When Baylen Dupree first started posting TikToks in 2020, she quickly amassed a following of devoted fans for her playful, unfiltered videos of a young person enduring the pandemic while managing her vocal and motor tics. When Dupree’s symptoms began to reach their most extreme heights, curiosity and hate inevitably started to flood her comments. Trolls accused her of exaggerating her condition for likes, or questioned how she was able to maintain a job while living with Tourette’s. But instead of sitting back and letting the internet pick her apart, the West Virginia native leveraged the spotlight to explain the complexities of her condition, a syndrome that can manifest in myriad ways. After a quick stop on Dr. Phil, Dupree started working on Baylen Out Loud, the new TLC show depicting her everyday life. A few weeks ago, our editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg got on the phone with Dupree to ask about her rise to internet stardom. Eventually, the two got talking about Taylor Swift, Chipotle orders, and her recent engagement.

———

MEL OTTENBERG: Hey, Baylen. What’s up? I’m Mel.

BAYLEN DUPREE: Hi, it’s nice to meet you. How are you?

OTTENBERG: I’m good. Congrats on your engagement.

DUPREE: It’s been so nice.

OTTENBERG: When did you guys get engaged?

DUPREE: The real date?

OTTENBERG: Yeah, give me the real date.

DUPREE: September 9th.

OTTENBERG: Amazing. 

DUPREE: I’m not wearing the ring, but I appreciate it.

OTTENBERG: Also, congrats on one month of Baylen Out Loud. You weren’t in my TikTok algorithm, but somehow I hit on the show the first week and I’m so into it.

DUPREE: Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you’re loving it. 

OTTENBERG: Why did you want to do a show?

DUPREE: Usually, on TikTok, I generate clips that are positive and happy—the things that I want to show. And the show turned my whole life into being shown. It gives people a broader idea of how my life is with Tourette’s. A different audience is being brought in, and I wanted to be able to reach that audience so that Tourette’s can be explained correctly. It is very complex, and the way it’s demonstrated needs to be very articulate, or else it can really turn into exploiting the condition and making fun of it. A lot of shows in Hollywood don’t demonstrate Tourette’s correctly. The more education, the more awareness, the more ways that we can get Tourette’s out there to people that have maybe never heard of it, or have misconceptions about it, the better. All I wanted to do was bring something that has authenticity. And I wanted people to know that Tourette’s looks different in everyone.

OTTENBERG: You talked on the show about why you started a TikTok. Can you explain that? I thought that was cool.

DUPREE: I started TikTok for fun, and I didn’t really make it about my Tourette’s because it didn’t impact my life that much at the time. Then, when COVID happened, my tics escalated. It was very hard for me to go out in public. When I did go out in public, I was made fun of, I was stared at, I was humiliated, I was videotaped. But if you’re going to talk about me and who I am, I want it to come out of my mouth and my mouth only—and not from people that follow me around a store. I wanted to take my power back after it was thrown in the dirt, basically. 

OTTENBERG: Absolutely. I like that story you just told because you were like, “I’m not going to let this be a bunch of laughs on someone else’s TikTok. This is my story, and I’m going to tell it.” You have ten million followers now, but how long did it take to pop off?

DUPREE: I want to say I started TikTok in November or December of 2020. Then by March, I had three million followers, and I was on Dr. Phil. But it started very casually. I made a video trying to explain another video that went viral for Victoria’s Secret, but I couldn’t get through it because of my tics, and everyone thought I was faking. 

OTTENBERG: Do you love making TikToks?

DUPREE: I couldn’t be more blessed and grateful for this opportunity because it’s very hard for me to have a nine-to-five job. I had to drop out of college because I couldn’t even get through a lecture due to my tics and my bipolar got too bad and I needed to come home. All that said, I’m just very grateful to be an influencer and to hopefully be able to brighten the world a little bit with education, awareness, and just more kindness towards people. I’m able to be a voice for people that don’t feel like they have one. It means a lot to me to be able to help those people and to make sure that I am never the person that I was before social media. I’m grateful my life turned out like this.

OTTENBERG: You’re a month into this show being out. How has your life changed since it premiered? 

DUPREE: It’s amazing, honestly. The other day, me and Colin were sitting at Chipotle and someone came up to us. He’s like, “You two are amazing. My wife is a special education teacher, and she has waited 25 years for a show to come out like this to help people understand.” I don’t really get to see the difference until people come up to me and tell me their story. Then, I get to know their story and their name and tell them how much it means to have the support that I do. Because it takes a village, and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without all of the people surrounding me.

OTTENBERG: Right on. All right, you were just at Chipotle. What’s your favorite restaurant?

DUPREE: Cava. 100 percent.

OTTENBERG: What’s the order?

DUPREE: So I get a “Green + Grains” bowl with white rice and romaine, and sometimes arugula if I want to spice it up. I actually don’t get any of the dips. I get the regular pita chips. The ranch ones are good, but I just don’t like the stuff on my fingers. Then I’ll get chicken, pickled onions, Persian cucumbers, and balsamic and garlic dressing. It’s a very simple order, not Mediterranean, but it is what it is.

OTTENBERG: Okay. Do you drink coffee, or do you have a favorite drink order?

DUPREE: I’ll drink lattes, but I prefer carbonation. Right now, I’m drinking the only Monster I like, the purple one. But I went to Kansas for the first time and got 7 Brew Coffee, and I’ve never been more in love with their type of energy drinks.

OTTENBERG: Wait, will you hold it up again? I’m going to take a picture of us together, because it was really funny. What music are you into? Are you a Swiftie?

DUPREE: I like Taylor Swift’s music, but I love Christian music. Elevation Worship, Lauren Daigle, TobyMac. I’m also a huge country person. We got Bailey Zimmerman, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean… Jason Aldean’s wife followed me on Instagram yesterday and I almost cried. 

OTTENBERG: What’s your favorite episode?

DUPREE: I would say, between episode one and five, episode three was my favorite. It just was.

OTTENBERG: Is that the travel one?

DUPREE: Yeah. That’s where I ended up at TIC-CON. 

OTTENBERG: I’m going to say I think it’s cool that your favorite is the one at TIC-CON. Because I understand that you said that having Tourette’s is being in constant pain, but you’re also awesome. That’s what’s so interesting about the show. You’re able to show something that’s really rough for you, but it’s funny because you’re funny and not because we’re laughing at a disability. And that is brilliant.

DUPREE: That, and the episode just shows how everyone is different, regardless of having Tourette’s or not. There’s a lot that is unpacked. My birthday is right around the corner, and there is a fight that happens between me and Colin at the birthday party over moving in together. There is an adjustment period. There is obviously the engagement—which a lot of people think is next week’s episode, but it’s not. You will see how that goes down and how Colin went behind my back through the last episodes to plan all of it. I had some idea, but also no idea, if that makes sense.

OTTENBERG: Now you’re a TikTok star and a reality show star. What other walls do you want to break down, Baylen?

DUPREE: I would love to start exploring public speaking. Don’t get me wrong, since I was six years old, I wanted to be a model. But I don’t think that I’ll encounter that realm, so we’ll stick to public speaking. I want to go to schools and colleges to help educate, but also share a personal story, because that personal connection means a lot to some people. I feel like my story and my family’s story is relatable, so if I can bring that in-person and meet more people, I would love that.

OTTENBERG: Awesome. Let’s set the record straight, Baylen. What’s a common misconception about you that you want to address?

DUPREE: The common misconception about me, and about Tourette’s in general, is that it looks the same for everyone. But when you’ve met one person with Tourette’s, you’ve only met one person with Tourette’s. Second, people just think Tourette’s is cussing, and it’s not. Only 10 percent of people with Tourette’s have what is called Coprolalia. Society addresses Tourette’s as the swearing disease, and it’s not even a disease.

OTTENBERG: What is it?

DUPREE: Tourette’s is an involuntary motor and vocal disorder, so it’s neurological. However, you also have the comorbidities that come with it. It’s kind of like an iceberg. Above the iceberg, you have the tics, which people see. Below the water are the comorbidities, like bipolar, autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression—that the majority of people with Tourette’s also have.

OTTENBERG: That makes sense. I’m very ADD, by the way.

DUPREE: No, you’re fine.

OTTENBERG: You’re right, Baylen. I’m ADD, but I am fine. Thank you. Do you have a lot of friends with Tourette’s? Did you meet a lot of friends at—

DUPREE: TIC-CON?

OTTENBERG: Yeah. Because that girl’s in the last episode, the blonde one.

DUPREE: Olivia, yes. She’s a sweetheart. I went to advocacy day last year around March, and that was the first time I ever integrated myself with the TAA [Tourette Association of America] and met people with Tourette’s. It is truly an amazing connection. I have never felt so welcomed and at peace in an environment with other people who all get each other. For example, even my parents had connections with other parents because everyone has similar stories— doctors just not knowing, or doctors telling them, “You belong in a psych ward. You don’t belong in society.” I’ve had that said to me, so to hear someone else have the same exact story, it feels like we are not the problem. We’re not the problem. This community has never been the problem. It’s the people that choose to not understand. My doctor that I have now, she looked at me and goes, “This is exciting. I love taking cases that no one else wants to touch.” She loves her job so much that she is willing to help every patient. What she told me is, “We’re not going to focus on the conditions. We’re going to focus on you, the symptoms that you have, and the symptoms that we can help. We’re not going to label.” I just wish that there were more people like her in the Tourette’s community, because people need doctors like that. There’s kids in the TAA that need doctors like that. There is the community, friendships, and connection. But at the end of the day, having somebody represent you as a doctor, who actually believes in you and supports you, is a different story, and it’s very hard to come by. 

OTTENBERG: I’m glad you found that doctor. That’s awesome.

DUPREE: She’s in the show.

OTTENBERG: Oh, yeah. She’s the one that you meet with your mom and gives you the options, right?

DUPREE: Yes. She’s the most intelligent person I’ve ever met. She gave us a deep dive into brain stimulation and all of that wonderful jazz, but I’m just very glad that she’s on the show because I adore her and I look up to her. She just loves her job a lot.

OTTENBERG: I’ve got one more question for you. For the kids at home, what’s the secret to crushing it on TikTok?

DUPREE: I don’t know, because I say all the time that I wish I was a better influencer. There’s other influencers that I’m like, “Oh my god, I wish I was that type of influencer.”

OTTENBERG: You’re so good at it, though. I like that you’re just telling it like it is.

DUPREE: True, true. My advice is, if you want to be an influencer, go for it. But make sure that your niche is your niche and you’re still being yourself. Once you start wanting to be other people, you lose your authenticity, and that’s what people want. Being yourself, it just matters when it comes to building anything: a brand, a following, friendships, finding a circle. Being yourself and trying to become a better person is all you can do. That’s, to me, all that matters, because that’s what I watch—people that just are themselves and love life. Time is precious, and comparison is the thief of joy, so you really have to stick to your roots and who you are.

OTTENBERG: I’m so happy to talk to you. Wait, one more question. How did Colin propose?

DUPREE: [Laughs] You’ll see it. 

OTTENBERG: That’s fair.