A celebrity who demanded cakes and a hundred free cupcakes in exchange for “social media promotion” was put in her place by a pastry chef in the UK, who was applauded for speaking out against the practice.
“This poor celebrity apparently can’t afford to pay people for their products and services […] What happened to women who support women…” Owner Rebecca Severs wrote on Facebook on Saturday. and cake designer at Three Little Birds Bakery located in Yorkshire, England.
The latter shared the email exchange with a company on Saturday, offering to offer them two cakes as well as a hundred “pink, sparkling and with a touch of flamingo” cupcakes, for the 40th birthday of a “well-known” celebrity. known” in Manchester on September 1.
Except that instead of a regular payment, the company would have offered the pastry chef to settle the bill by promoting her products on the celebrity’s social networks “with more than 700,000 subscribers”, as well as on the site OKMagazine.
“The party has a guest list full of celebrities and folks from the TV, film and music industry, so a lot of work would come [from the collaboration],” the email read.
The owner, who recounted in an interview with The Independent having set up her business with the sweat of her brow, despite a very meager salary at the start, denounced this increasingly common practice in the industry, which harms small businesses.
“Unfortunately, as my mortgage lender does not take payment ‘in the form of promotion on my social media’, and my employees cannot feed their children with visibility on Instagram, I must decline your truly generous offer” , she replied in her email to the celebrity.
She is now fighting for artisans “to be properly valued for their time and skills,” she told the British media. Her post, which reached nearly 3,000 likes, sparked a wave of support for the pastry chef.
“From one pastry shop to another. [Bravo] It’s successful. Let’s normalize paying people for their work. [I don’t give a damn] WHO you are…! I have bills to pay,” replied a user. “You just got yourself a new subscriber here […] fabulous response,” wrote a second.
This article is originally published on journaldequebec.com
