Ashley Leechin: 10 Facts About The TikTok Star Who Looks Just Like Taylor Swift
In many ways, Ashley Leechin is a normal woman — she works as a registered nurse and enjoys life in Tennessee with her husband and two kids. But one thing that's always set her apart is her uncanny resemblance to Taylor Swift. Leechin has been mistaken for the globally famous musician for so long that, during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, she decided to lean into the campiness of it all and start making TikTok videos pretending to be the singer. Though she initially created the videos as a fun way to pass the time, Leechin soared to fame for her eerie lookalike qualities, especially since even her voice sounds similar to Swift's.
It's not all been the stuff of her wildest dreams though. Leechin has sparked quite a few controversies during her short time as an influencer, with Swift's fanbase routinely expressing anger toward the musician's doppelgänger. While many people are enchanted by the influencer's content, others have gone as far as comparing her to a celebrity stalker and accusing her of surgically altering her appearance to look even more like Swift. And when she pulled a stunt in Los Angeles with a fellow TikToker that resulted in Swift's fans mobbing the area because they believed Leechin was the "Anti-Hero" singer, the public outrage grew exponentially. While her reputation is quite divisive, Leechin maintains a "don't blame me" mentality — believe it or not, she thinks she doesn't even look that similar to Swift.
Ashley Leechin has been a fan of Taylor Swift since she was a young teen, and she's been mistaken as the pop star for just as long
When Ashley Leechin was in middle school, she found solace in Taylor Swift's music. During an interview with Rolling Stone, the influencer admitted that she and her mother didn't have a good relationship while she was growing up. When Swift rose to popularity and Leechin discovered her music, she was comforted by the maternal bond Swift sang about in her lyrics. Leechin told the outlet, "I think I lived vicariously through some of her moments, especially listening to 'The Best Day,'" which is a song Swift wrote for her mother.
People also started mistaking Leechin for the singer when she was 13 years old. The influencer recalled walking down the street and being approached by a modeling agent who was struck by her physical similarity to Swift. Leechin explained to CNN that she and Swift even had the same style, confessing, "It was kind of a joke going into high school. It wasn't weird for me, per se. It was fun just because I love her so much."
Years later when she started working as a registered nurse, her patients frequently believed her to be the award-winning singer. Leechin told Rolling Stone, "I'd wear a mask and goggles and regular PPE, and I'd still get it. They'd be like, 'Is Taylor my nurse? Am I being punked?'"
Her internet fame took off during the coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic was a harrowing period for people all over the world, but it was especially distressing for medical workers — a group Ashley Leechin was part of. She remembered her experience navigating day after day of tragedy, telling Rolling Stone, "You are taking care of someone about to be put on a [ventilator] ... Realizing you can't save everyone, you have to take a step back and do something different in the field or take a break in general."
To decompress and find a sliver of joy in an exceedingly dark time, Leechin turned to TikTok, as many people did during the pandemic. She began posting funny and relatable content about being a mom, but when people started commenting more and more on her resemblance to Taylor Swift, Leechin began creating videos leaning into their similar appearance. One TikTok in particular followed the influencer's imaginary trip to Target with people mistaking her for the "22" singer. Over the course of a day, the video went viral, and Leechin has been making Taylor Swift lookalike content ever since. She now has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok and a following of over 80,000 people on Instagram.
Even Taylor Swift's mom thinks she and Ashley Leechin look undeniably similar
Strangers across the internet aren't the only people who have taken notice of Ashley Leechin's striking similarity to Taylor Swift — even the "All Too Well" singer's mom, Andrea Swift, has commented on how much Leechin resembles her daughter. After the influencer shared one of her Swift-inspired TikTok videos, the singer herself popped into the comments to write to Leechin. "My mom just saw this and said 'she looks like you,'" the award-winning musician wrote with a smiling emoji. Leechin shared a video in response to Taylor's message, in which she's laughing and crying while covering her mouth and fanning her face. After a few sobs, the influencer added, "I love you. I love you Andrea; I love you Taylor."
Referencing a video that appears to have been deleted from Leechin's TikTok, Rolling Stone reported that she made another video thanking Andrea for being a motherly presence in her life when her relationship with her own mom was strained. While many of Leechin's followers showered her with love after Swift herself commented on the creator's video, others opined that her emotional reaction was a sign that she was overly infatuated with the star.
Ashley Leechin fervently denies she's a Taylor Swift impersonator
Though Ashley Leechin's social media content predominantly revolves around her likeness to Taylor Swift — she styles her hair and makeup like the musician does, recreates her iconic outfits, and creates voiceovers using Taylor Swift audios — Leechin insists she is not a Taylor Swift impersonator. She actually thinks she doesn't even look as similar to the singer as people believe. "I don't look in the mirror and think 'Holy cow, I look like Taylor [Swift],'" she told Rolling Stone. Leechin added, "If I gravitated toward Marilyn Monroe or Taylor, and utilized that for your everyday look, that's not looking like someone. You're drawing inspiration from a celebrity. Which we all do." She notably refuses to wear blue contacts to transform her brown eyes into Swift's blue ones, and she maintains that their differing eye colors are a clear sign that they are not the same person.
Leechin also makes TikToks showing off her cats, one of which is the same breed as Swift's famous feline, Meredith Grey. After she started featuring her kitten Sloan in her videos, people began accusing Leechin of adopting the cat to come across more like Swift. She denied the claim, telling the outlet she's been a cat owner since she was a child. Similarly, people dismiss her love for "Grey's Anatomy" — a show Swift is known to adore — as an interest Leechin adopted to increase her likeness to the celebrated singer even further.
She claims she frequently turns down high-paying opportunities to pose as the singer
Though Ashley Leechin has a massive following of nearly 2 million people on TikTok, she claims not to earn substantial income from her content on the platform. "I can't really say you make money off TikTok," she told Rolling Stone. Leechin insisted, "You really don't. You make enough to buy a coffee." According to the influencer, she's been approached numerous times about high-paying opportunities to impersonate Taylor Swift, but she prefers not to. "If I wanted to be a full-time Taylor Swift impersonator, I could actually make a career out of it," Leechin asserted. "I just feel like it's not me," she explained.
Leechin revealed to the outlet that she once offered personalized Cameos and agreed to make paid appearances impersonating Swift, but both caused inner turmoil regarding keeping her personality separate from her performative personality as the singer. She also told CNN that she has hard limits to what she's willing to do for jobs she's offered as a Taylor Swift lookalike. She explained, "It got to a point where they wanted me to nail that look down so much to wearing blue contacts. I refused to do that."
During her conversation with Rolling Stone, Leechin expressed interest in leveraging her massive following to make money by simply being herself. Additionally, she spoke about pursuing a career as an actor, preferably in minor supporting roles.
She's been compared to the infamous stalker-turned-murderer of another beloved singer
People who don't like Ashley Leechin's Taylor Swift content have gone as far as comparing her to another singer's stalker-turned-murderer: Selena's crazed fan club leader Yolanda Saldívar. In addition to the widespread belief that Leechin purposely adopted a cat resembling Swift's famous pet and that she pretends to love "Grey's Anatomy" to be more like the musician, people also allege that her love for Andrea Swift is a sign that she's obsessed with her daughter Taylor. After Leechin made a TikTok documenting her visit to the "Daylight" singer's former Cornelia Street apartment, people pointed to it as additional proof that she's a stalker.
Leechin told Rolling Stone the far-fetched claims people make are hurtful, but she tries to ignore the criticism. The influencer asserted, "I am not obsessed with Taylor at all. I get confused when people call me a stalker or obsessed." She shared, "I like her music, I love her style. [But] I'm not gonna wear her or go out and get a singing career or buy a guitar. That's not me." Leechin added that the bullying and harassment she faces from Swift's fans is especially perplexing because the musician is known to denounce abusive behavior. "A lot of the Swifties I have encountered don't stand by what Taylor Swift stands by," she opined.
She created an anti-cyber bullying petition after becoming the target of digital hate
After Ashley Leechin caught wind of Taylor Swift's fans comparing her to Yolanda Saldívar, another star's obsessive fan-turned-murderer, she created a petition on Change.org to put an end to digital abuse. "Some Swifties have taken to the internet to defame my name & one of them has a video on their page comparing me to a murderer," Leechin wrote. She asserted, "This is not okay & should not be taken lightly."
In the petition, Leechin denied a variety of unflattering public claims that have been made about her. She argued that she's never put anyone in danger by making lookalike content and that she has no aspirations to pursue a musical career or embody Swift any more than she does through short videos on the internet. Leechin defended her status as a "Grey's Anatomy" fan, her handwriting, her cat's adoption, her height and gait, the amount of time she's been a fan of Swift, her favorite number being the same as the singer's, and even her political affiliation, as she was accused of voting for Donald Trump and supporting anti-womens' and LGBTQ+ ideology. This isn't an exhaustive list of all the claims that Leechin debunked in the petition — in total, it outlines 18 falsehoods about her that are running rampant on the internet, with several bullet points explaining why each is not true.
Ashley Leechin has been accused of having cosmetic procedures done to enhance her likeness to Taylor Swift
In addition to the many claims Ashley Leechin debunked in her anti-cyberbullying petition on Change.org, she addressed several allegations that she had plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures done to make her look more like Taylor Swift. The content creator explained that while she was working as a trauma nurse during the coronavirus pandemic, she lost a significant amount of weight due to the increased burden of her workload. Additionally, she suffered from a blood clot around the same time. She shared that in the years since she's gained 30 pounds and insisted that neither her weight loss nor gain was the result of plastic surgery.
Leechin also addressed claims made about her teeth, writing, "I have corrected my smile and my bite after I was in a viral music video in which I was bullied for my teeth. My teeth are not 'exactly the same' as Taylor's. I have had plans to change my smile for a long time since I was bullied as a child." The influencer also disclosed that she has filler beneath her cheekbones to help add volume to the areas affected by her prior weight loss and that she's had Botox on her forehead. These changes were among other rumors supporting the idea that Leechin has surgically altered her appearance to further her reputation as Swift's lookalike.
There was a lot of controversy around her alleged Grammys disinvitation
According to Ashley Leechin, she was invited to attend the 2023 Grammys by a media agency, Sweety High, who approached her with a deal offering an exclusive invitation to the event in exchange for upwards of 30 social media posts across various platforms. Ahead of her trip to Los Angeles, Leechin made several TikToks announcing the news, showing off her dress, and sharing her travel preparation routine. On the day of the Grammys, she posted another video detailing a total 180 change-up in the chain of events: Leechin shared that Sweety High had revoked her invitation when she landed in LA and effectively ghosted her with no explanation as to why she was uninvited. The influencer also expressed frustration at having spent several thousand dollars to get to California just to be dismissed by the company that invited her there in the first place.
After she was accused of lying about the ordeal, Leechin shared screenshots of the email exchanges between herself and the agency to prove she wasn't making up what went down. Even so, many people still don't believe her and have insulted her character. Leechin told Insider, "I have people telling me that I am a pathological liar. Things like I don't deserve to live, I should be locked up in a psych ward, and that Taylor [Swift] hates me."
Ashley Leechin incited chaos at a Los Angeles shopping center after purposely dressing as Taylor Swift for a 'social experiment'
Ashley Leechin was hit with another wave of criticism after she collaborated with YouTuber Vic In the Game to create a video for his channel. For the project, she dressed up as Taylor Swift, wearing red lipstick, a baker boy hat, large sunglasses, and extensions to emulate the "Everything Has Changed" singer's long blond tresses. Leechin was flanked by bodyguards as she visited various popular locations in the Los Angeles area, including The Grove and Downtown Disney. As a result, she was mobbed by fans who believed her to be the beloved musician.
After being accused of maliciously impersonating Swift — while the singer's attendance at a wedding in New Jersey was leaked at the same time and caused similar massive crowds — Leechin explained herself in a now-deleted TikTok. "It was a prank," she said. "I collaborated with a YouTuber. The social experiment was to live a day in the life of a celebrity." (via Us Weekly). The influencer also made a post on Instagram explaining what happened and claiming that she was't part of the planning process. She alleged that the concept for the video was not hers and that her management team was tasked with overseeing the logistics of the collaboration. Leechin also asserted that she didn't pay for the bodyguards who were involved in the experiment and that she was nothing more than an actress playing a role.