Bettheny Frankel, The Richest Karen Of Them All, Is Coming after Small TikTok Creators. Will She Succeed?
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Bettheny Frankel knows exactly how to keep herself in the spotlight. Just last month, she made headlines for her disparaging remarks about Meghan Markle. In the now viral video, Frankel called the Duchess of Sussex a “terrible businessperson” and said she had a “sanctimonious” disposition.
Many considered Frankel’s commentary thinly veiled racism from a white woman who vehemently going after a Black woman with power. As one user, Bryetta, on TikTok pointed out:
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“There’s a very specific subset of white women—specifically—who do not know or understand...they don’t have enough self-awareness to know that they’re actually racist. [Bethenny] is upset that a Black woman has achieved a level of recognition that [her] and [her] whiteness don’t feel she deserves.”
However, Markle isn’t the only celebrity that Frankel has belittled.
The Skinnygirl founder, 51, has carved a niche for herself on TikTok by giving candid reviews of beauty products. Frankel has given her thoughts on products by everyone from Rihanna to Kim Kardashian. Most recently, she called Kylie Jenner’s lip products a “scam” and Hailey Bieber’s skincare line “basic.”
But Frankel has now set her sights on TikTok. She is suing the Chinese social media platform, The Washington Post revealed last week, for allegedly failing to regulate the use of her image on scam ads that used her to promote counterfeit products.
According to the lawsuit, Frankel quickly posted a TikTok video letting her followers know about the fake ad. She also claimed to have reported the ad through TikTok’s content-flagging system. Shortly after, Frankel stated, her video about the matter was removed for bullying.
Frankel is asking TikTok to pay for the harm that the fake ad has caused to her brand. She also wants the company to agree to ensure better policies regarding a creator’s likeness. But even though Frankel is demanding TikTok to do better to protect creators, she also came after smaller ones for calling out her hypocrisy.
As one creator, Shannon Hill, pointed out to the mogul: “Smaller creators on [TikTok] actually have a very large influence and larger influencers, such as yourself, people who have been in the media for many years, people who have brands and businesses, don’t necessarily get on this app and have as much of an impact as us.”
Meredith Lynch, who has made a slew of videos addressing Frankel’s antics, allegedly received a cease-and-desist from “a former Real Housewife of New York.” Lynch has critiqued various celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Gywneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt about their ventures into the worlds of skincare, health and wellness.
The knowledge that Lynch shares and assesses with her followers is all public information. To Frankel, it’s ok to rip apart people’s brands and products because she wants to tell her fans the “truth.” But when Lynch did it, it was considered defamatory and she was legally forced to stop.
Frankel claims that cease-and-desists were sent to two women because misinformation was being spread about her non-profit organization, B-Strong, as well as her trademarks and business dealings.
However, as PR expert Molly McPherson noted, Frankel is retaliating against and trying to squash small creators which led to her having a PR crisis on her hands. Sadly, for a Karen as big as Bethenny, her hurt feelings—elevated by white woman entitlement—will allow for the perpetuation of such ridiculous behavior.
Hopefully, it will only encourage more people to speak out about Frankel and how her conduct has become part of the cultural norm.
