A Canadian gardener who found fame on TikTok with his suggestive lip-sync videos set to ’70s hits is the subject of a new documentary about his dark ‘cougar’ fandom.
With his sultry blue eyes, dimpled smile, and trademark wink, William White sparked an international frenzy among housewives with his musical videos on the social media platform.
When William posted one of him performing Barry Manilow’s Mandy, Londoner Kate Palmer found herself drawn to the 26-year-old despite being twice his age.
Like his other fans, who lavished hundreds of thousands of pounds on William, the hospitality worker quickly became ‘addicted’ to the thrill of sending him money in exchange for being acknowledged by name during his live video streams.
However, William’s decision to sleep with a fan caused infighting within the group that called themselves ‘The Grotto Girls’ – and Kate got caught in the crossfire.
Now, the pair are lifting the lid on what happens when obsession and jealousy collide in a new Paramount+ documentary releasing tonight.
The two-part series, Thirst Trap, follows White’s rise to online fame, the scandal that erupted after he was intimate with ‘Disney Mama’, and his decision to stop posting sexy videos altogether.
It also reveals how Kate suffered the consequences of misdirected envy in a saga that ‘could have actually taken a life’.
A Canadian gardener who found fame on TikTok with his suggestive lip-sync videos set to ’70s hits is the subject of a new documentary about his dark ‘cougar’ fandom.
Like his other fans, who lavished hundreds of thousands of pounds on William, British hospitality worker Kate quickly became ‘addicted’ to the thrill of sending him money in exchange for being acknowledged by name during his live video streams
In 2021, a wide-eyed and innocent-looking William took to TikTok determined to grow a following to rival his pals.
With his good looks and onscreen charm, he quickly discovered a gap in the market – older women who needed to ‘gain a spark back’.
He was working as a landscape gardener when he filmed himself mouthing the words to hit tracks from the years these ladies were in their teens, and they lapped it up.
William soon realised that he’d tapped into a money-making market, and it didn’t take long for the cash to start rolling in.
He explained: ‘I am a TikToker, just a full-time beauty, hot guy, that people love. I like money, fame, success. I’m one of the few that has older fans.
‘The older fans spend, they have money. I feel like a lot of my fans need to feel young again, gain a spark back.
‘I love my fans, if I can be there for them and they can be there for me, it’s awesome.’
He added: ‘Fans in the chat were telling me you should put PayPal in your bio and that’s when I started. It went from zero to $60,000 in one night.
‘I woke up, and there was $60,000. I called my dad, he was like, “You should quit your job and make videos, go live and do your stuff”. Then I’m like, how am I going to maintain this?
‘Ultimately, they want to get closer to me, that’s just how it is. So now they’re paying to see me, I’ve got to keep showing up.
Now, the pair are lifting the lid on what happens when obsession and jealousy collide in a new Paramount+ documentary releasing tonight
‘It became a job, and it’s almost impossible to say no to that.’
His new line of work caught the eye of Londoner Kate, a coffee shop worker who quickly became hooked on every move he made.
And just like the rest of the ladies vying for his attention, she soon got sucked into an addiction of paying money to gain his attention and a shout-out on one of his TikTok live videos.
Kate explained: ‘There’s just something about Will, he’s got the X Factor. He’s got the perfect wink, the perfect eye roll, I like that!
‘My phone is ridiculous, I think I’ve got about 20,000 videos. I’ve saved TikToks, clips from lives, I record all the lives.’
Kate found a community within his fandom, a gaggle of women in their 50s and 60s who called themselves ‘The Grotto Girls’.
They formed their own social media group and amassed over 1,200 members, all intent on supporting William by showering him with cash and gifts.
One woman admits to splashing out $200,000 (£146,400) in four years, while others would send him presents like new trainers and clothes.
Kate said: ‘The Grotto Girls, by the time I joined them, Will had actually followed me on all social media platforms.
In 2021, a wide-eyed and innocent-looking William took to TikTok determined to grow a following to rival his pals
With his good looks and onscreen charm, he quickly discovered a gap in the market – older women who needed to ‘gain a spark back’
‘Why did I stand out? Probably by giving him money.
‘I sent him $1,000 at one point, I didn’t mean to, it was meant to be $100, and my keyboard stuck. When I got the notification, it said you’ve sent William $1,000, and I was like, f***!
‘I was sending Paypals, I don’t actually know how much. It was kind of an addictive thing to try and get him to say your name online.’
With a red stiletto as their logo, The Grotto Girls found kindred spirits amongst their ranks and before long Kate left London to join 16 of them at Niagara in Canada, William’s hometown.
The gang toured spots they had seen in his videos and did their best to track him down.
Kate said: ‘I mean, obviously we’d gone to Niagara hoping to see Will!
‘We pulled into Tim Hortons for breakfast, and there was a petrol station next door, and Will’s Bronco was in front.
‘I was a bit like a teenager again, I suppose, thinking, “Oh my god, it’s William White!” He came over and said hello; it was surreal.
‘We had a photo and a quick five-minute chat, and then he went.’
All was going well until the line between William and his fans became blurred.
After a charity night in Florida, where many of his followers had donated large sums of cash, William ended up sleeping with one, known as ‘Disney Mama’, a bored housewife more than double his age.
A new Paramount+ series, Thirst Trap, follows White’s rise to online fame, the scandal that erupted after he was intimate with a fan known as ‘Disney Mama’, and his decision to stop posting sexy videos altogether
He said: ‘With “Disney Mama”, I remember being at the hotel and she did come over. We were flirting and trying to hang out.
‘We were having fun together, I was probably more excited than she was. I was like, let’s go!
‘I mean, sleeping with fans, it’s not like I’m a teacher, I’m literally just famous, and they’re loving me.
‘It caused a bunch of drama. That’s the weird part about it, every other fan wanted the same thing, hook up and have fun.’
The rendezvous with ‘Disney Mama’ set the cat amongst the pigeons, and The Grotto Girls turned on each other, jealousy burning brightly.
And Kate found herself caught up in it, even though she wasn’t at the event, as rival fans set up fake accounts to harass her because they thought she was part of the group who had won his affection.
She said: ‘There were a lot of explicit Twitter pages made with my name, a lot of different pages made with my initials in it.
‘Different photos, they would superimpose my face on. It was constant and could have actually taken a life.’
Things also took a turn for the worse for William.
It also reveals how Kate suffered the consequences of misdirected envy in a saga that ‘could have actually taken a life’.
He discovered he had been catfished after spending a year exchanging intimate pictures and messages with a girl he thought was his own age.
Instead, it seems it was one of his followers as his photos ended up in a file known as ‘the cookbook’ and sold to members of The Grotto Girls.
Those pictures were later leaked online, costing William lucrative modelling jobs.
Determined to change his ways, William decided to stop posting his ‘thirst trap’ videos and even got baptised, a family event attended by Kate.
She said: ‘I met everybody, Will’s family, Will’s mum and we all stayed for the baptism that afternoon, it was pretty magical.
‘It was a very special day. I wasn’t the only fan there, there was another fan who is good friends with his mum, she was also there.’
While The Grotto Girls are still active and William still posts regularly, he’s not fallen back into the trap of seducing older women online.
But he still has a number one fan in Kate.
She said: ‘I’ll do anything for him.
‘He’s incredibly special to me, and I would describe him as a mate, really, a friend more than anything.
‘I know he’s a lot younger than me, I’m very lucky to have that relationship with him, and it’s very special,l and I’d never want to lose that.’
‘I’m here for Will and Will alone. I will never say anything negative about him because I have nothing negative to say. I just hope this show is really good for him and his future and his dreams.’
Thirst Trap: The Fame. The Fantasy. The Fallout releases on Paramount+ on Thursday, February 12
