Influencer at Coachella called out for being ‘privileged’

An influencer has sparked debate about “privilege” online after revealing that she left Coachella one day early.

Kensington Tillo is a 23-year-old influencer with 1.6 million followers on TikTok, where she shares daily makeup videos and beauty vlogs. This year, Tillo attended the annual Coachella music festival in Indio, California – where VIP passes can cost up to $1,500.

In one TikTok video with more than one million views, Tillo revealed that she would not be attending the remainder of the festival because she didn’t want to “push myself.”

“It’s Coachella day three but I made the executive decision that I am gonna go home today,” Tillo began the clip, as she filmed herself putting on makeup. “And I didn’t go yesterday. I’ve just been listening to my body and I literally cannot hang.”

While Tillo decided to “listen to [her] body” and not push her limits by attending the third day of the festival, she explained that she was “doing the most cringe influencer thing possible” by getting fully glammed-up, just to pictures for social media and “pretend like I’m going when I’m really not.” The influencer also admitted that when she doesn’t “listen” to her body, it sends her into a “complete spiral” and recalled a group trip when she was “forced to rage and party”.

This time, however, was different because Tillo was invited to Coachella by Kourtney Kardashian’s lifestyle brand, Poosh – which Tillo called “the dream scenario of Coachella”.

The influencer went on to say that she was looking forward to leaving the desert festival and heading for Cabo, Mexico, where she can “lay in the sun and rot with a margarita in my hand.” As she filmed herself doing her makeup, Tillo told her followers: “As long as my makeup looks good in pictures, that’s fine. I really don’t care if it looks good in person because I’m honestly probably just going to take it off right after.”

As she showed off her finished festival-style look, Tillo said to the camera, “Here’s the Coachella day three glam that I will not be attending to!”

She captioned the now-viral TikTok: “no more chella”

While Kensington Tillo appeared happy to depart Coachella one day early, the video instantly sparked a debate about privilege and influencer culture in the comments section. Many people believed Tillo exercised her “privilege” by choosing to leave the pricey, all-expenses paid festival, and suggested she should stay and create content that she was invited to make.

“This is giving way too privileged,” one TikToker commented.

“A waste of a ticket,” another wrote.

“Girl, so many people would want to be there. Just stand back and chill but go and enjoy the music,” someone else recommended.

Others believed that Tillo should’ve “donated” her wristband to somebody that wanted to attend the three-day festival. “Hope you gave the ticket to someone well deserving!!!” one person commented.

Some people were simply shocked that influencers would get all dressed up, just to take pictures at Coachella for social media and leave quickly after, like one person who wrote: “Getting ready to just take pics and not go to the actual festival is insane to me.”

“Influencers are truly on some other planet,” another said.

Despite the backlash, many fans came to Tillo’s defence when they agreed that she shouldn’t have to push her boundaries for content, and should prioritise her mental health instead.

“A queen who knows her limits,” commented fellow influencer Remi Bader, who went viral for sharing her unpopular opinions about Coachella after attending last year’s festival.

“I don’t get all the hate,” said someone else. “I think it’s amazing you’re able to put your health first and know your limits, also thank you for keeping it real.”

A third user wrote: “Always take care of yourself first and foremost”

In response to some of the backlash, Tillo replied to one user who criticised her for not recognising her “privilege” by leaving Coachella. “Why is me having extreme anxiety and knowing my limits privileged??? Why would I push myself to just to feel even worse than I do,” she wrote back.

The first weekend of the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival took place this past weekend, as thousands of music-lovers (and social media influencers) took over the desert in Indio, California to see performances from some of their favourite artists. In recent years, Coachella has become one of the priciest events in music, with a range of costs for general admission tickets to VIP passes. Plus, there’s often additional fees for camping on the festival grounds or staying in hotel accommodations, as well as transportation and food.

While social media influencers often post photos showing the glamorous side of Coachella, some concert-goers have taken it upon themselves to reveal a more realistic view of a Coachella weekend.

In one viral video shared to TikTok, a woman shared her day in the life at Coachella, where she woke up at 6am because she had to use the portable toilets. “It’s currently six in the morning, I woke up early because I have to use the Porta Potties, which I’ve already had four anxiety attacks over, I’m not even kidding when I say that,” said TikTok user Kaela, who goes by @kaelalala24 on the app.

Another TikToker named Jackie shocked viewers when she revealed that two coffees and two burritos cost $64 at Coachella. “Just so you all know, these two coffees and two burritos cost us $64,” she said in the viral video. “Capitalism really popped off today.”

The Independent has contacted Kensington Tillo for comment.