The Dublin hotel accused of "bullying" a YouTube vlogger who asked for a free stay in exchange for a positive review has invoiced her nearly €5.3m (NZ$10.1m) for "publicity". / YouTube / Elle Darby
Blogger Elle Darby has revealed her torment in a new video as her very public clash with a hotel owner escalates.
The social media star was brought to tears when discussing the "wave of abuse" she has received since Dublin hotel owner Paul Stenson ridiculed her online for asking for a free stay in return for coverage on her YouTube and Instagram pages, according to news.com.au.
Yesterday, Mr Stenson fuelled the flames even further by posting on his Facebook page a tongue-in-cheek invoice for millions of dollars he said he would be sending to Darby.
The invoice states that she is being charged for "the provision of features in 114 articles across 20 countries with a potential reach of 450 million people", and that the publicity Mr Stenson has obtained for her would be valued at €4.3m ($8.2m) plus VAT.
She has fired back with a video she hopes will finally put an end to the saga.
"I've been torn up as to whether or not I should make this second video," Darby said in the video. "It was supposed to be a joke ... it hasn't been fair."
She continues to voice her unhappiness about the way Mr Stenson dealt with her business proposal, and his failure to protect her identity on his scathing Facebook post.
"A very simple way to have gone about it would have been a 'no' and for the email to have been ignored instead of me having death threats and cancer wishes," she said.
The blogger teared up as she discussed the extent of the hateful messages she has received.
"I've never ever had what I've had over the last few days of my life and to be continuing like this has been really overwhelming. People telling me that I should die, that they hope my children get cancer, I've been called almost every name under the sun, words that I didn't even know existed."
Darby also revealed she has been suffering with anxiety since being propelled into the spotlight.
"I just think it's about time that people started to take responsibility for what they're saying over a screen ... words can have a very negative impact on somebody's mental state.
"I went to my GP and discussed the anxiety that has hit me ... it just felt like it had swallowed me up."
However she is trying to focus on the positives, ending the video with a message of thanks to those who have shown her kindness.
Elle Darby has spoken out. Photo / Elle Darby YouTube
"Although this situation has been tormenting for me in a way, I am glad that it's helped bring the blogging community together in some way. Awareness has been raised about this industry, the way people act online."
Stenson, who famously barred vegans from his cafe in 2015, did not identify Ms Darby in his post, but Darby outed herself after spotting it online and seeing the comments it attracted, according to the Daily Mail. In his original post on social media, Mr Stenson included Ms Darby's email requesting a free stay, as well as his own reply to her, in which he told her she lacked "self-respect and dignity."
"Thank you for your email looking for free accommodation in return for exposure," he said.
"It takes a lot of balls to send an email like that, if not much self-respect and dignity.
"If I let you stay here in return for a feature in your video, who is going to pay the staff who look after you? Who is going to pay the housekeepers who clean your room?
"The waiters who serve you breakfast? The receptionist who checks you in? Who is going to pay for the light and heat you use during your stay? The laundering of your bed sheets? The water rates?
"Maybe I should tell my staff they will be featured in your video in lieu of receiving payment for work carried out while you're in residence?"
Dear Social Influencer (I know your name but apparently it’s not important to use names),
Thank you for your email...
Despite not being named in the post, Darby first responded by posting a video on her YouTube channel, with the title: "i was exposed (SO embarrassing)".
In the video, she claimed people over the age of 30 "had no idea how social media works these days" and revealed she had received hundreds of messages of abuse.
"I feel disgusting having to say this. As a 22-year-old girl, who's running her own business from her home, I don't feel like I did anything wrong," she said.
The emotional vlogger accused internet trolls of targeting her.
She added: "These were all 30 years plus people internet bullying a 22-year-old girl who is just trying to run her own business and raise awareness of what appeared to be a stunning Dublin hotel."
Darby also claimed the response was hindering "the younger generation from doing what they enjoy" and that she "cried my eyes out in my car alone".
In a follow-up post on Facebook, the hotel announced that all bloggers are banned from the business.
Stenson wrote: "I never thought we would be inundated with negative reviews for the simple reason that somebody was required to pay for goods received or services rendered."
**ALL BLOGGERS BANNED FROM OUR BUSINESS**
Following the backlash received after asking an unidentified blogger to pay...
