Influencer who faked her own kidnapping for 'social media kudos' defends bizarre stunt

An influencer who faked her own kidnapping has defended the situation and the fact she did it for clout. In a series of now-deleted tweets, influencer Victoria Rose claimed she’d been kidnapped in Nigeria.

Known for her username of Whoa Vicky, Rose boasts 3.7 million followers on Instagram and 78,900 followers on X.

One of the posts leading Rose's followers and the rest of the internet to believe she'd been kidnapped read: “I have kidnapped Vicky. She is with me in Nigeria. I am demanding $1 million for her release."

Someone claiming to be friends with the content creator shared the posts on X and said a police report had been filed, but things got even stranger.

Hours later, she posted pictures and videos of her with a mystery man to her Instagram, leading many to believe he was the kidnapper.

The joke didn't last long, and during an Instagram Live stream, Rose later admitted the story had been made up as a 'joke'.

Explaining her thought process, Whoah Vicky said: "We kind of got carried away with the joke, you know, we just like to have fun and joke."

"I don't drink or go to the club, so this is how I find my entertainment."

"You know, it's probably not the best way to do it. I'd probably be like reading the Bible or something like that."

Adding that "sometimes, you want to have a little fun," she continued: "The Bible said laughter is good for the soul. So I'd be wanting to laugh, and this is how I find that funny."

She later shared a photo with a man and her location was tagged as Lagos in Nigeria, creating a backlash in the comments.

Further posts from Whoah Vicky like "Bro all I wanted to do in Africa is go to a village. Nobody wanted to take me i am so sad…." have generated even more controversy.

Replying to the wild situation, one person wrote, "Not a single person was worried."

Another said, "I will pay them more if they keep her there," and a third added, "Man, who is kidnapping Woah Vicky out of all people?”

Someone joked, "I'll never forgive y'all for making her famous," while there was an influx of people claiming they were unfollowing her for the stunt.

Earlier in 2024, Whoah Vicky sparked rumors of a relationship with NFL player Antonio Brown and remained vague while posting: "I’m a white Christian single woman who’s looking for a successful black athlete football or basketball is fine with me lets have children and be loyal and get married any takers ?"

She then said her DMs had been flooded with messages from suitable athletes, which again caused a stir.

While Rose might find all of this funny, it mainly seems that her followers are confused about what's going on.