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On Wednesday, May 7, influencer Kayla Malec, 20, posted a 15-second TikTok to reveal that the domestic assault case against her ex Evan Johnson resulted in conviction.
Malec previously revealed that she had been in an abusive relationship in early April.
Her announcement on TikTok about her courtroom victory earned over 6.4 million views and 1.6 million likes within an hour of its upload.
On Wednesday, May 7, Kayla Malec posted a TikTok filmed outside of the courthouse to announce a win in the domestic assault case against her ex, Evan Johnson.
In her video, the influencer, 20, can be seen enthusiastically lip syncing to Kanye West’s 2021 song “Jail.” She smiled as she threw her hand up in celebration, mouthing along to the lyrics, “Guess who’s going to jail tonight?” (Johnson’s sentence was suspended, meaning he will not spend time in prison.)
The overlaying text states the outcome: “I WON,” she wrote alongside the 15-second clip. Less than one hour after its upload, the video already had over 6.4 million views and 1.6 million likes.
In her caption, Malec continued, in all capital letters, “I’M SOBBING. FOR US. WE DID IT. WE DID IT.”
The creator first revealed that she was in an “extremely abusive relationship” in early April. She noted that the physical violence had been going on for several months and recalled incidents of abuse in multiple emotional tell-all videos shared on TikTok and YouTube.
Social media users speculated that Malec’s stories were connected to her ex Evan Johnson, who was arrested in Sumner County, Tenn., on a charge of domestic assault and a violation of his probation on April 7. He was later released on bail that same day, though police did not identify the victim at the time.
Johnson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment at the time of his arrest.
PEOPLE later confirmed that Malec was named the victim in Johnson’s case on domestic assault charges filed on April 10, per the Sumner County online court records system.
On April 25, Malec shared that her court day was coming up in a couple of weeks. In a TikTok update, she said the prospect of further legal action felt both “really exciting” and “really nerve-wracking” at the same time. The vlogger noted that it would be her first time back in Nashville “since everything.”
Two weeks out from her court date, Malec admitted that she’d been “the most depressed” she’s ever been, and shared that she’s been having “so much anxiety” the past two weeks.
“Ever since I started talking about this stuff and reliving it, every day I wake up at 6 a.m., I have an anxiety attack, I run into my kitchen, I chug an entire bottle of water and then I go back to bed,” the online personality said.
“This is the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life,” she continued. “I know it will get better and I know the healing process takes a long time. And there are days when I feel really good and there are days when I wake up… and I don’t want to get out of bed for the rest of the day.”
She added, “But I know that it’s normal, and I know that it’s a part of healing, and it’s a part of PTSD.”
She reiterated that her purpose for her sharing so honestly was to prevent others from finding themselves in similar abusive situations or help those who are in such a relationship right now.
“The one thing that’s keeping my head up and getting me out of bed is known that I’m doing this for a reason and that I’m doing this to help ya’ll,” said Malec. She concluded, “It’s genuinely what’s been keeping me motivated and getting me out of bed.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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