Influencer Marissa Fuchs defends plugging her swimsuit in tribute to dead loved ones after backlash
A controversial Instagram influencer has raised eyebrows with a questionable post which was part tribute to her late loved ones, part swimwear plug for her social media profile.
Marissa Casey Grossman, or Fashion Ambitionist as she is known on Instagram, is a fashion blogger with over 175,000 followers, and an employee of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop lifestyle brand. Prior to her marriage, she went by Marissa Fuchs.
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The fashion influencer is feeling the heat, however, after she uploaded a snap of her and new husband Gabriel Grossman sharing a smooch in Capri with a very confusing caption attached.
“Living our best lives for Meme, Michelle Blumenthal, Sam Allen, Aunt Sue, Gabe’s grandparents, Lauren Marcus ... and all those that shine on us every day,” she captioned the shot, referring to close friends and relatives who have passed away.
But some fans were left scratching their heads, and in some cases rolling their eyes, at the sign-off that followed.
“Every day counts,” she wrote. “And ... because they’d all want to know too, swimsuit is @montce_swim.”
The swimwear plug rubbed many a fan the wrong way for mixing a touching tribute with a bold-faced advertisement. And though critics left comments, those quickly disappeared.
With every angry or negative comment mysteriously gone in a matter of days, the influencer was accused by a follower of moderating the comments to show only positive feedback.
“You can’t delete all the bad comments on this post,” the irate follower pointed out. “You’re in the public eye, you have to take the good with the bad. #shameonyou.”
Though Grossman denied she was personally behind the deleted comments, she did acknowledge that comments had been removed.
“I believe people that love me report them and then they disappear,” she responded. “You are part of the larger issue with society/stop bullying me.”
However furious fans refused to be silenced, sharing the post om Twitter with their reactions.
influencing is lamenting the death of your loved ones in the first sentence, and then making sure everyone knows where you got your swimming costume from in the next sentence pic.twitter.com/LrJLPguGLO
— Cassie (@Cassiesmyth) August 26, 2019
“Another to add to the increasing list of reasons I avoid Instagram. So empty,” another wrote.
The influencer defended her decision to include the plug in later comments, arguing that her late grandmother and friends loved to know what she was wearing and it was therefore a nod to their memories.
“Just because someone passes away doesn't mean we need to focus on the 'sadness,'“ she wrote. “I am confident that they would appreciate this message.”
“So please think before you speak about my best friends that all passed away from cancer, getting hit by a f****** garbage truck, tumours, diabetes and so many other terrible complications.”
Some fans did side with the influencer, sharing encouraging words and their regrets at her losses.
“Y’all are too cute,” one fan wrote.
“Love this caption,” another shared.
It’s not the first time she has been embroiled in controversy.
She and now-husband Gabriel infuriated fans and foes alike with an elaborate "surprise" proposal that took the influencer on a romantic scavenger hunt around the world, which she shared with fans via social media.
The hunt culminated in a surprise wedding, but a pitch deck selling the event to potential investors, uncovered by The Atlantic, suggested the whole thing was fake.
The documents contained exclusive photos of the couple, and shared details of the precise itinerary and social media documentation of what was pitched as a “one-of-a-kind proposal experience.”
Both she and her husband denied she was in on the secret, but the incident has seen her fall out of favor with a chunk of fans who blasted the move as “creepy” and “fake.” Meanwhile, WWD reports that the couple reportedly had a second wedding, held in New York City, last Wednesday.
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