He pretended to be a black woman online and became famous – then his life unraveled

When Isaiah Hickland revealed he was behind the popular @emoblackthot Twitter account, fans felt scammed and pushback was swift

The Twitter account @emoblackthot was a virtual therapist and best friend for over 170,000 followers - many of them people of color and/or queer. She would post gentle reminders to wear sunscreen every day and stay hydrated, rave about the latest songs she was obsessed with and share her struggles with anxiety and depression. If followers were experiencing anxiety attacks, @emoblackthot was there to talk them through it over DMs.

On a platform overflowing with trolls and angry callouts, @emoblackthot stood out through her promotion of self-care and vulnerability and, as a consequence, quickly became viral. There was only one problem: she was not the person she claimed to be.