Repeat off

1

Repeat one

all

Repeat all

Not so “demure”: Trans influencer behind viral catchphrase says fame “ruined my life”
Photo #9230 March 18 2026, 08:15

Jools Lebron’s viral 2024 catchphrase, “very demure, very mindful,” had everyone from RuPaul to the Kardashians to Jimmy Kimmel singing her praises, but she recently revealed that being a celebrity brought her nothing but heartache.

Going viral “let me fall down a slope of insobriety that ruined my life,” she says in a series of TikTok videos recounting her nightmare of fame.

Related

How getting sober helped me embrace my queer identity

The 32-year-old trans social influencer says becoming a social media sensation led her into the orbit of “favorite influencers” and “favorite celebrities,” with invites to glitzy Hollywood parties, red-carpet premieres, and temptations she couldn’t resist.

“It was the highlight of my life, and everyone loved it,” Lebron recounts. “It also was the worst time of my life ever. It was the worst of times, b**ch.”

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

@joolieannie

Going mega viral sent me down a path of dark moments and I’m taking control of my life again #fyp #verydemure

♬ original sound – Jools Lebron

“The entertainment industry led me to substance abuse and alcoholism and my life falling apart. I got chewed up and spit out by Hollywood, girl,” she said.

“I’ve never been someone who drank a lot. When I’m getting into the entertainment industry, Hollywood, and I’m going to all these events and people are getting black-out wasted and – my favorite influencers — and I’m meeting some of my favorite celebrities and things are happening,” she said, without naming names or substances.

“Unfortunately, I succumbed to peer pressure. My bad,” she admitted. 

Lebron says she spiraled with all the attention, money, and branding opportunities. She bought an apartment, put money into her transition, and reveled in the fame.

But while she’d partied before, there were limits to her indulgences. With all the adoration, those were gone, she said. “Money and success” were enablers.

Lebron describes how the demons of substance and alcohol abuse spiraled her out of control. Now she was a shopping addict, on the hunt for men to validate her, and succumbing to health issues brought on by her addictions.

She recounts long benders with bodybuilders, and being locked in a room for days with a stranger. Her social media gigs crumbled as she neglected brand partnerships.

A tour of her fame-bought apartment reveals piles of unboxed brand-partnership merch and opening-night swag, like an influencer’s dream turned into a hoarding nightmare.

“The thing is, drinking is one thing, but when you’re someone who ends up drinking at ‘afters’, then you become addicted to other sh*t,” Lebron confided amid the disarray.

“At home, I start processing, and I’m like, ‘You know what, if I’m drunk, I don’t really have to process this’,” she said. “Then I’d be drunk, and I’d be like, ‘You know what might make this more fun…?’ And then three days later, I’m still awake. I don’t want that anymore. It’s horrible.”

“The thing is, you wake up, and you’re just so tired of being tired,” Lebron said, tearing up. “You are sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“I owe a lot of people apologies,” she added. “I owe myself an apology.”

Now Lebron is “focused on getting sober.” Getting back online and sharing her harrowing story is part of that process.

She said she wants to hold herself accountable.

“I’m gonna be real with you. The issue is that I would go through these benders and go through the same cycle of like, ‘I wanna stream, I wanna make long-form content,’ and then I’d bring it to you guys, then I wouldn’t follow through with it, and it was just like, my life is falling apart depending on my mood.

“B**ch, success does not wait for your mood,” she said.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.


Comments (0)