The Aussie TikToker Who Gave A Woman Flowers Apologised, But Won’t Take Down The Video
“I know my true intentions and I know that if I can inspire even 1 per cent of the people that watch my content to go out there and do something good, I have done something that I believe is good for the world.”
The Melbourne TikTok creator who went viral last week for his random act of kindness video has apologised to the woman who felt “dehumanised” by his video but has refused to stop creating the exploitative content.
In an interview with The Project on Sunday, 22-year-old Harrison Pawluk claimed he would love to buy Maree — the woman who appeared in his viral video without consent — a coffee or a new bunch of flowers.
“Maree I apologise for what has happened and I would love to be able to owe you a coffee and to be able to get you a bouquet of flowers that are more to your taste,” said Pawluk on The Project.
The Aussie TikToker facing a media storm for posting a video of a stranger without her consent has finally spoken out exclusively to The Project, but Harrison Pawluk says he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/YxzUN5XTJj
— The Project (@theprojecttv) July 17, 2022
Pawluk, who boasts millions of followers and is only reachable via his talent agent, presumably makes more than the value of a cup of coffee or a bouquet of flowers from his videos. However, the people who appear in his clips — which do not require consent — make nothing.
To date, the video in question has received more than 64 million views and has not been taken down, despite Maree clearly being uncomfortable with it.
The 22-year-old creator continues to stress that he only makes the videos with good intentions, even though his so-called kind gestures rack up millions of views that he likely profits from.
“I know my true intentions and I know that if I can inspire even 1 per cent of the people that watch my content to go out there and do something good, I have done something that I believe is good for the world,” Pawluk told The Project.
Pawluk pointed out that he isn’t specifically targeting older women for his videos, but the lack of agency and consent given by the subjects of his videos remains consistent.
“I’m not looking just for elderly ladies, I’ve given flowers to men as well and have also given flowers to younger women too. I’m not just specifically targeting one person,” said Pawluk. “The person that I look for in a video is just someone that I believe is going to appreciate the gesture.”
Throughout the interview, Pawluk continued to stress that he isn’t chasing views, but the claim that he is simply doing this out of the goodness of his heart falls flat when his video continues to rack in millions of views even after Maree clearly stated she felt uncomfortable with it.
Junkee has reached out to Pawluk’s team for comment.