Current:Home > FinanceUntangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett -BeyondProfit Compass
Untangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett
View
Date:2025-04-14 15:37:36
This was probably not the way Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett imagined starting off their marriage.
The influencer duo—who have almost 700,000 followers on their joint TikTok account—went from newlywed bliss to issuing an apology video during their honeymoon all in a span of days after Lunden's past racist tweets resurfaced.
The saga all started on Sept. 30, when the 26-year-olds tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Naylor Hall in Roswell, Ga., with many fans referring to the black-tie nuptials as the "royal wedding of lesbian TikTok."
"We like romanticizing the moment that we're in," Lunden gushed to People in a profile gushed on Oct. 1, adding that she and Olivia felt their wedding was "so much bigger than us" as figures in the LGBTQ+ community. "And I think that by showing two feminine women in a relationship in the south, I think that it breaks a barrier."
However, just as Lunden and Olivia began filling their social media accounts with photos and videos from their picture-perfect wedding, screenshots of what apeared to be old tweets containing racial slurs made from Lunden's X (formerly known as Twitter) account surfaced on Reddit. The racially insensitive posts, the screenshots of which have since been deleted, seemed to date back as early as the 2010s.
Amid backlash, the TikTokers made a 10-minute apology video on their TikTok Stories, with Lunden saying that she was "completely and utterly disgusted and ashamed" by her past behavior.
"I don't want people to think that I am just sweeping this under the rug or that it's something I'm not going to address or don't want to address because I do want to address it," she continued. "That's not who I am."
Calling Lunden's controversial tweets an "unfortunate and ignorant mistake," Olivia told her new wife, "It's so disappointing to see that those things were written, and written by somebody that I love, but I also know to my heart and core that's not who you are. I would've never married her if that's who she was today."
Lunden added, "I just want everyone to know, even the ones that don't know, that I am sorry."
But their mea culpa didn't quell the online criticism, with some taking issue with the fact that Lunden and Olivia's video was made on Stories, where posts expire 24 hours after its creation. Others called out the couple for getting married at a wedding venue with ties to a plantation owner. (Naylor Hall's website said the property was built during the 1840s by Barrington King—the son of Roswell King, a cotton mill owner who controlled several plantations that were operated by slave labor, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.)
As of Oct. 6, Lunden and Olivia have not publicly addressed backlash over their apology video.
E! News has reached out to their rep for comment but hasn't heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (76852)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Derek Jeter Shares Rare Look Inside His All-Star Life as a Girl Dad
- What scientists are hoping to learn by flying directly into snowstorms
- How facial recognition allowed the Chinese government to target minority groups
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Citing security concerns, Canada bans TikTok on government devices
- Zelenskyy meets with Pope Francis in Rome
- Who gets the first peek at the secrets of the universe?
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- 'Dead Space' Review: New voice for a recurring nightmare
Ranking
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Scientists shoot lasers into the sky to deflect lightning
- Turkey election results put Erdogan ahead, but a runoff is scheduled as his lead isn't big enough
- What we lose if Black Twitter disappears
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Stylist Law Roach Reveals the Scariest Part of His Retirement Journey
- Sudan conflict rages on after a month of chaos and broken ceasefires
- The Bachelor's Zach Shallcross Admits He's So Torn Between His Finalists in Finale Sneak Peek
Recommendation
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
The West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin Shares He Suffered Stroke
Wind energy powered the U.K. more than gas this year for the first time ever
'The Last of Us' game actors and creator discuss the show's success
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Pete Wentz Reflects on Struggle With Fame After Ashlee Simpson Divorce
Bankman-Fried is arrested as feds charge massive fraud at FTX crypto exchange
Who gets the first peek at the secrets of the universe?