A feud has broken out between wealthy New York City influencers over a man they both dated – whom their fans have brutally roasted.
The drama between Halley Kate McGookin, 24, and Sophia LaCorte, 23, began way back in December 2023 when LaCorte was caught on a date with McGookin’s ex-boyfriend, Reed Williams.
McGookin later claimed that LaCorte – whom she said was once a ‘friend’ – went through her follower’s list on Instagram and sent Williams a direct message.
Things with LaCorte and Williams never wound up working out, and McGookin confirmed in a video in March that she and Williams have rekindled their relationship.
But TikTok users say Williams is not worth all of the drama – with one fan taking to Reddit to share Williams’ apparently AI-generated LinkedIn profile picture, writing: ‘Imagine fighting over a man and it’s literally him.’
‘Wait, but he actually looks alive in this picture,’ one Redditor commented on the photo of Williams, which another said ‘has to 100 percent [be] AI-generated.’
A third wrote they would ‘kinda understand if he looked like he did here, but he doesn’t.’
The comments come amid renewed interest in the drama between the two influencers – despite Williams’ and McGookin’s rekindled relationship.
The two first got together in early 2023 after meeting on Hinge, the Independent reports.
They then dated for nine months, before McGookin revealed on her TikTok that they had split.
Then, on November 13, McGookin shared a video of herself crying and wrote in the caption that ‘not even three weeks after dumping me out of the blue,’ Williams had gone on a date with ‘someone I considered a friend and [was] with the night before, buying shots.’
‘Her bag is literally sitting in my closet because we dropped it at my apartment before going to the bar together,’ she claimed in the now-deleted video, a screenshot of which was shared to Reddit.
She also alleged that LaCorte ‘went through my following and DM’d him on IG while standing next to me’ at an influencer event.
In another deleted TikTok video, McGookin said she was not planning on speaking about the drama, but people started making videos about LaCorte’s date with Williams.
She also said she ‘tried to handle it offline’ by texting Sophia ‘multiple times’ but never received a response.
McGookin then detailed the drama even more in a December episode of her Delusional Diaries podcast.
‘This just hurts me really bad because I don’t want to hurt him in turn by having to make this a public thing,’ she said at the time.
‘It was shocking, just in general, that he would be on a date because when we broke up, he did tell me he didn’t think I was the love of his life.
‘But he also [said]… “I need to be single right now [and[ I have a lot I need to do on my own.'”
By January, LaCorte decided to respond to the allegations, as she said some of McGookin’s fans started harassing her.
She claimed on her Out of Touch podcast she was ‘never friends’ with McGookin and doesn’t ‘know who the girl is.’
LaCorte pointed out that there’s no photos on either of their social media pages showing them together, and insisted: ‘I would never stab one of my friends in the back.
‘I would never drag a woman online and I would never talk poorly about another woman,’ she said. ‘I defend other women.’
From there, it seemed that the love triangle had died down, and in a TikTok video on March 31, McGookin confirmed she and Williams rekindled their relationship as they were seen kissing at a Drake concert.
‘We are good and I’m happier than ever,’ she told her 1.3million TikTok followers.
She explained that she ‘needed to take a beat and figure out my feeling and the situation before putting it online.
‘This was my first actual relationship and I was so excited to have a boyfriend and share that with you guys. Obviously that meant I had to tell you guys when we broke up too, and that sucked.
‘I’m 23 and navigating my life the best I can,’ she continued, announcing that she and Williams ‘have been back together for a little while now.’
‘I’m not gonna share the details of everything but in our time apart we both realized and learned A LOT,’ McGookin claimed.
Still, she seemed to hit out at her influencer rival, writing: ‘I just want to make tis clear one time – as for the situation that happened amidst the breakup, absolutely nothing with that situation changed.’
McGookin then asked her followers to ‘respect my decision and just know I’m doing what is best for me.’
In the months since, McGookin has resumed posting photos of her and Williams together – and even featured him in a since-deleted episode of her podcast.
In clips of the podcast posted to TikTok this week, Williams was asked about why he decided to get back together with McGookin.
He paused for a moment before he spoke.
‘When we first got together, it was fast-paced and we kind of met and started dating right away,’ Williams finally said in a monotone voice.
‘I had kind of just moved to the city also, so I was still kind of figuring out who I was after college.
‘When it started getting really serious between us, I just needed to take a step back and do m own thing.
‘I learned a lot about myself during that time,’ he insisted. ‘I just realized I’m a better person when I’m around her and she makes me happier than anyone else has, so I didn’t want to lose that.’
Many online slammed Williams for his delayed response in the video, which has been viewed nearly 12million times since it was first posted on August 18.
‘This is an extremely hard watch,’ one person wrote.
‘She deserves so much more,’ another said, while a third commented: ‘Oh, so he’s like ACTUALLY the worst.’
Just a few days later, LaCorte seemed to have posted her own response in the form of a get ready with me-style video.
In it, she spoke about ‘the time a girl I met maybe three times canceled me and got me destroyed on the Internet.’
She described Williams as ‘very sweet’ and ‘super talkative,’ and admitted that the morning after their date she received a text from McGookin – who had to introduce herself because LaCorte did not have her number – but did not respond.
‘I’ve never had a one-on-one conversation with her,’ LaCorte explained. ‘I’ve met her maybe three times through work.’
She also claimed in a follow-up video that she would ‘never DM anyone while I’m standing next to anyone’ and argued that Williams ‘planned our date probably about a week before I happened to run into her at a work event.’
LaCorte concluded by noting they were all single at the time, and she and Williams went on ‘four or five dates’ before she realized he ‘was maybe not the one for me, and it just kind of dwindled.’
McGookin then addressed the backlash in her own cryptic TikTok video.
‘Just letting y’all know, I’m a real person just trying my best at life and I try to be as authentic about that as possible,’ she said in text overlayed on a video of her fixing her hair.
‘I get on this app everyday to make people smile. I used to come on and be so excited to check my comments and now I dread opening my phone and readies lies, rumors and hate.
‘And I hate that because this app has given me everything good in life nd I’m so grateful for it and all of you!!!
‘But I feel defeated sometimes if I’m being honest. I love all of you who support me so much and I really try to just ignore the noise because there are so many amazing people on here.
‘We just have to rise above,’ she said.