Current:Home > MyUntangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett -Financial Clarity Guides
Untangling the Controversy Involving TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:26:37
This was probably not the way Lunden Stallings and Olivia Bennett imagined starting off their marriage.
The influencer duo—who have almost 700,000 followers on their joint TikTok account—went from newlywed bliss to issuing an apology video during their honeymoon all in a span of days after Lunden's past racist tweets resurfaced.
The saga all started on Sept. 30, when the 26-year-olds tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Naylor Hall in Roswell, Ga., with many fans referring to the black-tie nuptials as the "royal wedding of lesbian TikTok."
"We like romanticizing the moment that we're in," Lunden gushed to People in a profile gushed on Oct. 1, adding that she and Olivia felt their wedding was "so much bigger than us" as figures in the LGBTQ+ community. "And I think that by showing two feminine women in a relationship in the south, I think that it breaks a barrier."
However, just as Lunden and Olivia began filling their social media accounts with photos and videos from their picture-perfect wedding, screenshots of what apeared to be old tweets containing racial slurs made from Lunden's X (formerly known as Twitter) account surfaced on Reddit. The racially insensitive posts, the screenshots of which have since been deleted, seemed to date back as early as the 2010s.
Amid backlash, the TikTokers made a 10-minute apology video on their TikTok Stories, with Lunden saying that she was "completely and utterly disgusted and ashamed" by her past behavior.
"I don't want people to think that I am just sweeping this under the rug or that it's something I'm not going to address or don't want to address because I do want to address it," she continued. "That's not who I am."
Calling Lunden's controversial tweets an "unfortunate and ignorant mistake," Olivia told her new wife, "It's so disappointing to see that those things were written, and written by somebody that I love, but I also know to my heart and core that's not who you are. I would've never married her if that's who she was today."
Lunden added, "I just want everyone to know, even the ones that don't know, that I am sorry."
But their mea culpa didn't quell the online criticism, with some taking issue with the fact that Lunden and Olivia's video was made on Stories, where posts expire 24 hours after its creation. Others called out the couple for getting married at a wedding venue with ties to a plantation owner. (Naylor Hall's website said the property was built during the 1840s by Barrington King—the son of Roswell King, a cotton mill owner who controlled several plantations that were operated by slave labor, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.)
As of Oct. 6, Lunden and Olivia have not publicly addressed backlash over their apology video.
E! News has reached out to their rep for comment but hasn't heard back.
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (65542)
Related
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- A Yellowstone trip that ended with a man being arrested for kicking a bison
- GOP leaders still can’t overcome the Kansas governor’s veto to enact big tax cuts
- Mike Tyson-Jake Paul bout set for eight rounds, sanctioned as pro fight for July 20
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Feds open preliminary investigation into Ford's hands-free driving tech BlueCruise
- Ralph Lauren goes minimal for latest fashion show, with muted tones and a more intimate setting
- GaxEx: Ushering in a New Era of Secure and Convenient Global Cryptocurrency Trading
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- GaxEx: Leading the Way in Global Compliance with US MSB License
Ranking
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Ralph Lauren goes minimal for latest fashion show, with muted tones and a more intimate setting
- Tensions rise at Columbia protests after deadline to clear encampment passes. Here's where things stand.
- Congress honors deceased Korean War hero with lying in honor ceremony
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Tensions rise at Columbia protests after deadline to clear encampment passes. Here's where things stand.
- Tyson-Paul fight sanctioned as professional bout. But many in boxing call it 'exhibition.'
- Milestone: 1st container ship arrives since Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse
Recommendation
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
Jason Kelce joining ESPN's 'Monday Night Countdown' pregame coverage, per report
Mike Tyson-Jake Paul bout set for eight rounds, sanctioned as pro fight for July 20
King Charles III Returns to Public Duties in First Official Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
The Daily Money: Google gets tough with Gaza protesters
Cameo's Most Surprisingly Affordable Celebrity Cameos That Are Definitely in Your Budget
Al Capone's sweetheart gun is up for auction again — and it could sell for over $2 million