When they’re not posing at Black Lives Matter protests for clout or posting selfies in disaster zones like Chernobyl for likes, influencers are ignoring social distancing guidelines and attending huge parties despite the coronavirus pandemic – because, content.
Over the past two weeks, YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain, Jake Paul, and James Charles, as well as members of TikTok’s Hype House and the D’Amelio sisters, have come under fire for attending crowded parties in LA, despite reports of an ‘influencer outbreak’ of COVID-19.
In one recent example, controversial YouTuber Jake Paul held a garden party on July 14 for the filming of his music video for “Fresh Outta London”. Posted on Paul’s YouTube, the video shows mask-less guests ignoring social distancing rules, with some even swinging from an excavator parked outside.
Another event, which took place on July 21, showed approximately 67 influencers – including Nikita Dragun, James Charles, Emma Chamberlain, and Tana Mongeau – crowd into the Hype House for TikToker Larray’s birthday.
On July 28, LA-based creator Elijah Daniel tweeted that “a lot of influencers have been confirmed to me testing positive for COVID-19 after the influencer parties, like a LOT”. He added: “And they aren’t saying anything and aren’t warning people they came in contact with after.”
Since then, Charles has apologised for attending Larray’s birthday in a recent blog, where he announced that he’s tested negative “multiple times”. Dragun also tweeted a now-deleted screenshot of a negative COVID-19 test result.
YouTuber Tanner Fox, who tested positive for coronavirus after attending Paul’s party, shared a vlog of him calling Paul. He responds by saying he doesn’t care about having potentially been exposed and confirms that a doctor had just tested him at his home prior to the call.
Over the last month, there’s been a surge in coronavirus cases in California, with 12,285 new cases confirmed yesterday (July 29), and 485,831 confirmed cases in total.