Axel Webber

About

Axel Webber or @axelwebber is a TikTok creator and influencer known for his Duets, Stitches and comedy centering on his relationships, living in New York City and his apartment, which he deemed the "Smallest Apartment in New York." He went viral most notably in late 2021 when he garnered both fans and haters, becoming an increasingly polarizing TikToker in 2022. Many people viewed him as cringy regarding his Julliard rejection arc.

Online History

Axel Webber was born on October 22nd, 2000, in Texas, United States.^[1] He studied theater in high school and strived to be an actor. He started posting to TikTok on July 10th, 2019,^[2] with a video that received roughly 8,800 likes over the course of three years (shown below, left). Most of his early videos in the first two years of his account consisted of bathroom mirror videos where he performed characters and comedy. He received his first spike in viewership after a TikTok^[3] he posted on August 24th, 2019 received roughly 586,300 plays and 106,500 likes in three years (shown below, right).

He'd grown a cult following on the platform by the end of 2019 and going into 2020 with two of his videos^[4][5] reaching over 1 million plays in one year's time. However, it wasn't until the end of 2021 that Webber's social media presence became mainstream. This was because of his documentation of moving to New York City in November 2021.

On November 21st, 2021, Webber posted his first YouTube video. It was a vlog titled, "MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY," wherein he detailed to an unknown audience how he was moving to Manhattan to pursue a career in acting. The video (shown below) earned roughly 186,300 views in four months.

Smallest Apartment in New York City

In December 2021, Webber had officially moved to New York, posting TikToks within the city limits as early as December 2nd.^[6] However, it wasn't until he posted a TikTok^[7] on December 15th that Webber received viral fame, revealing in it that he lived in the "smallest apartment in New York." His apartment seemed to be only one room big with a lofted bed and no bathroom. The video received a lot of engagement, earning roughly 36.8 million plays and 7.7 million likes in three months (shown below, left). The next two TikToks that followed it also received increased engagement, like one posted on December 16th that earned roughly 18.1 million plays and 3.8 million likes (shown below, right).

The attention Webber received for his small apartment and the perceivably wholesome story gave him increased media coverage going into the remainder of December 2021. For instance, on December 22nd, 2021, Webber and his tiny apartment were featured on a segment of ABC News, where on YouTube, the video's received roughly 233,300 views in three months (shown below). Webber then acknowledged the news coverage in a TikTok^[9] posted on the same day.

Rejection from Juilliard School

On December 27th, 2021, Webber announced in a TikTok^[10] that he had moved to New York to pursue acting, detailing that the city has some of the best acting schools in the country, the primary one on his list is the Juilliard School. The video (shown below) received roughly 8.2 million plays and 1.6 million likes in three months. Two days later, on December 30th, Webber reached one million followers on TikTok.^[11]

On January 12th, 2022, Webber posted a YouTube video titled, "My Juilliard Audition." Over the course of two months, the video received roughly 234,100 views (shown below, right). On January 15th, he uploaded a follow-up video, stating that he'd been rejected from Julliard. The video (shown below, right) received roughly 211,900 views in two months.

On January 11th, the New York Times^[12] wrote an article about Webber's Julliard rejection. On January 21st, 2022, Webber was featured on the Kelly Clarkson Show. On YouTube, the video received roughly 130,200 views in two months (shown below).

Backlash Over "Mediocrity"

At the end of January and going into February 2022, multiple users on TikTok and YouTube started to levy backlash towards Webber and his content. Many labeled him as mediocre and underserved of fame. Others called him the "White Boy of the Month" as a way to defame. For instance, on January 26th, TikToker^[13] carpetmuncherrrr420 posted a video about Webber's mediocrity that earned roughly 1.6 million plays and 125,500 likes over the course of two months (shown below).

On February 4th, 2022, YouTuber Danny Gonzalez posted a video titled, "The Axel Webber Situation," wherein, he detailed his reasonings for thinking he's overhyped and oftentimes cringeworthy. The video (shown below) received roughly 2.9 million views and 211,000 likes over the course of a month and a half.

Search Interest

External References