She\u2019s beloved for her \u201cget ready with me\u201d videos, carefree attitude, and picture-perfect party lifestyle, but social media users have unveiled some unseemly posts from her past that could sour her stardom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Starting Thursday, Reddit users published alleged screenshots of posts Earle had allegedly made in 2014, which repeatedly include racial slurs. In screenshots of ASKfm posts, a user by the name of \u201cAlixxxxxx\u201d with a profile picture that appears to be Earle responded to several posts using the N-word. ASKfm is a social media platform founded in 2010 that lets users ask and answer questions \u201canonymously,\u201d although many users still comment using their real names and likenesses. At the time the original post was allegedly made, Earle would have been a young teenager.<\/p>\n
![\"Alix](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screen-Shot-2024-08-09-at-4.10.50-PM-1.png?w=1440&q=75\"\/)
Reddit feed r\/AlixearleSnark<\/a> has been blowing up for the last day as users attempt to validate the screenshots. One user uploaded a video<\/a> showing Earle commenting on different ASKfm posts made by people who she also followed and interacted with on Instagram. The user was attempting to draw a connection between the users in which Earle interacted with on both ASKfm and Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earle has not made any public statements denying or affirming the accusations or authenticity of the posts. She and her team also did not respond to Fortune <\/em>for multiple requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earle is somewhat of an anomaly. While there are plenty of Instagram and TikTok influencers out there, there\u2019s no one else who quite matches the level of stardom and attention Earle has received in the past several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019s landed numerous brand partnerships, from popular makeup brands including Tarte, Too Faced, and Rare Beauty, to drink brands like Poppi. And she hasn\u2019t just earned these partnerships for her beauty, but for her \u201chumor, vulnerability, aspiration, relatability, and product mentions,\u201d Janet Balis wrote in Harvard Business Review.<\/em><\/p>\n Earle is also a part of the Unwell<\/a> brand, which includes podcasts from Earle (\u201cHot Mess<\/a>\u201d) and other Gen Z and millennial demigod Alex Cooper, host of \u201cCall Her Daddy<\/a>.\u201d Plus, she\u2019s famously dating Braxton Berrios<\/a>, a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Her early posts with him referred to him simply as \u201cNFL man.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of publication, Earle has not made any public statements about the accusations or had responded to multiple requests for comment from Fortune<\/em>. Fans have started calling on Earle to either fess up and apologize or prove the allegations were false or fabricated.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlix honey you need to address the elephant in the room,\u201d one user commented on Earle\u2019s most recent Instagram post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn today\u2019s interconnected world, audiences demand accountability, and a single misstep can snowball into widespread backlash,\u201d Toni Ferrara, founder of Ferrara Media<\/a>, a talent management and public-relations firm, told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cWhen trust is broken, followers often disengage, reducing the influencer\u2019s ability to impact and inspire their audience.\u201d<\/p>\n The level of influence Earle has is closely tied to her integrity, \u201cand any perceived breach of that can be devastating,\u201d said Ferrara, who has more than 18 years of experience in public relations.<\/p>\n Other users, however, say Earle\u2019s alleged racist posts aren\u2019t surprising, but disappointing. Earle\u2019s exposure also happened during the same week Brooke Schofield<\/a>, an influencer, podcaster, and actress, has similarly come under fire for past racist posts, including one where she defended George Zimmerman\u2019s killing of Trayvon Martin, a Black 17-year-old, whose 2012 death largely sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Schofield, though, has issued three apologies<\/a> for the posts she made as a teenager. But from Earle, it\u2019s been crickets\u2014a move public-relations and communications experts say is a mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlix Earle needs to own her mistakes and act fast: apologize sincerely, show personal growth, and make it clear she\u2019s committed to learning from this,\u201d Evan Nierman, founder and CEO of crisis-PR firm Red Banyan<\/a>, told Fortune<\/em>. \u201cIgnoring or downplaying the issue would only amplify the backlash and prolong the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n Earle\u2019s reckoning\u2014along with Schofield\u2014also underscores the importance of realizing and recognizing that one\u2019s internet footprint isn\u2019t easy to erase or ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis situation underscores a harsh reality for influencers: Your digital past is never truly behind you,\u201d said Nierman, who has two decades of experience working in crisis communications. \u201cIn a world where accountability is non-negotiable, even long-past actions can resurface to create significant present-day consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Alix Earle effect<\/h2>\n
Fans want answers<\/h2>\n