This week, Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. announced that Wallingford will be hosting its first ever Colors of Wallingford Diversity Celebration. The celebration is set to feature a slew of high-profile celebrities, including TikTok star Chase Hudson . Known to the TikTok community as the “African King” for being a role model to young people of color worldwide, Chase Hudson, known as Lil Huddy on the app, rose to fame quickly after broadcasting his talents on TikTok. Recently he announced his relationship with fellow ultra-famous TikToker Charli D’Amelio (@charlidamelio) in a viral video. 

Both Mr. Huddy and Charli are members of the “Hype House”, an influential TikTok account known for its wonderfully diverse membership. The groundbreaking account’s co-owners not only include Lil Huddy, but also blondes, a brunette, and even a verified lower middle class individual. The Hype House proves that Generation Z truly has the initiative to fight for diversity, even if the fight starts with a small TikTok account with only millions of followers. 

Through his diversification of the Hype House, Lil Huddy has proven himself to be worthy of the hype – upon hearing the news,  Choate students were nothing less than ecstatic. When asked about the inclusion of e-boys in the Wallingford community, one Choate student responded “I am just so glad that e-boys are closer to being represented these days. As someone who gets bullied for his black nail polish, singular dangly cross earring, and skinny legs, I believe our sorely misunderstood community needs to be represented past the realm of TikTok. The time has come.” The e-boy community is both underrepresented and misrepresented on most social media platforms, too. As Lil Huddy told Lorem Ipsum* in an exclusive interview, “Fifteen seconds is just a snapshot of my life, and though it seems all great with my millions followers, receiving the hate that I do really impacts my life. Even though I just smile into the camera, it takes a lot of work to learn dances and sing into my phone, especially with so many teenage girls watching every move I make.”

  When Lorem Ipsum* asked Choate students to reflect on the event, which is scheduled to take place in March, one day student said, “I’m just so happy to even meet Lil Huddy! And who knows, maybe he’ll even bring Charli, which would be especially cool because Charli is from Connecticut. The representation of all different types of people – including people from Connecticut, like myself – is so important.”

            One of the most anticipated moments from Lil Huddy’s keynote presentation is that he will make a TikTok featuring select Wallingford residents live on stage. A Choate senior stressed the importance of this portion of the talk. “It’s my last few months here. Going viral on TikTok is on the top of my senior bucket list,” the student argued. Although the student asked to remain anonymous, they also asked for Lorem Ipsum* to promote their TikTok account, @choateadmissions.

Notably, Mr. Huddy specified to Mayor Dickinson that there must be a strict dress code for those who wish to partake  in the onstage TikTok portion of the lecture. In his announcement, Mayor Dickinson noted that the dress code permits the following: two shirts, one black and white striped the other plain black, ripped black skinny jeans, black nail polish, a thick silver chain. The color black was emphasized numerous times. Cross earrings and beanies are optional but encouraged.