A jewelry designer says she was 'scammed' by Bella Thorne. Now she wants to share her story in hopes of protecting small business owners.
- Lauryn Rivera, a 20-year-old small business owner, is speaking out about her experience with actress Bella Thorne.
- Rivera said that the Disney actress requested custom jewelry from her jewelry brand Div9ne Collective in exchange for publicity on Instagram.
- Nearly 4 months and $1,500 worth of products later, she said her business has not received its promised Instagram "shout out."
- She said she's sharing her story to empower creatives and small businesses to protect themselves when working with public figures.
Bella Thorne has faced backlash from critics who say she "scammed" OnlyFans subscribers, leading to platform policy changes which sex workers say impact their livelihoods.
Now, one small business owner is sharing her story of working with the actress in hopes of starting a conversation about how some celebrities can exploit smaller brands and creators.
For years, Lauryn Rivera collected vintage jewelry, uncovering "hidden gems" in consignment shops online and boutique stores. Eventually, she began selling her finds on consignment apps like Poshmark — and after discovering her knack for business, she decided to channel her untapped creative energy into repurposing luxury items and crafting her own pieces. In the fall of 2019, she launched her jewelry brand, Div9ne Collective.
The 20-year-old college student said that the business had "dabbled" in working with influencers, but things changed in May when she received an Instagram DM from Bella Thorne looking to collaborate.
"For anyone who has a small business and gets approached by someone with that big of a platform, it's totally a shell shock," Rivera told Insider. "She has over 23 million followers and I knew that was going to set my business up for success, especially because I'd been working tirelessly to have an opportunity like that. That wasn't something I would ever think of turning down."
The opportunity, she said, quickly turned into a costly disappointment.
Rivera explained her situation in a Tweet thread, which has since gone viral
Rivera said Thorne asked for jewelry in return for a "shout out" in an Instagram story. But after receiving over $1,500 worth of products, the actress and singer never publicized the business, according to Rivera.
Rivera said that she hadn't planned on publicly criticizing Thorne, tweeting that she believes cancel culture is "toxic." But she said she felt compelled to speak up on behalf of sex workers, who say they've been affected by Thorne joining OnlyFans. She also said she wanted to speak out for any small business owners who have been exploited by public figures in the past.
"I'm a full supporter of holding people accountable for their actions," she told Insider. "I think I felt this immense obligation to speak my truth."
In one tweet, she shared screenshots of what she says are her conversations with Thorne.
In the messages, Thorne's verified account appears to request a "trade collab," clarifying that Div9ne would send her pieces in exchange for a tag in her Instagram stories. Rivera then promises to craft custom pieces.
Rivera told Insider that she scoured shops online and all over the world to find vintage pieces to repurpose for the project.
After learning that Thorne preferred silver to gold, Div9ne's usual material, she says she started over to create silver pieces for the actress to wear to a photoshoot.
Ultimately, Rivera said she shipped over $1,500 worth of products to Thorne and asked her to post the jewelry on Instagram in time for Div9ne Collective's new collection launch in July.
Thorne never addressed the items, Rivera said, and never posted them to her Instagram story— but she felt hesitant to press the actress.
"I didn't want to be a bother," she said. "I gave her time — I knew she had a movie coming out and was busy."
Eventually, she followed up and Thorne requested the business's Instagram username to be tagged. But no tag appeared and Thorne stopped responding to messages.
Rivera said the loss was painful.
"It's kind of been haunting me like this whole time," she said. "I totally got scammed out of my money."
Rivera hopes that other small business owners will take protective measures before working with celebrities or influencers
Ultimately, Rivera said she hopes that her story will encourage small business owners to take extra measures, like having contracts in place to protect themselves when working with big names.
"You should definitely be cautious about it because not everybody has integrity," she told Insider.
While Rivera said she expected her tweet to garner some attention, she was surprised that her story went viral, receiving over 250,000 likes and over 60,000 retweets from fellow business owners and Thorne's fans who were disappointed by the situation.
"The outpouring of support and love has just been completely overwhelming," she said. "And I've encouraged people to tag their businesses needing support and to share their stories."
Representatives for Bella Thorne did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Read more:
Bella Thorne apologizes to OnlyFans creators after she banks $2 million in a week from erotic site