Taylor Frankie Paul was not the only one from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives involved in a massive scandal on the internet. Her fellow (now former?) member of the Mormon MomTok community, Whitney Leavitt, also managed to start her own controversy years ago.
Back in 2021, the content creator posted a dance video on TikTok… while her baby boy Liam was hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumonia. We’re not kidding. Literally, as her infant was battling a very serious virus and getting oxygen in a NICU bed, Whitney danced to Kendrick Lamar’s Love right next to him. Watch (below):
@winnetkabowlingleague #duet with @Whitney Leavitt this is actually insane #fyp #fypシ
Well… that was different.
As you can imagine, she got ripped apart online for the video because acting carefree and doing a lighthearted dance while your sick child is in a hospital bed feels totally inappropriate. Almost like you care more about clicks than your kid?
And many people agreed at the time, even calling her out for using her son’s health crisis to gain views and followers. However, Whitney (who did delete the post) swears she wasn’t trying to use her baby for clout. It was just meant to be “fun,” she said.
Related: What Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Star Jennifer’s Husband Wrote In THAT Rage Text!
On an unforgettable episode of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, the girls played a game where they had to spill the truth. Like Truth or Dare, but… Well, they already hooked up with each other and each other’s husbands, so what were they going to do? LOLz!
Anyway, when Whitney was asked if she was jealous of Taylor, she got real and confessed she somewhat was. Why? Not because of her fame. No, because of her forgiveness. She feels Taylor got more grace from the internet for her soft-swinging scandal than she did for the RSV video. Hmm. Whitney said:
“The first couple of days were scary, but he was getting better. So I’m thinking let’s do something fun and I made a video. People felt like I was using my child’s sickness for clout or attention. Everyone was so quick to forgive Taylor online for swinging and I feel like I still get bashed on every video.”
Jessi Ngatikaura then came to her defense, insisting Whitney only made the TikTok because all the news was positive:
“What her intention was, was not what was received.”
However, Demi Engemann — who feuded with Whitney throughout the season — tells a different story! She said Whitney’s intention was actually “to get likes and clout!” And she admitted it, too! WHAT! Talk about truth…
According to Demi, she made the confession months before filming the Hulu show as she was coming out of a ketamine treatment:
“Coming out of ketamine, you are feeling things very deeply. Truths are coming out about yourself that maybe you wouldn’t otherwise admit. And in that moment, she admitted to me that video that she posted was for sympathy, likes, clout, recognition and to gain her following.”
Demi even told the group she possibly has “a video of her admitting that,” too! Whoa! If it’s true Whitney used her kid’s illness for clout — AND ADMITTED AS MUCH — that is pretty messed up! Talk about crossing a huge line! Damn. Demi continued in a confessional:
“Whitney tends to dismiss your feelings or even gaslight you when you express that certain things happened or that you felt a certain way. She seems to flip the script and become the victim of her own chaos and I’m sick of it. It’s exhausting. You pushed me a little bit too far, Whitney. I’m going to set the record straight at all costs.”
Demi isn’t the only cast member “sick” of Whitney being “the victim of her own chaos.” She is also feuding with her other co-stars, Mikayla Matthews and Mayci Neeley, over the same issue online. Oof. If Mormon Wives gets renewed for a second season (which it surely will at this rate), the women certainly have a lot of drama and accusations to unpack!
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[Image via Whitney Leavitt/Instagram, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives/Hulu]