A prominent interior design influencer is being spammed with hate comments and was dropped by a business partner after she accused another creator of copying her style

• Tay BeepBoop, a prominent DIY and design TikToker, accused a fellow creator of copying several projects.
• The backlash was swift, with commenters spamming her page and a business partner ceasing ties.

A simmering feud has imploded TikTok's DIY community, as one prominent creator, Tay BeepBoop — known for her surreal and colorful design schemes — accused another creator, Kaarin Joy, of repeatedly copying her aesthetics.

The flare-up has led to fierce backlash for Tay, who has 1.9 million followers, even as Kaarin (2 million) acknowledged being deeply inspired by her accuser. Commenters fumed that the entire job of a DIY creator is to get viewers to replicate their hacks.

Tay has also lost a business relationship for a line of stick-and-peel wallpapers as part of this fallout. She has since issued an official apology in which she called her behavior "wild and inappropriate."

Neither Tay nor Kaarin responded to Insider's request for comment.

Here's what happened — and how one TikTok led to a cascade of blowback.

Tay first accused Kaarin of copying her mossy mirror, squiggly wall art, among other design elements

It all started last week when Tay levied the allegations in a now-deleted video, which has since been reposted by other channels.

"I'm about to be so petty and I've never done something like this before," she said, as a caption onscreen alleged that Kaarin had been copying her for years – and that the behavior had continued two months after Tay had asked her to stop.

Tay listed several design projects as evidence: a "mossy mirror" and a green squiggly line painted along a wall adorned with art. Tay also claimed Kaarin had knocked off her orange couch and copied her "very abnormal" blue and green color scheme to paint her kitchen appliances.

She also noted that Kaarin had hung up one of her self-created wallpapers from her Otto Studio line ("which is fine," Tay said, "anyone can buy it.")

Viewers, however, disagreed with Tay's grievances. The backlash was swift, with commenters on the reuploads criticizing Tay for claiming ownership over what they felt were commonplace concepts.

"So an influencer is mad that they….*checks notes* influenced someone," one commenter wrote.

Commenters spammed Tay's videos, lambasting the copying claims, which led to serious business repercussions

Viewers viciously spammed Tay's videos channel by congratulating Kaarin on reaching 2 million followers. (That's slightly more than Tay's 1.9 million followers.) They also lambasted the copying allegations.

"Did you ask the sky if you could paint those clouds?" one wrote in a video where she was revamping a client's ceiling.

In a now-deleted statement posted Wednesday, Tay explained that she deleted her original video because she should have handled the situation privately and that it isn't what she wants her channel "to be about."

Nevertheless, she reiterated that she was "passionate about giving credit to designers and creators," hoping "that could have been the case here when it was first addressed."

The explanation did little to cease the backlash. On Saturday, Otto Studio, a brand that vends her line of stick-and-peel wallpaper announced it was ending its partnership with Tay. The company, which offers renter-friendly options designed in collaboration with artists, said in a statement posted to Instagram and TikTok that her products "will no longer be available for purchase," noting that Tay's now-deleted video "goes against our values and the ethos of the DIY community."

Otto Studio did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

That same day, Tay issued an apology, in which she called her behavior "wild and inappropriate." She said "there's space for everyone" and noted she'd apologized to Kaarin personally as well.

Tay said she didn't initially understand what she'd done wrong but was now "grateful" for the criticisms, calling the ordeal a "massive learning moment." She also said Kaarin had been "gracious and kind" after they'd spoken privately.

Kaarin acknowledged their 'similar styles' but was saddened by the public call-out

Kaarin addressed the controversy publicly on Tuesday, prior to Tay's apology, saying she'd recieved many "really mean and hateful comments and messages" when she was first called out.

She also noted that she hadn't seen the allegations firsthand because Tay had blocked her.

She said she was "disappointed" because she admired Tay, who she said encouraged her to express herself, acknowledging that the two had "very similar styles." She also confirmed that Tay had asked her not to replicate any of her DIYs two months ago, and that she'd agreed at the time.

That said, it was a pleasant interaction. So the public callout came as a surprise.

"To publicly shame someone for being inspired by you without them even knowing you have any issues is just so wrong," she said. "My intent is not just to copy and rip this creator off."

Kaarin has yet to publicly respond to Tay's apology, but celebrated reaching 2 million followers on Sunday. She's also been enjoying widespread support from viewers taking her side in the feud.

"A huge part of art is inspiration," one commenter wrote under her video. "All artists take inspiration from somewhere, something, or someone." Another added, "This breaks my heart for you. hang in there."