There's a girl on TikTok and Instagram named Alana O'Brien, also known as Alana.28 or Alana.28__, who's amassing viral backlash and controversy right now, which has been loudest on Twitter / X this week.

What's special about her? She has a "rare physiognomy" that makes her look like a medieval, Renaissance princess, and she's embraced the look by cosplaying as several notable women from the Middle Ages.

But why is she receiving backlash? It started when she posted a video of her Halloween costume this year, which many thought resembled a racist "blackface" caricature. Since then, she also did a controversial collab with Meta AI and received white nationalism allegations, among many others.

So, what's going on? Who is Alana O'Brien, and what do we know so far? Let's explain.

Who Is Alana O'Brien, Also Known As 'Alana.28?'

Alana O'Brien is known for her presence on both Instagram and TikTok, where she goes by @alana.28 and @alana.28__, respectively. She has the most amount of followers on TikTok, where, at the moment, she boasts over a million of them.

O'Brien shared her first TikTok video in September 2021, showing herself running through a field of flowers. But her posting didn't pay off until mid-2025, when she first went viral on the app.

By then, she had fully pivoted to makeup and cosplay content, focused on female figures from the Middle Ages. Her first slew of viral videos all showed her dressed up as Anne of Cleves, the Queen of England for a short period in 1540.

@alana.28__ 📯🐉🦢🪽 #princesscore #renaissance #medieval #anneofcleves #naturalbeauty ♬ I'll Never Smile Again – Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra & Frank Sinatra & The Pied Pipers

What Is The 'Alana.28 Blackface Controversy?'

For Halloween 2025, Alana.28 decided to go as the "Queen of Crows." However, her execution of the costume raised some eyebrows. She covered her face in black paint and donned some bright red lipstick.

Many viewers immediately compared her look to "blackface," part of the notorious "minstrel" performance genre, in which white actors dress up in exaggerated black features. Black face paint and red lips are two essential characteristics of the racist caricature.

Alana.28's video has since been deleted, but at the time, several on TikTok stitched the original video, like user @darkemperordavid, who criticized O'Brien for the look.

@darkemperordavid #stitch with @alana 💌 "biblically accurate angel" honey that's biblically accurate blackface. I am not exaggerating when I say that is quite literally minstrel show makeup. there's NO excuse ESPECIALLY from a known history nerd. you knew what you were doing I fear, regardless of if you meant to. you knew. #blackface #wild #callout #fyp ♬ original sound – david's he/him male guy wife

What Did Alana.28 Do With Meta AI?

Soon after her blackface controversy, Alana.28 collaborated with Meta AI to promote the company's new app and its AI-image generation features. In the ad, which is still up on Facebook, but not on Instagram, Alana.28 is made into a Renaissance painting by the AI-image generator.

Several artists on TikTok and Instagram took offense, especially those who had drawn Alana.28 in the past. "As an artist who drew her, I feel so disrespected," said TikToker @ranuncoolus in her reaction to the topic.

@ranuncoolus Call for artists. Need your opinion. What do you feel about this situation??? #artist #opinion #digitalart ♬ original sound – ranuncoolus | I can draw for u

Why Are People Saying That Alana.28 Is A White Nationalist?

In November 2025, a currently unknown Instagram user shared a Story post that compiled what they claimed were several screenshots of Alana.28's interactions with problematic content on Instagram.

For instance, in one part of the Story, an alleged screenshot of Alana.28 liking a comment on her own post, reading, "White girls will always be better looking," is shown.

In another part, alleged DMs sent by Alana.28 are shown, in which she harps on "mass immigration," purportedly saying that it's an invasion of European countries.

The accuracy of the accusations levied in the screenshots is currently unknown, as the problematic content allegedly liked by Alana.28 has either been deleted or shows no engagement from Alana.28, as of writing.

Alana.28 also denied the allegations in an Instagram post shared on November 20th, 2025. However, she reiterated, "I am against ILLEGAL migrancy," in the same post, akin to her alleged statements over DMs about immigrants in Europe.

What Are Some More Alana.28 Reactions?

Videos of Alana O'Brien went viral on X / Twitter this week, like when user @Hoang_HQ reposted one of her videos, writing, "I've never seen a face this Renaissance until now."

Instead of inspiring positive reactions, the post brought O'Brien's allegations to the new platform. People like X user @93nih were quick to share the already-mentioned Instagram Story screenshots and enlighten unknowing users to the list of scandals linked to the Renaissance girl.

People began attacking O'Brien's appearance, too, sparking discourse about beauty, cognitive dissonance and even looksmaxxing, summed up in a viral tweet from X user @44girlsss.

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For the full history of Alana.28, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.