A viral video from health influencer Tara Woodcox sparked backlash after viewers believed she admitted to washing dirty underwear inside hotel room coffee makers.
In the video, from 2025, Woodcox described the act as a "brilliant" travel hack she allegedly learned from a flight attendant, adding that "tons of people already know this."
Although the clip appeared to lean into satire, it quickly spread without context. Viewers at first reacted with disbelief and disgust, and it didn't help that hotel guests already distrusted those small machines.
Many people wondered how often they had unknowingly brewed coffee through someone else's laundry. Given that hotels rarely, if ever, dismantle or sanitize in-room coffee makers between guests, the feeling of distrust viewers felt in watching the video was understandable.
The video leaned into satire, but context got lost
However, the joke—if it was that—did not land the way Tara seemed to expect, or at least its satirical cues fell flat for many viewers.
In her caption, she wrote, "Needless to say I don’t drink hotel room coffee anymore 🙃🤮" and included the hashtag #gross. Later, she replied to horrified comments asking how anyone could do that by saying, "Right!! I don’t ever drink from the hotel room coffee makers since learning people do this 😂."
Still, much of the audience missed that Tara was not admitting to the act herself. The clip circulated without captions on X, which stripped away that context, meaning many viewers treated the claim as real "advice" rather than a joke.
The panic also tapped into older travel lore. According to a flight attendant writing in The Receipt for Bon Appétit, in-room coffee pots had long carried a questionable reputation.
"Many senior mamas like to tell horror stories about in-room coffee pots being used to rinse pantyhose," she wrote. She added that she remained unbothered if the machine looked clean. Still, she admitted the story might be an urban legend.
On Reddit, u/shemp33 jokingly described coffee makers as "miniature underwear washing machines." Because of that reputation, many flight attendants and hotel workers advised guests to get their jolt of caffeine elsewhere.
Hotel policies on cleanliness are also varied, with none specifically mentioning how in-room coffee makers are cleaned, as well as the frequency.
Rage bait, urban legend, or something worse?
After the video resurfaced on X recently, reactions were the same as when the influencer first posted the video on socials: pure horror.
@dr_Chantiq asked, "Why are people so selfish, only caring about their own business without thinking about others?" Meanwhile, @iheartmindy wondered, "Couldn't you just pour the boiling water on them in a sink?"
Others escalated the outrage. @CricketsMatter wrote, "How hard is it to wash your underwear in the d*mned shower or sink? That's disgusting!"
@CoreVibezz added a long post about never trusting hotel coffee makers again and packing a personal setup instead.
On TikTok, confusion ruled. One commenter said, "If this is a joke it’s not funny." Another asked, "Is this rage bait?" Several users also pointed out that underwear would not even fit inside a Keurig.
Rage bait or reality, the health influencer seemed to get the response she was looking for: chaos and a whole lot of comments on her accounts.
Tara Woodcox did not respond immediately to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram DM.
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