gypsy rose Blanchard sparked another online controversy this week when she donated to a former donor. spirit airlines staff. Employee publicly mocked by beauty influencer james charles Request via GoFundMe.
According to TMZ, Blanchard donated more than $500 to former Spirit Airlines employee Amber Lendof Vargas, who lost her job after the budget airline shut down earlier this month.
Vargas was laid off along with more than 17,000 other people when the famous low-cost airline shut down earlier this month. After his layoff, Vargas created a GoFundMe page to support himself financially.
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What is the James Charles controversy?
The controversy began after Vargas, an operations agent at Boston’s Logan Airport, allegedly sent Charles a direct message asking him to share or donate to her GoFundMe campaign after he was fired following the collapse of Spirit Airlines operations.
In a TikTok video that went viral, Charles mocked the request. He called the woman “lazy” and “entitled” to help instead of finding another way out.
He also questioned why he would help her and accused her of thinking celebrities and influencers should be supporting her. Charles later deleted the video and publicly apologized, admitting his reaction was “privileged” and “completely unnecessary,” TMZ reported.
Vargas later said publicly that she did not accept the apology. She also noted that the backlash against James Charles has dramatically increased attention on her fundraising efforts and social media accounts. Just Jared said her GoFundMe donations surged after the controversy erupted online.
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Why is Gypsy Rose donating to the GoFundMe for former Spirit employees?
The controversy gained attention and reached Gypsy when TMZ reported that she donated to GoFundMe.
In a $500 note to Vargas shared by the outlet, Gypsy wrote: “Hi my name is Gypsy Rose Blanchard and I am an influencer on TikTok. I have 9.3 million followers and I am very sorry for what happened and I am sending out a lot of positive messages.”
To get her followers to donate, Gypsy also posted a GoFundMe link on her page.
Gypsy later clarified to TMZ that she initially believed her donation information would remain private between her and Vargas. “At the end of the day, I don’t want it to be about me because it’s not about me,” she said.
After seeing James Charles’ reaction online, Gypsy told TMZ, “The point I make is, just because someone has a large following, it doesn’t mean they have the right to bully other people.”
Gypsy said she has personally helped struggling followers before and believes that having a big platform comes with responsibility. In a video shared online, Gypsy said she tried to “see the humanity” behind those who sent her messages asking for help.
