Influencer slammed over ‘white is right’ quilt

A Tasmanian influencer has been accused of being a white supremacist after captioning a photo of a quilt, “white is right.”

The influencer, whose name is Claire, has more than 112,000 followers. Her Instagram handle is @thekmartlover, and she posts all about the Kmart products she’s loving at the moment. Last week, Claire posted a photo of a Kmart white waffle quilt, and in the caption said, “white is right.”

Can you beat a white quilt cover for a relaxing entrance to a bedroom? I love it! This is the @kmartaus waffle quilt cover, $45 for the king. Of course it’s teamed with the stunning new $69 wool blend shirred rug and poppy cushion $12. Decorative ladder $25 and throw (old stock sorry) also from Kmart Bed @freedom_australia

A post shared by • C L A I R E • (@thekmartlover) on Jan 23, 2020 at 11:48pm PST

Claire quickly faced backlash over the original caption and changed the post. “Can you beat a white quilt cover for a relaxing entrance to a bedroom? I love it!” the new caption reads.

Claire then addressed the controversy the next day in a post. Claire did not apologize for using language that white supremacists use but instead took the opportunity to call out her critics for being “purely unkind.”

“This week I have been trolled as being racist for saying ‘white is right’ about the depicted doona cover. … I could stay quiet as some of you have suggested and not respond to any of these remarks but that is not me. … I am taking a stance against this small minority of society that feel this behaviour is ok because it is not. … I am using my voice so that hopefully this changes the mindset of one person out there that has thought about writing something negative in any online forum. I am using my voice so that hopefully one less person becomes a victim to self-harm and/or suicide due to online trolling,” Claire’s caption reads.

This is me. On my white @kmartaus waffle quilt cover in my white @kmartaus outfit; wide leg linen blend pants $20 and button front v-neck top $12 wearing my @kmartaus woven Khaki Fedora $9, which is one of many hats I own. Just a girl on a bed in what she considers a cool outfit sharing her love for home styling and fashion. Unshowered, heavy eyes from a bad headache, no make-up. Nothing more, nothing less. This week I have been trolled for having too many hats and contributing to landfill. This week I have been trolled as being racist for saying ‘white is right’ about the depicted doona cover. This week I have been trolled for having too many clothes and that I should donated more, that I am wasteful, not thoughtful and that I should influence people in a far better way. I could stay quiet as some of you have suggested and not respond to any of these remarks but that is not me. I am strong. I am independent and I am taking a stance against this small minority of society that feel this behaviour is ok because it is not. I am using my voice for those that do not feel strong enough to have a voice. I am using my voice so that hopefully this changes the mindset of one person out there that has thought about writing something negative in any online forum. I am using my voice so that hopefully one less person becomes a victim to self-harm and/or suicide due to online trolling. This behaviour is not ok, it is not tolerated and it is time for it to stop. My friend @emmylou_loves has also been attacked this week and had to seek external help as a result. She is one of many inspirers in this online space that has been targeted with negativity for no reason. Whilst this behaviour is a reflection of the authors and not the inspirers, it can be largely damaging, hurtful and is purely unkind. The link in my bio takes you to a tee I have in collaboration with @smallprintdesign which says Just be Kind. $5 from each tee is donated directly to @bullyzero – an organisation which educates schools and workplaces on the harmful effects of bullying. So far together we have donated more than $5000 to this charity. ** more in comments **

A post shared by • C L A I R E • (@thekmartlover) on Jan 25, 2020 at 12:01am PST

Many of Claire’s followers weren’t bothered by the “white is right” comment. “White is right with those pants. They look great!” one user wrote in response to Claire’s new post.

Though there were no comments from critics, Claire received an outpouring of love and support from her followers.

“I find it a bit sad that theres people out there that read way more into something that was just a genuine innocent comment and turn it into something it’s not,” another user commented.

One user apologized to Claire for having to “experience this.”

“Social media, although great the majority of the time, but for the minority who attack others should know, it is just not on. No one knows what a person is experiencing in their life at the time of being attacked/bullied, it might just be the one comment that pushes a person over the edge,” they added.

Claire’s post also promoted a T-shirt she designed in collaboration with Small Print Design, where $5 from every sale is donated to Bully Zero, an anti-bullying organization.

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