Melbourne woman featured in viral TikTok video says she felt 'dehumanised' – here's what really happened!
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It turns out that not all popular internet videos that encourage "kindness" towards strangers are as genuine and sincere as they appear to be.
After a social media influencer shared a video of his "random act of kindness" towards her, a Melbourne woman unexpectedly went viral recently. However, she has called out the stunt, saying it made her feel "dehumanised" and "like clickbait."
Maree, who has chosen to keep her last name private to protect her privacy, told ABC Radio Melbourne that a few weeks ago, she was captured on camera accepting flowers from Mr Pawluk in a public location.
Melbourne-based university student Pawluk is known for his passion for using his TikTok videos to inspire others and make a difference in the world.
An Aussie shopper who went viral after a social media influencer's "random act of kindness" has slammed the stunt. Credit: TikTok/@lifeofharrison.
In a video that has now racked up nearly 60 million views on TikTok, Maree was drinking a takeaway coffee when the 22-year-old interrupted her to ask if she would be willing to hold a bouquet of flowers. This incident happened at the Emporium Melbourne shopping centre.
"Sorry to bother you, but is it okay if you can just hold these?" said the lad in the video, before placing his backpack on the ground and pulling out a coat.
Maree patiently waited for him to finish so she could give the flowers back, but to her surprise, he simply walked off. There she was, left with a bouquet of flowers, not knowing what to do with it.
What's worse is she later realised that, a few feet away from where she was sitting, there was a group of people 'secretly' filming her and her reaction to receiving the flowers.
She asked them if they were filming, and they said, "No." After that, she wanted to know whether or not they were interested in the flowers because she did not wish to bring them back home with her on the tram.
Maree was unaware that her response to receiving the flowers was actually filmed against her will, and the video was then uploaded online where it was viewed by millions of people around the world.
Many people thought that her face showed that she was emotionally affected by the experience, with Pawluk writing in the caption of the footage: "I hope this made her day better" and adding the hashtag "#wholesome".
But Maree said that her expression was completely misunderstood, and she said that the way people reacted to the video was "patronising".
"He interrupted my quiet time, filmed and uploaded a video without my consent, turning it into something it wasn't, and I feel like he's making a lot of money from it," she told ABC.
"It's the patronising assumption that women, especially older women, will be thrilled if some random stranger gives them flowers."
Later, Maree continued to receive texts and messages informing her that the video had gained a lot of attention on the internet, so much so that an online news outlet had even published an article about her.
"At first it was just a bit of a joke to me, but then I felt dehumanised after reading the article," she said.
It appears that the article portrayed the entire incident as a heartwarming tale of an elderly woman receiving a bouquet of flowers. There was a picture of her "crying" as well, but to her, it was just a horrible expression.
"I feel like clickbait."
Taylor Reilly, Pawluk's manager, said in a statement to 7NEWS.com.au that the young man's recent trip to LA, where he saw how much poverty and homelessness there was, made him change the focus of his channel to focus on random acts of kindness.
The 22-year-old has over 3 million followers on his TikTok page, and in his videos, he can be seen offering flowers to random people and paying for the groceries of random strangers as acts of kindness.
"While cynics may claim it's for views, Pawluk has made no revenue off of this video. He simply has a personal commitment to helping people feel more connected and trusting," said Reilly.
"So far Pawluk has only encountered gratitude for what he has done, however, it is clear in this case someone is upset. He whole-heartedly apologises to Maree if she was offended by what he did and urges her to contact him privately so he can personally apologise."
Pawluk's manager went on to say that they would gladly remove the video if Maree asked them to do so because they didn't want something that was "intended to spread love and compassion" to worry anyone.
What do you think, folks? Was Maree's criticism of Pawluk for filming individuals without their consent reasonable? If you were in her situation, what would you have done? Please share with us in the comments!
After a social media influencer shared a video of his "random act of kindness" towards her, a Melbourne woman unexpectedly went viral recently. However, she has called out the stunt, saying it made her feel "dehumanised" and "like clickbait."
Maree, who has chosen to keep her last name private to protect her privacy, told ABC Radio Melbourne that a few weeks ago, she was captured on camera accepting flowers from Mr Pawluk in a public location.
Melbourne-based university student Pawluk is known for his passion for using his TikTok videos to inspire others and make a difference in the world.
An Aussie shopper who went viral after a social media influencer's "random act of kindness" has slammed the stunt. Credit: TikTok/@lifeofharrison.
In a video that has now racked up nearly 60 million views on TikTok, Maree was drinking a takeaway coffee when the 22-year-old interrupted her to ask if she would be willing to hold a bouquet of flowers. This incident happened at the Emporium Melbourne shopping centre.
"Sorry to bother you, but is it okay if you can just hold these?" said the lad in the video, before placing his backpack on the ground and pulling out a coat.
Maree patiently waited for him to finish so she could give the flowers back, but to her surprise, he simply walked off. There she was, left with a bouquet of flowers, not knowing what to do with it.
What's worse is she later realised that, a few feet away from where she was sitting, there was a group of people 'secretly' filming her and her reaction to receiving the flowers.
She asked them if they were filming, and they said, "No." After that, she wanted to know whether or not they were interested in the flowers because she did not wish to bring them back home with her on the tram.
Maree was unaware that her response to receiving the flowers was actually filmed against her will, and the video was then uploaded online where it was viewed by millions of people around the world.
Many people thought that her face showed that she was emotionally affected by the experience, with Pawluk writing in the caption of the footage: "I hope this made her day better" and adding the hashtag "#wholesome".
But Maree said that her expression was completely misunderstood, and she said that the way people reacted to the video was "patronising".
"He interrupted my quiet time, filmed and uploaded a video without my consent, turning it into something it wasn't, and I feel like he's making a lot of money from it," she told ABC.
"It's the patronising assumption that women, especially older women, will be thrilled if some random stranger gives them flowers."
Later, Maree continued to receive texts and messages informing her that the video had gained a lot of attention on the internet, so much so that an online news outlet had even published an article about her.
"At first it was just a bit of a joke to me, but then I felt dehumanised after reading the article," she said.
It appears that the article portrayed the entire incident as a heartwarming tale of an elderly woman receiving a bouquet of flowers. There was a picture of her "crying" as well, but to her, it was just a horrible expression.
"I feel like clickbait."
Taylor Reilly, Pawluk's manager, said in a statement to 7NEWS.com.au that the young man's recent trip to LA, where he saw how much poverty and homelessness there was, made him change the focus of his channel to focus on random acts of kindness.
The 22-year-old has over 3 million followers on his TikTok page, and in his videos, he can be seen offering flowers to random people and paying for the groceries of random strangers as acts of kindness.
"While cynics may claim it's for views, Pawluk has made no revenue off of this video. He simply has a personal commitment to helping people feel more connected and trusting," said Reilly.
"So far Pawluk has only encountered gratitude for what he has done, however, it is clear in this case someone is upset. He whole-heartedly apologises to Maree if she was offended by what he did and urges her to contact him privately so he can personally apologise."
Pawluk's manager went on to say that they would gladly remove the video if Maree asked them to do so because they didn't want something that was "intended to spread love and compassion" to worry anyone.
What do you think, folks? Was Maree's criticism of Pawluk for filming individuals without their consent reasonable? If you were in her situation, what would you have done? Please share with us in the comments!
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