A travel influencer has hit back at critics who have accused her of being 'out of touch' after posting a video telling people to spontaneously book a flight to Thailand.
Influencer Kat Crittenden recently shared a video of herself on TikTok showing her swimming in beautiful turquoise water in Thailand.
She says: "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."
However, people were not impressed with the tone of the video, with many highlighting that it came across as very privileged and 'out of touch', assuming that people would have the money to spend on a plane ticket to Thailand. There could also be other issues which could scupper last minute travel plans, like securing a visa.
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One person replied: "Hey there Kat! I had multiple homelessness scares this year already. Hope this helps."
Another said: "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."
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While a fourth wrote: "I don't have rich parents."
Crittenden has since responded to the criticism in an interview with Insider, in which she says that 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 specifically clarified that she didn't live off her parents' money as many people suggest.
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"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."
Despite the backlash she received, Crittenden said it wasn't going to stop her from sharing travel videos.
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She said: "Honestly, I still love doing it. 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."
Topics: Thailand, TikTok, Travel