- The Australian influencer Anna Paul told TikTok she had a bad day and wanted to talk about it.
- She received some backlash from a handful of commenters who called her "privileged."
The Australian influencer Anna Paul has responded to commenters who called her "privileged" after she posted about having a bad day, saying she has been dealing with a number of difficult issues that she hasn't been sharing with the public.
On April 20, Paul, who typically posts lifestyle and vlogging content, shared a video montage of clips taken from over the course of her day, adding a voice-over explaining how she was feeling at the time.
"Today for me was just one of those days, so I'm just going to tell you about it. I don't usually talk about the bad days and stuff in my life. I usually do happy voice-overs because I know that you guys watch my life to be happy if you're sad," she said.
Paul went on to say that she fell over during a horse-riding lesson that day, but that wasn't the reason she was struggling emotionally. Later on during the day, she said she laid in bed because she was feeling "really sad," briefly mentioning that some of her relatives were experiencing health issues that were weighing on her mind.
@anna..paull I love you
♬ original sound - Anna Paul
"I know that I'm somebody that's always happy online, but I want to show you that being sad is just as normal as being happy," she said.
The vast majority of comments under Paul's post, which received 4.4 million views, were supportive. Many people thanked the influencer for giving them an honest review of her day, and sent her well wishes, hoping she would start to feel better over time.
But some commenters said they thought that as a lifestyle influencer who typically posts about lavish experiences, Paul has little to be upset about in comparison to people who are struggling financially.
"Rich people being sad is my fav content," one user wrote.
Later that same day, Paul posted a follow-up video, responding specifically to one negative comment, which now appears to have been deleted, that read: "What on EARTH do you have to be sad about? You literally live in a bubble. This is such a frustrating video for real."
Paul addressed the comment by explaining that she had recently been dealing with some difficult situations in her personal life, including the loss of a friend, and the experience of supporting a loved one with terminal cancer.
"This was a frustrating video for you to watch, because why? Because I'm financially stable? Because I drive a nice car?" she said.
@anna..paull Replying to @F ♬ original sound - Anna Paul
Paul went on to say that she deliberately does not post about her difficult experiences because she doesn't want to upset her followers. "I don't come on here like, 'Hey guys, another cancer update, they have another two months to live, can you believe it?'"
Commenters rushed to support Paul by saying they did not agree with the negative comment the user made, referring to it as "insensitive" and "ignorant." Others said that they felt Paul was completely entitled to share her thoughts on having a bad day and that influencers are just as susceptible to bad days as everyone else.
"Influencers are also real people with real feelings and a life off the screen," one user wrote.
In recent months and in response to rising costs of living, influencers who post about their lavish lifestyles are increasingly coming under fire and being accused of being out of touch with the hardships that many people face.
In April, a British influencer who posted a video about buying her first house was accused of being insensitive to millions of people struggling to pay rent in light of the UK's ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Paul, who has 6.6 million followers on TikTok, is also one of Australia's top OnlyFans creators, and in August, she posted a TikTok describing "a day in the life" of a sex worker, which quickly became her most viral video and has, at this point, accrued about 40 million views.
In September, Paul became the subject of a viral controversy when her meet-and-greet event descended into chaos and police shut it down, leading fans to share clips of fights and disorderly crowds at the event on TikTok.
Representatives for Paul did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.