If You’re Confused About the Conway Drama, That’s Because It’s Complicated As Heck

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There’s never a dull moment in the White House. On August 23, counsellor Kellyanne Conway announced that she will be resigning from her position in the Trump administration at the end of the month. In a statement released on her social media accounts, Conway explained her decision, writing: “I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month. George is also making changes. We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.”

Conway wrote that she was leaving her position “gratefully & humbly.”

“This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans,” she continued. “For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.” Conway was set to speak during the Republican National Convention; there has been no word if that has changed given her resignation. Her announcement came only minutes after the advisor’s husband—George Conway, a lawyer who is very publicly anti-Trump—announced that he’d be withdrawing from the Lincoln Project—a group formed by anti-Trump Republicans—to “devote more time to family matters.”

The announcement from Kellyanne Conway is big for many reasons, paramount among them the fact that the advisor has been one of the current president’s most vocal and staunch supporters and defenders, working with him since 2016 and becoming the first female campaign manager to win a presidential race, per CNN. But it’s also significant for another reason: It very well may have been influenced by her teenage daughter. On August 22, Conway’s 15-year-old daughter Claudia tweeted that she wants to formally emancipate from her parents, an announcement that comes after months of her publicly speaking out against her mom, President Trump and the Republican party on social media—specifically on TikTok and Twitter.

But there’s *a lot* more to the story. Here, everything we know about Claudia Conway’s emancipation announcement, Kellyanne Conway’s resignation and what TikTok has to do with all of this.

Kellyanne Conway’s departure comes on the heels of some serious allegations

A day after tweeting about her intention to seek emancipation (i.e. ending the legal authority a parent has over a child under the age of 18), and just before her mom announced her resignation from the White House, Claudia Conway responded to commenters on social media speculating her motivation was due to her mom’s job and their political differences, revealing that she is in fact seeking emancipation due to what she describes as “years of childhood trauma and abuse.”

In a TikTok livestream released shortly after her mom’s announcement, Conway elaborated on these allegations, stating: “My dad doesn’t care about me, he’s never cared about me. He probably doesn’t even know my middle name—which is really sad, but true.”

Later, she said that her dad had physically abused her when she was younger, “right here in this very room,” then went on to talk about her mom, saying: “Same thing with my mom. My mom got me arrested, she’s very, very physically abusive. Very, very verbally abusive. I’ve been belittled and badgered my entire life.”

Kellyanne and George Conway have yet to address these claims directly.

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But this is not the first time Conway has made claims of abuse against her parents. In an August 6 TikTok Live, the teen made similar allegations, prompting one Twitter user to write: “Claudia Conway just went live on tiktok and talked about how her mother has physically and emotionally abused her for years and had her arrested for fake assault charges a few weeks ago…….someone get this girl emancipated STAT.”

And later the same day, Conway seemed to be pursuing action, asking her Twitter followers, “how do i get in touch with pro bono lawyers.”

While these allegations of abuse are unsettling, anyone who’s been following Claudia Conway on social media shouldn’t be surprised—because she has been publicly speaking out against her parents for several months. In June of this year, the TikTok star popped up on social media with several videos that made clear her political stance: liberal AF. In a series of videos, the teen has showed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement and defunding the police, called for justice in the murder of Breonna Taylor and called out Trump supporters for spreading hate on her page and spewing hate at her.

She has also called out her mom and her politics *numerous* times; making it very clear that they don’t share the same values.

@datjerseygirl♬ Bulletproof – La Roux

Most recently, after the announcement that Kellyanne would be speaking at the RNC, Claudia shared her disappointment on TikTok. (FYI, she hated it.)

@datjerseygirl♬ original sound – jennsuniverse

While some of these videos can be interpreted as a typical teen rebelling against her parents, dismissing them as such is irresponsible in light of the more serious allegations that have now come to light—including a post from early August where Claudia describes how Kellyanne had her daughter arrested for fake assault charges.

Whether or not Conway was *actually* arrested, it’s pretty clear that there is some major strife happening within this family due at least in part to Claudia’s public political activism. For example, in mid-July, Conway’s followers noticed that several of her politically-themed videos had been deleted, and then Conway revealed in a July 12 video that her parents—her dad specifically—made her delete them.

@datjerseygirlReply to @diana_loi ##voiceeffects

♬ original sound – claudiamconway

In a series of now-deleted tweets, Conway claimed that her parents were trying to “silence” her.

Some people aren’t buying Claudia Conway’s allegations—but it’s important to believe her

While many online commenters have responded with sympathy to Conway’s apparent plight as a young woman growing up in what appears to be a mentally toxic environment—others speculated that Kellyanne and the entire Conway family could be in on the schtick. As several people on Twitter theorized, perhaps Conway’s political activism against her mom’s employer, her comments online and Kellyanne’s resignation to spend more time with her family, were part of one big plot so that the political advisor could bow out of Trump’s administration before shit really hit the fan with the upcoming election. But we don’t buy this one either: With with how steadfastly Kellyanne has supported Trump through sexual assault allegations, an impeachment and WWIII, it seems pretty unlikely she’d jump ship over a potential lost election. Let’s be honest, the shit hit the fan a long time ago.

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Regardless of the internet’s theories about what’s really going on in the Conway household, it’s important not to dismiss or diminish Claudia’s claims. Regardless of whether there is validity to the abuse allegations, it’s extremely clear that whatever their relationship is, it’s fractured and seemingly toxic. Getting along with your parents can be difficult at the best of times, but for a 15-year-old growing up in a household at odds with a parent who has unwavering support for a man accused of rape, sexual assault and harrassment by more than 20 women, and doesn’t believe in a woman’s right to control her own body—that is beyond your typical challenging relationship. And then imagine having to publicly defend yourself against your parents’ controversial beliefs.

It’s too much for any 15-year-old to deal with. And then you add on allegations of abuse. Too often, young women (not to mention members of the LGBTQ+ community) aren’t believed when it comes to sharing their experiences with abuse. Which is why people who are skeptical about Conway’s statements—characterizing her emancipation declaration as the temperamental musings of a “rich white girl who’s rebelling against her parents”—may want to have a hard think.

Jumping to the conclusion that is simply rebelling based on the fact that she comes from a privileged family isn’t only unfair, but it also dismisses and invalidates both Conway’s reported experience as well as those of other victims of abuse. If a wealthy white teen isn’t believed, then what message does that send BIPOC and less advantaged survivors of abuse?

While there’s no doubt that being from a certain socioeconomic group as well as being white or non-marginalized affords people a lot of  privileges (see: legit everything), it doesn’t afford protection from abuse. If Paris Hilton’s recent revelations of physical and mental abuse at the hands of teachers have shown us anything, it’s that young people experience abuse in many different ways.

We should also acknowledge how monumental TikTok activism is in this

Legitimacy debates aside, if anything else Kellyanne Conway’s resignation is big news for the fact that it pretty much stemmed directly from social media-based activism. The fact remains that—through the power of TikTok—Conway spread her message, gained a following and elicited IRL change. The 15-year-old, albeit indirectly, brought forth a change that politically engaged liberals have been trying to do since Trump’s election in 2016—all via TikTok.

It’s a change that proves that not only should we *not* discount Gen Z and the power of their activism, but we also shouldn’t discount their means of spreading and eliciting change (ie: via social media). Because it actually gets the job done. (Also, isn’t it nice to think of TikTok as an agent of social activism rather than *just* a place for dancing videos and content houses to thrive?).

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Online or IRL, something tells us this won’t be the last we hear about Claudia Conway.

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