Hotel and café owner Paul Stenson isn’t finished with his public shaming of Instagram and YouTube “influencer” Elle Darby, a controversy that’s been dubbed #BloggerGate. He just invoiced her for the equivalent of $6.5 million.
If you’re not caught up, on Jan. 16, Stenson posted a screenshot to Facebook of an email Darby had sent him, in which she requested a complimentary stay at his hotel, the Charleville Lodge, in exchange for videos and social media posts shared with her followers. His disdainful post shamed her: “Jesus Christ,” Stenson wrote, “I would never in a million years ask anyone for anything for free.”
Although Stenson obscured Darby’s identity before posting the screenshot and accompanying message, Darby saw the post and responded with a 17-minute YouTube video expressing her embarrassment and hurt feelings. (In a…
