You know how social media ‘influencers’ throughout the world have become so popular. It is not only popularity but also an influencer gets a lot of money. The media branding agency MediaKix has carried out a study on how much money has been spent on social media influencers. Around 2015 this industry earned $500 million. By 2020 it will reach $5 billion or more.
But this war between “British vlogger” Elle Darby and “the owner of the Charleville Lodge Hotel and The White Mosse Cafe”, Paul Stenson is a kickback to the influencers who want everything in free in exchange of ‘exposure.’
This sharp retaliation attracted a lot of people online. People who are not well acquainted with the business supported him. Some even think that influencers are talentless freeloaders who want services in return of their faces.
The matter went too far and it did not take a good turn for Ms. Darby. She received a lot of abusive messages from people voted not to support her.
The influencer addressed this issue on her YouTube video saying that her problem is not the refusal but the way he did it. She also said that a simple ‘no’ over a phone call or email would have been enough, there was no need to have people giving death threats or wishing cancer upon her.
The irony of this whole situation is denying exposure got him a lot more exposure then he could I have imagined. Mr. Stenson is a good businessman though.
When influencers united to support Darby and protect the community, Stenson announced that all influencers are banned from his hotel and cafe.
It seems like he is enjoying this internet war too much and went way out of the line to send Darby a mock bill to prove his point.
This is not the first time Stenson has been a part of a controversy. Earlier his tongue-in-cheek post had offended the vegans and he also banned them from his hotel and cafe. He has also shown certain hate for Ed Sheeran fans.
The shocking thing is he always gets away with these unapologetically and his business is still going great.
Most people have reacted in their own way about this controversy.