YouTuber Patricia Bright responds to backlash for “laughing at” homeless woman
Instagram: thepatriciabrightUK-based YouTuber and entrepreneur Patricia Bright has found herself in hot water. The star has been criticized for being “out of touch” by fans after a video surfaced of her laughing at a homeless woman. She has since apologized for the gaffe, claiming that she was a victim of “a scam.”
Patricia Bright has been a main-stay on the UK YouTube scene since 2011. Known for her numerous clothing hauls, unboxing videos and lifestyle vlogs, the businesswoman has developed a loyal following. Her addictive catchphrases (“*insert body part here* to the wind”) have captured the hearts of over three-million people.
The star’s refreshing honesty and hilarious soundbites have earned her some high-profile collaborations over the years. While they still haven’t officially worked together on a YouTube video, Patricia went live with Jackie Aina on Instagram back in April. The beauty guru also released a line with Revolution Cosmetics in 2020.
Patricia has mostly stayed out of high-profile drama during her run on the platform. However, she has butted heads in the past with fellow makeup YouTuber Jordan Lipscombe.
Instagram: thepatriciabrightWhy is Patricia under fire?
The YouTuber posted a series of videos to her Instagram story on July 23. She claimed in the videos that she got “scammed by someone asking for money.”
Patricia went on to explain that she offered to buy a homeless woman food in lieu of giving her money. She then took the woman to a “bougie food hall” where the woman picked out “a rotisserie chicken” and a “whole large lasagna.” She remarked that the woman knew “where the till” was and processed the “transactions” herself. As she started laughing, fellow YouTuber Jayde Pierce can be heard saying that Patricia was “tipsy.”
Fans of the YouTuber weren’t happy
Fans took to Twitter to express their frustration with the situation. “Patricia Bright” began trending on Twitter after journalist Jason Okundae publicly called her out.
P*tricia💡’s IG story laughing at that destitute woman “scamming” her is trash
— Jason Okundaye (@jasebyjason) July 24, 2021
One user said, “she appears to be so out of touch w (sic) how poor people have to live.”
https://twitter.com/yvonne_aaf/status/1418925261605724170?s=20
Another user even labelled her a “classist weirdo.”
Patricia Bright shows us time and time again exactly how much of a classist weirdo she is as if she was born into money and white privilege lol I ain’t forget the time she made a scene about creating a giveaway for BW where she expected us to write essays saying why we deserve it
— nya💋 (@xixnya) July 24, 2021
Several fans of the star came to her aid. Some insisted that the situation had been “massively blown out of proportion.”
https://twitter.com/OhGarshJadey/status/1418990264111312897?s=20
While another Twitter user said it’s “okay” to “just dislike” the makeup guru.
https://twitter.com/livelovehighlgt/status/1418960689125806081?s=20
Patricia responds via another IG story
On July 24, Patricia swiftly responded to claims via a statement on her Instagram. She claimed that the woman was “not actually in need of the items,” and she was “laughing” at “recognizing I was a willing mark.”
She stated that her bank’s “fraud department” told her to “cancel her card” the morning after the incident. Closing the statement, she said she “won’t stop giving… to those in need” and signposted her followers to a homeless charity.
In a later video, she clarified that she’d “never laugh at someone for being hungry.” She then re-told the story, alleging that the “homeless” woman “tried to guide her” to another store’s ATM. After she’d bought the food for the woman, Patricia claimed she then saw her “asking someone else for money” and the shopping bags were “gone.”
Instagram: thepatriciabrightYou can check out Patricia’s statement in full on her Instagram.