Advertisement

'Insulting': Influencer slammed for 'pandemic holiday' TikTok

A travel influencer has been slammed on social media for uploading a short video which showed all the holidays she went on during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Barbora Ondrackova, who uses the handle ‘travelinmysoul’ on TikTok, shared a video on the platform at the end of 2020, showing off all the places she travelled to over the course of the year.

The video got over 40,000 likes and on her Instagram, Ms Ondrackova shared a similar video of her travels, saying she was “happy” she visited 10 countries.

Influencer Barbora Ondrackova shown in various luxurious locations.
Influencer Barbora Ondrackova was criticised for travelling throughout 2020, as Covid-19 spread throughout the world. Source: TikTok/travelinmysoul

“Even though 2020 was hard for all of us, I am happy we were able to create so many memories & visit 10 countries,” she said.

On a separate post on Instagram Ms Ondrackova listed her top destinations for 2020, including Ischgl in Austria coming in at number one, Dubai, Copenhagen and Sölden also making the list.

People condemn ‘tone deaf’ video amid pandemic

Over on her TikTok was where Ms Ondrackova received the most criticism.

While the influencer was travelling, much of the world was in lockdown due to Covid-19.

Some countries slammed their borders shut, people lost their jobs and since the start of the pandemic, more than 85 million people have been infected with the virus which has killed 1.8 million people globally.

“Does she live in another 2020?” someone questioned on TikTok, while another slammed the video as “tone deaf”.

“Wow it must be nice to ignore a global pandemic all year while millions are suffering and dying but cool,” another said.

“It’s not hate but the lack of respect for human decency… especially when the majority of us have someone who’s at risk or we are & others don’t care,” another person commented on the video.

One person said the video, and presumably the travel, was “insulting” to nurses, doctors and those “trying to survive this pandemic”, to which Ms Ondrackova responded.

“What’s insulting is when people meet in groups,” the influencer fired back on TikTok.

“As you can see in 95 per cent of the video there are no people around, so calm down.”

In another comment, Ms Ondrackova said she got tested, wore masks, washed her hands and kept her distance.

Some people were happy to defend Ms Ondrackova and her travels, and many lapped up the aspirational content.

Influencer has ‘mixed feelings’ about 2020

To mark the new year, Ms Ondrackova wrote on her blog Voguehaus about how she was “blessed” about all the things she was able to do in 2020.

“2020 is officially over and I have to say - I have mixed feelings about it,” she wrote.

“On one hand side, this year was a little different for all of us and corona affected all of us.

“I have to say I feel really blessed that I was able to experience so much even though it is a fraction of what I would normally do in a year.”

According to the About page on her blog, Ms Ondrackova is based in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.