Current:Home > StocksUntangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett -WealthConverge Strategies
Untangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett
View
Date:2025-04-25 21:04:16
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! (24)
Related
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Will a Recent Emergency Methane Release Be the Third Strike for Weymouth’s New Natural Gas Compressor?
- Scientists Join Swiss Hunger Strike to Raise Climate Alarm
- Meta allows Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Could Migration Help Ease The World's Population Challenges?
- Treat Williams' Daughter Honors Late Star in Heartbreaking Father's Day Tribute One Week After His Death
- What tracking one Walmart store's prices for years taught us about the economy
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- A man accused of torturing women is using dating apps to look for victims, police say
Ranking
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Lands Grabs and Other Destructive Environmental Practices in Cambodia Test the International Criminal Court
- To all the econ papers I've loved before
- A 20-year-old soldier from Boston went missing in action during World War II. 8 decades later, his remains have been identified.
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Florida Power CEO implicated in scandals abruptly steps down
- How the pandemic changed the rules of personal finance
- The Senate's Ticketmaster hearing featured plenty of Taylor Swift puns and protesters
Recommendation
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
A recession might be coming. Here's what it could look like
A Plea to Make Widespread Environmental Damage an International Crime Takes Center Stage at The Hague
Bank of America created bogus accounts and double-charged customers, regulators say
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
6-year-old Miami girl fights off would-be kidnapper: I bit him
Junk food companies say they're trying to do good. A new book raises doubts
An otter was caught stealing a surfboard in California. It was not the first time she's done it.