Brianna Ghey, a transgender TikToker based in the U.K. was killed on Saturday. Ghey was 16.
As reported by multiple U.K. outlets yesterday, Ghey was fatally stabbed in Warrington, England. The Warrington Police Department tweeted that two teens, both 15-year-old locals, have been arrested “on suspicion of murder” in connection with Ghey’s death.
In addition to being a student, Ghey was a TikToker. Her account, @gingerpuppyx, had over 63,000 followers as reported by the Telegraph, which also reported that Ghey posted on the platform “only hours” before her death. Ghey’s TikTok account is no longer active, though duets and screen recordings of her videos remain.
In a duet of one of Ghey’s video that shows her playing with her hair, queer TikToker @faerie_finder says “I’m so sorry we couldn’t protect you,” through tears.
@faerie_finder #duet with @gingerpuppyx We’re the grownups we should be facing the danger not you. You shouldn’t have had to be so brave and im sorry. Rest up sweetheart. Let us take it from here. #BriannaGhey #protecttranskids #protectkids ♬ original sound – Isobel
Ghey’s family, who is based in Birchwood, England, said that the teen was “beautiful, witty and hilarious” and that her death “left a massive hole in [their] family,” the BBC reported.
Fourteen transgender people were murdered in Europe throughout 2022 according to Trans Murder Monitoring. The U.S., where anti-trans rhetoric is already present in more than 20 state bills in 2023, saw 51 trans people murdered in the last year.
In response to Ghey’s murder, the Trans Safety Network, a U.K.-based nonprofit, tweeted that “the death of Brianna Ghey is a failure by our society at the deepest level.”
“Whatever specific circumstances leading to her death, we are currently living through a period of unprecedented moral repugnance towards trans people, promoted and enabled by the apathy and complicity of powerful public figures,” the network said in its statement.
The organization also referenced that Brianna’s trans identity was publicly disrespected by “the press,” which seems to be referencing multiple news outlets’ failures to mention that Ghey was transgender in the initial coverage of her death.
In a tweet from yesterday, Rin (@touchmyteapot) shows that in Sunday articles about Ghey from SkyNews, the Independent, BBC, and the Guardian, the phrase “trans” was not mentioned.
“They write article after article stirring hatred, spreading fear and crafting lies about us,” Rin tweeted about the media. “Then go out of their way to hide who we are and thus the potential nature of the crime when it gets us killed.”
