A Liverpool resident has become a social media sensation drawing thousands of followers.
The 26-year-old Ashlea Walton and her 22-year-old sister Aimee opened a Tik Tok account in March of last year and took the online platform by storm.
The 26-year-old, who has Down syndrome, opened the Tik Tok account for a bit of fun when the first lockdown hit came when she was forced to protect but had gained 10,000 followers in four days.
Since then, Ashlea’s account has grown in strength and currently has over 100,000 followers with 1.5 million likes.
Her account is so popular that Tik Tok placed her in the creative category, which means she can now make money on her popular videos.
Ashlea from Woolton, who had previously volunteered at a local kindergarten, had to shield herself due to the pandemic.
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Her sister Aimee, who is also contributing and helping manage the account, spoke to ECHO to explain how this came about.
She said, “We were locked up early last year and she wasn’t allowed to go out because she had to screen.
“So we started this Tik Tok account just as a joke, just for fun, and it got big and it got a following and people on the internet seemed interested in Ash.
“They just seemed to love the type of videos she was making and their personality, and then it started to take off.
“She gained 10,000 followers in four days, so we started taking it a little more seriously and aligning it with her videos.
In addition to 100,000 followers, Ashlea Walton has received over 1.5 million likes
“The idea was just to make everyone happy because everyone was a little bit down during the lockdown, so she was just trying to spread happiness to make people smile.
“I think she does this because she has gained over 100,000 followers and people have shown support that she is inspiring and makes her happy.”
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Ashlea’s Tik Tok specialty are viral dance routines her sister says people who love watching online are.
Aimee added, “She loves the viral dance routines. She used to do comedy, so sometimes she brings that in, but it’s mostly dance.
“She even made a video with Dianne Bushwell from Strictly Come Dancing a few months ago.
“They both made a dance duet video together and she got a lot of positive feedback.
“She also had some verified accounts commenting on her videos.”
Liverpool girl with Down syndrome becomes TikTok sensation (Ashlea Walton)
Ashlea’s videos went viral and have since surfaced around the world.
Her sister Aimee said, “Your videos are seen all over the world, it’s crazy how far they go. Countries like Australia, Malaysia and Canada only have one global appeal, it’s really crazy. “
The Tik Tok sensation has no plans to stop anytime soon and plans to keep posting videos on the account in hopes that they can continue the love
Aimee added, “She’ll keep going because she chose the Tik Tok creative, which means she’s getting paid to make videos. Not only does she spread nice joy, she also earned a job.
“When you’re past that many thousands of followers, you get put on the creative account so your views are lost and you get paid for so many views.”
Tik Tok sensation Ashlea Walton has over 100,000 followers on the social media platform
Woolton’s Ashlea has received so much positive feedback that many have taken the time to post messages in support of their content.
One Tik Tok user said, “I love this, it’s so good.”
Another said, “Here I am trying to learn Tik Tok dances and fail, and you can style and nail it for free.”
A third said, “Better than anything I could do.”
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