"She didn't learn from what happened to that Carlee girl" - Internet reacts as TikToker Drea Nicole is accused of lying over Lyft kidnapping

TikTok user Drea Nicole has garnered the internet’s attention after claiming that her Lyft driver attempted to kidnap her. She also claimed to save herself by jumping out of a moving car, subsequently leading to her sustaining injuries to her head. Netizens have since taken to the internet to opine that she lied about the kidnapping and that it never happened.

On August 17, 2024, Drea Nicole took to the video-sharing platform to reveal she was catching a 30-minute Lyft ride to travel from New Haven, Connecticut’s Yale University Campus, to her Clinton Outlets workplace. She stated in the video that she was thrilled to learn she had a female driver; however, things reportedly took an awry turn.

Nicole claimed that everything was initially normal as the license plate and car model matched the app’s description. However, she said that matters became strange after the Lyft driver began speaking in a foreign language.

“At first, I didn’t think anything of it. But she said something in English- ‘Dark skin, red sweater.’”

The TikToker then claimed the driver hung up the phone and got to the highway instead of dropping Nicole to her desired location. She then explained:

“I asked her- ‘What are you doing?’ She told me to ‘Shut up.’ She didn’t have to tell me nothing else.’”

Nicole then revealed that she jumped out of the vehicle out of fear of being kidnapped and sex trafficked. Speaking about the same, she said:

“It hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. It felt like I was in a movie. I keep replaying the scenario in my head.”

The TikToker opened a since-deleted GoFundMe page to cover her medical expenses, which have reportedly come up to $16,000. She stated that her insurance was not covering any portion of the bills.

Many have taken to the internet to state that they believe Drea Nicole was lying about her kidnapping, as they found several inconsistencies as she recalled the kidnapping. Many took to the internet to compare her to Carlee Russell, a former Alabama nursing student who pleaded guilty after falsely reporting her own kidnapping in 2023. Some reactions to Nicole’s claims read:

“She didn’t learn From What Happened To That Carlee Girl.”

Netizen reacts to the TikToker’s claim of almost being kidnapped (Image via Instagram)

Some netizens also said they would not donate to the GoFundMe page and were waiting for a police investigation into Nicole’s case. Comments online read:

Netizens react to the TikToker’s claims of almost being kidnapping (Image via Instagram)

Drea Nicole claimed on TikTok that she contacted the police following the incident. However, evidence of the same was unavailable online at the time of writing this article. Meanwhile, other reactions read:

Netizens react to the TikToker’s claims of almost being kidnapping (Image via Instagram)

The video of Drea Nicole recounting almost getting kidnapped amassed over 4.5 million views at the time of writing this article. Meanwhile, other reactions read:

Netizens react to the TikToker’s claims of almost being kidnapping (Image via Instagram)

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TikToker claims Drea Nicole was conducting a scam with her kidnapping claims

TikTok user @darealnunu_ took to the video-sharing platform to claim she was scammed of $1350 by Drea Nicole while she was in the hospital. The former said:

“She is a scammer. She will do anything or say anything to get a dollar. I mean, she will say anything, she will do anything.”

The TikToker also claimed Nicole had scammed several people in New Haven. She went on to encourage netizens to be more mindful of sending money to Nicole. Darealnanu also said:

“Story may sound sad, story may sound believable. Anybody may come to social media to start crying and saying something happened to them for money.”

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Netizens now await an update from Nicole regarding her health and more information about the incident.