Current:Home > ContactUntangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett -GrowthSphere Strategies
Untangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett
View
Date:2025-04-16 13:13:38
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! (98836)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
Ranking
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Could your smelly farts help science?
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer