Fans of the popular TikTok duo Shay and Bria are ready for Ariana Grande to give two of her biggest fans the surprise of a lifetime. The sisters, who are 29 and 28, have quickly become two of the internet’s favorite sibling content creators as snippets of their life as autistic adults are shared online.
The videos are recorded by their mother, known as Aunt D, and have garnered more than 44.3 million likes and the support of 2 million followers on the social platform. Their account, MentalHealthWorld, was launched in April as an outlet for their mother to offer a kind word encouraging others to not allow life’s circumstances to dictate how they show up and treat others in the world.
Shay and Bria made appearances in several videos; however, it was not until August that they became a more integral part of Aunt D’s content. In October, they had their first major viral moment when the special needs mom captured a video of Shay showing the stretched arm of an Ariana Grande shirt she had on.
The singer’s fan explained that her sister had grabbed the garment during a heated moment. “You ruined my Ariana Grande shirt,” said Shay to Bria.
That post alone accrued 4.6 million likes, 46, 200 comments, and was bookmarked 598,200 times — catapulting the trio to social media stardom.
Now, the family is getting attention for a new reason: the drastic makeover they were gifted by celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Wright. He surprised Shay with the transformation for her birthday, and as a bonus, Aunt D also got to experience a day of glam.
Bria was originally included in the makeover but was not comfortable with others touching her hair. “Y’all Bria wouldn’t let us touch her. She wasn’t taking it,” said, Wright who popped up at the family’s home, bouquet and gifts in tow, in posts shared on Nov. 12.
When the new looks were revealed, fans were stunned to see Shay with long, black, and pink tresses styled with loose curls and a glamorous face fit for her special day.
Aunt D, who typically has her hair styled into a wavy ponytail, went for a brown and honey-colored hairstyle. “OMG they don’t look the same,” an awe-struck fan commented. Another reaction read, “Shay KNOW she mf FINEEEE baby !!! Yessssss.”
A third said, “She is so freaking pretty.”
In a separate upload, Aunt D shared that Shay was also surprised with an Ariana Grande-themed birthday cake and a new T-shirt during a trip to Los Angeles. In the comments, a follower asked, “Where’s Ariana grande it’s your turn wya?”
Another person said, “At this point u need to do a pop up on her this girl loves u I know u seen these videos.” The “Thank You Next” star has yet to comment or repost any of Shay’s content, but fans hope that will change soon.
As a trio, the sisters and their mom even snagged a video with influencer Big Sexy jumping up and down behind them as they strutted through a crosswalk. “The mama gone take her moment ain’t she?!!!!
Elsewhere in the discourse regarding Shay & Bria, there were numerous people who questioned if their content had become exploitative. “I used to like their videos but now I feel like the mom is doing too much. She exploits them and I have a friend who has a child with autism and said she finds their videos very strange,” read one criticism.
A second individual wrote, “Honestly I think Aunt/Momma D should give Shay and Bria a break for a couple days. They’re obviously annoyed and overstimulated” in reaction to posts showing the sisters flustered.
Their mother did not clap back at naysayers in the comments, and according to one follower, she often deletes disbarring remarks left on the videos. However, some of the backlash was addressed in a video recorded in early November. In it, Aunt D explained that her content was not making a mockery of autism or her daughters.
“If you don’t live this, you won’t know this…So, you talking about invading they privacy. Nah, I’m not trying to invade they privacy, you know what I’m saying. I just catch it when I can catch it. I hear Shayanna upset, I hear Bria upset,” she said.
The criticism has not slowed down the rollout of more content nor had it detracted others from showering the family with support.
