- A TikTok creator was shocked when a fellow influencer used an old photo of her in their video.
- Jessica Carrasco used a selfie of Resilient GG as an example of "how not" to do your eyebrows.
A TikTok creator was horrified when she noticed a fellow influencer using a four-year-old selfie of her as an example of "how not" to do your eyebrows.
The creator, who doesn't share her name publicly but goes by Resilient GG, found her image being used by Jessica Carrasco to promote an eyebrow pen in a brand deal with Benefit Cosmetics.
Resilient GG posted a TikTok on June 23 where she described her "shock and confusion" of being made an example of in the video, which has since been deleted.
She said Carrasco found a photo of her from 2019 to depict someone whose brows were "way too far apart." The photo, she said, was from an old social-media account that she had taken down.
"Why the fuck are they using an old photo of me? And where the fuck did they get this old photo of me?" Resilient GG said in her video.
"So did I give you permission to use my picture?" she said. "Like, what? I'm just so confused."
Resilient GG's original video was watched over 2.2 million times, and prompted responses from big creators and brands, including Anastasia Beverly Hills Cosmetics, which sent her some of its brow products.
@resilient.gg Can you please explain where/how/why tf you, a famous, 1.5 BILLION dollar company, got this 4 year old picture of me and why you’re randomly using it without my permission or compensating me???? My sister is scrubbing your page right now and you don’t seem to use anyone else’s photo without their permission, so is there something I should know???? @Benefit Cosmetics @slaybyjess #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo #fyp #benefit #benefitcosmetics ♬ original sound - Resilient GG
Carrasco posted a video response the same day, saying she apologized to Resilient GG and had taken the original video down.
She posted screenshots of messages between them, saying she knew it was "wrong" to have used the photo, and had told Benefit to take the video down as well.
The video, which Carrasco said was not originally an ad but was reposted by Benefit's account — is also no longer on Benefit's Instagram and TikTok pages.
Carrasco also made a public apology in the video.
"I can understand that seeing an image of you that you never intended to be online can be hurtful and stressful," she said. "I saw your TikToks and I want you to know that your feelings are completely valid, and it was wrong. It was wrong of me to use that picture without your consent."
Carrasco said she had gotten the photo from Google, but she didn't know where it originated from. She said she would "never again" use a random person's photo in her videos, "especially in a negative light."
"I hope you can forgive me and I hope you're doing OK," she said.
@slaybyjess #greenscreen ♬ original sound - slaybyjess
Resilient GG said she'd found the video posted on Benefit's Instagram back in April, where the company has 9.9 million followers. They "really didn't need to drag down a random person," she said.
"Potentially 9.9 million people saw this old photo of me and watched me get embarrassed, by a 1.5 billion dollar company, for what reason I have absolutely no idea," she said. "Because it's not promoting their product. They're literally just talking shit about how I have a space between my eyebrows, and my eyebrows aren't close enough together."
She said she'd seen comments of people saying the video was "rude and mean" which helped her feel validated.
"I'm not removing the video until they do something about it or make a statement," she said. "Because that really hurt my feelings."
In a later video, Resilient GG said she had reverse image searched the selfie and found it on several spammy websites. This didn't bother her so much, she said, because it wasn't being used to promote products for a profit. She said what bothered her was "mean girl behavior to push a product," rather than commentary on her appearance.
"Those are my brows five years ago when I was constantly picking hair and picking at my scalp, that was an anxiety thing for me," she said. "And yeah, they looked really bad, you're free to think that, I think that as well."
Resilient GG said she is much more confident in herself now, but back when she took the selfie, the criticism may have affected her much more.
"Imagine if it was any other person with really bad mental health, or like, really struggling with their appearance," she said. "That could have been the last straw for them. That's not OK."
Insider reached out to Benefit, Resilient GG, and Carrasco for comment.