- Spencer Barbosa now has 10 million followers but fame surprised her
- READ MORE: Teen TikToker goes viral with personal safety tips for women
Many people dream of becoming ‘TikTok famous’, but one star found the reality when not quite as she had anticipated.
Spencer Barbosa, who lives in Ontario and has 10 million followers, revealed all the things that surprised her when she became an influencer.
The 22-year-old spilled the dirt on what it is really like to be a TikTok star, saying she finds it ‘terrifying’ when fans find her address and show up to her house.
In a video has been viewed more than 600,000 times, Spencer also said she receives unsolicited comments about her weight and appearance.
Speaking to the camera, she said: ‘These are some things I did not know about being an influencer until I became an influencer.
Spencer Barbosa, who lives in Ontario and has 10 million followers, said the reality of social media fame was not as she had anticipated
‘Before you say anything, I am not complaining at all. I love my job, I think this is the best job ever, I would totally recommend it and I’m so grateful.
‘The lack of privacy, I was not prepared for. When I tell you this is actually terrifying.
‘I have had people knock on my front door at my house because they find out my address somehow and they wait outside for me.’
The influencer added that on more than one occasion she has received messages from people only to tell her they know where she lives.
Spencer said: ‘I love being a content creator, but I don’t think that should come with being a content creator.’
Her second revelation focused on vile comments she receives on a daily basis about her appearance.
She continued: ‘Someone will always hate you, someone will always tell you that they hate you. You’ll always get compared to other content creators or they’ll even compare you to what you used to look like.
‘Basically, if you’re like me and you’ve gained weight, somebody will tell you that you’ve gained weight.’
Spencer said people have even found her address and it is ‘terrifying’ when fans show up at her house
She said that people often come up to her in the street to ask how much money she earns, something they do as casually as if they were asking for her name.
Spencer went on to explain that Canadian TikTokers do not benefit from the platform’s Creator Fund, meaning they don’t get paid for people watching their videos.
The only way for content creators in the country to earn money is by doing brand deals.
The Creator Fund offers money depending on the number of views, the level of engagement on the content and if it meets community guidelines. However it is only available in six countries: The USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Spencer is known for her uplifting videos about topics such as body positivity, her love of the colour pink, and down-to-earth chats to the camera.
But she said that other influencers on the platform are not the same in real life as they are in their videos.
Despite the negatives, Spencer was keen to emphasise that she ‘loves’ her job as an influencer, saying: ‘This is an amazing amazing job and if you want to do it, you can do it and I believe in you.’
Viewers were shocked at Spencer’s revelations and took to the comments to say: ‘The address thing is really scary’;
‘Some people are not nice and have no respect :(‘;
‘Ugh, the gaining weight comments. You’re beyond wonderful Spencer. Adore you.’
Viewers were shocked at Spencer’s revelations about life as a TikToker
Spencer previously went viral in 2023 for hitting out at men who hate body hair by slamming their ‘unwanted opinions’ and calling on others to ’embrace the fur.’
She said that she had been plagued with body hair from just seven years old, but refuses to accept that it is ‘unhygienic’ or ‘masculine.’
And dozens of other social media users rushed to shower her with praise and offer their own thoughts on the matter.
She began by focusing on her legs, stomach, arms and upper lip before continuing: ‘Body hair – let’s talk about it. So recently on my For You Page I have seen a lot of men adding their unwanted opinions – as they always do – on women’s bodies.
‘Now I’m Portuguese, I’m hairy, I will always be hairy because I will always be Portuguese.’
Spencer candidly continued: ‘I have had hairy legs since the age of seven, I have been stealing tweezers from my mom since the age of seven to pluck my moustache.
‘Now it wasn’t until this year that I caught myself “apologizing” for my hairy legs like why the hell was I apologizing…
‘If you want to have hairy legs this summer, have hairy legs this summer and if you despise hair and you don’t want hair on your body, remove the hair on your body.
‘You being hairy is not an inconvenience to me. Having body hair is not unhygienic or masculine. It literally grows on your body.’
She concluded by urging others to ’embrace the fur’ before sticking her tongue out and pretending to lick her arm hair.