That Vegan Teacher

Early Life and Pre-Internet Careers

Kadie Diekmeyer was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, to parents George and Gerda Diekmeyer, and grew up with two siblings. She completed her college education at John Abbott College, graduating in 1985. Her professional life began in healthcare, where she worked as a registered nurse at the Lakeshore General Hospital for a period of twenty-five years. Concurrently, she pursued a second career path by attending Concordia University to become an English as a Second Language teacher. She balanced both professions for a time before leaving nursing to teach full time in French Canadian schools, a role she maintained for nine years until departing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Musical Endeavours and Early Activism

Long before her online fame, Diekmeyer expressed herself through folk music and writing. In 1995, she composed and performed a bilingual song titled 'Imaginez un Pays/Imagine a Country' at a Unity Rally at Montreal's Place du Canada, an experience she described as anxiety-inducing as it was her first public performance. A Montreal Gazette article from the time noted her as one of many do-it-yourself artists in the city. She self-released her debut studio album, 'Some Things Can't Wait,' in 1998, producing 500 copies. By 1999, she had written 47 songs. Her ethical views on diet also appeared early, with a 1998 acknowledgment that she knew she shouldn't eat meat, and a 2004 open letter titled 'Dog persuaded them to give up meat' published in the Montreal Gazette, criticising cruelty to animals.

Launch and Strategy of Online Vegan Advocacy

Diekmeyer's transition to a full-time online creator was catalyzed by her departure from teaching and the viral potential of TikTok. In July 2020, a video of her song 'Eating Animals is Wrong, McDonald's' spread rapidly on the platform, defining her confrontational style. She established a consistent presence across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram under the handle 'That Vegan Teacher,' and later 'its.that.vegan.teacher' on Instagram. Her content strategy involved daily posts that directly challenged viewers to adopt veganism, often using catchy phrases and moral arguments. She framed her mission as fighting 'veganphobia' while trying to save animals and the planet, a message repeated in her live streams and bios.

Specific Controversies and Accusations

Diekmeyer's content repeatedly ignited public outrage through specific incidents. In September 2020, she stated she would no longer sign her organ donor card because she did not want her organs going to meat eaters after her death. A March 2021 YouTube video titled 'Are You Racist?' featured an acrostic poem where she spelled out the word 'nigger,' arguing people should 'ban cruelty instead of words.' She also argued that coming out as LGBT was a selfish act compared to coming out as vegan. The controversy with teenage YouTuber TommyInnit occurred when she used TikTok's stitch function to respond to his video about a YouTube Play Button. Her comment, made while holding a cucumber, pear, and apple, was widely interpreted as a sexual joke directed at a 16-year-old, which she defended by saying she thought he was college-aged.

Platform Enforcement and Feuds

The accumulation of controversies led to tangible consequences on social media platforms. In 2021, she received an IP ban from TikTok after users mass-reported her account, though the platform did not specify the exact cause. She responded by posting a video on YouTube vowing to continue her activism. She created subsequent TikTok accounts, but most were banned. Her criticism of public figures extended to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, whom she targeted in videos for his use of meat on his shows. Ramsay's response was a duet video where he ate a beef burger and called her a 'vegan doughnut,' a moment that significantly amplified the publicity around their clash.

Personal Life, Views, and Relocation

Diekmeyer is bilingual, speaking both English and French. She has three children from her first marriage. Her personal advocacy is rooted in a strong condemnation of animal agriculture and what she perceives as societal 'vegaphobia.' She has described her own difficulty with being 'politically correct' regarding her dietary views. In a significant personal change, she moved to Italy in 2024, continuing her online activism from abroad. Her digital presence continues to promote the core message she repeats in streams and posts: 'Save animals. Eat plants. Repeat tomorrow.'

Public Perception and Lasting Impact

That Vegan Teacher remains one of the most infamous figures in the online vegan community. Her impact is dualistic, having successfully pushed veganism into countless online discussions through relentless, attention-grabbing tactics. However, this came at the cost of widespread accusations of bigotry and harmful rhetoric, making her a case study in the pitfalls of aggressive digital activism. Her legacy is not of culinary instruction but of moral provocation, setting her apart from professional vegan chefs who focus on recipes. She demonstrated how a single individual could command massive online attention, yet also how such a presence could be severely curtailed by platform policies and public backlash.

Questions about That Vegan Teacher

Why is That Vegan Teacher so controversial?

That Vegan Teacher is controversial because some of her content has been characterized as racist and homophobic. This includes repurposing the slogan 'I can't breathe' in a song about animal agriculture and arguing that coming out as LGBT is selfish compared to coming out as vegan. She has drawn criticism for comparing the animal agriculture industry to the Holocaust. Further controversies involve her making a sexualized joke directed at a minor, TommyInnit, and stating she would not donate her organs to meat eaters.

Why was That Vegan Teacher banned from TikTok?

That Vegan Teacher was IP banned from TikTok in 2021 after users mass-reported her content. While the exact video or policy violation that triggered the ban was not officially specified by TikTok, it followed a period of intense controversy surrounding her posts. These included the perceived sexual joke aimed at a teenage YouTuber and other content deemed offensive. She has attempted to return to the platform with new accounts, but most have subsequently been banned.

Is That Vegan Teacher actually a chef?

While she promotes vegan food and lifestyle, Diekmeyer is not professionally trained as a chef. Her background is in nursing and education. Her online persona, 'That Vegan Teacher,' centres on ethical activism and advocacy rather than culinary expertise. She differentiates herself from professional vegan chefs like Gaz Oakley, who focus primarily on recipe creation and food content, whereas her content is more focused on moral arguments and confrontational outreach.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Novello Desserts desk. Last updated 2026-10-22.