People rush to defend teenager after she was trolled for calling $80 bag a 'luxury item'
Zoe Gabrielle, a Singapore-based influencer, has unintentionally sparked a debate over what many class as a luxury item.
Zoe, also known as @zohtaco on TikTok, took to the platform to show her 253,000 followers her new handbag – a Charles & Keith black tote bag.
It looks like captioning the video with ‘My first luxury bag’ has caused people to come out in their droves to either troll or stand up for the influencer.
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In the clip that sparked the debate, we see Zoe being handed the bag at a Charles & Keith counter before sharing an unboxing of her new bag – a gift from her dad – to her TikTok.
However, trolls were quick to pick up on the fact that the handbag, which cost around 80 Singaporean dollars (£49/$60), isn’t what immediately springs to mind when you think of a luxury handbag.
One TikTok user commented: “Who's going to tell her?" followed by a laughing face emoji.
Zoe was quick to respond to this particular remark, sharing a follow up video, where she revealed: "To you, an $80 bag may not be a luxury. For me and my family, it is a lot, and I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money."
She outlined how special it was to receive such a lovely bag from her dad, given the fact that her family didn’t have much money when she was growing up.
"We couldn’t buy new things as simple as bread from BreadTalk," which is a popular bakery in Singapore.
"That kind of thing was a luxury to us... Every time we passed by a store, my parents would just say next time, but next time would never come," she continued.
Thousands of fans on TikTok also took to the comment section to stick up for the teenager.
One follower wrote: "Doesn’t matter if is a luxury brand, Its love from your dad, no Chanel or Hermes can replace a father love. Still happy for you."
While another said: "Nobody starts at the same road, disgusting comments on what defines luxury for someone. You go love!"
A similar comment read: “The comments section is not it. It may not be a luxury brand to you but it is to her. Money can’t buy class or contentment.”
The original video has now been viewed over 22 million times, but that’s not the only piece of exciting news for the TikTok-er.
Zoe and her dad were invited to the brand’s headquarters for lunch, where she also received more of their products, including the perfect black purse to match her bag.
Writing in the caption of another TikTok video, Zoe stated that none of this would have been possible without the kindness of strangers.
Zoe was quick to let everyone know that this wouldn’t have been possible without those who came to her defence, saying:
"To everyone who has shown their support and endless kindness, this is for you.
"You have made things happen for me I never thought possible, taught me lessons I will never forget, and have given me so many valuable memories. I would not be here if it weren’t for you, and for the millionth time and counting, I give you all my love, thanks, and well wishes; I am forever grateful and indebted to you all," she shared with her followers.
We even spotted Zoe on the brand’s Instagram page as she modelled a beautiful light purple handbag, with her also being announced as one of Charles & Keith’s brand ambassadors.
All we can say is, we can’t wait to see what Zoe does next, and we love to see a bit more positivity come from what started out as negative debate on social media.
Topics: TikTok
Ellis Cochrane