Savannah James Grapples With Loss of Beloved 96K TikTok Family After American Supreme Court Ruling

On Everybody’s Crazy Podcast, Savannah James and April McDaniels dive into raw and relatable discussions that hit home. In a recent episode, they tackled a thought-provoking topic after a caller opened up about the mind-warping effects of TikTok. The caller admitted she had been consumed by bizarre conspiracy videos, from skin-walkers (yes, witches in animal form!) to aliens allegedly pulling the strings of humanity. And, like any curious fan, she couldn’t help but ask if Savannah and April also spend hours scrolling through TikTok.

Savannah owned up right away—she’s a frequent TikTok user, just like millions of us. April, on the other hand, confessed she doesn’t touch the app at all. Savannah applauded her co-host for steering clear, admitting she often urges her to keep it that way because TikTok, while fun, can be downright overwhelming. Savannah also spilled some tea about her nightly ritual—TikTok has become her go-to before bed.

She admitted to falling into endless rabbit holes, devouring videos about anything and everything, whether it’s useful or not. And yes, she’s not immune to the very conspiracy theories the caller brought up. Savannah even shared with a laugh, painfully saying “I know”. “TikTok is my NyQuil, but I also get caught up in the things I am very curious [about] and just to know a lot of unnecessary information about a lot of unnecessary things. So I kind of fall into those rabbit holes too. I’ve definitely watched the skinwalker videos, the alien videos, the mermaid videos.” Let’s be real—haven’t we all been there?

You start with one video, and suddenly it’s 2 a.m., and you’re questioning whether mermaids are actually real. Vannah’s experience shows just how addictive TikTok can be. The stronger the addiction, the more difficult it is to get rid of it. So, as TikTok is on the verge of being banned in the USA after the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld its ban on the platform, owned by China-based ByteDance, millions are reeling from the after-effect of it, and with a family of 96k fans, Savannah is one of them.

She took to Instagram to share her emotions. Bron’s wife shared a post on her stories, which showcased the time TikTok had been active in the USA, from September 2016 – January 2025. Accompanying the post was her husband’s gif which showed tears rolling down his cheek. Controlling the app has been a long-term policy of the federal government regarding fears TikTok could potentially hand Chinese state officials sensitive data. The app is used by around 170 million people in the USA and earned a revenue of $16billion (2023), with adults consuming around an hour of screen time per day. For Savannah, it has been a way to spread happiness.

Last Christmas, Savannah posted an adorable video online, showing her dancing with Bryce and Zhuri. The trio, matching pajamas, looked like they were having the best time. One standout video from earlier this year featured her, LeBron, and their daughter Zhuri dancing to Dexta Daps’ 2015 jam Shabba Madda Pot. Let’s just say Vannah and Zhuri nailed it, but the King? Well, his not-so-smooth moves stole the show with a good laugh. Another fan-favorite clip had Savannah teaming up with Bryce and Zhuri for the “What’s in the Cup” challenge.

Picture this: Cups hidden under a sheet, a quick sniff test, and some hilarious guesses. It was pure chaos in the best way, showing just how much this celebrity family loves goofing around together. While millions fear losing their daily escape, there is one particular community that will be hit hard by this ban.

Ban of TikTok is not all about losing the fun: a reality that hits hard

Many fear that this will have an unparalleled effect on college athletics. In the current era of college athletics, NIL reigns supreme. Since 2021, when college athletes first gained the ability to be paid for their name, image, and likeness, the marketplace as a whole has grown from $917 million to an estimated $1.67 billion for 2024-25.

To take part in this thriving marketplace, athletes must focus on building their personal brand. Performing well and making connections in their sport indeed play a part in brand building, but one avenue stands above all others: social media. Social media is the single most dominant factor in allowing student-athletes to utilize their NIL, and social media following numbers are often considered the supreme criteria in determining whether an athlete receives sponsorships or not. Even in the grand scheme of social media, TikTok stands out.

No other site or app comes close to TikTok in terms of reach and influence, and it accounts for as much as 80% of college athlete earnings from their name, image, and likeness rights. It’s safe to say that without TikTok, hundreds of millions of dollars in NIL money would be left on the table every year. Say, Olivia Dunne. If she loses TikTok then she loses eight million potential customers. This could see her slide further down the NIL rankings after already dropping out of the top four behind Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and Arch Manning.

But still, the likes of established figures like Dunne, Shedeur Sanders, and the Cavinder twins could transition to other social media sites fairly easily. It’s the smaller figures, especially those who play non-revenue-generating sports, those with small followings, and those in smaller programs, might suffer tremendous setbacks from this ban, both financially and visibility-wise.

Basketball player Brandon Dwyer is one instance. Although Dwyer plays for the smaller program of Florida Gulf Coast University, he has over 1.2 million followers on TikTok. He said that “losing TikTok would be like losing a job.I am really hoping [it] doesn’t happen. I may expand to other platforms but TikTok lets me connect with my fans, gain followers, and make some revenue.” There are more like him.

Mia Manson, a pole vaulter at the University of Michigan, is a prime example of what stands to be lost for these athletes. Manson has built her TikTok following exponentially over the past few years, leading to her landing multiple big-time sponsorship deals. If the ban is upheld, Manson said her income will be hit. TikTok has also allowed her to showcase the behind-the-scenes world of a pole vaulter, something that wouldn’t have as much visibility without the app. Evidently, it is not just fun, some hard realities are also at stake in this ban.