Creators with disabilities are criticizing a TikToker for a 'joke' about stealing wallets from people who have service dogs

• TikTokers are criticizing creator @onlyjayus for a "joke" about stealing from service dog users.

• People on TikTok, some with disabilities or who have service dogs, have called the post ableist.

• @Onlyjayus, whose name is Isabella Avila, has previously come under fire for racist language.

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Isabella Avila, a TikToker with approximately 13.5 million followers on their account @notjayus, is facing backlash from disability activists after making a "joke" about stealing wallets from people who have service dogs.

Avila, who uses "they" and "them" pronouns, is a content creator who posts life hack and science videos. As In The Know reported in February, the 22-year-old gained a reputation online as a "psychology facts" personality, frequently posting videos to share facts about human psychology and the human body. They've also spoken publicly about having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

Now, a video that Avila labeled as "Illegal Life Advice" is drawing backlash, with people saying that a statement Avila describes as a "joke" in the caption of the video is ableist and harmful. The video, originally posted on May 22, currently has approximately 1.2 million likes.

"If a service dog ever approaches you but they're alone, that means that their owner's in trouble and they probably can't move," Avila says in the video. "So you should follow them because you'll get a free wallet."

According to the Cleveland-based West Park Animal Hospital, a service dog - an animal specifically trained to assist people with disabilities - may seek assistance if their handler experiences a fall, a seizure, a diabetic episode, or an injury, among other medical emergencies. In such cases, people should follow the dog or cue it by asking "what?" or "where?"

TikTok creators said Avila's video could make people with disabilities feel 'incredibly unsafe'

In recent days, creators including writer and communications professional Imani Barbarin, artist Rachel Fay, and psychology professor Dr. Inna Kanevsky have criticized the statement that Avila called a "joke."

"I don't care that they're neurodivergent. I don't care that they're a part of the disability community," Barbarin, who is also known online as "Crutches & Spice," said of Avila in a TikTok video posted on Sunday. "But what I do care about though is people who let them slide because you have been sold a bill of goods that tell you that white disabled people are inherently children.

"Even if it's a joke or not, the people who will be most affected by somebody taking it seriously are probably going to be Black or brown disabled people," she said.

Fay (@faythegay), who said that they have a service dog, also spoke about Avila's video in a TikTok posted on June 11.

"As someone who is disabled and has a service dog for my syncope, where I pass out... my service dog helps me to wake up, and if she can't do that, she would go look for help because I'm unconscious," Fay said in the video. "I always am afraid of what happens to me when I'm unconscious. Disgusting people like you are who make me and other disabled people feel incredibly unsafe in the world."

Kanevsky, who said in a video that she is @faythegay's mother, also spoke about Avila's video in a June 11 video. "This is not a kind of joke you want to be putting out there," Kanevsky said in the video. "I don't care whether @onlyjayus thought this was funny... It's not funny to anybody who uses a service dog."

Avila has responded in the comments of some critical videos, leaving a comment on one of @faythegay's videos saying to "read the caption, dummy," presumably referencing the original caption of their video in which they call the statements within a "joke."

Avila also responded to Kanevsky's video, saying that their mother has a service dog and told them the joke, and saying to "stop treating disabled people like they're not worthy of being joked about." They also said that they would not apologize or take down the video.

Other TikTok creators, some of whom say that they have service dogs, have also criticized Avila's video and called it ableist.

"Thank you so much for making it harder for us to live our lives," TikTok user @servicedog_charlie said in a post about Avila's video.

Avila has previously faced backlash after messages in which they used racist and homophobic language resurfaced

This isn't the first time that Avila has drawn criticism on TikTok. In February, as In The Know reported, they came under fire after screenshots of old messages dating back to August 2016 that contained racist and homophobic language surfaced online.

In a February 12 video, they apologized, saying that they were "ashamed" of their use of "racist rhetoric and derogatory language to hurt others."

"I knew what that word meant and I understood the power behind it, but I said it anyway because it was the meanest thing that I could think of," they said in the video.

In The Know reported that a second part of the apology video, Avila discussed "[taking] a step back" in order to give their platform to Black creators. That video appears to have since been set to private.

Avila did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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