They say you should never meet your heroes—but what about before they were famous? Every celebrity has a past, and no one knows that better than the people who saw these celebrities at their worst: high school.
Bo Burnham might be a national treasure, thanks to Bo Burnham: Inside and his parody songs, but for Connor Diddle, he considers the comedian his “high school bully.” Connor said in a TikTok that’s amassed 2.8 million views that he and Burnham did high school theater together when Burnham was a senior and he was a freshman at St. John’s Prep, an all-boys Catholic school in Massachusetts (It is well-documented that Burnham attended St. John’s Prep).
“So you know we’re not set up for success,” Diddle said, referencing the age gap. Diddle also included an old photo of a group of students and pointed to both himself and another boy he claimed is Burnham.
“[I] was trying way too hard to be his friend, so you can understand why he would hate me. I don’t think Bo bullied me because he was a local celebrity. I think he bullied me because he was a senior boy at a prep school and a straight guy who did theater—they’re all sociopaths,” Diddle claimed.
As well as “clocking” Diddle as gay before he did, the TikToker noted that he convinced everyone to say “IDGAF” after Diddle finished a story.
“One time, at rehearsal, I was talking about this girl that I liked, and Bo just turned to me and said, ‘You know, you like guys, right?’” Diddle said. “And honestly, he clocked me so bad.”
“In retrospect, he bullied me, but … I fully convinced myself that he was just teasing me because we were friends, and one time someone was talking shit about him in a Facebook group. This was 2008, and I just jumped in and said, ‘He is one of my really good friends. He’s an awesome guy. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ And then Bo messaged me, and he said ‘We are not friends don’t speak on my behalf.’ And then he blocked me,” Diddle claimed.
@connordiddle430 Oh Bo I didn’t 🥴#boburnham #phoebebridgers #tbt #storytime #fyp #foryou #grammys ♬ original sound – Connor Diddle
Diddle said that to this day, Burnham hasn’t unblocked him, but Diddle said he visited the school two years later and that the pair had “a very pleasant short conversation.”
“I’m not saying this to get Bo canceled,” Diddle said. “This happened 16 years ago, and […] his girlfriend is probably my favorite thing about him.”
“Bo, if you’re watching this, I just want to say IDGAF.” Diddle didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment.
In the comments, viewers found the whole situation hilarious, with one saying, “Bo Burnham is so real for this.”
“I knew his character in Promising Young Woman was too convincing,” another joked.
In a follow-up video, Diddle “addressed” a few things about his viral video and the reactions it garnered. Diddle said the two only did two plays together, both of which Burnham was the lead of since he “was the most talented guy we had.” Diddle admitted that he, himself, was “annoying” at the time but not a “stalker.” Diddle, who is a stand-up comedian himself and has over 200,000 followers on TikTok, said these high school memories came flooding back after watching the Grammys and seeing Burham. Burnham was at the Grammys supporting girlfriend Phoebe Bridgers, who took home four Grammys wins, three of which were with her musical group boygenius.
“I thought about this memory, and I thought, like, ‘That would be a very funny video, like it’s so weird and random. I think people are going to enjoy it,’” Diddle said. “I forgot that TikTok isn’t a place for nuance and that, like, people get upset real fast.”
Diddle clarified he “moved on from this experience” and does “not think about it regularly.”
“I hope that he’s happy and thriving,” Diddle added. Diddle also said he regrets using the word “bully” since it is “super charged.”
@connordiddle430 Replying to @Connor Diddle ♬ original sound – Connor Diddle
A representative for Burnham didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
