Addison Rae responded to backlash over UFC 264 photos that led people to believe she was a correspondent at the event

• Addison Rae responded to criticism of photos that led people to believe she was a UFC correspondent.
• Rae, 20, posted photos ahead of the Poirier vs. McGregor fight showing her at the preliminary event.
• An ESPN representative told Insider that Rae was never hired as a full-time employee for UFC.

Addison Rae on Saturday responded to criticism over photos she shared of herself where she appeared to make a joke about working as a UFC correspondent, though she was not an official reporter for the event.

On Friday, the TikTok star, whose real name is Addison Easterling, shared photos of herself at the preliminary event for UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor on Twitter, writing: "I studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment." She was pictured holding a microphone and standing in front of a branded UFC backdrop.

The 20-year-old TikToker referred to her time as a student at Louisiana State University before she left to pursue her career as an influencer.

Some users on Twitter seemed to assume based on Rae's tweet and photos that she landed a job with UFC, and some took issue with her caption and said the role should have gone to a more experienced reporter. Others suggested in tweets that Rae got the opportunity because of her status as an influencer.

A representative for ESPN told Insider in a statement: "Addison did some interviews with us for UFC 264. However, she is not a full-time employee with UFC."

According to E! News' Elana Rubin, citing a source familiar with the matter, the TikToker conducted an interview with Poirier for a social-media post because they're from the same city in Louisiana. Rae's interview with Poirier can be found on ESPN's TikTok account.

Following her initial photos, Rae made another tweet to jokingly address the controversy, saying: "nvm y'all got me fired."

Rae also retweeted a post from Barstool Sports with a photo of her at UFC 264 with the caption: "Most hated UFC commentator ever."

Rae has 81.9 million followers on TikTok at the time of writing. She has expanded her career into music and is starring in the upcoming film "He's All That," a remake of the 1999 film "She's All That."

Representatives for Addison Rae did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this story.