A Melbourne woman says she feels like clickbait after she was filmed without her consent for a TikTok video that has now
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Internet Films/Videos
CrystalRaindrops — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:31 PM)
A Melbourne woman says she feels like clickbait after she was filmed without her consent for a TikTok video that has now been viewed more than 57 million times.
But TikTok creator Harrison Pawluk's team said the video was filmed legally and was "designed to spread love and compassion" and not "cause anyone concern".
Maree — who has withheld her surname to maintain her privacy — told ABC Radio Melbourne she was filmed in a public place receiving flowers from Mr Pawluk several weeks ago.
The video was posted on Mr Pawluk's TikTok account with the caption "I hope this made her day better" and the hashtag "#wholesome".
It has since gone viral on the social media app, collecting 57 million views and 10.9 million likes.
The comments on the video include, "when she started crying I couldn't hold it back", and "wow that was so beautiful I swear I would cry". These comments have received more than 10,000 likes.
But Maree said she wanted to challenge the idea this was a random act of kindness.
"There's a lot of these flower TikToks all over the internet," she said.
"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 is making quite a lot of money through it.
"It's the patronising assumption that women, especially older women, will be thrilled by some random stranger giving them flowers."
Maree said she had been having a coffee in a Melbourne shopping centre when a man approached her and asked her to hold a bouquet of flowers.
"I made a bit of chitchat about, 'Who was this lucky person?'" she told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne.
"And then he said, 'Someone very special', put his backpack on and just sort of strode off."
Maree then realised she was being filmed a few feet away from a group of people and asked whether they were filming, to which they responded, "No".
She then asked whether they wanted the flowers.
"I didn't want to carry them home on the tram, to really be quite frank," Maree said.
Later that evening, a friend contacted her partner and showed him the video of Maree that had been uploaded online.
"I thought, 'Oh well, who watches these things'," she said. "I didn't think much of it."
Maree later received more texts from people telling her the video had gone viral, and that there was an article written about her on a tabloid news site.
"At first it was just a bit of a joke to me, but then I felt dehumanised after reading the article," she said.
"The article said: 'old woman, elderly woman, heartbreaking tale'.
"And they got this picture of me supposedly crying, but it was just a horrible expression.
"I feel like clickbait."
The article said Mr Pawluk, who has three million followers, was performing "random acts of kindness".
"These artificial things are not random acts of kindness," Maree said.
"He didn't give me the flowers at the outset. If he had, I would have said thanks, but no thanks.
"But I wasn't given that opportunity."
While it is legal to film someone in a public place, Maree issued a warning to others about the TikTok trend.
"I think other women, especially older women, should be aware that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody," she said.
"I don't do any Facebook, Instagram, TikTok — anything — and yet it happened to me."
A statement provided by Mr Pawluk's team said a recent trip to LA had inspired him to "concentrate on random acts of kindness after witnessing the extent of the poverty and homelessness in a city where that shouldn't be the case".
"He offers flowers and pays for complete strangers' groceries, and while cynics may claim it's for views, Harrison simply has a personal commitment to helping people feel more connected and trusting," the statement said.
"His videos are filmed in public places and so technically do not require consent.
"Having said that, while he has only so far encountered gratitude, if someone is upset, then they should feel free to personally email him.
"He would not want something designed to spread love and compassion to cause anyone concern."
(The video is at the link below and it says, " Maree gave her consent to publish the video with this article")
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/tiktok-video-maree-melbourne-flowers/101228418 -
HalloweenCandy2025 — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:39 PM)
I see her point. The flowers were not given to her out of kindness. They were basically a set up to film and upload to TikTok and get views etc and make money.
These fcking kids need to get a fcking clue or someone needs to film them while they are vulnerable (coming out of the shower, crying over a dead pet) BY A STRANGER and then get uploaded online. Only then will they understand the intrusion. These are real people. They will inevitably see themselves online whether through their own web surfing or people who know them. It can’t be pleasant.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
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CrystalRaindrops — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:49 PM)
I agree. Not only is it arrogant for that guy to assume every woman will be thrilled when receiving flowers from a stranger, but it's also arrogant for anyone to think it's ok to upload videos of people without their consent - especially for monetary gain.
The woman in the article even asked if people were filming her, and they said no. That should've been enough for them to know she didn't want video of her to be posted online. -
Lilith — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:57 PM)
The woman in the article even asked if people were filming her, and they said no. That should've been enough for them to know she didn't want video of her to be posted online.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
CrystalRaindrops — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:42 PM)
Posted by
u/Shit_Could_Be_Worse
1 year ago
Filming people in public without their consent is wrong and we should be more critical of it
It’s a very common thing these day. People see someone interesting or doing something weird and strangers filming it. If people are posting someone’s affairs on reddit without their permission, it’s a dick move. If someone’s vibing and having a good time, leave them alone. Don’t post it on the internet for fake points.
Ken-Popcorn
1 yr. ago
I think this every time I look at People of Walmart. Undoubtedly there are people who could dress more appropriately, but how much creepier is it taking photos of their ass and posting them on social media?
[deleted]
1 yr. ago
yes! like i get theyre fat and wore pants a size too small, who cares?
Raichbetaken
1 yr. ago
I agree. "It's not illegal" is a defense thrown around but just because it isn't illegal it doesn't mean it isn't ****ty -
Lilith — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 10:55 PM)
Didn't you post this story ages ago? I remember reading it right here on filmboards because I remember the fact that this woman didn't want the burden of carrying those flowers back with her.
This was no "random act of kindness."
When they are genuine, they're done anonymously
and
not
uploaded as clickbait to profit off the image of another person under some artificially faux guise of being tender-hearted.
I have a friend whose appearance garners quite a lot of attention, and people are always taking her picture or filming her, and usually without asking permission. I applaud the people who ask her for permission beforehand as she's happy to do so. What she does in return is start recording all the people who are recording or photographing her at the same time. It often makes people uncomfortable enough to where they stop,…but not always.
His motives in this article were
not
about spreading love, they were about trying to cash in at the expense of someone else.
"Your emotional state is not my responsibility." – Warren Smith -
CrystalRaindrops — 3 years ago(October 16, 2022 11:03 PM)
No, this story is from July and I wasn't posting at the time. Maybe someone else posted it. Or maybe I posted a similar story before? There are probably a lot of these types of stories, because people keep filming and uploading videos of other people without getting permission first.
That's good about your friend taking video of the people who are taking video of her. Anyone who sees they're being recorded and doesn't want to be recorded should do the same thing. Then every TikTok/YouTube video that people take of strangers (usually for negative reasons) will just be of people recording each other, and maybe people will finally stop doing that.
Yes, if this guy made money from these videos, he owes the flower-receivers money.