As an avid internet user, I have delved down the rabbit hole of online personalities that cloud the internet with their eternal funk, and, unfortunately, the phenomenon of online personalities has only skyrocketed with the increased growth of the internet. While he may not be funky, as I’ve never had the chance to smell him, Tyler Solona, or Tyler Catastrophe–his aptly dubbed online persona–is certainly a personality, and certainly online. Given the widespread influence of figures like this, he’s worth a closer look.

He is not an evil degenerate, nor a criminal, but as his current controversy has shoved him into the limelight of internet clownery, I have descended upon his metaphorical carcass like the vulture of drama I am always circling. His narcissistic, self-absorbed personality and controversial statements have captivated me, which is why I bring them to you with an in-depth analysis. This is not your average scrolling-sesh, with a few fragmented parts of a whole story. I’m going over the main, relevant points of Tyler’s life and lies on the internet.

To begin: Tyler is a 27-year-old transgender, disabled man from Oklahoma, currently living in Texas. He is a self-proclaimed artist, designer, and activist. My expert opinion, as a self-proclaimed artist, designer, and activist myself, is that Tyler is none of those things. At least, not in the traditional sense. He’s also an avid Wilbur Soot and Lovejoy fan, but we’ll get into that later. His time on the internet began in 2022, when he made his first post on TikTok. Since then, he’s created hundreds of posts and crossposts on both TikTok and Instagram, showcasing his creative work. These works range from paintings, showcasing all the skill of a twelve-year-old, to beaded jewelry that, arguably, is decent, despite its low quality and often pre-worn condition (trust me, we’ll get into that, too). Tyler sells his art online and at creative fairs as his main source of income, though he won’t say no to GoFundMe donations.

The first semi-controversial incident Tyler found himself in was when he visited Stuart Semple at the Culture Hustle studio in Dorset, England. After this experience, Tyler became convinced that he had been promised a job with Culture Hustle, and upon returning to Texas, he began selling his worldly possessions and fundraising to move to England. However, after repeated pestering of acquaintances within the Culture Hustle staff, he realized that he did not, in fact, have a job. This is only reinforced by the TikTok post made by Stuart Semple (@.stuartsemple) on April 23rd of this year. And I quote: “Years ago Tyler swung by – nice bloke. visiting the studio isn’t a job offer. (just to clarify)”. 

While this situation could have been construed as a miscommunication on Tyler’s part, many viewers of the situation took issue with the entitled attitude Tyler displayed when speaking about his supposed position. Additionally, they were astonished that Tyler was so willing to–essentially–destroy the life he had in Texas to move to England for what turned out to be a fantasy. Unfortunately, or fortunately, for those who enjoy this sort of thing, acting on fantasies would become a pattern for Tyler.

Now, Tyler’s next era involves a one-time beloved Minecraft YouTuber by the name of Wilbur Soot. For those who are unfamiliar, Wilbur was a staple of the Dream SMP, as well as the lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist for his band, Lovejoy, from 2020 to 2024. However, early in 2024, Wilbur was embroiled in controversy and subsequently ousted from his community. An ex-partner accused him of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse throughout the duration of their relationship. One of the instances of abuse that was brought to light was Wilbur’s tendency to bite his partners non-consensually. This led to him being nicknamed the “Brighton Biter,” as he lives in Brighton, England. Through a poorly constructed and victim-blamey Twitter statement, Wilbur confirmed the allegations levied against him. As such, he has been abandoned by all but his most devoted fans, who can either look past the abuse or deny that it took place. Tyler happens to be both. 

In a TikTok post detailing his “crush” on Wilbur Soot, Tyler states that he has liked Wilbur since 2019, and has been following his journey as a YouTuber and musician. While Tyler claims his ideations about Wilbur Soot are not parasocial, it is quite clear that Tyler has crafted yet another fantasy for himself. Within the post, Tyler states, and I quote: “I’ll take no over uncertainty any day of the week,” regarding knowing whether or not Wilbur Soot reciprocates his feelings. This is a prime example of a parasocial relationship, no matter how much Tyler tries to deny it. In addition to his rampant desire to date Wilbur Soot, he also wants to be a vocalist for Lovejoy, Wilbur’s band. He has posted auditions, singing Lovejoy songs. While I am not a music aficionado, his voice is objectively bad and untrained. However, the low likelihood of Tyler ever having a music career, let alone one with Lovejoy, is not the main point I bring up in relation to his infatuation with Wilbur Soot. The main issue viewers take with his expression of his crush is that he entirely disregards Wilbur Soot’s proven history of abuse, despite claiming to be a victim of abuse himself. He has stated, with no evidence other than his own word, that the main accuser lied about, or was otherwise consenting to, the abuse. This is disrespectful to the victims and showcases just how parasocial Tyler has become. He can’t accept the fact that the internet personality he’s fallen in love with is objectively a bad person.

And now, for the final controversy that I know of. Tyler is, from statements he has made in his TikToks, a “beadworker who is not a recognized member of an indigenous tribe or nation.” In other words, he is white. Despite this, he claims to identify with the umbrella term of two-spirit. This term describes gender identity recognized by some North American Indigenous tribes. It is both a gender and a spiritual identity. Now, I am a white person myself, but I think it’s pretty safe for me to say that, after doing the bare minimum amount of research, you cannot identify with an indigenous spiritual identity if you are not a part of the indigenous tribes that recognize it. Numerous indigenous people have also reacted to Tyler’s proclamation of two-spiritedness with varying degrees of dissent and amusement. The consensus, though, is that you cannot, and should not, use terms belonging to cultures and ethnicities that you are not explicitly a part of! Also, within the post explaining why he felt so comfortable using the term two-spirit, he claims that because he’s from Oklahoma, which has a larger ratio of indigenous people than most states, it’s okay. He also uses the “my friend is…and said I could say/do it” excuse, referring to his “deadliest auntie.” Deadly is common slang among indigenous people for something cool. Sort of like “sick,” or “wicked.” Auntie is a common term of endearment to refer to non-familial elders in indigenous communities. While I cannot speculate on whether or not Tyler actually does have a deadly auntie that gave him “permission,” the fact remains that numerous members of indigenous tribes and nations have expressed their disapproval of Tyler’s use of one of their gender and spiritual identities.

Now, this isn’t exactly a controversy, but it’s merely my own opinion in relation to Tyler’s art. As stated before, his paintings leave much to be desired, as they showcase all the skill and effort of a twelve-year-old who just got their first art set. Despite his lack of basic artistic concepts, he prices his paintings very generously. For a four-foot-tall painting, poorly replicating a photo created by @jsharshell on TikTok, Tyler wanted the asking price of a measly 32,000 dollars. He also did not credit the original creator of the image from which he copied his painting. While his paintings may be bad, his beadwork is passable at best, using Hobby Lobby plastic beads and imitation crystals. That doesn’t stop him from selling some of his beaded necklaces at prices upwards of 700 dollars. Though I do not usually disparage artists for selling their art, even if their skill set could use some work, I do disparage Tyler’s artwork, as not only is he selling cheap jewelry and arguably bad paintings, but he also seems to think he’s entitled to people’s money. Each video showcasing his work somehow always has a little sympathy-bait or comment about him trying to get enough money to get out of Texas and move to Brighton, England, to be with his beloved Wilbur. This is also apparent because of his GoFundMe, which is basically free money.

On a final note, because I know you’re asking: no. Wilbur has neither responded to nor given any acknowledgement to Tyler. Not that I’d really care what he has to say about the situation. He is, after all, a despicable person. 

I urge you to look into Tyler on your own time, as I doubt I could ever truly convey his…peculiarity. I only hope my retelling of his internet history has given you a good foundation on why he is currently in hot water. Next time you’re scrolling, maybe spend more than half a second thinking about these personalities that are plaguing our internet hivemind.