What to Know
In influencer culture, it’s pretty typical for people with large followings to reach out to businesses to offer to promote their products in return for free or steeply discounted goods. But what if the person asking for a freebie could actually afford to pay without really missing the money? That’s why F1 driver Charles Leclerc’s wife, Alexandra, is facing a ton of backlash this week.
Alexandra DMed a small business, asking for free clothing.
According to a screenshot that was shared on Reddit this week, a small Australian clothing brand, Runaway the Label, posted (and then deleted) a screenshot of a DM they received from Alexandra, asking for them to send her a blue outfit she had her eye on.
“Hii! I was looking at outfits for my upcoming summer trips and I was wondering if you would be interested in sending me this blue set?” she wrote, attaching a post with the dress she was talking about.
The brand seemed really excited about the opportunity to work with Alexandra, who has nearly five million Instagram followers, but her critics don’t quite see it the same way.
As one of the highest paid F1 drivers, Charles isn’t exactly hurting for money.
Sports Illustrated estimates Charles’ net worth at about $50 million, noting that as a driver, he pulls in about $34 million per year in income. Knowing this, many people felt that Alexandra was taking advantage of a small business by asking for something for free that she totally could have afforded to purchase from them.
“I wish I had a fraction of this audacity. Must be nice to feel so important,” one commenter wrote on Reddit.
Another said, “Some of the richest people are the cheapest. I know wealthy people who will nickel and dime you, and I know people who are poor but extremely generous.”
Besides, while the set might have been out of the budget for many of her followers, it was still pretty moderately priced for two pieces of clothing — a total of $79, according to the outfit’s listing on the brand’s website.
She couldn’t have shelled out 80 bucks to buy the set herself?
Some of her fans are coming to her defense.
There are people who recognized that in the influencer world, this is just how things work — and Alexandra posting photos of herself wearing that outfit to millions of followers could bring them in a lot of business, so it might be more than a fair trade off for the brand.
The comments on Alexandra’s latest (and totally unrelated) Instagram post are filled with her fans shutting down the haters who have shown up to let her know what they really think of her, so it does seem like a lot of people have her back on this one.
“Come on. She did contact the brand, yes. But people, if she just wanted to buy it, she would,” one of her Instagram followers wrote. “Even if she doesn’t tag brands, all the tiktok and insta will be full of brand name or dress type.”
So far, Alexandra hasn’t responded to the backlash herself.
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