Two friends of former Instagrammer Essena O’Neill are stepping forward to reveal details that suggest O’Neill’s recent put-down of social media is actually a publicity stunt.
Australian internet model O’Neill made headlines this past week after taking a stand against social media and deleting pictures from her Instagram account, which had garnered over 580,000 followers.
Twin sisters Nina and Randa Nelson recently released a video on their Youtube channel adding commentary to O’Neill’s video regarding the evils of social media. The sisters believe O’Neill made a number of false and exaggerated claims about her success and career.
Nina and Randa hosted O’Neill when the former Australian Instagrammer visited Los Angeles. They were gracious enough to welcome her into their homes, but are now purportedly taken aback by what O’Neill had to say about the people she was kindly introduced to. They said:
“When you’re sleeping on my bed, I’m picking you up from the airport, I’m paying for your food and a place to stay. To me that’s not a pinnacle of success. It’s nice people, but in the video she makes it out like she’s a big star … which isn’t true.”
The sisters also hint that O’Neill’s social media crisis may have been prompted by a bad breakup with one of their friends who she met while in Los Angeles.
O’Neill responded to the Nelson twins’ accusations on her website by lamenting their decision to reveal personal details about her life on social media.
O’Neill urged the internet to stop focusing on the gossip and headlines surrounding her, but rather to engage in conversation around issues that really matter such as animal cruelty and gender equality. She has since deleted her accounts on a number of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. She wrote on her website:
“And yes, I quilt all of social media. With 570,000+ followers on Instagram, 250,000+ subscribers on Youtube, 250,000+ on tumblr and 60,000+ average views on snapchat. Tumblr and Snapchat gone forever.”
Shortly after turning her back on social media, O’ Neill discovered she was unable to support herself financially and appealed to the internet for assistance. Her actions have generated mixed responses from netizens, many of whom have taken to Twitter to voice their opinions:
