Featured Image Credit: @kathryncritt/TikTok
Topics: TikTok, Viral, Social Media, Travel, Thailand
Harley Young
Topics: TikTok, Viral, Social Media, Travel, Thailand
A TikToker who posts her travels online hit back at critics who accused her of being 'out of touch' with her video which told people to spontaneously take a trip out to Thailand.
Influencer Kat Crittenden posted a video of herself swimming in stunning blue waters in Thailand last year.
The video, which was shared to social media platform TikTok, faced backlash pretty quickly with users swarming the comments to share their views.
The video in question starts with Kat saying: "What are you doing in America, this could be 5.30 on a Thursday night for you if you just book a freaking flight. Like, come to Thailand, this should sell you, get your a** out here."
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Though the seven-second clip was probably meant in a lighthearted manner, people weren't impressed with the tone of the video, with many highlighting that it came across as privileged and 'out of touch', assuming that everyone just has the money to spend on a plane ticket to Thailand.
There's also other issues at play which could scupper arranging last minute travel plans, like securing a visa and so on.
One person commented: "Hey there Kat! I had multiple homelessness scares this year already. Hope this helps."
Another added: "I'm working... because you know... I have bills that will be waiting for me when I get back from this 'cheap trip to Thailand'."
A third person said: "I’ll put living paycheck to paycheck on hold so I can do that. Thanks for the advice."
A fourth wrote: "I don't have rich parents."
However, Crittenden responded to the critics in an interview with Insider, where she said the video was intended as a whimsical off-the-cuff post and not meant to be taken so seriously.
She said: "When I posted the video, I posted it fully as a happy, lighthearted video, just kind of trying to inspire people to go out there and go explore the world."
Crittenden added: "I understand that I do have a lot of privilege to be able to do what I do, but at the same time, it definitely upsets me that that video was taken the wrong way."
Crittenden also cleared up some of the suggestions that she lived off her parents' money, by quickly stomping that claim out.
"I would say the worst comments for me are when people say it's daddy's money because that could not be further from the truth," she said.
"I feel like it just bothers me because I didn't have a good relationship with my dad growing up. I haven't even spoken to my dad in five years."
The influencer added: "Those definitely get to me because it's not true at all. It couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, I grew up making my own money."
Luckily, the backlash Crittenden received on the video hasn't put her off from following her dreams and making travel videos on the platform.
"Honestly, I still love doing it," she added. "I mean that's one video out of probably hundreds that I've posted. And the hundreds of other ones have been seen by the people who follow me and they like watching them, and they're all like very fun people."