TikTok's Taylor Swift Lookalike Faces Backlash For Pranking Swifties At A Mall

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | August 24, 2023 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | August 24, 2023 |

If you’re on TikTok and have even hummed a Taylor Swift song in the presence of your phone, your For You Page may have presented you with Ashley Leechin. Ashley (the one on the right) is a Taylor Swift lookalike with 1.6 million followers. In her everyday life, the 29-year-old mom of two bears a passing resemblance to the singer. But when she’s in full Taylor-drag (the blonde bangs, signature red lip, sleek cat eye, and heels for extra height), she’s a dead ringer.

Even though the real Taylor has commented on one of Ashley’s vids (she wrote: “My mom just saw this and said ‘she looks like you’”), many Swifties dislike the professional doppelgänger. They feel like Ashley purposely tries to trick fans in public. See: this video where she’s in full lookalike mode:

@hypebae When you thought you met @Taylor Swift but it’s just Ashley. 😂💕 (@Hrrydaniels via IG) #taylorswift #jokes #taylorswiftlookalike #twin ♬ original sound - HYPEBAE

I mean, it is a little annoying that so many of Ashley’s videos are her acting like she doesn’t want to be mistaken for the singer. Isn’t that the whole point?

Anywho, this past weekend, Ashley got herself some real attention. She showed up to The Grove, the outdoor shopping mall in LA, with a fake security team made up of paid actors. Naturally, fans flocked to Taylor/Ashley, desperate for selfies and autographs. Her “bodyguards” escorted her away from the excited crowds. A few hours later, Ashley pulled the same trick at another mall in Anaheim. Here’s footage of the prank:

@dailymail Ashley Leechin was escorted out of a shop as swifties swarmed the tiktok look-alike #fyp #taylorswift #lookalike #swifties #swarm #security ♬ original sound - Daily Mail

Unsurprisingly, Ashley’s hijinks were not well-received by Swifties. They accused her of mocking the real danger that Taylor regularly faces when she goes out in public. It didn’t help that, earlier that weekend, Taylor-obsessives ambushed the singer at Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley’s New Jersey wedding, where she was a guest.

A couple days later, Ashley took to social media to defend herself. She said the prank was a “social experiment” concocted by YouTuber Vic In the Game. They were trying to show what it was like to experience a “day in the life” of a celebrity. She said:

“If you’re one of the people in my comments saying ‘You don’t deserve to live’ or ‘You should be sued’ and all that stuff, it doesn’t bother me. I’m mentally stable. I’m a mom. I have two kids. I have a husband. I’m solid.”

Here’s the TikTok:

@noitisashley13 Sorry late post. ‘A day in the life of a celebrity’ - only because it was Taylor everyone is blowing this out of proportion. If it were anyone else, it would have had a completely different outcome. This is why celebrities would hire decoys so they can enjoy their private event or quiey evening. Thank you to everyone who was so kind & sweet yesterday. Not going squash any other rumors because that is pointless. Just a friendly reminder, please do not bully any of my friends. You can bully me because it seems to be an okay thing to do in the ‘swiftie’ fandom but please do not bully my friends because they were incredible to work with. #itsjustashley #vicinthegame #taylorswift ♬ original sound - Ashley

She also penned an essay-length caption on this Instagram post (I… scanned it [paragraph breaks go a long way, Ash!]):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Ashley (@itsjustashley13)

Ashley says Swifties are “really possessive” and dangerous. She speculates that if she were to dress up as a celebrity like Selena Gomez, people wouldn’t be so hard on her. Selena Gomez? As in, the woman whose fans regularly attack Hailey Bieber on social media? Maaaybe not a great example. I’d go with a singer who inspires a little less fervor, like Britney (wait, no) or Lady Gaga (nevermind)… OK, how’s about Vitamin C, the singer of the 2000 hit “Graduation (Friends Forever)”? My gut tells me a Vitamin C lookalike in 2023 probably isn’t gonna get any death threats.