#Socialites, get a load of this! Jools Lebron, the transgender TikTok creator who made “demure” go viral, is devastated after learning that someone beat her to the trademark — just days after she rejoiced about the trend allowing her to pay for a gender transition.
On August 2, Lebron took to her TikTok account with a video that has since gone super viral. She titled the video, “How to be demure at work.” Social media took the word and had a field day with it! Everyone from regular social users to celebrities (like Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, Lindsay Lohan, Glorilla, Saucy Santana, Olivia Rodrigo, Penn Badgley, etc.) across the world have made videos using the word “demure” in the same context as Jools Lebron.
On August 13, the TikTok creator took to her page again to address fans questioning about who the original creator of “very demure” is. Lebron said, “The gag is… there have been so many demure divas who have come before me. There’s been Devin Halbal. There’s been Selyna Brillare. There’s been Venus Extravaganza.”
Lebron added, “Demure is just a way of life for the girls, for the dolls like me. With that said, I would love to give nothing but admiration, flowers, and respect to all those divas who have been demure this entire time. Who have paved the way for a girl like me to thrive. Who’s the original demure? Well, all of us. Being demure is thanking the people who have come before you while you pave the path for the people who will come after you. And that’s being demure, divas.”
That same day, Lebron updated her followers again, this time on how much her life has changed since making “demure” trend and go viral — including the ability to now be able to pay for her gender transition. She titled the video, “Make the videos. TikTok has changed my life.”
In the clip, Lebron said, “Hey, p*endaja, maybe you should make the videos. Maybe you should make the videos! Because one day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now, I’m flying across the country to host events and I’m gonna be able to finance the rest of my transition. I finally said it without crying!”
On August 16, Lebron took to her TikTok again to update, “Everyone keeps asking how I feel about what’s going on and I’m so overwhelmed. Like, I feel so grateful …. everything is happening so fast! Like, I just landed in LA and I’m just so overwhelmed. I have so much to do as soon as I got here. Oh, God! But, I’m living my f***ing dream, b*tch!” But things have since changed for TikTok creator Jools Lebron after learning that someone trademarked her “very demure… very mindful…” phrase before she could!
According to TMZ, someone named Jefferson Bates, who lives in Washington state, filed for a trademark, potentially blocking Jools Lebron, who lives in Chicago, Illinois. Over the weekend, the TikTok creator posted and deleted a tearful video explaining that she attempted to file her own trademark for the phrase “very demure… very mindful…,” so that she could start selling merchandise and be able to support her family and finance her gender transition; but someone beat Jools Lebron to the punch.
Lebron said, “I just feel like I dropped the ball. Like I feel like I fucked up and someone else has it now. And I don’t know what I could’ve done better, cause like, I didn’t have the resources.” Despite Bates coming in and swooping her trademark, writer and Public Relationship specialist Tenille Clarke claims Jools Lebron has a strong enough case to challenge the mark.
Clarke stated, “Trademarks are often granted on ‘first used’ and not ‘first filed.’ Jools can challenge this filing and WIN, and I hope a lawyer takes this case on for free. She deserves the rewards of this trend!” Clarke added, “There are a number of variables for consideration beyond who filed first that the Intellectual Property Office would have to consider – such as who digitally popularized the term. Lots of what-ifs, but naturally the first step would be to legally claim/object. That’s the law.”
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