Coughs
Ve’ondre Mitchell is Them’s 2024 Now Award honoree in Internet Influence. The Now Awards honor 10 LGBTQ+ vanguards at the forefront of culture and change today. Read more here.
Buzzing with nerves and covered in animal print, Ve’ondre Mitchell arrives at the historic Los Angeles Black gay bar Catch One for her sold-out early March performance. The sweaty, neon-lit venue is a familiar setting for the TikTok darling, who has DJed and partied here before, but tonight is different. It’s the live debut of her new single, “IT GIRL (Fan Remix),” which she collaborated on with fellow TikTok phenomenon, Aliyah’s Interlude. While millions of eyes regularly watch Mitchell online, the idea of facing her fans IRL for a musical performance is still new. But when she finally steps onto the stage, heart beating and blood pumping, adorned in a furry cheetah hood and a bikini by designer Niohuru X that reads “BIG DICK GIRL,” her musical alter ego Vivalicious takes control. During her 15-second cameo on the viral track, fans scream the lyrics back at her:
Wouldn’t have it any other way, I’m one of the girls
We hardly get a rеp, bitch, spell it and hurl
T-R-A-N-N-Y (Daddy, chill, I’m one of the guys)
(Oh my God) Bеtween my thighs
Say it louder, Optimus Prime
The performance for Subculture Party, a queer pop-up rave, is extremely Ve’ondre. The creator is known for her comedic videos skewering and reclaiming perceptions of trans people in a culture where a fear of saying the “wrong” thing often forecloses deeper inquiry into the issues facing our community. She describes her work to me as a mix of “dark humor and activism,” from skits in which her friends pretend to give each other bottom surgery to videos where she pokes fun at people who think you can “pray the trans away.” What’s refreshing about Mitchell is her unburdened relationship with her identity: she deals with the daily obstacles trans people face with levity, poise, and boldness. Her transness isn’t a barrier; it’s a gift to the world.
Mitchell’s recent performance marked a major shift in the rising star’s career, cementing her evolution from a teenager making TikToks in her bedroom and singing in high-school choir to a vibrant name in music, modeling, and social media, all by the age of 20. Her feature on “IT GIRL” was the result of a fan-voted social media contest to find the song’s best remix, and it has already amassed more than 3.5 million streams on Spotify. Mitchell promises this is only the beginning.
“It was crazy to see that me just existing and talking about my story through music has made people feel this excited that I’m representing them,” Mitchell says. “The only reason this happened was because of [the fans] and because we’re here to represent. It just felt like a chapter turning in my life.”
Mitchell came into herself as trans in 2011 at age seven, a time when the tide was beginning to shift for trans youth in America seeking access to gender-affirming care. Raised by her single mother, Sarah, in what she describes as a “bigoted” suburb of Seattle, Mitchell had her mother’s support from the beginning. Sarah made it her life’s mission to support her daughter, advocating for her with teachers and commuting long hours every day to ensure her daughter attended an accepting school. “I’m so glad that we've grown up together and been best friends as we’ve grown up,” says Mitchell.
But even with the support of her ride-or-die, the world can be a scary place for trans kids. As Mitchell started experimenting with her presentation, dressing up in colorful tutus and dresses, she was acutely aware of how the world responded. Her mother felt protective. “She was a little afraid for me,” Mitchell says. “When we would go to the local Walgreens, there were already men talking to her about how ‘you shouldn’t be letting your child do that.’ It scared her.”
At the same time, she was also just a normal girl. She grew up on the internet, experimenting as early as sixth grade with lip-sync videos on the Musical.ly app, which would eventually merge with TikTok and become the popular social media platform we know today. By the time she was in middle school, Mitchell started filming YouTube videos with her friends, participating in popular trends of the 2010s like the blindfold or the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, just for fun.
Though she jokes about the meager metrics of these early videos, they planted the seed for something larger. In 2016, she was asked to be in the documentary The Most Dangerous Year, which followed families with trans children fighting discriminatory legislation. Afterward, Mitchell felt inspired to shift the focus of her videos and create more content advocating for the rights and representation of her community. As she grew more comfortable with the platform, she expanded her offerings to include personal Q&As and other explorations of trans identity. She proved that she could be playful and educational at the same time, making funny videos about everyday teenage challenges like finding a date for prom or dealing with high-school drama, but imbuing them with her perspective as a young trans woman of color.
“I was working as soon as I got out of school every single day,” Mitchell says. “I would be making my videos in my room until 1 a.m. I would not sleep a lot of the time just wanting to make these dreams come true.”
In her sophom*ore year, after years of gradually growing her audience, Mitchell landed her first brand partnership, making a sponsored video for a Bluetooth headphones brand called Zamz Pods. By age 16 she was regularly being flown to New York and Los Angeles for gigs. At the same time, Mitchell was still in high school amid the chaotic early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. She would “air out her business” on social media about the struggles of teenage life, but much of her connection with other trans people happened online. While she felt isolated and left out in school, fellow trans creators Zaya Perysian and Gia Canning were there for her virtually, FaceTiming and supporting her from afar.
The first time she came to L.A. alone was for a content creation gig in 2021 with The House of Finesse, a group of TikTok creatives that called themselves the “first diverse fashion creator house.” It was there that she was able to meet Perysian and Canning in person for the first time; they remain some of her closest friends. Mitchell credits the experience with helping her through an unusual high school experience that often left her feeling radically different from her peers.
“Social media gave me a sense of being proud,” Mitchell says. “I was gaining validation from so many different people. I could find other people who do support me genuinely. I found my whole trans community online. There’s a bunch of other trans creators coming up with me at the time who I’m still friends with to this day.”
“I think how much harder I’ve had to work has prepared me for what’s to come.”
Brand partnership after brand partnership started to pay off, and by the time she graduated high school in 2022, Mitchell had saved enough to make the move to the City of Angels, like many aspiring starlets before her. These days, she leads a relatively normal life in central Los Angeles doing what many other 20-year-old girls like to do: hanging out with friends, shopping, and, of course, making content. When she was younger, she promised herself, “I’m gonna make my dreams come true by 18.” She is, more or less, right on schedule.
Mitchell and I meet for our interview on a recent Monday at The Cheesecake Factory at the Americana, a much memed-about mall in Glendale where microcelebs go to see and be seen. I’m waiting for her under the vaulted ceilings of the chain’s ornate entry when I spot her. She’s dressed in a structured jean dress with natural hair and skin, contrasting her rave-inspired GRWMs from social media. As we weave through booths and families enjoying cheeseburger egg rolls, she’s already bubbling over with conversation. “I love your energy,” she tells me.
After settling into our own booth, she shares that much of her artistic inspiration originates from Black trans communities. She counts ballroom as a major influence, along with RuPaul’s Drag Race, streetwear, and hyperpop. The combination of these incredibly trans influences results in something uniquely Ve’ondre. For me, as a 33-year-old trans person who came out later in life, it’s refreshing to see someone younger rise above what others might think of us. When discussing Mitchell’s new music, I bring up the discourse around using the word ‘queer,’ and how some older LGBTQ+ folks still consider it a slur. “Really?” says Mitchell. The idea of it is refreshingly foreign to her. But that’s exactly who Mitchell is: unafraid to own even the T-slur, floating gleefully above the discourse.
“The lyrics I put on my verse were really just a response of trying to reclaim the word,” she tells me of her viral “It Girl” remix. “ I feel like it’s been a derogatory word that has been used against trans people for so long. I wanted to bring some celebration to that word and make us feel like it can’t be used against us.”
A common Ve’ondre video trope is reclaiming harmful experiences many trans people have in a lighthearted way, exploring issues like getting misgendered, experiencing dysphoria, or coming out as trans to intimate partners. In a recent video set to “He Knows” by Camilla Cabello, Mitchell muses about whether potential suitors can tell she’s trans. As the video progresses, screenshots from her extensive library flash on the screen. “You’re genuinely one of the most attractive women I’ve ever seen” reads one fan comment. Mitchell also helped popularize the niche online slang of referring to trans people as “transformers” — a trend she continued with the Optimus Prime reference in her “IT GIRL” feature. She calls her stans by the same name.
But Mitchell’s seemingly rosy career as a creator hasn’t been without its thorns. She says she has experienced transphobia in the industry, not to mention the hateful comments her work subjects her to online. For trans creators across the board, brand partnerships are tougher than ever thanks to corporate fears of conservative backlash, Mitchell tells me. But she is taking it in stride.
“The backlash towards trans people has always been prominent, especially with trans people of color,” Mitchell says. “Trans people are under a microscope right now. People are so focused on us because they’re trying to distract from other things in the world going on that are actual issues.”
“At the end of the day, I’m a woman. I just like to exist, I don’t like to think about the discrimination I face every day.”
For her, the idea of brands avoiding trans people is a short-sighted strategy, especially considering the increasing percentage of young people who are openly LGBTQ+. Mitchell’s advice for brands is simple: “If you want longevity in your brand, you’re going to want to be progressive. The generations that are to come are more progressive because bigotry is essentially fading away. It is okay to stand firm with those who are marginalized because we are going to become the majority.”
In the long term, Mitchell hopes she can be less reliant on brand partnerships and let her star power fuel how she makes money. This means more opportunities in music, acting, directing, and maybe even less of a focus on her trans identity.
“At the end of the day, I’m a woman. I just like to exist, I don’t like to think about the discrimination I face every day,” Mitchell says. “I think being able to monetize myself as a person without needing brands makes me have more leverage to have a voice. My voice is not dependent on these brands, nor is the way the world views me.”
With all of her success, it’s easy to forget that Mitchell has hit so many career milestones before she can legally consume alcohol, not even a Cheesecake Factory margarita. She teases that she has new music coming, with the theme of mothering other baby transes. Though she can’t reveal much, she says she will be “very active” in music with “lots of projects coming out.” She was particularly chuffed that she was invited to attend Coachella — and who knows, maybe the Coachella mainstage is in her future?
“I think I’ve had to work 10 times harder than anybody else in my field,” she says. “I’ve seen a lot of people go and I’ve seen so many people realize this is not what they wanted. This whole time I’ve been wanting this and I think how much harder I’ve had to work has prepared me for what’s to come.”
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Originally Appeared on them.
