Some influencers have built up a reputation for being out of touch.
There was this influencer who gave a restaurant a 1-star review after it refused to give her free food in exchange for exposure. Then there’s the model who was criticized for showing off all the free stuff she gets in New York City using the Beautypass app.
Now, an influencer on TikTok is being slammed for telling followers to “just book a freaking flight” to Thailand during the cost of living crisis.
@kathryncritt Me again, convincing you to travel lol #travel ♬ original sound – Kat Crittenden
The controversial video, which has been viewed more than 4.2 million times by Tuesday, was posted by Kat Crittenden (@kathyryncritt). The Daily Dot reached out to her via TikTok comment.
“Me again, convincing you to travel lol,” she captioned the post of her swimming in Thailand with crystal-blue water and a picturesque mountainside.
“What are y’all still doing in America,” Kat begins. “Like this could be 5:30 on a Thursday night for you if you just book a freaking flight. Like come to Thailand. This should freaking sell you, get your ase [ass] out here.”
While dropping everything and booking a flight to Thailand sounds nice, the reality is that most people can’t afford it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average disposable income in the U.S. is $55,781, and the average American has $21,800 in personal debt.
People were quick to explain this in the comments.
“I don’t have rich parents,” @J wrote. “Babe i’m poor,” another added.
A third didn’t sugarcoat her financial situation: “I’m literally in crippling debt rn,” she wrote.
“I’m on government assistance Kat that’s why,” a fourth commented.
“Hey there Kat! I had multiple homelessness scares this year already. Hope this helps,” shared another struggling user.
“I’ll put living paycheck to paycheck on hold so I can do that,” a woman shared. “Thanks for the advice.”
This led many to criticize Kat for being out of touch with her comments. A cost of living crisis has people tightening their purse strings more than ever. These days, people are forgoing luxuries such as restaurants, certain groceries like eggs, and luxury vacations.
“Being rich and out of touch seems so nice,” one person said.
One commenter sarcastically summed up many users’ sentiments: “Lemme just quit my job and abandon my student loans to travel.”
