An influencer went viral on TikTok after sharing why she left a Stagecoach afterparty hosted by Revolve, a high-end online retailer known for its selection of boutique brands. It’s unclear if the influencer was being comical, but the incident has jump-started a viral firestorm all the same.
Rhegan Coursey (@rhegancoursey), who has more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok, said that Revolve asked people to enter its party based on their follower count. As of Monday morning, her video exposing the brand had amassed more than 18.4 million views.
“I am leaving the afterparty because of this sign,” Coursey said. Then she showed viewers the signs in question: In order to enter the party, Revolve asked content creators with more than 1 million followers on TikTok to enter through one entrance; there was a second entrance for those with under 1 million followers.
“That’s so weird to me,” Coursey said. “I get exclusivity and [expletive], but… we’re not celebs.”
Coursey acknowledged that by calling out the brand she’d probably get banned from future events hosted by it. (Since 2015, Revolve has hosted a separate festival near Coachella that is free and invite-only. Revolve’s co-founder and co-chief executive director said it is the brand’s most “sought-after event every year.”) Still, she felt compelled to tell her followers about her discomfort with their plans.
“I’m leaving,” she said. “I’m probably never going to get invited to any of their parties now, but… see y’all whenever I make it home.”
This isn’t the first time Revolve has been in hot water for how it treats influencers. In 2022, Revolve Festival at Coachella received blowback after transportation issues left a number of content creators in the sun for hours without water. According to NBC News, influencers at the time complained that the transportation was disorganized and not prepared to service large crowds.
But this year’s snafu at Stagecoach left a number of viewers with a bad taste in their mouth. One Reddit post about the incident declared that “brands have officially lost their minds.”
“This is straight out of a Black Mirror episode,” the redditor declared.
Viewers who watched Coursey’s video were equally disturbed. Many pointed out the irony in the fact that Revolve’s own TikTok doesn’t surpass 1 million followers.
@rhegancoursey see y’all in 20 minutes for the grwm for bed 😚😚🤘🏼
♬ original sound – rheg (°◡°♡) ☆*:+
“Revolve couldn’t even attend their own 1m+ party,” one user said.
“This can’t be real,” another wrote.
“I wanna know if theres people checking phones at the entrance,” a third viewer quipped.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Coursey via TikTok comment and to Revolve by email for comment.