Danielle Cohn: Most Hated Teen On Instagram Helped Mom Quit Two Jobs, But Her Fame Comes With A Price

Social media could be a good opportunity to create your own personal brand. Social media stars like PewDiePie were able to create a sustainable living from creating content on YouTube. Now, 13-year-old Danielle Cohn is in the spotlight as she and her mom try to build up her entertainment career.

Cohn started creating content on Musical.ly at age 11, an app that mixes songs with user’s lip sync. She has become so popular that the app actually started paying her $400 to $500 a week to create clips based on popular requests.

Her mom, before her rise to fame, was trying to raise her alone, working two jobs at a time. According to Buzzfeed, Jen, Danielle’s 34-year-old mom has decided to quit her teaching job and a shift as a cashier to become a full-time “momager.”

“We weren’t rich or anything, so we had one phone,” Jen said. “I worked two jobs, so when I would work at night, I’d leave the phone with the kids.”

Danielle said doing Musical.ly did not make an impact at the beginning. She thought it was a hobby she could enjoy. When her first ad request from Musical.ly came in back in 2016, both Danielle and Jen were surprised.

“She was so young, and she would be making more than me in a week — a lot more than me.”

Eventually, Danielle grew her fans to millions. At that point, Jen was receiving calls from companies for them to fly to Los Angeles to take business meetings. Jen said that was the time she decided it was time to give Danielle’s career the attention it deserves.

Jen is keen on making the money work, not only for the present, paying rent and other bills, but also for her future. She said 20 percent of Danielle’s earnings are put to expenses, another 15 to 20 percent for a separate bank account to “put away,” and the rest is up to Danielle “to spend on her own.”

However, with the rise of Danielle’s fame came the haters. So far, there are already multiple Instagram accounts dedicated as “hate pages” for Danielle Cohn. Some criticize not only her production but also her “inappropriate” clothing choice and manner. Criticisms also became even more rampant when Danielle opened up her relationship with soon-to-be 18-year-old Musical.ly star Sebastian Topete.

“I feel I am targeted the most because of being so young, growing my following within a year, and having support from my family who allow me to live my dream,” Danielle said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWAtqulvub0

Even with the hate, Danielle and Jen are still trying to create a brand for Danielle. They made her single debut Marilyn Monroe, but it was quickly deleted after it was dubbed as the “new Rebecca Black.”

Jen calls out to the people criticizing them and said that she is not trying to live a dream in Danielle.

“Me and my daughter are different. I’m shy; I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I’m allowing her to do this because this is what makes her happy. I’d do anything for [my kids],” Jen said.

Danielle, on the other hand, is just trying to move forward. Last year, Danielle released her own music app which has a monthly subscription fee of $4.99 per month, according to Music Ally.