A woman whose groceries were paid for by a tick tock The influencer seems completely unfazed by the gesture – as it shows just how much the viral star makes of his videos of “random acts of kindness”.
In a recent post, Harrison Pawluk, 22, approaches a woman at a Woolworths checkout and distracts her by pretending to drop money on the floor.
When she turns away to look for it, Pawluk puts money in one of her shopping bags.
“Oh, have a nice day,” he says, walking away as the woman returns to the checkout counter.
Learning from the operator that Pawluk paid for the groceries, the woman smiles at first, but later points in the direction of the influencer with an angry expression on her face.
“Please put it back,” she seems to say firmly.
In social media influencer Harrison Pawluk’s TikTok post, he approaches a woman at a Woolworths checkout and distracts her by pretending to drop money on the floor
Learned from the operator that Pawluk paid for the groceries, the woman smiles at first, but then points in the direction of the influencer with an angry expression on her face. “Please put it back,” she seems to say firmly
Pawluk’s videos on the platform have become the subject of heated debate after a woman named “Maree” – whom he gave a bouquet of flowers as she enjoyed coffee alone in a Melbourne mall – said she felt “dehumanized” by them. Experience.
Pawluk’s video of Maree went viral, garnering 58.8 million views on TikTok.
“First it was just a little joke for me and then I felt kind of dehumanized,” Maree told ABC host Virginia Trioli from Melbourne.
“It really doesn’t even look like me now, it’s just that person, it’s just not really me, I don’t even take it personally anymore, but I just think that other women, especially older women, are themselves.” should be aware of what can happen to me, can happen to anyone.
“I suppose I’m a little offended, to tell you the truth.”
Likewise, the video of the woman at Woolworths was criticized – and praised – by viewers of the clip.
“Bro, give the money to the poor people. donate it. That would be valuable,” one person commented.
‘Bro if you want [to] help, help the people who need it [it]’ posted another.
Pawluk, an economics student at the university who works in retail, makes between $10,000 and $15,000 a month through brand partnerships and sponsored posts
Harrison Pawluk, 22, interrupted Maree as she was having a cup of takeaway coffee at the Emporium Melbourne shopping center and asked her to hold the bouquet – before leaving it with her and wishing her a nice day
But others love Pawluk’s “selfless” acts, commenting, “Great, we need more people like him” and “you’re so nice”.
In fact, Pawluk’s TikTok and YouTube videos bring him between $10,000 and $15,000 a month through brand partnerships and sponsored posts, his manager Taylor Reilly told Daily Mail Australia.
“Yesterday was the first time a TikTok video actually backfired for Harrison,” Mr. Reilly said.
“He could do staged skits like he used to, but instead he tries to use his platform for good and encourage those kind acts as he personally feels fulfilled by them and knows from comments that he inspires others.”
Mr Reilly also revealed that Pawluk had received direct threats as a result of the backlash over the video.
“It is extremely disappointing to see that some people’s initial reaction to a private message to Harrison is to physically threaten him.
“Harrison isn’t out to fake his videos to get a viral video or an amazing reaction like many YouTubers do.
“He makes this content because he genuinely believes, sometimes one person at a time, that he can make a difference.
“My new goal is to find like-minded companies who also want to spread kindness to work with me,” Pawluk said.
Maree (pictured), who starred in the viral TikTok video receiving flowers from a young stranger, said she felt “dehumanized” by the experience.
Pawluk, a university business administration student who works in retail, apologized to Maree via his manager yesterday if the video offended her.
“He sincerely apologizes to Maree if she was offended by what he did and urges her to contact him privately so he can apologize personally,” Mr Reilly said.
“If she asks him to remove the video, he will do it.
“He wouldn’t want anything meant to spread love and compassion to worry anyone.”
Harrison Pawluk’s (pictured) video from June 21 has already been viewed 58.8 million times and received 11.1 million likes
Maree, who doesn’t use social media, said TikTok’s portrayal of the incident as a random act of kindness was wrong.
“These artificial things really aren’t random acts of kindness,” she said.
“It’s really not about me anymore, I just think that whole idea of this being a random act of kindness should be challenged.”
Maree said she noticed another young man filmed the interaction.
“I said, ‘Did you film that? They said: ‘No, no’.
Maree said she didn’t even like the flowers.
“They just looked at me like that, and I even said to them — it was a friendly discussion — ‘do you want these flowers, I don’t really want them,’ and I didn’t want to carry them home on a tram really, um to be honest.
“They really weren’t to my liking.
“They didn’t want them, but the person — who I now know as Harrison — came over at that point and said something about, ‘I hope you enjoy the flowers,’ and they left and that was it.”
Mr Reilly said Pawluk’s videos of acts of kindness were usually well received.
“It’s extremely rare that there’s any controversy about it, probably because it went viral,” he said.
“Harrison generally gets nothing but gratitude.”
The influencer told Daily Mail Australia that a recent trip to Los Angeles (pictured) where he witnessed poverty inspired him to start making videos of acts of kindness
Pawluk’s 21-year-old manager Taylor Reilly (pictured), who negotiates sponsorship deals, told Daily Mail Australia his videos of acts of kindness have usually been well received
Other videos, in which Pawluk presents flowers to a woman sitting in a park and presents a child with a small plush toy, show smiling, grateful recipients.
In some clips, Pawluk holds a placard that reads “If you miss someone today, give me a hug” in a busy mall as people rush up to give him hugs.
In one clip he asks a woman sitting on a city bench to hold a bouquet of flowers while he takes his jacket out of his pocket, puts it on and walks away. But the end of the clip shows the bank empty and the flowers left behind.
Pawluk, who has three million social media followers, told Daily Mail Australia last month he was inspired when he witnessed homelessness during a recent trip to LA.
“I’ve recently been inspired to change the nature of my content and use my platform to do good and spread kindness,” he said.
“Not enough creators are using their platforms forever.
“I hope to use mine as a vessel to spread good and hopefully inspire a few people along the way.”
Pawluk has apologized to Maree and is ready to remove the TikTok video
