Photo: Instagram
Anything for the gram....?
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Jul 12, 2019
When I post a selfie, I'm doing it for a couple of reasons. I'm doing it to connect with people who haven't seen my face in a while. Or, I'm doing it because I feel like I look awful and I want the solace of my peers raving about how hot I am. And finally, sometimes I know I look damn hot, and I want the world to see and acknowledge my majesty. Me, like many of you, just do this for friends and family.
Others, however, take it a lot more seriously. You might think that sharing a selfie is no big whoop but for influences like Kristen Hancher, it's a full-time job, and just one wrong step could totally derail her entire career. Kristen recently shared a photo on her vacation that has people up in arms. But the reasons for their fury is actually pretty ridiculous. Who is Kristen Hancher?
1. The News
Chances are that you've probably heard of influencer (still bananas to me that this considered a job but hey they all make more money than I do) Kristen Hancher. Either you're a longtime fan or hate-watcher, or you just saw the photograph of her riding a horse in the ocean that she posted to Instagram to all of her 5.8 million followers.
Now why, you may ask, am I spending hours of my days researching and writing about a woman who rode a horse in the ocean and posed in a sexy fashion while doing it? Because the internet saw the picture in question and lost its damn mind! People seemed outraged that Kristen was 1.) on the horse 2.) being sexy on the horse 3.) "abusing" the horse by sitting on it in the ocean.
2. Who is She?
Before she sat on a horse in the ocean, Kristen was enjoying a massive following on platforms you know and love or at least know and love to hate. She's a pretty major presence on sites like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. How does she keep the people entertained? Well, she's a trained dancer and gymnast but that's not what made her explode in the world of social media.
You see, Kristen happens to look a little bit like Kylie Jenner, and she knows how to work this to her advantage. After receiving several comparisons she started on a project that immediately garnered her praise and many more followers: a series of photos she took recreating Kylie Jenner's selfies. When she's not pretending to look like Kylie or sitting on horses, she's dating another YouTube star, Austin Hare.
3. User Outrage
Kristen probably didn't think much when she shared the sassy horse pic with her followers. She probably saw in it what I saw when I looked at it: a smoking bod, on trend mermaid hair cascading down her back, and a horse seemingly enjoying the tranquil and tropical seas. But within a day it became clear in the 7,800 comments (and counting) that people were outraged.
The people in the comments were furious with Kristen for different reasons (as people on the internet very often are). Some people criticzed the way that Kristen was sitting upon her trusty aquatic steed, pointing out that it was bad form for horse riding. These people, imho, missed the point of the photo. People were also crying out animal abuse, though research has found that swimming can be really good for horses!
4. Animal Lover
Kristen herself is staying (wisely) mum, and instead letting the team of reps she's hired do the heavy lifting on responding to comments about the image and the furor it caused. Her reps say the photos were taken on a work trip with other influencers and that the horse was fine. "Kristen...has two dogs herself and would never do anything to endanger an animal of any type," her rep said.
"Kristen is an animal lover," said another rep in response to the scandalous Instagram post. "The horse was safe at all times," the rep made sure to share, along with providing additional information about how a guide was on hand and there was proper supervision at all times. "There were no waves and nothing that could have endangered the horse," said her rep with confidence.
5. Horse People
Before you or someone you love decides to try and go viral by sitting on a horse in the ocean, there is one very critical thing that you need to know: horse people are not to be trifled with, no sir, no how. Kristin is learning this the hard way, and she's lucky enough to have a team of reps protecting her from all of the ire out there. Not all of us are so lucky.
So what do the horse people and the professional equesterians who took umbrage with Kristen see as a problem about the tropical horses jaunt? They are criticizing her for using the animal and for using horses and horse riding culture to try and make for a killer photo opportunity. That's right, in an age where our right to choose could be stripped at any minute and men make more money than women just for being men, there are people who are angry about this. Go figure.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.