The Rise and Fall of That Vegan Teacher
In the summer of 2020, a ukulele-strumming Canadian ex-teacher named Kadie Karen Diekmeyer—better known as That Vegan Teacher—took TikTok by storm.
With a 15-second tune titled "Eating Animals is Wrong, McDonald’s," she rapidly gained traction and became one of the platform’s most polarizing figures. Her quirky activism earned her 1.7 million followers faster than any activist before her, as she graded strangers’ meals, preached about plant-based diets, and called out celebrities like Gordon Ramsay.
But her rise was short-lived. Controversial statements, offensive comparisons, and an inappropriate comment toward a teenage YouTuber turned fascination into backlash. By February 2021, TikTok banned her. Today, she’s a shadow of her former self—relegated to a niche YouTube audience.
This is the spectacular downfall of That Vegan Teacher—a modern parable of how viral fame can implode.
From School Teacher to TikTok Sensation
Before TikTok fame, Diekmeyer lived an ordinary life in Montreal, Canada. After 25 years as a registered nurse, she became an ESL teacher. But by 2019, disillusioned with the influence of the meat and dairy industries on her students’ lives, she left teaching to pursue full-time vegan activism.
She joined TikTok with earnest animal rights videos, but it was her July 2020 song "Eating Animals is Wrong, McDonald’s" that catapulted her into the spotlight. Playing her ukulele and calling out the fast-food chain, the clip went viral. She followed it up with catchy, confrontational jingles and bold slogans like “vegan because paying for murder is wrong.”
By early 2021, she had amassed over 1.7 million followers. Some admired her passion. Others watched for the drama.
The Controversies That Fueled the Fire
Diekmeyer’s success was powered as much by outrage as activism. As her platform grew, so did her boldness. She urged fans to abandon religions that didn’t align with veganism, alienating Christians, Muslims, and others.
In one video, she controversially compared coming out as vegan to coming out as LGBTQ+, calling the latter “selfish.” Her analogies between animal agriculture and the Holocaust—singing lines like “animals are in places as horrible as Nazi camps”—were widely condemned as offensive and trivializing.
She also posted graphic footage of animal slaughter on a platform frequented by teenagers. Her decision to feed her dog Bella a vegan diet sparked a 44,000-signature petition demanding Bella be rehomed.
By early 2021, more than 20,000 people had signed a Change.org petition calling for her ban from TikTok, citing hate speech, racism, and harm to minors.
Clashes with Titans: Gordon Ramsay and TommyInnit
Her provocative content reached celebrity territory. She challenged chef Gordon Ramsay with a custom song urging him to go vegan. Ramsay clapped back with a viral duet—biting into a burger and calling her a “vegan donut.” The clip earned 41 million views and solidified her role as an internet punchline.
But it was her interaction with 16-year-old YouTuber TommyInnit that proved most damaging. In December 2020, she stitched one of his videos, suggesting he show fruits and vegetables to attract “nice vegan girls.” Viewers interpreted the innuendo as inappropriate toward a minor.
Backlash was swift. Commentary channels, TikTok tea accounts, and social media erupted, labeling her behavior predatory. Combined with her growing list of controversies, public opinion had turned decisively against her.
The Banhammer Falls
On February 22, 2021, TikTok banned That Vegan Teacher for “multiple community guideline violations.” While TikTok didn’t officially cite the TommyInnit incident, many assumed it was the final straw.
The ban was celebrated across social media—memes, reaction videos, and “TikTok is safe again” posts spread like wildfire.
Diekmeyer responded with a 23-minute YouTube video titled "Censorship: Why Good People Must Rise Up and Speak Out." She vowed to continue her activism, attempting to return under alternate account names like That.HolocaustTeacher and That Vegan Nurse—all quickly banned. Her final TikTok foothold, Miss Katie’s Vegan School, gained 50,000 followers in a week before being shut down.
YouTube Exile and Waning Influence
With TikTok permanently closed off, Diekmeyer turned to YouTube. Her channel had 40,000 subscribers in early 2021; by mid-2025, it’s grown to 265,000. But her engagement is a shadow of her TikTok heyday—most videos struggle to break a few thousand views.
She now posts hour-long green-screen rants, reactions to critics, and reads old TikTok comments. Likes and comments are often disabled.
Controversy followed her to YouTube. In March 2021, she posted a video titled "Are You Racist?" in which she spelled out a racial slur using an acrostic poem. The intended anti-racism message backfired, sparking immediate backlash. She defended herself in a 30-minute rant, but the damage was done. Popular creators like PewDiePie and SSSniperWolf mocked her in widely shared videos, isolating her further.
A Mixed Legacy for Veganism
Diekmeyer’s legacy within the vegan movement is complicated. On one hand, she introduced millions to animal rights topics. On the other, her aggressive style—comparing meat-eating to genocide, shaming religious and LGBTQ+ communities—cast a negative light on the cause.
Many vegan communities on Reddit and Discord distanced themselves. Animal rights organizations like PETA avoided affiliation. On forums like r/DebateAVegan, users dissect her approach as harmful to the movement’s credibility.
The Human Cost of Online Hate
Despite her missteps, Diekmeyer’s story also highlights the darker side of internet culture. In 2021, false rumors of her death circulated widely. She had to publish a video titled "Why Does Everyone Always Think I’m Dead?" to debunk them.
More disturbingly, her house was vandalized with eggs—an act she documented on YouTube—proving how digital hate can cross into the real world. No matter how disliked she was, harassment of this kind crossed ethical lines.
Where She Stands Today
As of June 2025, That Vegan Teacher remains a minor internet figure. Her YouTube is a quiet space compared to the chaos of her TikTok days. She’s often referred to as an “internet lolcow”—a figure watched for mockery—but even that attention is waning.
TikTok continues to ban any new accounts she creates. The broader vegan community rejects her methods. Her moment in the spotlight has faded into an internet cautionary tale.
A Cautionary Tale of Viral Fame
That Vegan Teacher’s downfall is a textbook case of how viral fame can be lost just as quickly as it’s gained. Her devotion to veganism was sincere, but her shock tactics—offensive analogies, controversial comments, and aggressive content—alienated nearly everyone.
Her rise and fall underscore a hard truth about online influence: passion without boundaries can turn into provocation, and provocation without empathy can destroy even the most explosive popularity.
