The video in question showed Skinner pretending to be an intern named Kooper, as he showcased what a ‘day in the life’ as a White House staffer was like. Psaki is seen in the TikTok
Clips showed him strutting around the White House, striking poses in front of important spots throughout the building, and joking around while Psaki tried to get her work done
One scene showed him barging into Psaki’s office to tell her he booked her a ‘nail appointment.’ ‘I didn’t tell you to do that,’ she said, to which he responded, ‘It’s called initiative’
‘Usually, I start off with a big coffee,’ he continued, before seemingly getting in trouble for videotaping.
‘Sorry they’re like really strict in here,’ Skinner, who donned a Thom Browne skirt suit, added with a whisper.
However, Skinner (seen at the White House) has now revealed that teaming up with the president resulted in him receiving a slew of hateful comments and death threats
One scene showed him barging into Psaki’s office to tell her that he had booked her a ‘nail appointment.’
‘I didn’t tell you to do that,’ she told him, to which he responded, ‘It’s called initiative.’
In another part of the joke video, he answered the phone and said, ‘Hi, White House, this is Kooper.’ He then added, ‘I don’t think so,’ before hanging up. When Psaki asked him who had called, he said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘This is actually the entrance to the West Wing,’ he told the camera in a different part of the TikTok, before making funny faces at the camera, sticking out his tongue, and giving a peace sign.
During another scene, Psaki was telling ‘Kooper’ various important things and was expecting him to write them down, however, she soon noticed he wasn’t.
‘Are you getting this all down?’ she asked him, to which he said, ‘Don’t worry queen, it’s all right here,’ while pointing to his brain.
‘Kooper the White House intern wants shots in arms. Head to Vaccines.gov for more information,’ he captioned the video.
Skinner said he was flooded with social media messages from ‘homophobic’ trolls after posting the video – some of whom actually believed that he was working at the White House
The comedian revealed that people sent him pictures of guns and even contacted his family members, calling it ‘disgusting’ and ‘terrifying’
After receiving the immense backlash, Skinner told Today that he took a temporary step back from social media. However, he’s still glad that he did it.
After receiving the immense backlash, Skinner told the Today Show that he took a temporary step back from social media. However, he’s still glad that he did it
‘It’s OK, I guess. My skin looks good and I love that I’m in a Thom Browne suit for it,’ he joked in the video.
‘I’m consistently shocked that I’m still a Republican meme, but I kind of wear that badge with honour.’
Back in March, Meghan McCain slammed Biden for using ‘teenage TikTok stars as political propagandists.’
At the time, it was revealed that the White House had a Zoom meeting with about 30 popular TikTok creators.
White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty apparently told the TikTokers that he saw their reach and possible influence as ‘a critically important avenue’ to the American public.
This led to Ellie Zeiler, a TikToker with more than 10 million followers, producing a video explaining why gas is so expensive and why it wasn’t the Biden administration’s fault.
‘I had the opportunity to ask the White House why gas down the street is $7 and here’s what they said,’ 18-year-old Zeiler said to her followers in the video.
‘The first obvious reason is that we’re getting out of a two-year pandemic. When use goes up, the price goes up.
‘Now, with Putin starting this horrific fight between Ukraine and Russia, nobody wants to work with him and do international trade.
‘So with people being scared of war and limited resources prices are bound to go up.’
Zeiler later told the New York Post that she was honoured to take on the role of explaining complex situations to young people.
In March, Meghan McCain slammed Biden for using ‘TikTok stars as political propagandists,’ after Ellie Zeiler (pictured) posted a video explaining why high gas prices weren’t Biden’s fault
At the time, it was revealed that the White House had a Zoom meeting with 30 popular TikTok creators, telling them that their influence was ‘a critically important avenue’ to the public
‘This is inaccurate on its face,’ McCain wrote in an exclusive essay for DailyMail.com at the time.
‘But the more troubling aspect here is that it is a priority for the administration to feed TikTok stars their spin.
‘Let’s simply call this what this is: A propaganda play on behalf of the Biden administration, using the goodwill of very young people to naively do their bidding.
‘Professional journalists are generally expected to work and train for years before they are qualified to question the president’s representatives in the White House briefing room.
‘Who knew that one could jump the line with a popular TikTok account featuring pranks, dancing and posing in trendy outfits?
‘There is a reason that qualified journalists are used for this purpose – they are the least likely to be spun by an administration more interested in the positive press than the truth.’
She also addressed Skinner’s TikTok, stating, ‘Psaki’s involvement [in Skinner’s video] was seen as deeply unserious and the whole thing seemed to be making a mockery of the White House.’
