Gabbie Hanna's Manic Episode

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Part of a series on Gabbie Hanna. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Gabbie Hanna's Manic Episode, also known as Gabbie Hanna's Manic TikToks or Gabbie Hanna's Psychosis, refers to online speculation that former Vine star and YouTuber Gabbie Hanna has been in the midst of a manic, bipolar episode since the beginning of 2021, which some allege is evident from her "unhinged" Instagram Stories, TikTok videos and tweets. The discussion started when she likened her manic state to the "H" in ADHD (hyperactivity). Online reactions surfaced again en masse in mid-2022 when she posted excessive amounts of TikToks in one-hour spans, filming herself singing in the mirror and talking about her delusions. People speculated that she might be promoting new music, however, after Hanna said perceivably racist comments about Black mothers and people, internet users did not know what to believe. Additionally, she let a stranger named Nicholas into her home shortly after the cops arrived and cleared her during a wellness check.

History

ADHD Diagnosis Controversy

In early 2021, fans of Gabbie Hanna began to worry about her mental health due to the perceived "manic state" she portrayed in many of her videos and livestreams. On April 21st and 22nd, 2021, Hanna posted a series of since-deleted tweets that stated she was suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), likening her manic state to the condition.

Twitter^[1] user b1tch182 was one who replied to Hanna's April 21st tweet, criticizing her claim by stating, "girl I have adhd too and emotional dysregulation is a part of it but for you to run back and be like OH YEAH THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF MY ADHD, like stop dude. Most of us don't go around playing victim because someone didn't like our poetry. Please stop using ND as a shield." The reply received roughly 2,400 likes.

On April 22nd, 2021, Twitter^[2] user defnoodles started a thread with a video of Hanna talking about ADHD on her livestream. The thread continued with multiple screenshots of Hanna's since-deleted tweets (shown below).

A few days after the aforementioned tweets, Hanna went on Instagram Live and claimed that her current, perceivably manic state was a result of the "H" (hyperactivity) in ADHD. Screen recordings of the moment then surfaced on Twitter^[3] and TikTok^[4] on April 24th and 25th, 2021 (shown below, left). On April 29th, TikToker^[5] sophie_steger posted a stitch with a Hanna TikTok, claiming that she was in a manic state and not suffering from ADHD, using her own experience with ADHD to justify the claim. In a year and a half, the TikTok received roughly 65,200 plays and 8,200 likes (shown below, right).

Continued Awareness and Memes

The idea that Gabbie Hanna was suffering a manic episode started to cement itself in meme culture and online discourse going into the remainder of 2021. For instance, on September 12th, 2021, Twitter^[6] user minasdotnet tweeted an Instagram Story screenshot that humorously compared the difference between the Euphoria character Jules' manic episode to Hanna's, earning roughly 4,800 likes in 11 months (shown below).

2022 Manic TikToks

In early 2022, awareness of Gabbie Hanna's manic state became prevalent on TikTok. On March 16th, 2022, Hanna admitted in a TikTok^[7] video that she's bipolar, further stating that some days she wants to "kill herself" while other days she wants to "save the world." The video received roughly 334,100 plays and 23,700 likes in five months (shown below, left). On July 14th, 2022, TikToker^[8] snaggletoothlou posted a duet in which Hanna ate watermelon and talked about "the only way that regrets can exist." Snaggletoothlou joked about what a "manic" might do after hearing Hanna's advice, earning roughly 5,900 plays in one month (shown below, right).

On August 22nd, 2022, Twitter^[13] user lenpuppy tweeted, "Gabbie Hanna is having a live full blown manic psychotic episode on tiktok right now somebody pls help her she is not okay," earning roughly 2,400 likes in two days. Twitter^[14] user lenpuppy then tweeted a reply stating, "Religious fervour and delusion of grandeur and she hasn’t slept for days. She needs HELP."

On August 23rd, 2022, TikToker^[9] doctoranch posted a screen-recording of scrolling through Hanna's TikTok profile, first showing a video in which she said, "I'm just living my best life," and then scrolling to a video posted roughly eight hours earlier of her screaming, "Help me!" into her mirror. The video received roughly 883,100 plays and 82,700 likes in one day (shown below, left).

The aforementioned video sparked mass discussion on TikTok about Hanna's mental state. For instance, a few hours later, TikToker^[10] spillsesh_yt posted a screen-recording of her scrolling through roughly 100 videos posted by Hanna in the span of a few hours, using the evidence to highlight Hanna's declining mental health. In less than a day, the video received roughly 917,000 plays and 62,800 likes (shown below, right).

Hanna's manic TikTok posting continued into the next day as other social media platforms became aware of the discourse. For instance, on August 23rd, 2022, Twitter^[11] user kelllliemarie captioned Squidward looking scared on a bench with, "me when gabbie hanna’s manic tiktoks pop up on my fyp," earning roughly 3,200 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also on August 23rd, Twitter^[12] user sigmarsballs joked about how Hanna's fans were rationalizing the TikToks, saying that she was having a "spiritual awakening." The tweet received roughly 4,100 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

On August 24th, 2022, Hanna posted a TikTok^[15] that stated the cops had come to her home for a "wellness check," most likely due to her TikToks. In less than a day, the video received roughly 233,500 plays and 1,700 likes (shown below, left). Roughly an hour later, she posted a follow-up TikTok^[16] to prove that the cops found her well enough to remain at home, receiving roughly 395,200 plays and 5,600 likes in four hours (shown below, right).

Racist Comments Controversy / "Woman Of Color"

On August 23rd, 2022, Twitter^[17] user itsmiranduhh tweeted about Hanna saying, "black women naturally embody the holy spirit because black mothers are always left to raise their babies alone when the father leaves,” in one of her videos. The tweet received roughly 7,700 likes in one day.

During Hanna's TikTok posting, she uploaded multiple videos that were racially controversial. For instance, on August 23rd, 2022, she posted a TIkTok^[18] in which she joked about sitting at the front of the bus when going to a predominantly Black school (shown below, left). On August 24th, 2022, she posted a TikTok^[19] in which she called herself a "person of color" and relayed the difficulty of being a POC in a predominantly white neighborhood (shown below, right).

Nicholas / Stranger Visit

Shortly after the police visited Hanna's home and gave her a wellness check, an alleged stranger named Nicholas appeared at Hanna's home, speculated to have arrived due to her cryptic, unhinged TikTok posting. On August 24th, 2022, she posted a TikTok^[20] of Nicholas in her home, stating that he arrived at her door saying that he was lost and need to use the bathroom. Then, they allegedly prayed together and were going to go for a run (shown below, left).

Hanna posted multiple TikToks with Nicholas of them dancing, talking and laughing. She even called him a "lost angel." Hours later, Hanna posted another TikTok^[21] of her yelling at Nicholas, telling him to leave her house after she found out that he knew who she was (shown below, right).