We all love a little bit of “Black Mirror,” but does this latest nugget of dystopian influencer discourse go a little bit too far?
The drama centers around a Stagecoach Music Festival afterparty co-hosted by online fashion retailers Revolve and Pizzaslime. More specifically, over some signage.
Creator Rhegan, who has 1.4 million TikTok followers, went viral after showing viewers a sign suggesting a minimum followers requirement of 1 million for a special party entrance.
‘Over 1 million followers enter here’
“I am leaving the afterparty because of this sign,” Rhegan said in the clip, which has already amassed 24 million views.
The sign in question, which included Pizzaslime and Revolve branding, has two arrows: one pointing to the left and the other to the right.
On the left side, the sign reads: “Over 1 million+ followers enter here.” On the right side, the sign reads: “Under million+ followers enter here.”
Controversially, the sign seems to suggest that guests are treated differently based on how many social media followers they have.
“That’s so weird to me,” Rhegan continued. “Like, what? I get exclusivity and shit, but, like, we’re not celebs. [We’re] normal ass people, I don’t know. That was really weird to me. I’m leaving.”
In the comments, users were divided. Some pointed out that Revolve, one of the companies behind the sign, doesn’t even have a million followers itself on TikTok. Others told Rhegan that Pizzaslime is a joke company, meaning that the sign wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
According to The Independent, a Pizzaslime spokesperson commented on Rhegan’s video. The now-deleted comment said, “Both lines led to the same place and same experience. FYI: our signs are always meant for a lol. We made signs that literally said PeePee PooPoo. SAD we missed you though!”
In a follow-up video, Rhegan said that while she appreciates the signs were an attempt at “satire,” some of her friends who stayed at the party failed to see the funny side. Namely because, according to them, they were treated differently based on their respective follower counts.
“It might be a joke for Pizzaslime, but definitely wasn’t for the other brands,” Rhegan added.
