Ava Lane boutique apologizes after viral TikTok exposes email mistake to Gracie Lorincz

Michigan-based boutique Ava Lane went viral in a TikTok posted July 8. In the video, rejected job applicant Gracie Lorincz (@gggmoneyyyy) shared a misdirected email from the family-owned business’ VP.  The email stated Gracie “isn’t that cute,” causing uproar from thousands of TikTok users worldwide.

The power of TikTok took on a whole new meaning earlier this week (July 5) as a wrongly-CC’ed email caused chaos for a small business. Newly graduated jobseeker Gracie Lorincz applied to Ava Lane having been enticed by their inclusive motto, “beauty through confidence.”

Upon receiving an email back from VP Chuck DeGrendel, Gracie decided to share the result with her TikTok followers. “I applied for this job as a brand representative,” Gracie stated. “This is an email I accidentally got sent from the VP.”

It appears the email in the TikTok was meant for someone else within the recruiting process. “This girl is fresh out of college,” it said. “(She’s) not that cute… Are you sure you want me to interview her?” The TikTok has since amassed 1.7 million views.

What is Ava Lane?

Ava Lane is a family-owned boutique, founded “and creatively directed” by Laura DeGrendel. The company prides themselves on their female-centric ethos, aiming to cater for “women of all ages, shapes and sizes.”

DeGrendel family (Ava Lane) responds

On June 9, Chuck tearfully took to Facebook to apologize for his actions. “I can only imagine how awful that would feel,” he admitted. “I don’t know why I said it, but I did.” He concluded by stating, “I’m sorry… I said that.”

Laura herself weighed in on the situation later on in the video. “We can learn from this,” she said. “We can also learn from the power of social media, and choose to use it for good.” She alleged that since the video went viral, her children had been receiving “threats.”

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Despite receiving a response, TikTok users weren’t happy with the apology. “Would you have apologized if it didn’t go viral on TikTok?” one viewer questioned. “Do better,” added another. “Speak to people and speak about people kindly.”

The boutique have since made each of their social channels private. Hooked viewers are still waiting on Gracie to provide updates.