Exclusive: Natalya Toryanski On Breaking The Influencer Mold And Mainstreaming Conservatism On TikTok

23-year-old TikToker Natalya Toryanski has over 322,000 followers and rose to prominence on the platform for her riotously funny skits making fun of “bland influencer voice,” poking fun at the homogenous style of speaking and conformity characteristic of mainstream influencers.

Between her satirical skits, lifestyle content, storytimes, and "What I Eat in a Day" videos, Natalya has carved out a niche on TikTok as a holistic wellness girly who could have fun and not take herself too seriously, but refreshingly, also have her own point of view. 

What Natalya’s followers didn’t see coming, however, despite her not-so-subtle references to seed oils, the harms of birth control, and affinity for esoteric wellness trends like raw milk, was for her to come out as a conservative.

Following the most recent general election, Natalya decided to break her silence on politics, voicing her support for right-wing policies and publicly endorsing Donald Trump. The move blindsided many of her followers, who mourned in her comment section with comments like “This is worse than a breakup for me.” I sat down with Natalya to talk about her political journey, what provoked her decision to go against the political grain on TikTok, and how she got her start in content creation.

Jaimee Marshall: Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me today. I'm a big fan of your TikTok. I think you make hilarious videos; they crack me up.

Natalya Toryanski: Thank you!

JM: You have over 322,000 followers on TikTok, which is impressive. I've been following you for a while, and you've been making comedy and lifestyle videos, but you recently broke your silence on politics. Before we get into that, I was wondering how you got into content creation to begin with, and what inspired your satirical videos on things like influencer voice.

NT: I've wanted to be a content creator since at least 2013. It wasn't until the fall of 2022 when I actually had the courage to start making videos on TikTok, regardless of what people at my college or from high school were going to say. I'd always wanted to be a content creator, but the subcategory of content—my satirical skits—basically happened because I think there's a lot of truth in comedy.

I was noticing a pattern: these influencers speak in a very specific way that's characterized by upspeak and vocal fry, and I thought it was funny. What better way to unveil a funny truth than through the vehicle of comedy? So, I made my first video. It really took off because people loved me pointing out this thing that was the elephant in the room, which nobody had overtly addressed before. That's how that series came to be.

JM: So true. It is so accurate, it cracks me up. You recently shifted gears. I don't believe you've previously spoken about politics on your platform until now, after the election, and it really shocked a lot of people. You came out about your support of President-elect Donald Trump. What motivated you to speak out all of a sudden?

NT: Ultimately, I've leaned right for a while, and obviously I didn't want to talk about it on the internet because I didn't want to be the victim of cancel culture. I didn't want to jeopardize my budding influencer career. I didn't want to be on the receiving end of a massive internet dogpile. So, you stay quiet about your more conservative views, right? That's what conservatives do.

They stay quiet and let other people bear the burden and speak for the silent majority. But after the November 5 election, I was so disgusted—that is truly the most accurate word I can use. I was so disgusted by the harmful disinformation that was circulating all over TikTok and Instagram, every single story I was seeing. I was disgusted by the media-induced mass psychosis that was so apparent on every Instagram story—people crying about their rights that were going to be revoked, people crying that they're going to be sent to camps, rounded up, rights stripped away.

I decided it is spiritual suicide for me to remain silent. I'm just going to be honest about my views, and I’m going to dispel some of the hoaxes and myths. I'm going to allow myself to be on the receiving end of backlash because I needed to stand up for what I know is the truth. That was the most important thing to me. So, that's how that happened. I decided I'm standing up for what I know is the truth because I'm disgusted by the harmful disinformation that's circulating.

JM: That's really refreshing because, as you know, it's very rare for someone with such a sizable following on such a liberal, young-leaning platform like TikTok to come out with more conservative viewpoints or even hint at having such views. Have there been any consequences of speaking out? Have you had a mass exodus of followers or been censored at all?

NT: Wonderful question. First of all, yes, a mass exodus of followers. I'd say I lost about 30,000 on TikTok. But what's beautiful is that I've gained about 40,000—a net gain. So, yes, there was a mass exodus of angry liberals. I have to be honest, that was the goal. I realized I had a lot of very far-leftist followers, and it wouldn't be the worst thing if they decided to unfollow me, and I could replace them with maybe a more conservative audience. So it was kind of intentional.

I also did lose, I'd say, 15,000 followers on Instagram. In my opinion, that's good riddance because these people did not want to hear me out anyway, and I based all of my opinions and viewpoints in fact. People would “refute” my videos before even watching them. I'd post a four-minute video and get a hate comment in five seconds. Obviously, you're not watching a four-minute video after five seconds. I think there was no loss with the followers who did unfollow me, and there's only been a wonderful gain because I've gained wonderful followers who sort of align with my worldview.

JM: Have you been censored at all?

NT: Yes, I wanted to talk about this. I'd say TikTok is the most censorship-heavy social media app out of all of them. I'm sure you know this to be true. My very first video, which was the five-minute "Why 72 Million"—now, obviously it's more like 76 million—but "Why 72 Million Americans Voted for Trump," that video was immediately muted not even two minutes after I posted it to TikTok. It was immediately muted, and it's still muted to this day, so that was censorship immediately.

JM: I did notice that, and I was going to ask you about that. I wasn't sure if that was a result of people reporting it, or if they determined it was somehow hate speech. Did they tell you why it's muted?

NT: Yes, there wasn't actually enough time for there to be mass reporting by TikTok users, so it was definitely the algorithm that took it down. The reason they flagged it was, and I quote, "hate speech, promotion of hateful ideology." I was so shocked, and that also had me disgusted again. I was disgusted again! Dissenting opinion is considered hate speech on platforms like TikTok, and it is textbook censorship.

JM: That's shocking that it was allegedly because of hate speech when I did watch the video on your Instagram, because I couldn't watch it on TikTok, and you were basically just explaining, from your perspective as someone who voted for Trump, why so many other millions of Americans voted for Trump. You were explaining that it isn't because a majority of the country is racist or sexist, so it's ironic that it was reported for hate speech when you were saying the exact opposite. But shifting gears back to your "banal influencer voice" content making fun of the very monotone conformity among influencers—I'm just kind of surprised that so many people are shocked that you're not fitting into that mold when you made a name for yourself making fun of that exact mold. What do you think the disconnect is there? Why are people confused?

NT: When you mentioned that irony in your original email, I was like, "This woman, Jaimee, is brilliant," because it is so ironic. You're right. I built a platform poking fun at the influencers who all do the same thing and act the same way and speak the same, and then people are somehow shocked. I honestly think that it's a testament to the current cultural climate, how no matter what someone says or does, there's no way that they are going to be a vocal conservative because that is the most controversial thing that a person can possibly do.

So, I think people have been propagandized to the point where they think that nobody is a conservative, regardless of the fact that Donald Trump received an astounding 76 million votes, won all swing states, flipped blue counties all over the nation. People are under the impression, thanks to the absolutely corrupt media, that conservatism is few and far between, and it's such a lie. People were shocked for no good reason. I have given people every reason to assume that I lean right or am at least moderate. I mean, I have talked about how seed oils are inflammatory, and I try not to consume them, and seed oils are a movement within the conservative arena, so it's just hilarious that people expected me to come out as a leftist.

JM: It is very funny because I could tell for quite a while, so it was surprising to me that so many were surprised. You have spoken about how in the past, like many of us when we were in college, you used to be more liberal and used to believe a lot of the misinformation in the mainstream media about Donald Trump. Can you explain the evolution in your worldview and how you came to take on more right-wing politics?

NT: Over the course of my college career, I became disinterested with politics, so I found myself passively consuming sort of left-wing orthodoxy or passively accepting it because it's what we're fed in college. It is established that colleges are like left-wing indoctrination camps, and if you go to an American university, you are absolutely inundated with left-wing orthodoxy—we know this. Being in college, I was passively accepting those ideals as truths.

Then, in my junior year of college, I remember having a conversation with my roommate, and I remember being so neutral on so many issues that a lot of people feel strongly about. I remember being so neutral and unopinionated, and I thought, "You know what? I'm going to do some research and come at these issues—social and economic issues—from a very neutral, centrist standpoint and see what conclusion I come to." Every bit of evidence that I was uncovering led me to the right, so I was being nudged towards the right. I found myself becoming a moderate, right-leaning person more and more, and then I was fully nudged into conservatism because I think that science, facts, and rationality lead you to conservatism.

JM: I love that you've leaned all the way in after coming out with a countercultural, very unpopular opinion—unpopular on TikTok, to be clear, evidently not unpopular in the rest of the country, who clearly agree with you—but so many have tried to shame you. People have commented things implying that this is because you're white or trying to shame you because you're a woman and imply that you should fall in line with what women are supposed to support, like the Democratic Party. Do you feel like these sorts of shaming tactics also pushed you further to the right, and how did you get the backbone to stand up against it when so many just capitulate to the mob and start apologizing incessantly?

NT: I do 100% believe that radical liberalism has radicalized people the other way. I 100% believe that.  Identity politics is so detrimental to the culture. So many left-wingers truly believe, and they have enforced upon people, that your immutable characteristics—sex or race—govern exactly who you are and what you should think. They put you in those ideological boxes, and it is not the truth, and it's so destructive. They try to back people into a corner based upon the color of their skin or whether they are a man or a woman or their social class, and I love to see Americans absolutely rejecting that preposterous ideology because my conservatism doesn't have anything to do with my skin color or the fact that I'm a woman. It has everything to do with the values that I care about: life, liberty, freedom, American exceptionalism, patriotism, small government; things like that.

JM: I've noticed that authenticity seems to be a really big value of yours, and you just don't seem like a person who can stand pretending to believe something that you don't. Why do you think so many other creators have such difficulty holding their ground when there seems to be at least some sort of vibe shift? There seems to be more open support of Trump, at least compared to what it was in 2016. I don't know how aware you were of the political climate back then, but it was pretty much social suicide to admit to having slightly right-wing views. Why do you think people are still so hesitant to come out and stand their ground?

NT: I think because it's scary. Because the current cultural climate says if a person is not a liberal, absolutely identifying with the left wing, then they are "reprehensible," they are "disgusting." They call you every name in the book, and they try to ruin your career. They call your university, they call your boss, the CEO of the company that you work for. They bombard your comment sections with vitriolic, vicious hate. It is scary to stray from left-wing ideology on the internet, and that's why people don't do it because they rightfully do not want to subject themselves to vitriolic, vicious hate.

JM: You did a shocking story time recently, before you came out about the election, talking about how you were actually basically robbed by this shady hotel in Hollywood and mentioned that you weren't even surprised because Hollywood's known for being dirty and dangerous. I'm wondering if these experiences also shaped your worldview. I feel like it's kind of common knowledge that Democratic-run cities tend to be quite shady. Did this happening play into you wanting to speak out?

NT: Absolutely. I know a lot of people have issues with Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. I know people have issues with his policies, and they say that he's absolutely destroyed California. First-hand knowledge, going to Los Angeles, I can tell policies have been implemented that have only wreaked havoc on the city. You know what? I received a lot of comments on those videos, and they said, "Democrat policies destroy cities," and firsthand knowledge going to Los Angeles, it's absolutely true.

JM: Do you have any advice for other content creators who maybe hold countercultural viewpoints or maybe secretly support Trump but are just scared to be honest about their views or to speak about politics at all, or they refrain from speaking on certain issues on their platform? What would you say to them when they are validly scared of being dogpiled?

NT: Advice? Let's see. One thing I do want to say is I think being so afraid of voicing your conservative opinions implicitly sends the message that your opinions are somehow reprehensible and shameful. I think that conservatives or even just moderates need to snap out of being bullied and battered into silence because it insinuates that what you believe is wrong or shameful, and that is not the case at all. That's the first thing. The second thing is, I really do think that it comes down to whether you desire being liked and adored by all or whether you want to stand up for what you know is true and right and beautiful. In my case, I want to stand up for what I know is true and right and beautiful and benefits society and benefits the world and obviously benefits the United States of America, but you're going to receive backlash when you have more unpopular views on TikTok. You're going to receive backlash, so it just depends if you want to be adored by all or if you want to stand up for the truth.

It's funny because since posting all of my conservative content, I have gotten so many positive DMs and messages from fellow influencers and non-influencers, 9-5ers, moms of my friends, my friends from college, my friends from high school, people from back where I grew up. I've gotten so many positive messages of them saying, "You are saying what we are all too afraid to say, but we support you from the shadows." That's encouraging, and I think that people who are vehemently against the conservative movement would find that disturbing and unnerving, knowing that the silent majority is, in fact, the majority, and they are quite silent. Another thing is one of my fellow influencer friends who is secretly conservative—love her, and I'm not going to name her—but she told me, "You're saying what we all think, but you're taking the bullet for it, that's all." I was like, "Okay, correct." Also, this would be a good title, but I want mainstream conservatism. I think mainstreaming conservatism is wonderful, and Gen Z is doing it. Gen Z is mainstreaming conservatism.

JM: Do you think if more people, one by one, because clearly on platforms like TikTok, when you go into fields like this, they just tend to inherently lean left for a number of reasons. One, the liberal orthodoxy is, for sure, enforced socially. But also, creative people tend to just lean more liberal naturally as well. Do you think, by the however many conservative-leaning content creators there are on TikTok, by them kind of following in your footsteps and not shying away from their true views, that we will see a change in the culture to where it's not like you're the boogeyman if you come out supporting Trump in a few years? Because that seems to already be happening. Do you foresee that that can happen anytime soon?

NT: Without a doubt, and it's already happening. There is a seismic, massive cultural shift happening just like you mentioned a few minutes ago. Supporting Donald Trump or the conservative movement is not nearly as taboo as it was back in 2016. It's not nearly as shameful and scary. People are coming out loud and proud about their support, and it's a testament to the massive cultural shift that's happening. I'm a smaller content creator, but other bigger conservative content creators like Charlie Kirk and Alex Clark, they are doing huge things in the social media space. Yes, I truly think that this massive cultural shift is only going to get bigger. Every demographic—age group, race group, and social class—has had massive jumps towards the right in this past election cycle. It's incredible.

JM: That's really promising. One of the first political TikToks that you made was about making fun of liberals who expect you to basically disown your family if they come out as Republican. Clearly, they didn't know what your views were. There's been speculation online that your father was a Republican congressman, and you made a tongue-in-cheek video pretending to punch him for finding out that he's Republican. Have you been expected to answer for other people's politics, like your dad’s?

NT: Have I been expected? Yes. When I started TikTok two years ago, I was getting a few comments here and there—they would trickle in—about my father, who was, once upon a time, from 2010 to 2012, so two years, he was a state senator in Idaho. I would get a few comments trickling in as if my dad had committed some great injustice. My father, Mitch Toryanski, let me just say, he is the most wonderful man I know. So when I'm getting a comment about my dad's politics, making him out to be some villain, it's so dumb because my father is, yes, a Republican, and yes, the most wonderful, honorable, incredible man I know. When I would get comments like that, it made me want to... So what they want you to do is they want you to excommunicate your family. They want you to excommunicate your Republican family members. God forbid they voted for Trump—excommunicate them now. That is cult-like behavior. Every time I get a comment about my dad, I wanted to express the profound love I have for him because, yes, he is a Republican, and yes, he is a wonderful, incredible man—not because he's a Republican, but also he's wonderful because he's a Republican as well, because Republicanism is wonderful. 

NT: As far as the question "Should other people be expected to answer for their family members' politics?" No, of course not. It is so ridiculous that when a person—an influencer, a non-influencer, or a celebrity—when their uncle or their father or their mother or their aunt or their grandmother is outed as a Republican or a conservative, that that public figure is supposed to answer for their family's politics. That is so preposterous. People are independent individuals. You don't need to answer for your uncle who is a Trumper in Oklahoma.

JM: Yeah, it's very sinister authoritarian vibes. Do you know anyone in your life on the other end of that—any friends or family who have had to answer for you coming out as conservative or people pressuring them to distance themselves from you or anything like that?

NT: As far as my family, I have two brothers and a mother and a father. My parents have received wonderful messages from their friends who follow me on Instagram, saying, "We love what Natalya is doing," but they, as far as they've told me, have not received negative messages demanding that they answer for my politics. So, as far as I'm aware, no.

JM: That's good. You're 23, right, I believe?

NT: Yes.

JM: I was just wondering because usually that age group, if you have friends, they tend to lean left, or their friends tend to lean left and pressure them.

NT: Well, okay, so I just talked about my family, but as far as my friends, yes, I have been unfollowed by several people that I know, and that's that. That is literally the end of the story. They unfollowed me, and nothing was said beyond that. I have not received one negative text from any of my friends who unfollowed me, so they just let that be that, and the last thing I'm going to do is text them begging for some kind of validation. So, people who decided to unfollow me, that was that, and the people who still follow me and support me—I have overwhelming support in my DMs. It's the most wonderful, encouraging thing. We're just having a good time over here.

JM: That's great. You just have to keep on keeping on, regardless of what people think. People have been wondering this for a while, and I believe it was a joke, but just so the people know, you recently removed the "Dr." title in your name, and a lot of people seemed to think that you were literally a doctor and were using that as a dunk on you for saying certain things despite being a "doctor." Can you explain what the backstory is with that?

NT: Yes, okay. I've only explained this, I believe, once before. The backstory was back last year—I think it was 12 months ago to the day—I was in public, and a woman started berating me for accidentally calling her "Mrs." instead of "Dr." We can say her name was Mrs. Smith—Dr. Smith. I called her "Mrs. Smith," and she berated me, telling me she was a doctor. I said, "Okay, I understand." A few more minutes went by, and I mistakenly called her "Mrs. Smith" again, and she went crazy on me. So, I remember I came home and made a video about people who are not medical doctors but rather some kind of Doctor of Musical Theater, Doctor of Underwater Basket Weaving. And I have three doctors in my family, by the way—doctors of law. But it seems that people who are not medical doctors are more adamant about being called "Dr." than people who work in hospitals and perform surgeries—life-saving services. You know that I love to expose truths via comedy. Comedy is a wonderful vessel for truth.

So, I came home, made a video about these ridiculous people who berate you when you mistakenly call them "Mrs." instead of "Dr." Then, as a little bit of a middle finger, I changed my name on TikTok to "Dr. Natalya," just to really hammer in the message, "Hey, anyone can be a doctor. Look, I just put 'Dr.' in front of my name. Look at that." It was supposed to be a short-lived little thing. It ended up persisting for an entire year because people loved it. People called me "doctor." People omitted my first name and just called me "doctor," "the doc." I mean, come on, I was known as the doctor. So I was like, "Oh, let me let this shtick live on." It was only until recently—I know some random TikToker who's been making a bunch of videos about me. I haven't watched them, but my friends told me that there's some TikToker making videos about me. I believe she took credit for me taking "Dr." out of my name, but no, it had nothing to do with her. It was more about the fact that I don't want to get into trouble by offering health advice when I'm not a doctor, so that's why I took it out of my name, but it was a wonderful shtick while it ran its course.

JM: It was a wonderful shtick. During the most recent hurricane that happened in Florida, you made some videos talking about how people seem to speak very condescendingly to Floridians and people in actual flooding zones, as if they know better than them.

Do you feel like people kind of assume when you're from somewhere like Florida, which I feel has kind of a reputation for being the South and certain areas being more Republican—do you think people have this perception, at least young people on TikTok, that they're ignorant or like they're lesser than or something? Because they always feel like they need to be telling people what's best for them, as if they don't actually know what's best for them.

NT: Yes, I do agree with what you just said. There's definitely the "Florida man" archetype—you know, the one. You're in Australia, correct?

JM: Yes, I am from the U.S., but I am in Australia now.

NT: Okay, because people call Florida the Australia of the U.S. So, I actually do think that the hurricane situation beautifully parallels the election situation, where people love to speak for those who they have nothing to do with. So, Floridians who are battling the hurricane and they know that there are evacuation zones and you needn't flee the state but rather find higher ground, whether that's an hour or two away from your house, people who are in California are then online berating and lecturing Floridians, not knowing that Floridians are taking advice directly from Ron DeSantis—the governor, mayors, the U.S. senators of Florida, state senators of Florida, and city council. So, Floridians know what they're doing, and then we have a bunch of people who are removed from the situation chiming in, and it's a wonderful parallel with so many other things.

Closing Thoughts

Natalya's insistence on pushing back against the liberal orthodoxy is reflective of a broader cultural vibe shift taking place before our eyes. Content creators are no longer accepting the unspoken rule that conservatives aren't welcome in mainstream spaces. Her experience proves that when you hold your ground and don't shy away from what you really believe, you'll cultivate a niche audience that aligns with those values, while the ones that don't understand your perspective self-exile.

She also shows that you don't need to fall victim to cancel culture if you don't bend the knee and accept spiritual self-flagellation. Natalya's refusal to compromise on her values or offer hollow apologies suggests that people ultimately do respect authenticity over ingratiating the mob.

Your niche audience will find you eventually, but you certainly don’t want to be stuck with one that doesn’t respect your intellectual autonomy. Seeing young, successful content creators like Natalya stand up for what they believe in, even when it’s unpopular—even when it’s socially punished—gives me hope for the future.

To keep up with Natalya’s comedy skits, political rants, and lifestyle advice, you can follow her on TikTok and Instagram.