TikTok star and influencer Jools Lebron garnered overnight fame when she shared videos about how to be “demure” at work, but she’s since revealed that her virality “ruined” her life and led her down a path to addiction.
“Going viral ruined my life,” she said in a video shared on TikTok. “Okay, it just led me to fall down a slope of insobriety that ruined my life.” Lebron sparked a worldwide trend when she went viral for saying “very demure, very mindful,” leading her to make an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and work with various high-profile brands. Several celebrities even got in on the trend, which started in August 2024, with Jennifer Lopez, RuPaul, and Joe Jonas among the stars who used her audio for their own clips.
“I'm working on my sobriety, and part of that is kind of fixing everything that went wrong when I wasn't sober,” she said, explaining that she plans to upload videos showing her recovery process, which includes organizing her home better. “I was looking out the window seeing shadow people… The thing is, drinking is one thing, but then when you're someone who ends up drinking and like, [goes to after-parties], then you become addicted to other shit.”
She said all the sudden success led her to go on “benders,” repeating cycles where she wouldn’t be able to follow through on any of her plans for content. “Bitch, success doesn't wait for your mood,” she continued. “My cats [are] the reason I'm getting sober. Like, to be honest with you, like, I just can't foresee me taking care of eight cats and… Bitch, please.”
In the second part of her update, she said that she’s determined to turn her career around. “I think a lot of people are like, ‘oh, she fell off.’ Bitch, I was on drugs, so my house fell into despair during this time. No shit. … I've gone through this many times in my life. It was the only time I went through it where I had money and success.”
The “very demure, very mindful” trend was everywhere in 2024, and it was even named Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year.