Addison Rae is a world-famous social media star. Last week, her parents crossed a major line.

In the world of internet celebrities, Addison Rae has her place rooted firmly at the top of the ladder. 

We've seen her at the 2022 MET Gala, walking down red carpets at award shows and appearing in big-billing Netflix movies. 

And it all started with a single video clip. A clip that featured her dancing alongside her mother. A clip that was posted on TikTok and immediately went viral. 

Watch: How to improve your daughter's body image if she is on social media. Post continues after video. 

For the last few months, Addison's 88.6 million followers have been watching Addison's parents cross boundary after boundary. But yesterday, her parents took things further than ever before.

Here's everything to know about Addison Rae, her rise to fame and the internet's complicated relationship with her family. 

Who is Addison Rae? And why is Addison Rae famous? 

Addison was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana to her parents Monty Lopez and Sheri Easterling. 

When she joined TikTok in 2019, the app was already fast on its way to becoming a major social media platform. In just a few short months, she had garnered over one million followers. One video after another went viral, but the ones she recorded with her mother shot her out of relative obscurity and made her one of the biggest stars on the app. 

@addisonre

HAHA BLOOPERS OF OUR MOM AND DAUGHTER DANCES

♬ All I Want for Christmas is YOU - plottwist

By November 2019 – just four months on from when she had recorded first TikTok clip – Addison had dropped out of college and made her way to Los Angeles with her family. 

Sure, Addison's ability to dance combined with her conventional beauty helped make her stand out among a sea of others, but including her mum Sheri in the content created a new niche all of its own. Quickly her entire family – including her parents and two brothers – made videos together. By the time they moved to LA, Addison, Monty and Sheri were signed to talent agency WME. The entire family effectively became famous. 

Addison Rae and her family. Image: Instagram

 It was a massive gamble in quitting college and moving across the country to pursue internet fame but it paid off in the end for Addison and her family. Forbes reported in 2020 she had earned more than $5 million and was officially the highest-earning TikTok star of that year.

Three years on, the 23-year-old has 88.6 million followers on the app, a successful beauty company, and plenty of brand deals under her belt. 

What happened with Addison Rae's family?

Over the last few months, Addison's parents have taken their complicated relationship to the internet. 

It's not a secret that there's been friction, considering Addison spoke openly about growing up without Monty in her life. During a podcast episode with her mother, she revealed it wasn't until 2017, when Monty and Sheri rekindled their romance and remarried, that she developed a relationship with her father.

But in July of this year, it all came to a boiling point when 25-year-old model Renée Ash revealed she'd been having an affair with Monty and leaked a series of text messages and intimate photos. 

Image: Instagram @renee.ash. 

“He introduced me to his mom, his youngest brother and I thought we had something real. He told me a story of his marriage that convinced me that they were apart and in the process of getting a divorce,” Renée told Page Six. 

Monty and Sheri were reportedly still together at the time of the alleged affair.

Sheri took to her Instagram story shortly after and wrote: "Personal matters being brought public are always challenging and overwhelming for anyone involved. I will be okay. My biggest concern is  – and always will be – my children and their fragile hearts and minds. I will always do my best to protect them."

She then changed her Instagram bio to read "single mom".

Things took a bizarre turn when Sheri sparked the interest of up-and-coming rapper Yung Gravy, who has been vocal in the past about his attraction to "MILFS" (Mother I'd Like To F**k). 

After expressing an explicit interest in Sheri, who has 14.2 million TikTok followers of her own, she reciprocated through flirty clips and suggestive comments. 

Yung Gravy told the BBFs Podcast not long after that he and Sheri had been sending each other "wholesome DMs".

It turns out, Monty didn't appreciate that and demanded the rapper meet him for a "boxing match" – to which Yung Gravy responded that he was a "grown man" and would not fight the father. 

"You got one of the most successful daughters in the world and you decide to act half her age to try to get some attention, while embarrassing her whole family," he said in a video response. "So grow up and get some help. If we cross paths in real life, don't do anything stupid."

Image: Tiktok @montylopez 

It looked like the situation didn't sit well with Addison who responded to the drama by unfollowing her mother (she had already unfollowed her dad in July).

When the news of the unfollow was posted on Instagram, Sheri commented on a post about Addison's decision, writing: "Heart wrenching :(."

Despite the clear message from her daughter, Sheri made headlines again on Monday when she showed up to the MTV Awards... with none other than Yung Gravy. 

The pair went as far to kiss for the cameras – which prompted Addison to unfollow her mother on social media yet again.

Yung Gravy and Sheri Easterling at the 2022 VMAs. Image: Getty. 

On the carpet, the rapper explained to E News! why he had such a deep attraction to older mothers: "They're more experienced. 

"They are an under-serviced community I'd like to say and they deserve more attention, so I thought that'd be the one. And I've noticed that people really have started giving MILFs more attention since my music dropped."

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Following the VMAs, Monty took to Instagram with a shirtless selfie to respond to Yung Gravy and Sheri's date night, all the while claiming to be "unbothered".

"Thank you @younggravy for taking the leftovers," he wrote on his Instagram story. "I would rather spend time with my daughter and 2 grandkids that SheriNicole [sic] made me abandon as a child inorder [sic] to be with her! Never let a woman make you choose between her and or [sic] your blood child!"

Addison is yet to address any of the drama, but if she never does? Well, we wouldn't blame her.

Feature Image: Instagram @addisonrae.

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