Problematic Influencers to Leave in 2022
You probably still follow at least one of them
Even though Hollywood men love the lore of CaNcEl CulTuRe, there’s not a lot of evidence that it actually exists. Hell, two Netflix docuseries later and they still play R. Kelly at the club. While I’m not someone who believes that one bad decision defines a person, I do believe in taking accountability and learning and growing from one’s actions. That responsibility is only heightened once you’re in the public eye and some individuals are just not equipped to deal with that kind of pressure.
Influencers have undoubtedly become a prevalent part of our culture. They touch nearly every aspect of our lives, influencing everything from the way we wear our hair to which vitamins we take. They’re even influencing which sex toys we use. Considering their power, I think it’s important to take a good look at who we are following and whether their influence on us is positive or negative.
As we move closer to a new year, it’s important to reflect on your social media habits and how they’re affecting your day-to-day. Here are a few influencers to think about unfollowing in 2023:
Claudia Oshry and Jackie Oshry
You may know Claudia by her Instagram handle, @girlwithnojob. The former meme queen has become a serial podcast starter alongside her sister Jackie. The pair hosts a podcast every weekday where they break down the “Fast 5” pop culture stories you should know about that day. The podcast was recently added to the Dear Media network, which also houses popular shows like Not Skinny But Not Fat and The Skinny Confidential, which is hosted by the network’s owners Lauren and Michael Bosstick.
The Oshry sisters are daughters of far-right political commentator Pamela Geller, who is literally banned from the UK - the whole thing - for her anti-Muslim “activism.” She co-founded a hate group called Stop Islamization of America. Pamela was married to Claudia and Jackie’s father Michael from 1990 to 2007 and Michael died the next year, leaving behind $5 million for each of his daughters (they share two others: Olivia and Margo - also influencers) and $4 million for Pam.
The Oshry girls themselves have come under fire in the past for their own controversial comments. In 2019, Jackie claimed that a mass shooting was more likely to occur in cheaper movie theaters, then doubled down on this once questioned about it. Old tweets made by sisters have also resurfaced including one from Claudia in 2014 that reads, “I can’t but feel like I’m funding terrorism when I take a cab.” Since then, the sisters have only continued to make tone-deaf comments about marginalized groups like Black Lives Matter.
Tinx
If you’re not on TikTok, you may not know Tinx. Born Christina Najjar, the 32-year-old rose to internet stardom during the early days of the pandemic, dubbing herself “TikTok’s older sister.” She created content surrounding relationships and mental health. A former rich kid, Tinx grew up in London and attended Stanford for undergrad.
In April of this year, a ‘snark’ subreddit dedicated to her dug up old tweets spanning over a decade that were quite unsavory. Considering my old tweets haunt me even though the account is long gone, I sympathize with this. However, many of the tweets were posted less than 2 years ago, just before she gained popularity.
Her early tweets mostly targeted celebrities and their weight or appearance (nothing out of the ordinary for a young idiot with unlimited access to the internet) while others slipped into QAnon-y and COVID-denier territory.
Tinx eventually owned up to her shit and apologized for the tweets. While she handled things well, the COVID tweets were a little bit too recent for some to forgive her. After all, she was 30-years-old at the time.
Rachel and Dave Hollis
Okay, so this one is a doozy. Rachel Hollis garnered internet fame back in 2015 when she posted a bikini photo, celebrating her mom bod - stretch marks and all. She capitalized on this fame by writing a self-help book entitled, Girl, Wash Your Face. The book was phenomenally successful despite its terrible advice, vapid content and toxic positivity. It resonated with privileged white girls. I purchased the book in 2018ish and couldn’t get through it. Some notable tidbits were:
Diet shaming: Rachel instructed her readers to envision their friend Pam, who has trouble sticking to a diet and asks them why they should trust Pam if she can’t stick to her word.
Victim blaming: Rachel insists that the only thing getting in the way of your success is you! She claims to have started her business with nothing but “a Google search bar,” but conveniently leaves out that her then-husband was a senior executive at fucking DISNEY.
The worst relationship advice ever: Rachel tells us the story of how she won over her husband. She was 19 and he was… older, and didn’t really want to claim her as his girlfriend. He wouldn’t introduce her to anyone and wouldn’t commit to her. She lost her virginity to him and then he broke up with her. Eventually, he changed his mind and they lived happily ever after… (They’re now divorced.)
Dave Hollis, the aforementioned fuckboy-turned-family man, eventually quit his fancy Disney job and decided to join forces with his highly successful wife, who wrote another popular bullshit book and started touring the country. He wrote a book of his own. Then, they started a podcast called Rise Together, which turned into a conference where couples could pay upwards of $2,000 for their invaluable marriage advice.
Then seemingly out of nowhere, the power couple announced their divorce. They’d done everything they could, they said. It just wasn’t working. Unsurprisingly, the folks who shelled out thousands of dollars to take advice from these frauds were horrified and demanded answers. They received none.
After the divorce, each of them landed in hot water once again. Rachel made headlines after making a video in which she referred to her housekeeper as “the sweet woman who cleans her toilets,” and claimed that yes, she is “super freaking privileged” because she’d earned it. The video was in response to a follower who commented that Rachel speaking about having her house cleaned twice a week made her unrelatable. Her response to this was, “What makes you think that I want to be relatable?” And comparing herself to feminist icons like - wait for it - Harriett Tubman.
Dave, on the other hand, spent two hours on Instagram Live demanding that his followers purchase his “life-changing” second book, Built Through Courage. He told his followers that by not purchasing his book for “eighteen stinking American dollars” they were breaching their contract with him, shaming them for viewing his content without also compensating him financially. During the 120-minute Live, his young daughter repeatedly asked him to make her breakfast, which he refused to do and told her to “get a life.”
Those are the highlights, but for more tea, check out this BuzzFeed article.
66% of people say that influencers impact their buying decisions. If you’re in that majority, be informed about the folks you’re following!