TikTok star Griffin Johnson explains why he's leaving Sway LA, one of the most controversial influencer collab houses

• Griffin Johnson, 21, is a founding member of Sway LA, a notoriously "fratty" TikTok collab house comprising the platform's most popular and controversial e-boys, including Bryce Hall, Josh Richards, and Jaden Hossler.
• Now, Johnson, who has over 7 million TikTok followers, says he's leaving the group to look out for his future and spearhead SwayGaming, the brand's foray into the world of esports.
• Two other Sway members, Kio Cyr and Quinton Griggs, will join Johnson at the new gaming house.
• Johnson is dating the TikTok megastar Dixie D'Amelio, 18, who has more than 29 million followers on the platform.

Griffin Johnson isn't like the rest of the guys in Sway LA, an extremely popular and controversial TikTok collab house.

At 21, he's the Gen Z creator collective's oldest member. Unlike many TikTokers, he isn't known for his dancing, and unlike his housemates, who have recently been mired in a series of scandals, Johnson has cultivated a more wholesome reputation.

Johnson, who has over 7 million followers, moonlights as a nursing student at Indiana State University, slathers on face masks during his TikTok livestreams, and generally manages to stay out of the drama that seems to follow other members of Sway wherever they go. It's a balancing act very few creators are able to pull off.

"On TikTok, the influencers — not all of them, but a lot of influencers — the ones that create the most drama are the ones that are the most relevant," Johnson said in an interview with Insider. "The problem with staying out of all the drama and being completely unproblematic and on your own is people forget about you."

How Johnson has dealt with being dragged into TikTok drama

Despite Johnson's reputation and best efforts to avoid drama, he's inevitably found himself in sticky situations, given his platform and his relationship with Dixie D'Amelio, 18, a TikTok megastar with more than 29 million followers.

Last week, he was involved in what teens are calling TikTokalypse, a gossip-fueled TikToker battle royale that led a wave of creators to unfollow, subtweet, and expose each other for alleged indiscretions. Johnson was accused of cheating on D'Amelio, but the pair swiftly shut down the rumors.

"You have two options," he said. "You can either defend yourself or say nothing."

The incident was yet another reminder of how messy things can get in the TikTok ecosystem, where teens and 20-somethings wield significant influence and power.

"LA itself is a battle," Johnson said. "I find myself getting into immature situations sometimes. And I'm like, 'Why did I do that?' It's very easy, especially for these younger kids that never had to become adults in any way, shape, or form."

Why Johnson is leaving Sway LA

Johnson is making a strategic decision to leave Sway LA for a leadership role at SwayGaming, a new "gaming house" born out of a partnership between Sway's parent company, TalentX Entertainment, and the esports organization ReKTGlobal.

Johnson and two other Sway members, Kio Cyr and Quinton Griggs, will move to a house in Encino that previously functioned as a secondary studio and "free time" space for Sway.

"I'm going more into the entrepreneur-acting route," Johnson said of the decision. "So you have to have a really clean image for that. You can't be doing crazy things on the internet.

"For me, it wasn't a personal thing," he said. "It was just the fact that I have different goals, and I believe in the boys, and I know that they'll be successful in their own paths."

SwayGaming opens this Friday. Behind the scenes, Johnson is also working on a beauty line and a digital TV show.

How to maintain a modern TikTok relationship

Through all the recent changes and turmoil, Johnson has had at least one constant in his life: D'Amelio.

"I feel like the reason people love Dixie and I's relationship as much as they do is that we keep a lot of it off the internet," Johnson said. "It's not for show."

Johnson said he and D'Amelio have been "exclusive for months" but only recently put a label on it.

One thing Johnson says he admires about D'Amelio and her family, who have built a TikTok empire, is their ability to stay grounded in normality.

"They do so well because they keep it real, and there's nothing flashy with them," Johnson said. "I just feel like it's easy to be successful when you have nothing to hide."

• Read more:
• TikTok star Dixie D'Amelio had a meteoric rise to fame with her sister, but now she's determined to make her own brand: 'Charli and I are two different people'
• The face of one of TikTok's buzziest collab houses took an abrupt hiatus amid a meteoric rise. Now he's ready to explain why.
• A falling-out between TikTok's biggest stars led to a wave of creators unfollowing and subtweeting each other
• When 2 famous TikTok house members were arrested on drug charges, they were road-tripping across the US in a controversial mid-pandemic adventure