Built By The People….Then Turned On Them

Cashapp: $askvelvetpodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Let's talk about internet fame and how quickly it can turn into internet backlash. So apparently, James Charles, somebody I personally never had on my radar, is trending and not for anything positive. He posted a video responding to a former Spirit Airlines employee who reached out asking for help after losing her job. And instead of compassion, what people saw was entitlement and a whole lot of disconnect. Now he's dropped an apology. But people aren't just reacting to the video. They're reacting to what it represents. Because this situation is bigger than one influencer. It's about people forgetting exactly who put them in the position they're in. And this is where I want to get personal for a moment. Because I get it. I know what it feels like to be laid off. I've been there. That moment where your income stops, but your bills don't. That pressure is real. And even now, I have a job, but I'm still struggling to pay my bills. I'm doing what I can, like so many other people out here, because the truth is jobs are not what they used to be. You've got people working every single day and still can't make ends meet. You've got jobs that don't pay a living wage, so even when you do find work, you're still trying to figure out how to survive. That's the reality a lot of people are living in right now. So when I see former Spirit Airlines employees getting laid off, turning to things like go fund me just to stay afloat, I don't see something to laugh at. I see struggle, I see stress, I see people trying to hold it together because I'm right there too. That's why I'm always telling people if you can support, support, even when I say, hey, donate to my Cash App so I can upgrade my podcast equipment. It's not coming from a place of entitlement. It's coming from a place of trying to build something better, trying to turn this podcast into a real stable income, trying to create something that can actually support me financially. That's hustle. That's survival. So the disconnect hits even harder when someone with millions of followers responds to struggle like it's a joke because it shows a lack of understanding or worse, a lack of care. And again, when it comes to James Charles, people are already watching closely. There have been past allegations, and again, they are allegations, but when you already have controversy attached to your name, situations like this add fuel to the fire. It becomes less about one moment and more about a pattern in people's eyes. At the end of the day, this isn't just about James Charles. It's about reality versus privilege. It's about people who are out here struggling, doing everything they can just to stay afloat versus people who've made it and somehow forgotten what that struggle looks like. Because the truth is the same everyday people who are struggling right now are the same people who helped build these influencers up. And if you lose touch with that, people will notice. For me, this isn't just a story, it's personal. So when I say I understand what those employees are going through, I mean that. If you have a platform, use it with empathy, use it with awareness because people aren't asking for miracles, they're asking to be seen, heard, and respected. And trust me, that matters more than any follower count ever will.