Nikita Dragun hits back at transphobic abuse from YouTuber Taylor Caniff

16 June 2021, 15:58

Nikita Dragun breaks down over transphobic attack from Taylor Caniff

Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

"This is how trans people die."

Nikita Dragun has been subjected to a transphobic attack from YouTuber and Vine star Taylor Caniff, who secretly filmed her with two men.

On Tuesday (June 15), the YouTuber shared a video on her Instagram captioned: "STOP TRANS HATE." In the clip, Nikita is seen leaving a club with two men who look like security guards. Taylor then says: "I tell the security guard like Yo bro like it’s none of my business but like, I just don’t, I just feel like a crazy fact that you guys wouldn’t know like did you guys know that was that’s a dude?"

"And they absolute looked like I threw a stun grenade in the back of the security lounge. They were like: 'Bro, what?' And I was like: 'Yeah, that was a dude," and they could not believe it and they were like bro, our boy John needs to get a phone call right now."

READ MORE: The Trisha Paytas and Nikita Dragun Twitter drama explained

Here's what happened between Nikita Dragun and Taylor Caniff
Here's what happened between Nikita Dragun and Taylor Caniff. Picture: @nikitadragun via Instagram, @taylorcaniff via Instagram

The video then cuts to Nikita who explained that the guy helping her out of the club is actually a friend. She said: "This is what it's like to be trans. My livelihood is constantly threatened by just living my life as a trans person and I'm so embarrassed to even be showing this video but it's reality. It's what's fucking happening in the world. I try to be strong for you guys and hold my head up high and act like I'm not terrified that something like this will happen to me. This is how trans people die. It just takes that one ignorant transphobic comment to threaten my entire livelihood and more so than that I fear for the people that are with me."

She added: "We must stop trans hate because it leads to trans violence and people lose their lives or even worse they take their own lives because experiencing things like this just makes my heart hurt and my entire world and it's disgusting. I won't stand for it."

What happened between Nikita Dragun and Taylor Caniff on Twitter?

Nikita also had words with Taylor on Twitter after she posted the same video on the platform. She tweeted: "this man is on his live saying i’m doing this for clout and he’s bisexual... sir u haven’t been relevant since magcon. sit ur TRANSPHOBIC ass down. it’s sad i even gave u any kind attention @taylorcaniff."

She added: "Trans lives are constantly under attack. simply living ur life becomes a threat to the ignorant. a simple misgender or side comment could cost us our lives. i fear even being around a man as a trans woman. let alone date one publicly. his life now is at risk for being involved with a trans woman. it’s so sad. I pray to see the day a man will love a Trans woman publicly without fear!"

Nikita concluded: "TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN."

Taylor then responded: "You want me to leak some real info nah you been doing this 2015?! You would hate that, you change to trending seasons ….Keep changing for clout. I speak FACTS. What I said was facts."

Nikita Dragun Tweets
Nikita Dragun Tweets. Picture: @NikitaDragun via Twitter

Later, Taylor hopped on Instagram Live to address his transphobic comments insisting that a "clout-ridden" person on his Close Friends list on Instagram had leaked the clip and it was only a "joke" he’d meant to share with 140 people.

"I know the security there that's one part you don't understand and no-one does want to understand every part of the situation," Taylor explained. "I'm obviously making a joke to 140 people on my Close Friends, people don't want to understand that. I'm not a clout chaser – the clout chaser is you guys.

"You guys going on my Close Friends, screen-recording my fucking shit and then uploading it and then playing a sympathy story like you haven't been doing this shit since 2015. Like you haven't been hooking up with innocent males. And think about the results of this, how they're traumatised, how they're going through shit before and on after that."

He added: "I'm sorry, I sent her a full apology. I'm sorry it was for my close friends. And I wasn't being transphobic, I was just speaking absolute facts. I would have no idea if I saw Nikita Dragun out. She is a woman and I get that now. You have to understand I am sorry it was obviously something I shouldn't have said, even on my Close Friends, but I'm just trying to have comedy, I'm just trying to be funny for my friends."

Taylor Caniff addresses his transphobic comments about Nikita Dragun

People called for Taylor to be cancelled while Trisha Paytas, who previously had beef with Nikita, also called for Taylor to be deplatformed. Trisha tweeted: "Taylor caniff can go to hell. He radiates small dick energy. Without a doubt, THE SMALLEST dick energy for disrespecting Nikita. Just cause u can’t get laid Taylor cause u got a tiny dick , doesn’t mean u have to be the smallest cock cock block.

"I know, trust me I KNOW, Nikita can stand up for herself , she got that don’t give a fuck confidence for daaaaays …..but like ppl like Taylor caniff deserve to be cancelled for life. Like that’s ground for deplatforming so I’m def adding to the noise for that to happen."