Ashley Leechin
Born1993 or 1994 (age 30–31)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Internet personality
  • nurse
TikTok information
Page
Followers1.6 million
Likes29.3 million
Last updated: August 25, 2023

Ashley Leechin (born 1993[1]) is an American internet personality[2] and nurse known for her “resemblance” to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Leechin has posted social media content that largely focused on her life as a "Taylor Swift lookalike".[3]

Leechin has made public appearances dressed as Swift, which she considers a social experiment, and described the experience as "horrific".[4] A number of Swifties have criticized Leechin for what they feel is an excessive impersonation of Swift and an unhealthy adoption of Swift's mannerisms and lifestyle as her own.

Life and career

Ashley Leechin was born in 1993 or 1994.[1] She began listening to American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in 2006, when she released "Tim McGraw".[1] According to Leechin, people first noted the similarities in her and Swift's appearance when she was around 14 years old.[5]

In 2019, Leechin graduated from nursing school and became a registered nurse.[3] She worked as a trauma nurse in Nashville, Tennessee, United States,[6] where she lived for approximately a year in 2020.[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt exhausted and burnt out, and downloaded TikTok. Her initial videos consisted mostly of relatable content about motherhood. Leechin first went viral as Swift's look-alike after the singer's fans, called Swifties, discovered a video of her doing laundry in 2021.[5] As some viewers noted her likeness to Swift, she created videos inspired by it and using the singer's audios.[3]

In some of her videos posted to social media, Leechin dressed up as Swift visited Target stores, observing how passersby would exclaim, "Oh, my God, it's Taylor", as she passed. Initially, Swift's fans were amused by Leechin's posts, especially after Swift herself commented on one of Leechin's videos, stating that her mother had made a comment about her similarity to Swift. The criticism against Leechin soon began to grow, however; Leechin frequently sported Swift's hairstyle and lip color, and she frequently posted videos in which she alluded to sharing Swift's love of cats and Grey's Anatomy. The criticism from Swift' fans claimed that several aspects of Leechin's life that she has posted on her social media are direct replications of Swift's.[3]

Leechin's family moved to Utah, United States, in 2021.[7] She is married with two children.[1] Leechin also owns a cat similar in appearance to Meredith, one of Swift's three cats.[3]

On August 19, 2023, Leechin's public appearances in Los Angeles in a look typical of Red-era Swift caused a commotional fan mobbing. She first arrived at the Grove at Farmers Market, a shopping area, alongside a few men wearing all black, sunglasses and earpieces, similar to bodyguards, leading to people around believe it is Swift. Hindustan Times reported that she was attempting to prank other shoppers that she was Swift. Leechin was mobbed by fans who wanted to get a selfie with Leechin whom they believed was Swift and began recording videos of her. Leechin was soon escorted out of the shop she was in by the security; videos of all of these events were widely shared on Twitter and TikTok. She then went to Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California, causing further buzz. Several Swifties on social media commented that the person in the videos is Leechin and not Swift. Swifties online criticized Leechin for attempting to deceive them and pretending to be Swift. Leechin explain herself on Instagram that it is not abnormal for celebrities to use "decoys",[8][9] and that her public experience as Swift was "horrific" but is a social experiment.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 France, Lisa Respers (January 5, 2023). "Taylor Swift's look-alike knows all too well how tough the internet can be". CNN. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ Forward, Devon (2023-08-22). "Taylor Swift Lookalike Ashley Leechin Addresses Criticism for 'Creepy' Prank". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dickson, E. J. (February 18, 2023). "She Built a Following as Taylor Swift's Doppelgänger. Then the Swifties Came After Her". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Richards, Will (2023-08-23). "Taylor Swift impersonator says pretending to be her in public was "horrific"". NME. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  5. 1 2 Chung, Gabrielle (September 22, 2022). "Taylor Swift't TikTok Doppelgänger Can't Calm Down After Seeing Mom Andrea's Reaction". E! Online. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Nashville Trauma Nurse Ashley Leechin Is a Dead Ringer for Taylor Swift". Inside Edition. July 14, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Leechin, Ashley (December 13, 2021). "'I'm a Taylor Swift Lookalike—I Get Thousands of Hate Messages a Day'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ Krol, Jacklyn (2023-08-20). "TikTok Taylor Swift Look-Alike Causes Frenzy in Store After Being Mistaken for Pop Star". PopCrush. Archived from the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  9. ↑ "Taylor Swift lookalike Ashley Leechin escorted out of LA shop for pretending to be the singer. Watch". Hindustan Times. August 21, 2023. Archived from the original on August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
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