Kanye West Wants to Create a Christian Version of TikTok for Kids

On Tuesday, Kanye West took to Twitter to share his plans to create a Christian TikTok called “Jesus Tok.” Yep, we raised an eyebrow as well. This latest proposal is, however, unsurprising given West’s current initiative to try to bring prayer back to classrooms as part of his 10-point presidential platform. 

According to the rapper, his TikTok “vision” came to him after watching videos on the app with his daughter, North. “As a Christian father, I was disturbed by a lot of the content but loved the technology,” he wrote. For context, North is 7 years old, and TikTok requires users to be 13 or older, so technically she shouldn’t be on the platform anyway since it’s not billed as appropriate for kids. The social platform also has safety control features that parents can manage if their teens are on the app, such as filters for mature content. Still, like Kanye, some parents are nervous about TikTok’s influence on young people.

On one Reddit post titled “Tik Tok is NOT for children,” a user wrote: “Parents should not let their kids use it and when I do see them on it, it’s disgusting.” “Agree! I’m an adult and I’ve seen so many gross things and comments,” someone else commented. “Young kids using TikTok likely don’t have the know-how to discern when something is mocking or discriminatory or has a sexual undercurrent,” one mom wrote for CBC about going on TikTok with her kids. 

However, most of West’s followers didn’t take his idea seriously. This is likely because of his tendency to publicly express his every thought — from spur-of-the-moment business concepts like this one to private family matters — in a fashion that raises questions as to his sincerity. For example, he tweeted about trying to divorce wife Kim Kardashian and spoke at his presidential campaign rally about her considering an abortion while pregnant with North West. And yet, Kardashian West even came to his defense; the mother of four knows that her husband lives with bipolar disorder and doesn’t necessarily mean what he says.

“Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions,” she wrote on her Instagram story. 

But hey, whether West means what he said about pioneering a Christian, kid-specific version of TikTok, it’s clear that some of his followers are into it.

“Great idea, my kids have been watching a Christian Netflix/YouTube app over the last few days and I am so glad we made the change. It’s safe and it teaches them values. Would be great to see other apps follow,” one user wrote. 

What do you think? Hare-brained scheme or genius app idea?