Anna Shumate is new to the LA and gets a wonderful opportunity to grow her platform at the Top Talent House, while being there she meets a lovely girl named Eva Cudmore. Will she fall for Eva or will her commitment issues take her away?
TikTok influencer Anna Shumate addresses her LGBTQ identity, coping with scrutiny, how she got started on TikTok, how she came out, and more.
Anna Shumate: I always was so envious of all these youngs on TikTok with these big followings of people who adored them and wanted to watch them all the time. So when I started posting videos on TikTok as a joke, I was secretly hoping that something big would happen. I started posting and I was like, wow, this is actually working—this is crazy. Now I am sitting here five years later. When I was just in eighth grade, I wanted to be one of thoses and so I always say that it was a joke, but in my head I was like ‘no I want to be as cool as them.’
Anna Shumate: I’d say to be authentically yourself. A lot of people on social media have these online personas. So, I think my goal is to do what I knowand that’s pretty much just being me.
Anna Shumate: Wow, that’s really nice of you to say. I’m just happy that people can find comfort in me being a queer woman on social media. It’s always nice to know that a lot of young girls who may not be out yet, in my eyes, tend to search for someone to look up to and find a sense of safety in. I mean, I know I did when I was younger. When I was closeted, I always looked up to the U.S. Women’s National Team and the queer women on the soccer team. I always found a sense of safety in them. So I’m just happy that, in my case, I can be that person for someone else. I try to be the best me that I can be so that they have someone to look up to who isn’t crazy.
