Not so long after, TikTok’s ban loomed at large, the futures and incomes of many athletes hung in the air! One of them is LSU gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne. On January 19, the announcement hit, and TikTok went offline. Olivia, along with other Olympic stars like Stephen Nedoroscik, took to X to talk about the confusion.

Stephen updated his bio to “No longer haver of TikTok.” That was the emotion many felt. However, for Dunne, TikTok was more than a hobby. While her “Me when my diploma finally comes 3 days before the TikTok ban” and her “Getting my LinkedIn ready” were funny and received attention, the intent might have been bigger. It was a serious issue that Dunne expressed through humor. However, rather unexpectedly, the most unlikely of people might have just arrived with a lifeboat. A lifeboat that might just unban Tiktok!

Olivia Dunne gets an unlikely savior, aka Donald Trump!

On January 20, Donald Trump had big things on his agenda. It was his inauguration day, after all. Trump was all set to step in as the 47th president of the United States of America. So quite, naturally, nobody expected him to even address the ban on TikTok. But being unconventional as ever, Donald Trump has done the world and Olivia Dunne one better!

In the press conference that followed, Trump went on to comment on the TikTok ban. And Dunne found an ally in the most unlikely places! “If China is going to get information about young kids, I don’t know. I think, to be honest, I think we have bigger problems than that,” said Trump. So does this mean that Dunne, who has 8 million followers on the app, will be able to use it again?

As Trump sees it, “But you know, when you take a look at telephones that are made in China and all the other things that are made in China, military equipment made in China, TikTok, I think TikTok is not their biggest problem.” It sounds like TikTok might be back for good, which is a huge relief for Dunne. But why is that? The answers lie in the income!

Olivia Dunne has an estimated income of $31,900 and $43,000 per post on TikTok. So this was no political jab but a potential lifeline to Dunne. Additionally, TikTok is a massive part of the Dunne brand that bought in an audience of 8 million. The decision from Trump couldn’t come at a better time for Dunne, who desperately needs her audience now. She has, after all, had her NIL rankings fall since December 2024.

It was only recently that she dropped from #2 to #7! Athletes including Arch Manning and Travis Hunter went on to cross her on the NIL list. However, Dunne is picking up the pace and is back at #5 now. If TikTok went under, the consequences for Olivia’s finances and potentially her rankings could’ve been severe. However, let’s not forget that Dunne was not the only athlete who was affected by the ban!

Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall is as vocal as ever about the ban!

Tara Davis-Woodhall was affected too, and she perhaps understands the power of TikTok the best. It was during the 2024 Paris Olympics that Tara made her iconic long jump and ran into the arms of Hunter Woodhall. Soon, the moment was clipped and went viral on all platforms. And TikTok had a big role to play in the virality of short clips! She instantly turned into a face that everyone recognized! So when she wrote, “What am I supposed to do without TikTok?” she meant it! However, in true Tara style, she went on to add something funny!

After the rather frustrating ban, Tara had to turn to Facebook, of all places, to fill the void. And she went on to write, “I’m hurting. Had to scroll on Facebook this morning and watch a 30-minute video.” While Tara, too much like Olivia Dunne, used humor to talk about the issue at hand, it came from a place of worry. Tara, after all, has 861.4K followers on the app and derives income from the same. An income that is especially important for a track and field athlete like Tara. However, with Trump and his statement. TikTok seems to be back and might just be back for good!