Who is Katie Sigmond on TikTok and why did she get fined?
Instagram: Katie SigmondPopular TikToker Katie Sigmond was hit with a fine for hitting a golf ball into the Grand Canyon, but the punishment actually could have been much worse.
While TikTok started out as a platform for creatives to show off their artist, dance, and music skills, its become so much more than that over the last few years.
Pretty much every corner of the internet has a community on TikTok, and that includes golf. Sure, you might link golf to a boring pastime for older adults, but the trick shot and training scene has been taken over by younger influencers.
Katie Sigmond, who has over seven million followers on TikToker, isn’t an everyday golfer but she dabbles in playing and regularly uploads herself hitting shots at some of the best-looking courses in the world. Though, she has also gotten in trouble.
Katie Sigmond Grand Canyon golf shot
If you recognize the influencer’s name, it’s pretty possible you’ve seen her land in hot water for hitting a golf ball into the Grand Canyon.
Sigmond pulled that off back in October as her shot went awry and her club also followed the ball into the vast abyss of the Canyon. As a result, the TikToker was hit with a small fine of $285, but she was threatened with jail time of up to 6 months.
The video has been scrubbed from her channels, but it has still done the rounds on social media as some outraged viewers have uploaded it themselves.
Katie Sigmond response to Grand Canyon golf shot backlash
The TikToker has responded to the backlash for the shot numerous times at this point, initially stating that she wanted to handle the whole thing “privately” given the legal trouble.
Sigmond said that she didn’t realize the shot was “disrespectful” and that she “wasn’t thinking” when she decided to hit a shot into the National Park. “I was dumb and I made the wrong decision to do that,” she said.
Despite the calendar turning over to 2023, the backlash hasn’t gone away, and Sigmond made another video about it on January 3rd. Though, it was a little more tongue-in-cheek than previous posts.
Given that she paid her fine back in November, Sigmond is unlikely to get into any more trouble over the video but the court of public opinion still weighs heavy.