Lunden and Olivia (@lundenandolivia) are a couple popular on TikTok for their lifestyle and relationship content, and recently had their much anticipated wedding photos published in People. When they got to their honeymoon destination, over 70 tweets containing racist language on Lunden’s account resurfaced.
The couple reached a vast audience for their positive LGBTQ+ representation, progressive views, classic fashion style, and wedding planning insights. The much anticipated wedding and honeymoon quickly took a turn for viewers when tweets from Lunden containing a number of racist slurs resurfaced from an anonymous source. The leaker remains unclear, but some viewers suspect that there could be even worse secrets that motivated the individual to post the tweets online.
@jcubedhax
The couple quickly shared an apology, but only posted the video to their TikTok story, a feature that only allows a video to stay up for 24 hours on the platform. The decision to share the apology as a story and not a permanent post has incurred the ire of the for you page.
Social Media Reactions To Lunden-gate
Despite their apology, TikTok sleuths were quick to note that on top of the racist tweets, the couple married on a plantation in Roswell, Georgia. Plantation owners in the south traditionally enslaved Africans, and supporting such historical sites has been widely condemned since the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement inspired a mass re-education in anti-racism.
@toris.intel Replying to @???? Rawr It’s Paige ???? #greenscreen lunden & olivia wedding venue… #lundenandolivia #popculturenews lunden & olivia controversy / lunden stallings tweets
To make Lunden’s history clearer, this particular plantation was a site at which confederate army uniforms were manufactured. The Confederacy was a group of southern states that seceded from much of the northeastern United States during the American Civil War, which was primarily fought regarding the status of enslaved Black people.
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In Lunden’s apology, the influencer reflected that she was disappointed in herself for how “normal” using racist terminology was “back then.” The tweets date back to ten years ago in the early 2010s, and many TikTok users are begging to differ on this assessment.
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The tweets were first sent to Lesbian TikTok Room (@lesbiantiktokroom) on Instagram. Some commenters sense that whoever sent them in could have waited until the couple’s wedding so as to bring the news to a wider audience.
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Lunden invited people to message her privately regarding the situation, but several TikTok creators allege that she has turned her direct messaging feature off amid the controversy.
The situation is rekindling the age old debate of whether or not someone should be effectively “cancelled” for their old behaviors if it appears they have grown and changed as a person. Some argue that a person should be held accountable regardless, while others feel that there is no motivation to grow if constant criticism is all that awaits.
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@liaseways Lunden from Lunden & Olivia had 100’s of racist tweets resurface and many people called her out, which resulted in her blocking them at first, but there was too much evidence that she felt she needed to apologize. Racisim is racism & this is downright WRONG. Too little, too late ya know? #lundenandolivia #lundentweets #lundenracist
The couple are yet to further address the controversy at this time.
