Recently, TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio came under fire after taking part in a promotional campaign that saw her dressing up as a Walmart employee.
On October 29, D’Amelio posted a video promoting a range of popcorn products called “Be Happy Snacks.” The caption of the video noted that they were available to buy in Walmart.
As part of the campaign, D’Amelio dressed as a Walmart employee and shared pictures of herself pretending to work at the store.
Users on the internet were quick to criticize D’Amelio for this campaign, with many saying that “cosplaying” as a Walmart employee ignores the many issues that workers at the store have reported in the past.
This discussion took place on both X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, with numerous users hopping onto each platform to share their thoughts on D’Amelio’s decision to take part in this campaign.
One such response came from TikTok user Kemani (@thekidke_), who shared a video satirizing the campaign. Kemani’s video currently has over 689,000 views as of Friday morning.
@thekidke_ NAHHH💀 #fypシ ♬ Better When I’m Dancin’ – Meghan Trainor
At the beginning of the video, Kemani solemnly stares into the distance in a Walmart uniform.
“Me struggling living paycheck to paycheck, eating sleep for dinner, and crying myself to sleep because of this soul draining 9-5 job,” Kemani writes in the text overlaying the video. The video then cuts to Kemani wearing a black wig and laughing, still wearing the Walmart uniform. This section of the video is labeled, “Charli D’Amelio doing it for fun.”
In the comments section, many users shared their own Walmart employment experiences, with several commenters noting how dissimilar their own experience was to D’Amelio’s portrayal.
“Walmart was my first job at 16, making minimum wage doing the job of three,” a user recalled.
“I used to work at Walmart in college and I didn’t have a choice. Not to mention I was only making 7.75 an hour,” said another. “That was crazy insulting of her!!!”
“I worked as a cashier at Walmart for 5 years while in college,” remembered a third. “I wanted to leave this earth everytime I walked into that place.”
“Worked there for a couple years and I’d literally cry because I had to go to work,” detailed a further TikToker. “It was so stressful and mentally draining.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kemani via email.
