‘The entitlement to just take without asking’: Influencer becomes thief when they brazenly rob mental health business

Becoming an influencer is all the rage right now. But anyone who thinks that it’s an easy way to success and money needs to remember that yes, while there is a shortcut to it all, the ones who retain their fame and name are those who maintain their integrity. But evidently, integrity is a hard path to follow, as a famous influencer unashamedly stole from a mental health biz and kickstarted one mind-boggling spree.

The recently held VidCon was, as usual, a platform for influencers, video stars, fans, and online brands to interact, promote their content, and experience digital culture. But for Lexi Hensler, the 2024 convention became the first time she experienced being robbed. In a short TikTok video, she shares a video of a fellow influencer committing the deed in broad daylight. The culprit boldly picked a few toys from Hensler’s HUGZ brand, which makes affordable weighted stuffed animals to simulate the feeling of being hugged, and induce calmness for those living with anxiety and depression. 

As you can see, the woman doesn’t just brazenly steal the toys, her behavior “inspires” those working at VidCon to copy her and just grab toys from the display as well.

Well, those in the comments were incensed on Lexi’s behalf — “The entitlement to just take without asking!” — since she refused to go bonkers over the entitled behavior, and only wanted to know the identity of the influencer to have a small chat and send her the bill. TikTok did its thing and within minutes, Lexi had a name: Louisa Melcher.

Yep, that vague memory of the cringe song “New York Summer” is accurate — uploading it on Spotify and then boasting on TikTok that her newly uploaded song was streamed nine times actually brought her fame in the form of millions of views. And if that didn’t do the trick for some, her spraying wood shellac on her hair instead of hair spray in 2023 did. Well, that’s TikTok — if you are not ashamed of putting yourself out there and are not afraid of being the subject of mockery, then you are made for this specific world.

And clearly, Melcher hasn’t lost the power to pay absolutely no heed to what people think about her, because she appears to have added a devil-may-care attitude to the troubling allegations of stealing (recorded on camera) in her response to Lexi’s many fans, who flooded the comments section of her videos to berate her.

While she is holding a stuffed elephant, a quick search of Lexi’s site confirms it is not one of hers. But for those ready to give Melcher the benefit of the doubt, what’s thrown them for a loop is the video preceding this one, where she shares how her VidCon creator pass was taken from her. The reason? Melcher was not into acting like a creator and taking pictures with fans — which is a part of VidCon — so she gave it up, but noted smugly that she had “already gotten all the free stuff that you get for being a creator.”

As one of the viewers sarcastically put it, “its Ok girl i also get really mad when i have to go do the job i applied for.” Apart from this, many in the comments of both Lexi’s and Louisa’s videos are certain that the romper worn by the stealing lady in the first video is the one Melcher is wearing in this video, the one about losing her creator pass. So, was it really her?

Lexi doesn’t think so.

While she believes that Melcher was just being smart by wearing a similar romper to the one seen in Lexi’s video since she saw the views it got, those in her comments “still kinda think it’s louisa melcher there wearing the same outfit but idk.” What’s next? Well, unless people jump off the Louisa Melcher train and expand their area of search or the security at VidCon shares footage showing the face of the influencer, this “Mystery of the Stolen Otter” will remain unsolved.