Lindsay Lohan asks student to take down Cameo message to her that went viral

A college student whose post of a Lindsay Lohan video message to her went viral says the actress-entrepreneur has asked her to take the video down.

Variety on Tuesday said 20-year-old student Alana, who asked that her last name not be used, told the magazine she had purchased the message from the celebrity video-greeting service Cameo and posted it on the short-form video app TikTok. In it, Lohan provides encouragement to the young woman, who had asked for help in coming out as gay to her parents.

Cameo customers often post such videos online, with the company telling Variety, "The user has a license to share the unedited video."

Alana on Jan. 21 had posted a TikTok message saying she wanted to come out to her family but was fearful of their reaction. She asked viewers, "What if I got Lindsay Lohan to tell my parents? She's on Cameo right now. … Do you think she'd do it?"

In an update Monday, Alana said that Lohan, who was raised in Cold Spring Harbor and Merrick, "did make the video. It's not what I expected at all, but I wanted to share it with you all in case you wanted to hear it."

In it, the 34-year-old star greets Alana and says warmly, "I know that you are about to take a very big step in telling your parents who you truly are and what you want them to accept of you, and I think that you should do it yourself. I think that coming from you, you'll feel a lot of power and strength. And it's important that you are who you truly are, and that you love yourself and you can live by that and tell your parents that."

She added, "I promise you they will understand," and offered supportive wishes.

Alana told Variety, "My initial reaction was, 'I know there are so many people out there who need to hear this message, who are also struggling whether or not to come out — whether or not to be true to themselves.' " The video unexpectedly went viral, with resultant media attention.

"I found out while I was in class," Alana, who attends the University of California at Berkeley, said Tuesday on TikTok, adding that she "did end up telling my parents because I didn't want them to find out on the internet, and they took it well. … I'm feeling really relieved."

Then to her surprise, Lohan requested, politely, that the TikTok post be removed. Variety said Alana provided a screenshot of Lohan saying, "Hi! Just wanted to ask if you could take the cameo down because it was private for your use only." Lohan's representative confirmed to Newsday the Variety story was accurate. Lohan has not commented on social media.

The post remained up as of Wednesday evening. Alana — who according to Variety "identifies as bisexual or queer" — said that despite her having asked Lohan to tell her parents for her, "I actually am way more grateful that she sent that instead."