Bunny Barbie Receives Cease-and-Desist Letter From MattelCREATOR ECONOMY NEWSLETTER
Issue #100 | Jan. 17, 2023
Welcome to Passionfruitâs 100th newsletter. Itâs been a joy speaking with so many fabulous creators and creator economy leaders since this newsletterâs inception. We hope to show you more of the underreported and underrated leaders that push the creator economy forward in hundreds of stories to come.
In this weekâs highlighted story, Passionfruit contributor Elizabeth Rose spoke with TikToker Bunny Barbie, who says she received a cease-and-desist from toy company Mattel, which owns the Barbie brand. The lifestyle creator, who used Barbie as part of her name throughout the entirety of her social media career, said the letter came as a shock to her.
Bunny is not the only influencer with a large following who used âBarbieâ in her name, and she told Passionfruit she finds being seemingly singled out by the brand âconfusing.â Read more about this controversy, its winding twists and turns, and the impact it may have on the TikTok starâs career below.
â Grace Stanley, Newsletter Editor
THE DARK SIDE
âHonestly, I was scaredâ: Bunny Barbie changes username after Mattelâs cease-and-desist
The TikTok star has over 2 million followers and has been using the name for over 15 years.
By Elizabeth Rose, Passionfruit Contributor
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ONE GREAT TIP
âIf youâre working on one project for a brand, you can pitch a second video, carousel set, or behind-the-scenes look at the end result, and see if they want to buy both. Now one project and scope of work has become two, still from the same general concept and set of ideas.â
âBlogger Courtney Quinn on crafting behind-the-scenes content. Read more in our December 2022 interview.
TOOLS REVIEW
How to make money on TikTok
You donât have to have a million followers to start earning on TikTok.
By Rachel Kiley, Passionfruit Contributor
TOK WATCH
You can now get TikTokâs viral Pink Sauce at Walmart
The viral sensation is backâand FDA-approved.
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
IN THE BIZ
- Popular Twitch streamer Hasan Piker said he was banned from TikTok.
- Twitter users reported âprotectedâ tweets are now showing up in feeds of users not following private accounts.
- YouTube is backtracking after creators spoke out against its new profanity policy. (via TechCrunch)
- The University of Texas at Austin has banned TikTok on-campus Wi-Fi, the latest in a string of government facilities to ban access to the platform. (via the Hill)
- Stock image service Getty Images is suing AI art tool Stable Diffusion for scraping images from its content creators. (via the Verge)
- Twitch banned controversial streamer Mizkif. (via Game Rant)
- Users are reporting issues with third-party Twitter apps, like Tweetbot, Echofon, and Twitterrific. (via TechCrunch)
- Charity gaming speedrun event Games Done Quick raised $2.6 million this week. (via the Verge)
TIKTOK MADE ME DO IT
This old clip of Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard turned into a viral sensation.
