Cornell Students Petition for TikTok Star to Be Expelled Over Maskless Party

TikTok star Jessica Zhang was over the moon about being accepted to the prestigious Cornell University. Now, some of her fellow students are petitioning to get her expelled because one video captured her at a party without a face mask or social distancing.

The petition, which has already been signed by 2,500 students, declares, "Jessica Zhang has shown that she does not care to comply to public safety measures and wants to put other citizens at risk for the sake of her own entertainment."

Zhang, who has 544,000 followers on TikTok is now fighting back.

"I wouldn't even call it a party," she told Inside Edition.

Zhang said everyone at the party tested negative before getting together, but she is still remorseful.

"I realize I could have put the Cornell and Ithaca community in a lot of danger and I regret my actions," Zhang said.

Some fellow students aren't buying it.

"It wasn't really owning up to her wrongdoings," one student told Inside Edition.

"I ask for the people that are calling for me to be expelled to please try to be forgiving because I'm a Cornell student who has worked very hard to get here," Zhang said.

In a statement, Cornell said that while they can't comment on individual cases, "a number of students who violated" COVID-19 guidelines "have been held accountable."

RELATED STORIES