TikTok Awards Night Marred by Perceived Slight
The 2025 TikTok Awards, held on Wednesday night, was meant to be a celebration of digital creativity, but one moment of perceived poor sportsmanship has dominated the headlines. Australian teenager Latisha Clark, a nominee for the coveted Creator of the Year award, was caught on camera refusing to stand and applaud when the winner, Ilai Matangi, was announced.
Online Fury Erupts Over 'Bitter' Reaction
The incident did not go unnoticed by the vast online audience. Viewers quickly flocked to platforms like Reddit to express their disapproval of Clark's behaviour. The consensus was that the influencer was a sore loser. One commentator stated, 'When the winner was announced, everyone stood up and she stayed sitting. She 1000% thought she had it in the bag.' Another added, 'She would have 10000% thought she was going to win for sure which makes it even better. That whole family needs some serious humbling.'
Further criticism highlighted Clark's demeanour, with a third social media user noting, 'Latisha is mad she didn't win, couldn't even stand up and applaud, you can just see the bitterness in her face and her fake smile.' The general sentiment was that Clark, who was competing against Matangi, Tammy Hembrow, Jiny Maeng, and Ben Stubbs, had been overwhelmingly confident of her own victory.
A Winner's Humble and Emotional Tribute
In stark contrast to the controversy, the focus for many was the gracious and heartfelt acceptance speech from the winner, Ilai Matangi, who is widely known by his handle Havea676. The TikTok star dedicated his Creator of the Year award to his wife's best friend, Tay, who had passed away the previous week.
'So I want to dedicate this award to my sister Tay, may you Rest In Peace. She's a hard up 685,' he said, using the country code for Samoa in a touching tribute. He continued, 'If you guys watched last year, you know I'm a proud Pacifica person and I celebrate the best way I can,' before rallying the audience to cheer along with him.
This emotional moment was met with widespread praise online. One supporter wrote, 'I never vote for these kinds of things but I voted for him and his family. So glad to see a well deserved win.' Others commended his humility, with comments like, 'I love that he won.. he has remained humble,' and 'Havea honestly had the best speech ever. it was emotional and genuine. absolutely love him.'
Many saw Matangi's victory as a refreshing change, with one person commenting, 'I'm SO glad he won. Everyone saying Latisha should've won, it's old every year the Clark family getting some type of award. Let someone else win.' Another simply stated, 'He deserved it more than anyone!!!!', cementing the public's approval of the outcome despite the surrounding drama.
