NEED TO KNOW
-
A high school senior revealed she didn’t want to attend her final homecoming dance after having a negative experience in years past
-
The 17-year-old, Kaylee, explained that she had been bullied since ninth grade
-
The video went viral, amassing over 19 million views and inspiring Kaylee to attend the dance anyway
In September 2025, high school senior Kaylee posted a candid TikTok video about her hesitancy to attend her school’s homecoming dance.
In the video, the 17-year-old explained that she had worn the same dress to the dance every year, and didn’t feel like going after having negative experiences in the past.
“So homecoming season is upon us, which means everyone’s doing the cute photoshoots and the group dinners and blah, blah, blah, and then there’s me, with no friends, recycling a homecoming dress that I’ve been wearing since ninth grade,” she said in the video, where she tried on the green dress.
The TikTok went viral, amassing over 19.4 million views, as Kaylee opened up about being “bullied” in years past, noting that other girls “made fun of” her dress and the large bow in the back.
Now, she talks to PEOPLE about the experience and how opening up to millions of viewers about what she’s endured inspired her to attend the dance after all.
“I never expected it to go viral, like at all,” Kaylee, who asked for her last name to be omitted, says. “People in my comments were asking me, ‘What does your homecoming dress look like?’ Because it’s that time of year, and I posted a video and I mentioned ‘I only have this one because I never went back to homecoming ’cause I didn’t want to.’ Then it blew up from there.”
Courtesy of Kaylee
Kaylee trying on a homecoming dress
In some of Kaylee’s other videos, she shared more insight into her difficult high school years, explaining that she has been bullied her “whole life” for “being small.”
While things were “great” in middle school and high school, it shifted when her family moved before she started ninth grade, placing her in a new school with new people.
“I was bullied a lot. A lot,” she said in a video. “I was the odd one out. I had zero friends. I had people literally pitting up against me every single day. I was sitting alone at lunch every day. I was constantly made fun of… and it gets way worse, but I’m not going to go into detail.”
Courtesy of Kaylee
Kaylee in a homecoming dress from one of her followers.
“After ninth grade, the bullying got so bad that we had to move again to a different school, and in 10th grade it was the same thing,” she continued, noting that she just “never really found my people.”
After getting “bullied the whole time” during her ninth-grade homecoming dance, she decided to skip it the following year. While she attended again in 11th grade — since she had to as part of her leadership class — she notably left early.
Given her poor experiences in the past, Kaylee wasn’t sure she wanted to attend her senior year dance — that is, until kind internet strangers stepped in.
Kaylee tells PEOPLE that because everyone was so encouraging online, she decided to go after all. Several people in her comments, including a user named Kaiti, even reached out and offered to send her dresses for the event so she had something new to wear.
“She reached out to me and she made the video showing all the dresses,” Kaylee says. “I then messaged her and I took her up on a few of the dresses, and then she slipped in some extra ones, and we’ve been talking ever since, and it’s been really nice.”
Even some brands and celebrities — such as Bella Hadid, Alix Earle and Paige DeSorbo, to name a few — reached out to show their support for Kaylee, chiming in to let her know they were rooting for her from afar.
With a newfound sense of confidence and Kaiti’s dress, Kaylee walked into the dance with her head high alongside her two brothers.
Kaylee tells PEOPLE that the dance went “pretty good,” especially after becoming a viral TikTok star.
“It was kind of crazy at the dance because a lot of people were like around me and talking to me, and they wanted my attention, which is really weird because that’s usually not how it goes at all, but I was being watched the whole time, which is crazy,” she says.
Courtesy of Kaylee
Kaylee at the school dance with her brothers.
Kaylee says she’s going to continue making videos to connect with her community of over 740,000 people online, who she considers to be her “friend group at this point.”
“I’ve been able to connect with a lot of people that I’ve been able to become like a role model for a lot of girls my age and like around my age group, which is really cool,” she says. “A lot of people are supporting me and like building me up, which is nice.”
“I think a lot of people like me because they said I’m more authentic than a lot of influencers these days. I want to keep spreading that goodness,” she adds.
While the overwhelming majority of Kaylee’s comments were positive, some people accused her of making up the story for engagement and criticized her homecoming attire. However, the teen has learned not to let them get to her, instead focusing on all the positives that came from the experience.
“There are always gonna be like horrible people out there, but you have a choice of how you respond to it, and that can make all the difference, and you will find your people eventually,” she says.
Read the original article on People
