A TikTok influencer is encouraging his followers to report strippers on the platform to the IRS
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- Ethan Keiser, a TikTok influencer, is going viral after saying he makes $60,000 a month reporting strippers to the IRS.
- Keiser broke down to to reporter people to the IRS for tax evasion using the whistleblower page.
- Strippers say the video spreads misinformation and encourages the harrassment of strippers.
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Ethan Keiser, a TikTok influencer with 840,000 followers on the app, claimed he is making money by reporting strippers to the IRS whistleblower page.
In a recent video, Keiser walked his followers through the steps of reporting strippers to the IRS.
He included a screenshot of the whistleblower page on the IRS website and explained that anyone can earn 30% of their money if they are not paying taxes, according to Rolling Stone.
He has been pivoting from his normal content in recent weeks and has instead been posting videos encouraging followers to follow suit and report strippers on TikTok to the IRS under the false pretense that strippers don't pay taxes, Rolling Stone reported.
"It's business, baby," he said in a video.
The influencer claimed to make $60,000 per month by "snitching" on TikTok strippers to the IRS.
Strippers Keiser has stitched with the video have faced online harassment from his followers, with some of them claiming they'll report or rob them.
"He's making it worse for us. We get so much hate and he creates so much more hate," Ashley DiMeo, a stripper and TikTok creator, told Rolling Stone.
Strippers face regular online harassment on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, while often getting their content removed
In recent years, sex workers have been using platforms like TikTok and YouTube to destigmatize the community and break down the ins and outs of the industry.
A popular trend on "StripTok" - the community of strippers on TikTok - is showing off a weekend's worth of earnings. Keiser has stitched multiple videos of dancers counting their cash with captions like "I'll be taking 30%."
In a follow-up video to the controversy, Keiser claimed his videos are meant to warn against posting about earnings as an independent contractor and "be careful flexing on social media if you are a 1099 worker."
Sex workers say his claims only worsen the regular harrassment they face on social media and encourage people to dox strippers.
Strippers pay taxes, as most independent contractors do
Despite the information in Keiser's videos, strippers do file taxes. Like dancers and singers, strippers can file their taxes in a variety of ways depending on their employment status.
"Every dancer is different, and every entertainer has different things going on. She may be filing taxes under her business, or filing taxes under her own brand," Bronx-based dancer Mona Marie told Vice.
Many strippers are considered independent contractors and file their taxes by estimating their gross income after keeping track of cash tips throughout the years and filling out a 1099 form.
It is only considered tax evasion if you have unreported income that goes 25% over your gross income.
"His incel videos are basically targeting dancers not only getting them harassed regarding taxes but he's also spreading false information," Instagram page TheDancersResource posted.