Who's Caroline Calloway, why her hurricane posts are causing controversy
Social media influencer and listed author Caroline Calloway has sparked controversy by refusing to leave her Florida home, despite being in a mandatory evacuation zone for Hurricane Milton. In a now-deleted video, she said, "So if you've been following Hurricane Milton, um, I'm going to die," adding that she lives in Sarasota on the water, which is a Zone A mandatory evacuation area.
Why she isn't evacuating
She says she isn't evacuating because she had a terrible experience evacuating in 2022 for Hurricane Ian. Another reason, according to her, is that her "old friends" are staying in her building and someone has to check on them. On October 8, she also shared a map of the hurricane's route and her residence. As the grim warnings continue, many people online hope she will reconsider. However, given her contentious past, others are calling her bluff.
Calloway's past controversies and 'scammer' persona
Calloway, who calls herself a "scammer," is no stranger to controversy. She is accused of scamming hundreds of fans who paid for "creative workshops" that never took place and blew a six-figure book advance on an incomplete project. After being accused of $40,000 in unpaid rent, she moved from her West Village apartment to Florida. Her scams were revealed in a BBC documentary My Insta Scammer Friend.
Calloway's rise to fame and comparison with Anna Delvey
Calloway first made headlines for her "aesthetic" Instagram posts and long captions about her life as an American student at Cambridge. However, former friend Natalie Beach alleged in a 2019 article for The Cut that Calloway's fame was based on purchasing bot followers and getting assistance with her Instagram captions and book proposal. She has frequently been compared to Anna Delvey, the convicted con artist who posed as a German heiress.
Calloway's response to criticism and hurricane situation
In the face of criticism, Calloway has kept her carefree attitude, joking about her situation. She wrote on X, "I have champagne and four generations of Floridians in my veins. It'll be fine." She also clarified she has never thought of herself as a "role model" when it comes to handling natural disasters. Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 113km south of Tampa with St. Petersburg recording over 16-inch of rain triggering flash flooding warnings.
