2020 can be remembered for an innumerable amount of events, problems and outcomes, one of which was the establishment and immense popularity of a group of teenage TikTok stars who lived together in an insanely large mansion in Los Angeles coined “The Hype House.” Around this time, a California girl who would soon be a part of The Hype House posting body-positivity TikToks gained rapid popularity for her strong confidence, bold dance moves, and cute style. Her name was Sienna Mae Gomez, age 16 at the time. Soon after her established popularity and officially entering the “social media world,” TikToks of her with her hometown friends Jack and James Wright, also gaining popularity on the app, became more frequent and it was clear they were all close friends who enjoyed spending time with each other. Overtime, these viral videos entailed mostly Jack Wright and Sienna Mae Gomez on both of their accounts. As one can imagine from a mostly teenage-run social media app, thoughts and rumors about Jack and Sienna dating circled the internet and everyone shipped the two seemingly perfect and fresh celebrities TikTok stars. 

Although never publicly or officially stated, it was easy to assume the two were in a romantic relationship as they would almost daily post videos of them being physically and verbally affectionate towards each other. I would go as far as to say the two were the stars of TikTok for a short period of time. This was before the video was released. 

On May 30, 2021, Jack Wright’s friend, Mason Rizzo, also a TikTok influencer although without nearly as many followers, posted a screenshot of allegations that Sienna had sexually assaulted Jack and verbally abused him and others. This began the several month long debate and fights between “Team Sienna” and “Team Jack.” While there are specifics mentioned by both Sienna and Jack about the allegations and different examples of them both skewed by perspective, there has been little legal action taken by either side of the argument. 

On Jan. 20, 2022, Jack Wright released a 17 minute video titled “what sienna mae did to me” in which he explains his history with Sienna and goes into detail about the several times she allegedly sexually assaulted him and verbally abused him and his acquaintances. He says that he was continually “gaslighted” into accepting it time and time again, but decided that the abuse should stop now. With over 19 million views thus far, the video has brought back the debates between whether the allegations are true or not, although the amplitude and popularity of these debates have increased dramatically since last discussed when Rizzo released the controversial video in May of 2021.

In response to this long and extremely widespread video, Sienna took it upon herself to release a statement on Jan. 22, 2022, which she titled “Sienna Mae Gomez: Reflections from an 18-Year Old Me” in which she also gives the history of her fame and her relationship with the Wright family, specifically with Jack Wright. She also replies to the allegations she is blamed of by saying that she regrets many actions she did at 16 and 17 years old, but that several of the accusations are completely false and exaggerated by Jack. Sienna states that she wishes she can just return to her childhood when times were simpler and that recently she has felt suicidal because of all the drama, accusations, and hate she has received over the last year, but especially the past week.

Although the future of the Sienna Mae Gomez and Jack Wright debacle is unpredictable, both influencers seem to disregard that their friendship or relationship meant much to them, as they are now at each other’s throats with two sides of the same argument.