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Influencer quits social media after Australia Day bikini backlash
An Aussie influencer has deleted her social media accounts after copping backlash for a bikini photo she shared on Australia Day.
Jessica Sanders took to Instagram to share a snap of herself sporting a patriotic two-piece swimsuit featuring a red, white and blue design - but it was quickly pointed out the swimwear was more homage to the American flag.
Pop culture account Celeb Spellcheck, which has a reputation for calling out celebs and influencers for their online fails, first shared the photo with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “Party in the USA us”.
What followed were a volley of scathing and brutal comments from other Instagram users, some even labelling Jessica “stupid”.
Now it appears her account with 200K follows has been deleted.
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Initially Jessica hit back at claims that she had confused the US and Australian flags, telling a fan who asked if she knew the difference, “I’m not stupid, of course I do.”
She also revealed in her stories, before the page was deactivated, that she had gone on a ‘blocking spree’, and continued to defend herself.
“I bought an American bikini on purpose and wore it on Australia Day, what is wrong with that?” she said.
“I see everyone else wearing whatever they want on Australia Day but because I am wearing an American bikini it gives people the right to say negative things about me and claim I am stupid?”
But that didn’t stop people from calling the move “wrong on so many levels”.
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