Tuh, I never thought I would consider myself "blacklisted", and all from an innocent post. Yes, myself and my old brand technically were blacklisted because we didn't want to conform to what we were told to do.
This is the post that started it all...and the post I'm writing now will probably start it again (I honestly don't give two shits). But, my post "Everyone Can't be a Fashion Blogger...Get Over It" was simply a post of me venting my distaste for fake ass bloggers. By this time I already knew I wanted this blog to be considered a business and I experienced the great amount of work it took to produce a high quality blog brand. I frankly didn't appreciate how ugly ass thots would come on IG, hashtag what they wore and considered themselves bloggers....no ma'am.
And while I try to respect everyone's opinions, something didn't sit well with me. Someone, who will remain anonymous but...you can figure out by clicking on the post, stated how she felt blog and job shouldn't be synonymous. That's fine, but....this person was the founder and leader of a influencer group I was apart of responsible for giving bloggers well...hope of turning their blogs into businesses, so for her to say that...kind of pissed me off.
So, I did a video response, actually two, and allowed who was a contributor at that time to post a written response.
In her written response my contributor, who now is the third part of this brand (funny how shit works eh?) simply copied and pasted the comment and stated her reaction, no harm done right? WRONG!
We were attacked to say the least. Not only were we contacted by this person's ass kissing minions on how we disrespected a leader in this industry, there was also a LOOOONG email thread on how I should be ashamed of allowing someone to contribute such a post, how her words were taken out of context (which they weren't), how I needed to think about my future in this industry, and basically being reprimanded like I was a fucking child.
At the end of this exhausting convo I was given a choice, to either take down the post and issue a formal apology or let it stand...you can read between the lines on what decision I made.
I will never, ever, ever ever ever, be bullied into making a decision because I told the truth about something. What bothers me the most is someone in this position would even dare to try and conduct herself in this manner!!! Now if I wanted to stoop to her level I could release not only incriminating evidence of her character, but just a funny ass video of her crying, but no, I'm not going to do that, as much as I am petty (Phi Gamma Petty founding soror) I am still professional.
Over the course of several months, I've seen opportunities come and go that I know would have been given to me if I would have complied. At first, it made me sad, mad, and confused as hell, and then I realized this wouldn't be happening if I wasn't a force to be reckoned with. So, I began to pat myself on the back, and continue putting in them hours and redevelop how I wanted this brand to be seen as.
In this industry, your authenticity is what you have to hold on to. Fuck the free shit, fuck being a "celebrity" on the Internet. I've never kissed ass to get to where I am and I won't start now. My hard work and determination is what is going to make this brand stand out, it might be a longer process, but I know it will pay off.
There is one thing, however, I thank this whole debacle for. It inspired us to re-brand into who we are today. This situation showed me how over saturated the blogging industry is, the fashion industry is, the FASHION BLOGGING industry is, and that take all of that and throw it into a small ass city better known as Saint Louis. The "popular" bloggers are all fashion bloggers. We wanted to shy away from that and prove a point. We wanted to prove you don't have to be a fashion blogger to be successful, or have any niche at that, which is why we're one of the only purposely branded nicheless blogs on the market.
Would I change the situation? No. Would I change my response? Yes, only because now with the work that I do as a PR rep, I would have stated how I felt in a more mature manner. Would I have complied? FUCK NO! If I don't have anything else to show for what I have contributed to this blog, I know I have my character and my authenticity. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters...or should matter.
