TikTok star Haleyy Baylee responds to backlash over ‘let them eat cake’ video

TikTok star Haleyy Baylee has responded to backlash after posting a video at the Met Gala using audio from Kristen Dunst’s Marie Antoinette film.

Haley Kalil, who goes by ‘Haleyy Baylee’ online, was slammed for the “dystopian” video posted to her TikTok account.

In it, the social media personality could be seen attending the 2024 Met Gala while lip-syncing to a famous line from Kristen Dunst’s 2006 film, Marie Antoinette; “Let them eat cake.”

Viewers quickly dubbed Haley’s choice of audio as “sinister,” comparing her actions at the prestigious fashion event to Hunger Games’ notorious Capitol.

Now, the model and influencer has responded to viewers’ outrage, apologizing with a nearly nine-minute-long video on TikTok.

Haley explained she had been invited to the event as a pre-Met Gala host, tasked with interviewing and making content with celebrities while receiving no pay.

Describing the ‘exclusivity’ of the Gala, Haley stated she had not attended as a guest and “went home” to watch the event with friends after completing her designated tasks.

Haley then apologized for the TikTok’s controversial audio; “I am so, so, so sorry that I chose a sound that you guys could ever possibly feel was malicious in nature.”

Claiming she would have never picked the audio had she anticipated people’s reaction, Haley explained she loved to use sounds that were “trending”, leading her to find the one from Dunst’s film. According to her, the audio choice encompassed “no deeper meaning.”

“I never even thought it would be taken in that way because I wasn’t elite enough to even be invited to the Met Gala,” Haley said. “I’m not elite, I am a normal person.”

Calling herself “dumb”, she continued to apologize and insisted she hadn’t thought the matter through or considered its implications.

Nonetheless, many viewers did not take the apology well and called Haley “out of touch,”, especially for calling herself a “normal person”. Multiple comments claimed to be coming from “District 12,” a reference to the Hunger Games, and one person even wrote, “We’re giving you the Marie Antoinette experience.”

“What a privilege to not have to think too hard about anything,” another said, with fellow TikTok users agreeing that the creator was “done”.

Some, however, came to Haley’s defense and insisted the backlash was an ‘overreaction’ and that her apology seemed “genuine”.

“I feel like there was a general feeling of sickness with the whole Met thing vs what’s going on with the world. That’s why that sound felt like a slap on the face. You’re fine [though].”