A day ago, a TikTok user shared her account of an uncomfortable meeting she had with an influencer, and it has led to her video getting 88,100 likes as of publication. Many viewers were frustrated by her experience, and the reaction appears to have driven an increase in Caraline's own social media followers.
The woman, Caraline (@caraline23), said that she uploaded this video the day after the incident had taken place.
As Caraline explained, she had recently moved to San Diego, California, and had never met any of the influencers that she followed in person, at least before this incident. But after she arrived in the state, she recognized an influencer out and about and went up to her.
The TikTok creator then told the woman that she was "the most beautiful person" she had ever seen and then asked her for any advice for growing her account. But the influencer suggested that people followed her because of her looks.
The situation became more uncomfortable when Caraline asked if they could take a photo together. The influencer reportedly said that if Caraline took a picture with her, she wouldn't be able to post it without paying. The influencer added that she did not let people "capitalize" on her looks, as there was "not enough room" in the industry for everyone.
In her video, Caraline then said that the odd experience made her decide to grow her account, even if partly "out of spite."
The creator, however, didn't name the influencer, though many commenters asked her to. Caraline subsequently said that she wasn't going to reveal the influencer's identity since she didn't want her followers to send this person hate. A number of the commenters, on the other hand, admitted they had taken an interest in Caraline simply because of the story. Among them were those who asked her to make her experience of moving to San Diego into a regular TikTok series.
One commenter said they worked in social media and suggested that Caraline ask her viewers for recommendations for San Diego. After that, she can try out those suggestions on camera and might thus be able to build up relationships with local businesses.
Several commenters also spoke of Caraline's appearance; for example, some said that she resembles actress Emma Watson.
Moreover, some supposed that the other influencer might have seen Caraline as a competitor. However, that was just an interpretation by the commenters and not something that Caraline herself had said.
The video also had people talking about their own experiences of meeting influencers they knew and/or followed. One said that her daughter had met the lifestyle influencer Haley Pham and that the meeting had been friendly, whereas another said that she had recently met Tabitha Swatosh and had had a positive experience too.
