Lunden and Olivia Stallings post first TikTok video after controversy surrounding racist tweets
TikTokers Lunden Stallings and Olivia Stallings, née Bennett, are back after receiving backlash to racist tweets that resurfaced after their viral wedding.
Three days after posting another apology to the Black community on TikTok, the couple appears to be forging ahead with their online presence. After mostly laying low for weeks, the two newlyweds returned to TikTok on Oct. 23 with a weekend recap shared to their joint account.
Similar to previous posts, their latest TikTok recaps their weekend with clips featuring their morning routine and videos of their recently hung bridal portraits. They also shared clips from a shopping trip and time spent lounging. The post featured the caption “Weekend recap” and included various hashtags, including #dayinmylife and #lesbiansoftiktok.
Their video did not make mention of the backlash they received earlier this month when racist tweets by Lunden Stallings resurfaced soon after their wedding went viral. Still, their return to the platform after a brief hiatus did not go overlooked. Users in the comments section of their TikTok post responded with a mixed bag of support and continued criticism.
“Love you both,” one user commented. “So happy to see you’re back. Stay strong. Your wedding pics were absolutely stunning.”
“As an ex-fan, i am so shocked and disappointed at the behavior at two women AND THEIR SUPPORTERS who portrayed themselves as ‘classy’ women!” another commented.
Read on to find out what their users are commenting about.
Who are Olivia and Lunden Stallings?
Olivia Stallings — she changed her last name from Bennett— and Lunden Stallings built a devoted TikTok following in recent years as @lundenandolivia.
On TikTok, they gained a following for their curated brand, which put their Southern accents on display and featured outfit of the day posts and budget-friendly shopping finds.
On Sept. 30, the couple married at a venue in Roswell, Georgia, called Naylor Hall, a historic property built in the 1840s.
The couple’s wedding inspired appreciation posts that racked up millions of views on TikTok, with users diving into the couple’s decision to go for complimentary gowns, hire live wedding painters and pay homage to their personal style touches.
The wedding also led to discourse on what their relationship says about LGBTQ+ progress and the community’s efforts for acceptance and representation.
In a People exclusive, Lunden Stallings discussed how her public-facing same-sex relationship was making headway for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that by showing two feminine women in a relationship in the South, I think that it breaks a barrier,” she said.
The marriage appeared to be a crossover between Southern conservative aesthetic and LGBTQ+ community. TikToker @pamelawurstvetrini characterized them as, “Live laugh love pumpkin spice latte boots, bachelorette party in Nashville’ type of gals.”
The narrative around the Stallings' wedding changed when racist tweets resurfaced
Not long after their wedding, users on discussion boards like Reddit began to share what appeared to be screenshots from Lunden Stallings' deleted X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
The posts seemed to go as far back as 2012, when Lunden Stallings was a teenager and showed the influencer's use of racial slurs.
The original screengrabs, which appeared on a subReddit page devoted to the couple, have been taken down. Still, Lunden Stallings admitted to the racist posts in her TikTok story — which has since disappeared— and said that she was “completely and utterly disgusted and ashamed.”
“I don’t want people to think that I am just sweeping this under the rug or that it’s something I’m not going to address or don’t want to address because I do want to address it,” Lunden Stallings said in the TikTok story, recorded and preserved by other accounts. “That’s not who I am.”
In response, women of color have expressed frustration over what the mainstream continues to accept regarding diversity and representation standards.
Some users re-examined the discourse the Stallings wedding had prompted around LGTBQ+ representation in the first place.
“This is why there needs to be more people of color lesbian couples that get the representation, get their credit because it’s the same s---every time,” @oceanvanexel says in a TikTok. “Same story, different font.”
“They wonder why people of color are scared in America,” a user who goes by @amariah7777on the platform commented. “Because people wear racism for fun here and say it was just immaturity. I hope she’s changed.”
The discourse also prompted users to turn over even more stones related to the wedding that had been recently glossed over.
Take, for instance, as some users have pointed out the couple’s wedding venue, Naylor Hall, which People had described as “historic.”
“I think we all know where this is going,” @toris.intel on TikTok says of the wedding venue in a video posted on Oct. 4, and where users were quick to claim that the couple married on a plantation.
According to Naylor Hall‘s website, the venue was constructed during the antebellum period by Barrington King, the son of Roswell King. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Roswell King was a manager of plantations and oversaw several hundred slaves.
Lunden Stallings declined to comment to TODAY.com. As of this story's publication, Lunden and Olivia Stallings' separate Instagram pages and joint TikTok accounts remain active on the platforms.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com