Brand trips have long been a staple — and an enigma — on our social media feeds. Our favorite influencers bring us along on their trips to exotic, lavish places like Necker Island and Bora Bora. They casually discuss the details of their trip while simultaneously dropping mentions of a brand’s newest products or taking us inside opulent locales in the quintessential Get Ready With Me (GRWM) format, while also highlighting key moments on their IG stories. The understanding from their followers is that these brands or hotels have pulled out all the stops to gift our faves with all-expenses paid trips and monetary incentives to essentially act as brand ambassadors and spokespeople for their businesses. Outlandish displays of wealth and easy publicity are usually at the center of these trips, but most recently, a trip to Miami organized by makeup brand Tarte has been the center of controversy.
In a TikTok video that has since been deleted, content creator and influencer Bria Jones (@heybriajones) took to her 463.7K followers to discuss what has now been dubbed as the “Tarte F1 Drama.” Jones explained (a screen-recorded version of Jones’ video was posted by TikToker @Richlux713 but the original had over 800,000 views before it was taken down), that she was supposed to go on a trip with Tarte to Miami for the Formula 1 (F1) Miami Grand Prix. However, an emotional and clearly upset Jones shared she decided not to go on the trip when she learned her itinerary for the weekend wasn’t the same as her fellow influencers also attending (others were invited to the big F1 race on Sunday while Jones claimed she was only asked to stay until Saturday). She said she made the decision to drop out after realizing that she “was not going to get treated like everyone else there.” In the video, Jones said she felt like “a second-tier person,” according to Insider. “I will be damned as a Black creator if I accept anything other than equal treatment on these trips… I have more integrity than to get all the way to Miami and realize that… I’m being ranked.”
Our timelines are eating up the drama. However, reducing this controversy to a spat between Black women deflects from the larger issue at hand, which is the treatment of Black influencers by brands, and the inequities that Black creators face.
In response to Jones’ claims, Tarte founder and CEO, Maureen Kelly, posted a video saying that she was “sad” and wanted to “clear the air.” Kelly explained that the company has made mistakes in the past, but that this was a case of miscommunication and claimed all creators had the same access to activities during the trip and no one was given preferential treatment. According to Kelly, all “arrivals and departures were staggered” and each influencer was to have one day at the racetrack, one dinner, and one night at the club, however, when she then learned that the Sunday race was “really important,” the Tarte team got more tickets.
Shortly after this video was posted, it was revealed that Tarte reached out to Black content creators Fannita (@fannita) and Niké (@specsandblazers) to fly out to Miami for Sunday’s race. The drama that has ensued over this trip has been captured in a saga of deleted videos, screen recordings, TikTok lives and stitches. Jones says she has received bullying death threats in the wake of the controversy. Fannita has released multiple videos, including one last night in which she sought to set the record straight, explaining that she was not a “token Black,” and that as a comedy creator, brand trips like the ones that Tarte provides are uncommon for her. The majority of the videos on the incident are explainers or apologies, and other content creators who were not directly involved are now giving their hot takes on the situation. And while many are prompting followers to take a side and are pitting these creators against each other, this is not the conversation to be had.
It’s been easy to become enraptured by what has been framed as internet beef between three Black, female content creators. Our timelines are eating up the drama. However, reducing this controversy to a spat between Black women deflects from the larger issue at hand, which is the treatment of Black influencers by brands, and the inequities that Black creators face.
We know that Black creators are more underpaid than their white counterparts, are gifted less promotional products, and aren’t invited to as many press trips. Plus, the brands that these creators are fighting to impress are riddled with their own controversies. In January, Tarte fell under fire for hosting an excessive influencer trip to Dubai, where they brought 50 (mostly white) influencers along on a three-day work trip. As influencers flaunted their lavish villas and enviable excursions in the midst of global inflation and on the verge of a recession, many outlets such as TIME magazine called the trip “tone-deaf,” with flights costing around $20,000.
Bria Jones, Fannita, and Niké are all Black creators who are trying to exist in an industry that does not prioritize them…. we have to remember who the real villain of this debacle is: the brands who continuously disrespect and diminish Black creators.
In 2018, OG Black beauty gurus Alissa Ashley and Jackie Aina came together to film the viral video “Black Girls React to Tarte Tape Shape Foundation,” which now sits at over five-million views. The video has cemented itself as shade-inclusive iconography, as they called out the brand’s inability to provide a diverse shade range for women of color. In the video, Aina explained that the brand went against everything that she stood for, and Ashley agreed. Tarte seems to have historically treated women of color as an afterthought, and now with this controversy, many commentators such as user @Gizzellecade are wondering, “Why any woman of color would continue to deal with this brand,” since, as she says, we were “warned years ago.” Commenters have criticized both Fannita and Niké for accepting what has been referred to as a “last-minute” invite. Cade explains that it seems as if the two are operating out of a “scarcity mindset,” as many Black influencers are given limited opportunities with major brands. Therefore, it can be easy to condemn Fannita and Niké for going on the trip, rather than to address the systemic problems facing Black creators.
When Tarte CEO Kelly posted her initial response, creators like Remi Jo made comments (which have also been deleted) that she “felt so included on the trip.” While Remi Jo is a minority as a “curvy” influencer, this doesn’t dismiss the fact that other creators did not feel included. Jones is a Black woman who spoke out against a brand and detailed her own experiences. In return, she was met with backlash and vitriol. Jones has since reactivated her account and posted a response video of her own where she expressed her appreciation for the support she received, and explained that she had since been in contact with the Tarte team and that they are “very much so on the same page with everything.” Many view this as Jones “backtracking,” and attempting to remove blame from herself in the situation, but you have to take into consideration that her livelihood is also on the line. Bria Jones, Fannita, and Niké are all Black creators who are trying to exist in an industry that does not prioritize them. There has been way too much back-and-forth (they probably should have kept half of this mess in their group chats) but we have to remember who the real villain of this debacle is: the brands who continuously disrespect and diminish Black creators.
A word that has been tossed around a lot during this whole debacle is “grateful.” There’s the idea that these creators should be full of gratitude for the opportunities they receive. When Jones first voiced her thoughts, many expressed that she should just be “grateful” that she was even invited to go to Miami. This thinking fails to address the fact that content creation and working with brands are JOBS. And that Black creators should demand their worth. All invites are not necessarily created the same. Jones explained in her initial videos that she felt like she was treated unfairly and as a “second-tier” creator. Plus, Fannita and Niké’s last-minute invites are seemingly indicative of Tarte’s inclination to treating Black women as an afterthought. The blame should not be solely placed on Fannita, or Niké, or Bria Jones or the decision to “accept a last minute invite.” The blame should be placed squarely on brands for creating an environment where Black creators are fighting for equal treatment, and on the toxicity of social media where influencers are forced to react in real time and criticized for every decision. This entire mess shouldn’t have become a nation-wide scandal but now that it is, it’s time to focus on the state of Black influencing and the part brands have played in getting us here.
