According to Insider, Blackwell, who has 7.9 million followers on the social media platform, is facing a backlash after she begged viewers for donations, saying she ‘accidentally’ bought a couch for US$100,000 (RM471,300). — Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
What started out as a joke apparently became a bit too real for one TikTok influencer.
According to Insider, 21-year-old Quenlin Blackwell, who has 7.9 million followers on the social media platform, is facing a backlash after she begged viewers for donations, saying she “accidentally” bought a couch for US$100,000 (RM471,300).
On Oct 6, Blackwell posted a video where she appears to be crying in a car because, according to the influencer, she entered her card details into an online bid for a couch. In the video, Blackwell said that she “was joking” when she put her card information in, but the website charged her account regardless.
The on-screen caption on the post read, “I accidentally bought a US$100,000 (RM471,300) couch.”
“I almost crashed my car when I saw it,” she said in the video, which has 1.7 million views as of Thursday, adding, “If you have a million dollars could you please donate? If you have a billion dollars, can you let me borrow some please?”
Commenters under Blackwell’s video didn’t quite understand why the influencer would enter her card details if she did not intend to buy the couch.
“Girl who puts in card info as a JOKE,” read one top comment with 52,000 likes. “ILY BUT WHY PUT YOUR INFO IN,” said another commenter.
On Oct 10, Blackwell posted a follow-up TikTok video, which was captioned, “They won’t give me a refund on the couch.” Additionally, Blackwell also mentioned her plans to set up an OnlyFans account to make money, “I don’t want to, but I’m going to have to,” she said, mentioning that she needed money for dental work and to replace a side mirror on her car.
“I don’t want to do a job. I’m about to throw up because I know they didn’t refund me,” she said in the video.
Afterwards, the influencer added a link to an OnlyFans account in her Instagram bio.
Thinking the act was a ploy to get money from followers, commenters under Blackwell’s second TikTok questioned her story.
“You been taking acting classes huh,” and “she gotta be prankin us”, were some some of the comments posted.
Others who believed the story had little sympathy for Blackwell either, saying that because she has a large following, she should have rich and famous contacts who could help her.
“Dude ask your 100+ famous friends for some help,” one person wrote, with another saying, “Ask your rich friends.”
According to Insider, the influencer has been active on TikTok since late 2019, typically posting dance and vlog-style videos. She also runs a YouTube channel that has 950,000 subscribers, where she posts lifestyle and cooking content.
Blackwell has since posted an update to her social media channels on Oct 13 showing the alleged couch, dubbed ‘Troll dé onlywind’, with the caption “THIS COUCH WAS WORTH IT ALL”. The name of the couch appeared to hint that it was a prank all along, triggering criticism and anger from commenters, many of whom appeared to unfollow her in the aftermath. – pennlive.com/Tribune News Service
