It is time to unfollow influencers who are flouting lockdown rules

Going to Dubai for a holiday during lockdown is not essential and I’m sick of seeing it


If you looked at an influencer’s Instagram page you wouldn’t think that there is a pandemic going on right now. Their stories are filled with relaxing beach days, fancy restaurants, and club nights as several influencers have jetted off across the world to get away from lockdown regulations in the UK.

Whilst influencers fly around the world, the UK has recorded over 84,000 deaths due to Covid-19. This is clearly not enough to instill guilt or panic into influencers. They say they’re “working” while they’re in Dubai and they act like we are all going through the pandemic together, when in reality they have not suffered through months of being stuck in our homes like the rest of us. They are getting away with flouting rules publicly while I’m scared of going for my one walk a day, and I’m sick and tired of it.

Here’s why you should take power away from influencers who are flouting the rules and just unfollow them instead:

Pretending you are abroad for ‘work’ is patronising for your fans

For years, Instagrammers, YouTubers, and influencers have raved about how flexible their jobs are. Most importantly, they stressed how amazing it was they could work from home. But, throughout the pandemic, the same influencers who said it was so easy to do their jobs at home were the ones going to exotic holidays halfway across the world. The worst part is that they claim they are traveling due to essential work trips.

Unsurprisingly, people were quick to call out these influencers and their “essential” work trips but fans supported influencers claiming that people are jealous of them and they are right. Yes, I am jealous of influencers who are able to fly to Dubai during a national lockdown during the worst part of the pandemic in the UK. Would I be tempted to fly to Dubai for a relaxing holiday if I had the chance to? Yes. Of course, I would. But I, like most people, clearly have a moral compass and a sense of guilt, neither of which influencers seem to possess.

Ex-Love Islander Oliva Attwood called out influencers claiming to be “working” whilst on holiday. In a series of Instagram stories Olivia said: “There’s a difference between being able to earn money from wherever you are and being on holiday for work. Whenever I go on holiday, I will post content which I can monetise, but I’m still on holiday”.

Olivia also said: “On top of that you have got the ones going, “Oh we are all in this together, this our struggle”, no it’s not”.

She also hit back at influencers who have claimed “how hard” their jobs are saying: “People are losing their family members daily, people can’t pay their rent, people’s lifelong businesses they have worked their bollocks off are crumbling around them and you’re on your stories on the beach telling us how hard it is.”

Influencers are unable to even do the bare minimum like wearing face masks correctly

Whilst arguing that their Dubai holidays are essential, influencers also say they have taken all the necessary precautions to make sure they are safe. A quick look at their social media shows this is not always the case.

Ex-Love Islanders Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury flew to Dubai before Christmas which was vlogged on Molly-Mae’s YouTube channel. In a clip at the beginning of the vlog, when Molly-Mae and Tommy are on a plane in the UK waiting to set off, they both talk to the camera for a couple of minutes, with their face masks pulled down their faces.

influencers lockdown

From Molly-Mae’s vlog

Wearing a face mask, especially indoors, is literally the bare minimum influencers can do and yet a number of them either refuse to wear them or constantly pull them down to talk or take selfies. I understand face masks can be uncomfortable when worn over a longer period of time, but what would happen if doctors and nurses treating coronavirus patients decided to constantly pull down their face masks to talk to each other?

Influencers pretend we’re all in this together and tell their fans to follow rules whilst ignoring them themselves

The most frustrating part of all of this is the hypocrisy of celebrities and influencers. Dua Lipa shared a video on her Twitter in April 2020 urging people to stay at home. However, after spending Christmas in America with boyfriend Anwar Hadid, Dua appeared to jet off on holiday with him and a group of friends, if the pictures all over her social media are anything to judge by. The USA currently has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

Celebrities such as Dua Lipa were praised when they urged their fans to stay at home and abide by coronavirus regulations but now they are being slated for being tone-deaf and potentially endangering lives.

The replies to a recent tweet by Dua Lipa showing her with friends has been met with criticism. One user commented “Dua there’s people that are dying”, and another fan said “It’s hard to defend you Dua when you keep doing stuff like this”.

Their insincere messages of support to their followers are doing more harm than good. How can ordinary people sat at home be expected to follow lockdown regulations whilst influencers and celebrities are too bored to stay in their enormous houses?

The constant double standard for normal people and influencers is exhausting

In the UK, two women were recently fined £200 each after driving five miles for a walk. Even though these fines have since been withdrawn, this shows the double standards between ordinary people and influencers.

I am constantly worried during my one walk a day that I will be asked why I am leaving my house or that I will be fined even though I am following lockdown regulations. So how is it fair that these influencers are able to fly thousands of miles or ignore lockdown rules without a care in the world and rarely getting fined?

Unfortunately, most influencers and celebrities seem to be getting away with traveling during a pandemic and those that do get caught are met with fines that will not even put a dent in their pockets.

For example, former Love Islander Zara Holland escaped jail time and instead was given a £4,500 fine after breaking Barbadian Covid rules. She allegedly tried to flee the island with her boyfriend after he tested positive for coronavirus.

Rita Ora, was handed a £10,000 fine after reportedly 30 people showed up to a closed restaurant in Notting Hill to celebrate her birthday. She had previously said “it’s going to be literally my parents and me” when asked about her birthday plans.

Whilst Zara and Rita were caught out, this has now been swept under the carpet and it definitely has not stopped other celebrities and influencers from flouting rules.

Unfollowing influencers takes away their power

If fines do not scare influencers, perhaps losing followers will. Unfollowing someone on social media may seem petty and shallow to normal people, but followers are crucial to influencers. Unfollowing an influencer takes away their power to influence people, their success is based on people following and interacting with them on social media.

If these followers start to considerably drop, influencers may finally realise just how serious things are.

Influencers may pretend that we have all suffered during the lockdown, but realistically they are able to hop on a plane with near to no repercussions whilst the rest of us try our best to follow regulations. Influencers are not, and never have been on our side, they engage with their followers to ensure their social media stats stay up so they can fund unnecessary holidays during a pandemic.

Featured image via Instagram @mollymaehague and @maurahiggins

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