(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2026-12-08) Blundon, Hannah
This thesis examines the #BlockOut movement on TikTok, a short-lived but highly visible digital activism campaign in which users blocked celebrities perceived as silent or indifferent toward the genocide in Gaza. The study investigates why audiences expect celebrities and influencers to engage in sociopolitical discourse, how celebrity silence became framed as complicity, and what this reveals about power, performance, and accountability in digital culture. Using a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, the research analyzed 973 comments from 11 high-engagement TikTok videos alongside follower and engagement data for the most frequently mentioned celebrities.
Findings show that TikTok users positioned celebrities as moral agents obligated to speak out, transforming silence into a politically meaningful act. Seven discursive themes revealed how users negotiated responsibility and belonging within the movement. Although #BlockOut generated significant attention and momentary shifts in online behaviour, its measurable impact on celebrity status was limited, and its
momentum rapidly declined. The study concludes that #BlockOut exposes a paradox at the heart of contemporary digital activism: public expectations for celebrity advocacy are intensified by parasocial relationships and platform logics, yet these same dynamics undermine sustained collective action.