This story was originally published on Passionfruit.
In a multi-part viral TikTok series, pop culture creator Meredith Lynch claimed former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel sent her a cease and desist letter for “defamatory statements” after the creator spoke negatively about Frankel’s brands. In the midst of a lawsuit against TikTok for the use of Frankel’s image and likeness to promote counterfeit products on the platform, the video series sparked debate in multiple viral TikTok responses from influencers about celebrities being protective of their brands and the potential consequences for smaller creators.
Starting on Sunday, Lynch (@meredithmlynch) posted a series of videos, each attracting hundreds of thousands of views, accusing Frankel of “bullying” smaller creators to silence their negative opinions. The creator said she believed she upset Frankel after she showed in now-deleted TikTok videos that Frankel’s company publicly trademarked sayings like “it’s a scam” for merch, podcasting, and other entertainment products in December 2021. She said she noticed Frankel recently used the phrase more often in video reviews for various products and thinks Frankel pre-planned her use of the phrase far in advance for business purposes.
