TikToker Zoe Laverne appeared to defend Kyle Rittenhouse in a livestream from a private Instagram account
- TikTok star Zoe LaVerne appeared to defend Kyle Rittenhouse following his acquittal last week.
- Rittenhouse was found not guilty of all charges related to a fatal shooting at a BLM protest.
Controversial TikTok star Zoe LaVerne has defended Kyle Rittenhouse following his acquittal in court last week, saying during a purported Instagram Live that the 18-year-old was "innocent."
Rittenhouse faced five charges, including first-degree intentional homicide and attempted homicide. He was on trial for fatally shooting Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz on August 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during civil unrest that erupted after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man.
LaVerne, who has 21 million followers on TikTok, rose to fame through the now-defunct lip-syncing app Musical.ly. She previously had a high-profile relationship with Cody Orlove, a fellow internet personality before splitting last year. She gave birth to her first child with her current partner Dawson Day in October. LaVerne has been embroiled in a number of controversies including lip-syncing a racial slur, saying she "caught feelings" for a 13-year-old fan, and selling pictures of her baby, which she later told Insider she did to pay her hospital bills.
Footage from the purported livestream, which appeared to be broadcast from Instagram account @zlpfandom0.2, was posted by internet commentator DefNoodles on Monday, with online drama YouTuber Gracious also including the footage in a video posted today. Insider has been unable to verify when the purported livestream took place.
While many have been critical of Rittenhouse's acquittal — including several Democrat senators, Wisconsin's state governor, and local activists — LaVerne said in the clip, "I don't see Kyle Rittenhouse as a murderer because he shot by self-defense." She told fans to look at Rittenhouse's reaction to being acquitted, adding, "I don't really think he tried to murder people."
Along with footage of the livestream, DefNoodles also posted what appeared to be a screenshot of a post from the same Instagram account, which is locked to the public. The purported post includes an image showing the names and faces of the three people Rittenhouse shot. The screenshot also shows a caption, which reads, "These were the people kyle ritten shot. He shot them out of self defense."
As reported by the International Busness Times, LaVerne appears to have posted content on that same account in the past.
In further footage, LaVerne can be heard saying, "I'm all for BLM. I love every single race. I'm not racist. It's not fair. I was looking at it as a man was proved not guilty because he shot at self-defense, that's all."
Representatives for LaVerne did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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