Controversial influencer responds to accusations she's holding someone's cat 'hostage': 'People on the internet have been saying horrible things'

Beauty YouTuber Jaclyn Hill took to Instagram to address a whirlwind of internet-fueled accusations that she is holding her recently adopted cat “hostage.”

The most recent post, which was shared on Hill’s Instagram on Jan. 23, shows Hill proving that the cat she’d named Marty did not have an identifying microchip — despite accusations from followers that it was another Instagram user’s missing cat.

“Lots of people on the internet have been saying horrible things,” Hill captioned the clip. “Claiming that I am holding this cat hostage, I refuse to give it back to its owner, etc. … I would NEVER do something like that.”

It all began in an Instagram story from Jan. 13, when Hill allegedly shared with her 8 million followers that she had adopted a kitten. The story has since expired, but screenshots were shared in the r/BeautyGuruChatter subreddit that showed Hill had replied to some questions she got about the cat — mainly, why she couldn’t let the cat into her house.

“I am insanely allergic to cats,” Hill replied. “The dogs will literally end up killing her … I don’t want her clawing my furniture.”

The Reddit user who shared the screenshots elaborated in a comment that Hill had said she took the cat in and “it wasn’t chipped.” According to another user’s comment, it wasn’t clear whether Hill had formally adopted the cat from a shelter or found a stray.

“She hasn’t mentioned anything else about finding the owner but has said things along the lines of ‘I can’t believe I have a cat!'” the user added. “It seems like she decided to keep it.”

“I thought she said she was going to check if it was chipped,” another commenter chimed in, “but hasn’t actually confirmed whether it is chipped or not.”

A week later, on Jan. 20, Hill was still posting about the cat. Multiple posts in several subreddits shared a screenshot of an Instagram comment from an unverified account called @homer_and_savannah that told Hill to “check your dm you found my cat.” The Instagram account is private.

Social media users immediately jumped to the conclusion that Hill had not checked the cat for a microchip and had indeed unintentionally taken someone’s pet. Multiple comments in Hill’s recent Instagram posts that did not feature Marty begged Hill to address the situation.

“Apparently there is someone who has been trying to reach out to you about the cat,” one comment with 79 likes on Hill’s Jan. 19 post said. “They are the rightful owner and have sent you proof. Please look into this. You’d feel pretty badly if someone had one of your dogs, I’m sure.”

On Jan. 23, Hill decided to address the rumors in her Instagram story. Screenshots of the story, which has since expired, were shared on Twitter by gossip YouTuber @richlux713.

“I have been dealing with hundreds, possibly thousands of people messaging me telling me I ‘stole’ someone’s cat,” Hill wrote. “Someone on the internet claimed that it was her cat. She said she lost the cat 4 months ago and she is microchipped. Jordan and I already knew she wasn’t chipped.”

The person Hill is referring to was not specified as @homer_and_savannah.

“We took [Marty] to a vet and recorded it to show the internet proof so people can possibly leave me alone,” she concluded.

The video, which shows a woman wearing a Veterinary Emergency Group sweatshirt scanning to see if she can locate a chip in the cat, has over 58,000 views.

For the most part, the response in the r/BeautyGuruChatter subreddit was that it was probably an honest mistake on @homer_and_savannah’s part.

“It’s always a shot in the dark when it comes to tabby sable colored cats,” one Redditor wrote. “They’re all so similar and people can easily get confused. … Sometimes it’s just you really wanting it to be your pet that’s lost.”

As for now, it appears Hill has moved on since proving her innocence on Instagram. On Jan. 24, she posted updates of her cat lounging on her furniture.

“She just loves her naps on restoration hardware furniture,” Hill wrote. “[And] very much enjoys her purified alkaline water & wild caught Alaskan salmon.”

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