Bella Poarch is just getting over a case of COVID-19, but that’s not what’s stressing her out. It’s this interview, actually. Bella, like countless people around the world, has serious social anxiety. Maybe, in a way, it’s good that she blew up—to the tune of 2 billion Likes and 88 million followers on TikTok (she’s the platform’s third most followed person), perhaps the stickiest debut song to come from that app (“Build a Bitch,” which if you haven’t heard it, yes you have), and now a Warner Records deal—in the middle of a global pandemic. Because so far, she’s rarely had to be in 1:1 social situations. Or even in 1:1 Zoom situations, like the one we’re in right now.
There’s a lot, though, that sets Bella’s story apart from…