"It's the patronising assumption that women, especially older women, will be thrilled by some random stranger giving them flowers."
A Melbourne TikTok influencer has been slammed for a so-called random act of kindness video by the woman he filmed without consent.
Creator Harrison Pawluk has amassed a following of more than three million for his short-form videos, which usually involve him giving hugs, flowers or doing other kind gestures to strangers. The trade-off for the kind gesture, however, is the unsuspecting stranger being used — often without their consent — for viral content.
This was the case for Melbourne woman Maree, who was featured in a video on Harrison’s account that has received more than 58 million views to date. The video appears to be his most popular video. The clip was captioned “I hope this made her day better” alongside the hashtag #wholesome, but Maree tells a very different side of the story.
“There’s a lot of these flower TikToks all over the internet,” she told the ABC , rejecting the notion that this was a random act of kindness. “He interrupted my quiet time, filmed and uploaded a video without my consent, turning it into something it wasn’t, and I feel like he is making quite a lot of money through it.
“It’s the patronising assumption that women, especially older women, will be thrilled by some random stranger giving them flowers.”
In Australia, there is no general right to privacy , which means that — as long as you’re in a public place — people don’t need to ask your consent to photograph or video you. But while there is nothing legally questionable about Pawluk’s video, it is certainly morally ambiguous.
The Internet Gave Maree A Tragic Backstory She Didn’t Actually Have
Without her consent, Maree has become a sort of pity porn for strangers on the internet.
A quick scroll through the comments section of Pawluk’s video shows hundreds of comments assuming that she was “definitely going through some tough times” and cried in the video. “I watch this so many times, her reaction is so precious she was definitely going through something in those flowers made it a little bit better,” one user commented.
In reality, Maree was having a quiet coffee at her local shopping centre, but the video turned her otherwise normal morning into something she felt was dehumanising. “At first it was just a bit of a joke to me, but then I felt dehumanised after reading the article,” she said. “The article said ‘old woman, elderly woman, heartbreaking tale’.
“And they got this picture of me supposedly crying, but it was just a horrible expression.
“I feel like clickbait.”
In addition to the obvious fact that Maree has now been broadcast to more than 50 million people without her consent, it’s also worth noting that many of these TikTok influencers who are forcing the public to participate in their content are profiting off their videos.
While it is unclear how much money a creator like Harrison makes, with 3.2 million TikTok followers, nearly 100,000 Instagram followers and a talent manager, it appears he is at least making some sort of income from his content. Meanwhile, passers by like Maree — who are a pivotal part of the content style — are likely not getting a cut.
Street Interviews And Using Strangers For Content Is A Growing Trend On TikTok
Harrison’s videos come amid a rise in vox pop content on the platform, where influencers will build entire brands off the back of filming strangers and asking them questions, often without their consent.
Just days ago, a DoorDash driver went viral after his customer made a video attempting to apologise to him for accidentally yelling at him. While the driver seemed unbothered by the video , it is worth noting that his image was shared without his consent.
Social media users have been quick to call out the content for instilling a constant fear of being filmed in people going about their daily lives.
Harrison Reserves The Right To Film Strangers, But Urges People To Contact Him If They’re Upset
In a statement provided to the ABC , Harrison’s team confirmed that he does not need consent for his videos, but urged people who feel upset to contact him.
“His videos are filmed in public places and so technically do not require consent,” the statement read. “Having said that, while he has only so far encountered gratitude, if someone is upset, then they should feel free to personally email him.
“He would not want something designed to spread love and compassion to cause anyone concern.”
At the time of publishing, Pawluk has not removed the videos containing Maree from his social media platforms and is yet to publicly respond to Maree’s complaints.
Junkee has reached out to Pawluk’s team for comment.
