Current:Home > reviewsUntangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett -EverVision Finance
Untangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett
View
Date:2025-04-15 09:03:23
This was probably not the way Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett imagined starting off their marriage.
The influencer duo—who have almost 700,000 followers on their joint TikTok account—went from newlywed bliss to issuing an apology video during their honeymoon all in a span of days after Lunden's past racist tweets resurfaced.
The saga all started on Sept. 30, when the 26-year-olds tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Naylor Hall in Roswell, Ga., with many fans referring to the black-tie nuptials as the "royal wedding of lesbian TikTok."
"We like romanticizing the moment that we're in," Lunden gushed to People in a profile gushed on Oct. 1, adding that she and Olivia felt their wedding was "so much bigger than us" as figures in the LGBTQ+ community. "And I think that by showing two feminine women in a relationship in the south, I think that it breaks a barrier."
However, just as Lunden and Olivia began filling their social media accounts with photos and videos from their picture-perfect wedding, screenshots of what apeared to be old tweets containing racial slurs made from Lunden's X (formerly known as Twitter) account surfaced on Reddit. The racially insensitive posts, the screenshots of which have since been deleted, seemed to date back as early as the 2010s.
Amid backlash, the TikTokers made a 10-minute apology video on their TikTok Stories, with Lunden saying that she was "completely and utterly disgusted and ashamed" by her past behavior.
"I don't want people to think that I am just sweeping this under the rug or that it's something I'm not going to address or don't want to address because I do want to address it," she continued. "That's not who I am."
Calling Lunden's controversial tweets an "unfortunate and ignorant mistake," Olivia told her new wife, "It's so disappointing to see that those things were written, and written by somebody that I love, but I also know to my heart and core that's not who you are. I would've never married her if that's who she was today."
Lunden added, "I just want everyone to know, even the ones that don't know, that I am sorry."
But their mea culpa didn't quell the online criticism, with some taking issue with the fact that Lunden and Olivia's video was made on Stories, where posts expire 24 hours after its creation. Others called out the couple for getting married at a wedding venue with ties to a plantation owner. (Naylor Hall's website said the property was built during the 1840s by Barrington King—the son of Roswell King, a cotton mill owner who controlled several plantations that were operated by slave labor, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.)
As of Oct. 6, Lunden and Olivia have not publicly addressed backlash over their apology video.
E! News has reached out to their rep for comment but hasn't heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (1)
Related
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- 'Most Whopper
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
Ranking
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated