- This year, viewers expressed anger with influencers who seemed out-of-touch or reckless.
- Influencers commonly faced backlash for anti-work sentiment, extravagant purchases, and stunts.
- Below are 9 influencers who may not have had the best year.
Influencers are no strangers to online outrage, and 2022 was no exception.
This year, several faced intense backlash for a perceived lack of relatability. Online, there was a growing sense that TikTokers and Instagrammers, many of whom make unrelatable amounts of money from their viewers’ engagement, had at some point crossed into an unreachable land of milk and honey and become interminably out-of-touch.
As the early-pandemic online boom — which launched the careers of many popular TikTokers — fizzled away and the internet further fragmented, an increased pressure to film stunts for big views also drew outrage. An influencer hit a golf ball into the Grand Canyon, and another “joked” about accidentally buying a $100,000 couch.
On a broader scale, “anti-work” sentiment grew on TikTok, with trends such as “Quiet Quitting,” and “Act Your Wage,” and “Letting it Rot” taking off. What was not popular, however, was influencers weighing in on work — particularly when it sounded like a complaint, or alluded, even jokingly, to being above the toil.
Each of the following influencers faced scrutiny and backlash this year, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they were glad for 2022 to be over.
