Quenlin Blackwell strutted across the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway show alongside top supermodels like the Hadid sisters, Alex Consani, and Adriana Lima, fans exploded with outrage, not applause.
Quenlin Blackwell rose to popularity in the mid-2010s on the now-discontinued social media app, Vine. She consistently posted comedic videos in her bedroom, from playing the guitar with her hair to hanging herself on her doorknob with a clothes hanger. Though many would now say that the concept of these videos seems trivial and unfunny, for that time, they were all rage. In fact, by the time Vine fell off, Blackwell had already accumulated over 500,000 followers on the platform.
The social media star made sure to stay true to her authentic, unhinged self on new and rising influencing apps over the years. As a result, her fans followed her, allowing her media presence to skyrocket since. Currently, Blackwell sits at 13 million followers on TikTok and 3.11 million on YouTube.
Despite her profound success and road to fame, avid fashion lovers heavily criticized her invitation to the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. These fans couldn’t fathom how being ‘funny’ or ‘entertaining’ gave her the right to get up on stage with models who have received titles including Model of the Year, International Model of the Year, and Woman of the Year — accolades that these women had received only from decades spent pioneering the fashion industry from the bottom up. A professional model, Avary Hutzelman, exclaimed, “If we are calling this the Super Bowl of Fashion…you can’t just let anyone on the field… get her off.” Ultimately, fans accused the casting as ‘cheapening’ of the show by focusing on popularity algorithms rather than achievement.
However, it is important to note that influencers are included in large events that gain considerable media attention as a marketing strategy. “Brands today report getting on average $5.78 in return for every $1 spent on influencer marketing.” So, by bringing in big media stars like Quenlin Blackwell, Victoria’s Secret has more opportunity to spend money on the aspects that really matter outfits, stage design, hair, and makeup — aspects that these same influencer critics have complained about in the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. A Reddit user, georgiaajames22, stated, “everything looks so unbelievably cheap…even the set design. Everything looks so tacky.”
So, it must be considered that the casting crew incorporated social media influencers into the event to create a larger budget to enhance the viewing experience. If this truly was the goal, it worked — fans were very satisfied with the changes made in the 2025 show. Another Reddit user, beanbaby101, said that they thought “the stage was A LOT better than last year, as were the hair and outfits.”
All in all, fans can’t be so picky about the line that they want to draw between celebrities and influencers in relation to big media events, as they must coexist together. Although celebrities in this case are the traditionalists bringing excellence and talent to the show, influencers are the relatable personality and network that make elite events flourish behind the scenes. Just because one doesn’t see the impact being made, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
As the line continues to blur, fans might have to accept that the spotlight isn’t earned the same way as it has in the past. However, it doesn’t make that spotlight useless.