After Trying to Go Viral for 11 Years, 'Demure' TikToker Jools Lebron Reflects on 'Surreal' Rise to Stardom (Exclusive)

Jools Lebron opens up to PEOPLE exclusively about her 'very demure, very mindful' video going viral on TikTok

TikToker Jools Lebron has become an internet sensation for being "very demure," but her rise to internet fame didn't happen overnight.

After years of posting content on social media, Jools shared a TikTok video on “how to be demure at work” on Aug. 5, and the trend took off in a way she never could have predicted.

The creator exclusively tells PEOPLE that she first decided to film the now-viral TikTok simply because she “liked [her] makeup that day.”

“I thought I looked particularly like a Bratz doll,” she says. “I saw a video saying how Barbie started very modest and demure and how her biggest competition Bratz was far from it. So I thought it was funny to say I was demure with my black winged eyeliner, giant lashes, blonde hair down to my thighs and acrylic nails.”

The buzzword immediately captured people's interest, as many said goodbye to Brat summer by ushering in demure fall.

"It feels insane to know that anyone would even give demure an entire season," Jools says. "I was okay with demure Labor Day weekend or something but this feels amazing and iconic. When something like this happens you’re supposed to shy away from appreciating your own impact but I literally love it."

But what exactly does it mean to be “demure” and “cutesy"? Jools says that for her, it’s “really a personality trait.”

“I’m not messy or mean or jealous, I’m cutesy,” she explains. “I’m not crazy and out there and wild, I’m very demure; I’m very reserved and laid back. I’m mindful. I’m cognizant of how I treat others and how I make people feel and how I am perceived by others.”

Since posting the first TikTok, the video now has over 4 million likes online and she has amassed over two million followers on the platform. The “demure” trend and sound has been used by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Jenna Ortega and Penn Badgley, however, Jools says one of her favorite videos was from Jennifer Lopez.

“I’m a Puerto Rican girl,” she explains. “And growing up, JLo was such an inspiration.”

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Even as some of her favorite stars participate in the online trend, Jools, who recently made her late-night debut, notes that the attention still feels “absolutely surreal.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Jools says. “I’ve been doing this for eleven years and never saw the success I wanted to. So having this moment feels insane.”

Related: TikToker Jools Lebron Made 'Demure' Go Viral, but Now She Might Not Own the Trademark

On Aug. 14, the creator – who identifies as transgender – shared just how much TikTok changed her life in an emotional video, where she revealed that she would be able to finance the rest of her transition thanks to her newfound fame.

“Maybe you should make the videos,” she said. “Because one day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break and now, I’m flying across [the] country to host events.”

For Jools, she says she “loves” the impact she’s made with her videos and doesn’t want to shy away from appreciating it.

“I hope that the girls realize we’re really all in this together,” she says. “Trans or not, we are just making jokes and laughing.”

“Being demure together just means we’re having this gorgeous time of appreciation," she adds.  

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