That Vegan Teacher, whose real name is Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, is a Canadian animal rights activist and former educator who gained notoriety on social media for promoting veganism in provocative ways.
Born on September 24, 1964, in Montreal, Quebec, Diekmeyer worked as a registered nurse and an elementary school teacher (ESL teacher) before leaving her job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue a full-time career as an internet personality (Tiktoker and YouTuber).
Key Takeaways: That Vegan Teacher
- That Vegan Teacher real name is Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, is a controversial internet personality known for preaching veganism aggressively on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
- She went viral on TikTok in 2020 with relaxing songs promoting vegan beliefs before being permanently banned in 2021 for multiple community guidelines violations.
- Diekmeyer claims that not being vegan supports the murder of animals and aggressively attacks public figures who aren’t vegan.
- She has provoked significant backlash for using polarizing tactics, inappropriate behavior, and inflammatory rhetoric accused of racism and homophobia.
- Despite bans from major platforms, That Vegan Teacher remains a widely referenced example of how internet fame can incentivize harmful behavior and activism gone awry.
Diekmeyer’s Foray into Vegan Activism
Diekmeyer has been an ethical vegan since 2016. She began anonymously posting open letters in her local newspaper criticizing animal cruelty in the early 2000s. In 2018, Diekmeyer joined YouTube, creating the channel Miss Karen English Teacher, where she posted educational videos. After a friend suggested she join TikTok in 2020, Diekmeyer created the account @thatveganteacher and quickly went viral for her offbeat vegan-themed songs and lighthearted videos.
Rapid Growth and Controversy Veganism on TikTok
As That Vegan Teacher, Miss Kadie Diekmeyer preached veganism while lambasting high-profile creators for eating meat, harshly judging religious dietary practices, and equating animal agriculture to slavery and the Holocaust. She accused meat eaters of animal abuse and claimed God was vegan. Diekmeyer’s abrasive approach was considered harmful by many vegans.
Blowback for Inappropriate Comments
In December 2020, Diekmeyer made sexually suggestive remarks about then-16-year-old gamer TommyInnit, leading to allegations of harassment from his fanbase. The next month, Diekmeyer declared that “coming out as vegan” was more important than coming out as LGBTQ+, sparking outrage from marginalized groups. TikTok permanently banned Diekmeyer in February 2021 for multiple community guidelines violations.
Transition to YouTube and Ongoing Controversies
After losing her TikTok account, Diekmeyer pivoted to posting daily on YouTube as That Vegan Teacher. She continued feuding with prominent YouTubers like MrBeast and Gordon Ramsay while accusing household names like Beyonce and Paul McCartney of hypocrisy for promoting veganism while not condemning meat eaters. Diekmeyer also faced backlash for comments construed as racist, transphobic, and fatphobic.
Criticism of Diekmeyer’s Tactics
Many vegans have denounced Diekmeyer’s preachy, confrontational style and inconsistent messaging. Some believe her shock value stunts undermine the vegan movement while others feel she exploits veganism for clout and donations. Critics also take issue with Diekmeyer bullying children, portraying veganism as a religion, and equating human and animal oppression.
Animal Welfare Concerns
In late 2020, Diekmeyer declared she would refuse to donate her organs to meat eaters. Critics accused her of animal abuse for feeding her elderly dog a vegan diet against veterinary recommendations, sparking petitions to remove the dog from Diekmeyer’s care. Diekmeyer insists the dog is healthy, though she was accused in 2021 of staging videos to make the dog appear more active than its advanced age would suggest.
Deplatforming Efforts and Social Media Exile
Diekmeyer’s controversial behavior motivated mass reporting campaigns spearheaded by gamers, K-pop fans, and TikTok collectives to get her content removed and accounts shut down. By mid-2022, Diekmeyer had been permanently banned from TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. YouTube declined to deplatform her, though Diekmeyer claimed the platform’s algorithm stopped recommending her videos.
Diekmeyer’s Response to Cancellation
Diekmeyer portrays herself as a martyr canceling cancel culture. She insists the mainstream media skews coverage of her activism because they are funded by big agriculture and pharmaceutical companies that profit from animal exploitation. Diekmeyer also alleges religious organizations, gamers, and the LGBTQ+ community conspire to silence her vegan message.
Continued Activism Despite Diminished Reach
Though largely deplatformed, Diekmeyer still uploads videos on smaller platforms, collaborates with other vegan activists, and runs an online vegan merchandise store. Some supporters see Diekmeyer as a dedicated if problematic advocate bringing attention to animal rights issues. Others feel her polarizing tactics do more harm than good for the vegan movement. Diekmeyer maintains all press is good press for veganism.
Final Months on TikTok of The Animal Rights Activist
In the last months of 2020 before her TikTok ban, Diekmeyer continued stirring up drama and outrage. She disparaged beloved figures like Paul McCartney and Elton John for not being vegan enough while accusing celebrities like Gordon Ramsay and MrBeast of serious crimes for eating meat.
In response, Ramsay posted a video nodding along to the song whilst eating lettuce. He called her a “vegan donut” and at the end of the video, took a large bite from a burger.
“Beef burgers were consumed while making this TikTok” was the caption. Later posting the video on his Instagram account, Ramsay said: “It’s an honor a song was written about me….and now back to my beef burger.”
Legacy of a Lightning Rod Figure
That Vegan Teacher’s radical style made her a lightning rod for backlash and outrage. To supporters, she spoke necessary truths about animal exploitation. To critics, she cyberbullied innocents while devaluing worthwhile activism. But whether loved or loathed, The Vegan Teacher inserted veganism into the cultural zeitgeist like few before her.
Considering the Nuances of Cancel Culture
Diekmeyer’s deplatforming raises complex questions about activism, extremism, free speech, and consequences. Is cancel culture justified against harmful rhetoric or does it go too far in stifling dissent? How should social media balance free expression with accountability for misinformation and hate? Diekmeyer provokes an examination of these issues from myriad angles.
Animal Welfare Gone Awry
Though passionate about animal rights, Diekmeyer sometimes appeared to value animals over human life. She refused to donate organs to meat eaters in need and suggested euthanizing carnivorous pets, stances criticized as unethical even by vegan standards. However extreme, Diekmeyer believed she was furthering a noble cause.
Seeking Shocks Over Sense
Diekmeyer’s eagerness to shock and provoke often overshadowed her underlying message. Offensive Holocaust comparisons and sexually charged jokes about minors epitomized her inclination for spectacle over substance. Such statements undermined Diekmeyer’s credibility regarding animal exploitation.
Hypocrisy Goes Both Ways
Just as Diekmeyer called out public figures for hypocritical behavior, critics highlighted her inconsistencies. She positioned herself as an absolutist exemplar of nonviolence while alternately threatening violence against meat eaters. Accusations of Diekmeyer secretly eating meat herself further damaged her reputation as a paragon of vegan virtue.
When Trolling Feeds the Trolls
Diekmeyer’s abrasive attacks gratified her ego but inflamed haters. Failure to anticipate reprisals evinced shortsightedness and naivety in how her diatribes would be received. By providing outrage fuel, Diekmeyer engaged in counterproductive attention-seeking that worked against earnest change. Her methods amounted to little more than shallow clout chasing in critics’ eyes.
Promoting Progress Through Positivity
Though Diekmeyer saw shaming as motivation, many considered her preachy condemnation counterproductive. More activists argue progress emerges through leading by positive example, uplifting the like-minded, and applying compassion toward the unenlightened. Diekmeyer’s alienating approach reinforced perceptions of arrogant, militant veganism.
When Zealotry Breeds Hypocrisy
Diekmeyer demanded purity from others while excusing her missteps, a double standard typical of zealots. Her refusal to acknowledge issues with her methods exhibited closed-minded self-righteousness. Diekmeyer claimed vegan superiority yet showed similar biases to non-vegans, undercutting her moral authority. She personified hypocrisy while decrying it in others.
Promoting Progress Through Empowerment
Rather than dictate and denigrate, vegan activists increasingly seek to empower people toward more ethical choices, meeting people where they are. Such outreach focuses on systemic change over individual judgment. This constructive approach fosters openness absent from Diekmeyer’s hostile hectoring. Lasting change requires understanding hearts and minds before changing behavior.
The Danger of Tribal Tunnel Vision
In fixating on convert-shaming, Diekmeyer lost sight of veganism’s intersecting principles. Her single-issue absolutism bred intolerance of nuance in evaluating others’ struggles. In attacking good people over dietary choices, Diekmeyer’s us-versus-them mentality mirrored the tribalism she claimed to fight.
When Polarization Begets Prejudice
Diekmeyer’s extreme stances reveal how even well-intentioned causes can spawn prejudice when ideological zealotry takes over. Her statements against marginalized groups who felt veganism overshadowed their equality struggles showed a single-issue obsession fueling wider discrimination. Diekmeyer’s rhetoric contributed to polarization under the guise of ethics.
The Limits of Provocation as Protest
Shock activism like Diekmeyer’s grabs attention but rarely persuades. While provocation has a long history in social movements, today’s callout culture incentivizes outrage over discourse. Diekmeyer’s protests failed to ignite meaningful debate, instead hardening people’s existing biases. Incendiary activism often undermines more than it illuminates.
A Cautionary Tale of Radicalization
Diekmeyer exemplifies how even benign causes nurture extremism when adherents become unable to question their fanaticism. Her trajectory shows how proselytizing self-righteous ideologues lose the capacity for nuance, progress, or understanding divergent views. Diekmeyer demonstrates activism corrupted by sanctimony, unable to self-reflect. Her downfall remains a cautionary tale.
Seeking Unity Over Division
Today’s polarized climate demands activists build compassionate unity, not self-satisfied division, between groups. By fixating on differences, Diekmeyer drove wedges between human rights and animal welfare causes. Effective activism uplifts shared values rather than zero-sum tribalism. Diekmeyer failed to grasp that justice must be intersectional or risk undermining all social progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Vegan Teacher real name?
The Vegan Teacher is the online persona of Kadie Karen Diekmeyer, a Canadian animal rights activist known for aggressively promoting veganism on social media in provocative ways that have elicited significant criticism.
who owns Vegan Teacher?
The ownership of “Vegan Teacher” is not publicly disclosed.
How did she get famous?
Diekmeyer gained over 1 million TikTok followers in 2020 with relaxing songs about veganism before her polarizing attacks on public figures led to her account being banned in 2021.
What is she known for?
That Vegan Teacher is now known for her aggressive vegan preaching, use of inflammatory rhetoric, and inappropriate behavior that have gotten her banned from most platforms.
Why is she controversial?
She has faced extensive backlash for racist, homophobic comments and attacks on people who aren’t vegan. Her divisive tactics have undermined her activism aims.
Is she still active online?
Though banned from TikTok, Diekmeyer continues posting provocative vegan content on YouTube. She remains a widely referenced example of toxic internet fame and activism gone wrong.
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