Addison Rae casts trans TikTok star as love interest in music video
Addison Rae’s new music video features TikTok star and line cook Gio. (Getty/TikTok/giovanniskitchen)
“Diet Pepsi” singer Addison Rae has cast a trans man and TikTok sensation as the love interest in her latest music video, “Times Like These”.
The video for “Times Like These”, the newest single from Addison’s recently-released debut album Addison, features the musician and her beau lolling about on a Staten Island Ferry.
“Times Like These” is about Rae feeling lost and confused in life and in love, and the video reflects as much: in one scene, she’s resting her head on her partner; in the next, she’s getting off the ferry solo.
Yet the lover in question, as spotted by one eagle-eyed TikToker, is none other than fellow TikTok user and New York City line cook Gio – known on the platform as Giovanni’s Kitchen.
After the curious TikToker noticed what they thought was “the really hot line cook from NYC” in the new video, Gio hopped into their comment section to confirm that he is indeed playing Addison Rae’s love interest.
Gio, who has almost 220,000 followers on the video-sharing app, shares videos of himself working as a NYC chef and reflecting on his transition journey.
In a recent video, he was filmed watching himself in the “Times Like These” video, joking to camera: “Do you think that guy cooks?”
He also dubbed Rae’s Addison as “album of the year”.
On Instagram, he shared a still of him and Rae in the video, writing: “Big day to be on the staten island ferry.”
Gio also took a moment to congratulate his co-star on her critically acclaimed debut record, and thanked her for “letting [him] be a little part of [her] world”.
He also thanked others involved in the video’s creation, including director Ethan James Green, art director Marcs, and stylist Dara, who is also trans.
Addison, released last week, has quickly become one of the most adored albums of 2025, both by critics and pop music-loving members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The album was preceded by five ethereal singles, including top 10 hit “Diet Pepsi”, “Fame Is A Gun”, and “Aquamarine” – the latter of which was remixed by trans, avant-pop star Arca.
Addison is out now.
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