TikToker Haley Kalil’s entire career shifted the moment she received a message from Jared Leto — but that doesn’t mean she initially believed it was real.
Speaking to Us Weekly at YouTube’s Brandcast on Wednesday, May 14, Kalil, 32, cited Leto’s DM as a pinnacle of her influencing career.
“I think it was when Jared Leto’s team reached out to me after the Met Gala the year when he wore the cat outfit,” Kalil recalled, referring to Leto, 53, dressing up as the late Karl Lagerfeld’s cat at the May 2023 benefit. “I remember reading through my DMs and being like, ‘This is from, wait, is this?’ I thought it was fake.”
She added, “And then I saw the blue checkmark and I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, like, [my content] is reaching A-listers [and] people that I never thought I could ever meet.’ That’s when I knew, ‘Oh wow, this could actually be a career.’”
Kalil, best known as “Haleyy Baylee,” frequently posts humorous videos on YouTube and TikTok, which have garnered tens of millions of views. After the Met Gala honoring the former Chanel designer, Kalil teamed up with Leto for a handful of social media videos in his feline costume, pretending that the Oscar winner was her “billionaire boyfriend.”
Leto is just one of the many famous faces who’ve appeared in Kalil’s video — and there are still more she’d want to work with down the line. The model also told Us that she would love to collaborate with Angelina Jolie one day.
“I love her so much. [The first time I met her], I think I freaked her out,” Kalil recalled. “I called her ‘Angie’ … because I’m just awkward and I make awkward decisions, but she’s truly a hero of mine. She seems to give back to the community, she’s an amazing person, she’s a beautiful woman [and] a wonderful actress. I would love to work with her.”
Until then, Kalil is just grateful that her career has taken off.
“[My] greatest success [is] all the red carpet stuff,” Kalil mused, especially referring to her appearance at YouTube Brandcast, held at New York City’s Lincoln Center. “Growing up, I always wanted to be on red carpets, and I would actually apply to be a seat filler in college. They never picked me, of course, but it was my biggest dream just to see the Oscars, the Golden Globes [or] the Grammys.”
She added, “The fact that I stepped foot on those carpets and interacted with some of my favorite, like, A-list celebrities that I never ever thought would even know I exist? It’s really a pinch-me moment and I’m honored to be here.”
Despite getting fancy invites to red carpets like Wednesday’s event, Kalil remains just as down-to-earth as ever.
“I promise I’m nice and I’m not crazy all the time,” she quipped. “Like, yes, my videos can be a little bit manic, but, I swear, I can be calm and collected when I need to be. It’s just not as fun.”
