Aninfluencerallegedly stolea business owner’s goodies duringVidCon, sparkingoutrageand a hunt to catch the culprit, who was caught on camera. The woman who has been accused of stealing subsequently lost herinfluenceraccreditation, leaving her“humiliated.”
Taking to her TikTok page on July 3,Lexi Henslerpostedfootageof the moment a woman could be seen from afar, helping herself to some of her merchandise during VidCon, an annual convention for influencers, fans, executives, and online brands.
HighlightsInfluencer allegedly stole business owner’s merchandise during VidCon, sparking outrage.Lexi Hensler’s video of the theft gained nearly 37 million views on TikTok.Suspect lost influencer accreditation and faced significant public backlash.Louisa Melcher, accused of theft, denied allegations and claimed her pass removal was unrelated.
Lexi is the founder ofGive Hugz, therapeutic weighted stuffedanimalsdesigned to provide comfort and relief from stress, anxiety, and depression.
“So, I got robbed this weekend,” Lexi started her video, which amassed nearly 37 million views. “My smallmental healthcompany got robbed.”
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An influencer allegedly stole a business owner’s goodies during VidCon
Image credits:giveahugz
The business owner went on to ask her 10.3 million followers to help her identify theoffendercaught red-handed not only stealing but inciting others to steal some of her adorable plushies.
“I need help finding her because I just wanna have a chat,” Lexi said.
The entrepreneur observed from the footage capturing the sneaky woman in action: “I know she’s aninfluencerbecause she’s wearing an influencer badge.
“And the expo hall was only open to influencers during this time.”
Image credits:lexihensler
Lexi claimed that the influencer’s petty crime led to a total of six Hugz disappearing from her stand, which impacted her small business.
“I wanna have a chat, maybe send a bill,” Lexi concluded.
Viewers were quick to point to Louisa Melcher, a 25-year-old TikToker with 595,000 followers, who happened to be present at the conference earlier this month in Anaheim, California,USA.
Outrage and a hunt to catch the culprit, who was caught on camera, ensued
As a result, Louisa took to her own TikTok page to defend herself, saying in avideoposted on July 4: “VidCon took away my creator pass that all influencers get this past weekend, and it was very public, very humiliating.”
However, she went on to clarify that the reason she had lost her accreditation, which set her apart from the crowd as apublic figure, was unrelated to the incident that saw Lexi’s goods being stolen.
“It got to the point where I would literally be like, ‘Do you follow me?’” the TikToker recalled.
She continued: “Like, ‘Can you take out your phone and show me that you follow me?’
“Half of them didn’t even follow me, so why do you want a picture of me on your phone?
“Why? So you can make fun of me?”
TikToker Louisa Melcher, who has been accused of stealing, lost her influencer accreditation at VidCon
A VidCon employee allegedly suggested Louisa should hand over her creator pass to partake in the event without having to act as aninfluencer.
“At that point, I had already gotten all the free stuff that you get for being a creator,” the content creator admitted.
Louisa wrote in her caption: “Ironic how they invited tons ofmental healthbrands to come and sell products, and yet, it’s normalized to pester and badger influencers, even though it harms them psychologically.”
Nevertheless, many people continued to criticize Louisa’s alleged offense, as a TikTok user questioned: “Why did bro steal from Lexi Hensler?”
A viewer commented: “Delululululululu.”
“It’s almost like Vid con is a place where people go to meet creators,” a person wrote.
Louisa mocked the allegations in a video shared on her TikTok page
Image credits:loulouorange
A netizen noticed after reviewing the initial footage of the incident: “I love how she’s wearing the same romper.”
“This is Master Level gaslighting,” someone penned.
An observed added: “From this one vid alone; I know all I need to know.”
A separate individual chimed in: “What kind of explanation is this?”
Amid growing backlash, Louisa shared a follow-upvideoon TikTok on July 9, where she appeared to make light of the whole ordeal.
In the video, Louisa showed herself cuddling what appeared to be one of Lexi’s Hugz stuffed animals, “Eugene the Elephant,” in bed.
On Thursday (July 11), Lexi shared an update in avideoon TikTok, in which she clarified that she not only did not know with certainty who the Vid con bandit was but that she also didn’t think Louisa was guilty.
“A lot of people think that it is a specific girl on TikTok,” Lexi said. “I will tell you right now, I do not think it’s her at all.”
She continued: “I think she is very smart, and I think she posted a video in a similar romper cause she knew it would do well.”
“Is this a marketing stunt?” a cybernaut wondered
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