A food influencer has caused fury after reviewing a meal served at a homeless shelter and bragging she ‘didn’t even have to pay for it’.
Tracy Cahill, from Glasgow, has amassed a large TikTok following by rating meals and restaurants across the city before declaring whether they’re ’10/10 banging’ or ’10/10 stinking’.
However, a recent clip did not go down well with Tracy’s 45,000 followers after she filmed herself critiquing the food that was served at a local soup kitchen.
In the since-deleted video, Tracy was reportedly seen ‘laughing and sniggering’ while holding up a container of food as she bragged ‘I didn’t even have to f***ing pay for it’.
According to the Daily Record, the blogger declared the ‘scran’ was ’10/10 banging’ in the contentious video that sparked fierce criticism from the Homeless Project Scotland that runs programmes to feed those most in need.
A spokesperson for the charity said Tracy’s TikTok was ‘deeply disappointing’ and ‘undermined’ their work, adding: ‘Homelessness is not a trend.’
Fellow TikTokers, meanwhile, questioned how Tracy could ‘take a meal from someone in need’ and ‘folk with nothing’ – before the foodfluencer responded to the backlash in a rebuttal video.
Reacting to the food review, one social media user noted: ‘She has walked into a soup kitchen and thought she was funny taking food from people who haven’t had a hot meal in days.
A Scottish food influencer has been criticised by a homeless charity after she posted an ‘exploitative’ TikTok reviewing the meals being served at a food bank
Tracy Cahill, from Glasgow, has amassed a large TikTok following by rating meals and restaurants across the city before declaring whether they’re ’10/10 banging’ or ’10/10 stinking’
‘I don’t know how you can take a meal from someone in need.’
Another said: ‘You have gone into a space for vulnerable people that is supposed to be safe. This is food being given to folk with nothing and you are treating like content.’
Addressing the outrage, Tracy took to Tiktok to clarify that she had, in fact, donated money to the homeless shelter ‘because I am a TikToker and people know me’ – despite earlier insinuating that she ate for free.
She also told her followers that she was accompanied by her sister, who stays in a ‘homeless centre’, and explained that she began making content to earn a ‘wee bit of money’ having experienced similar hardships in her own life.
Tracy began: ‘I went with my sister who is homeless and stays in a homeless centre. I sat with her and had food but I donated money because I am a TikToker and people know me.
She suggested the only reason people were criticising her is because ‘I’m a big TikToker’, adding there are many other influencers that ‘video homeless people’ without concern for their wellbeing.
‘Take some time out of your lives from criticising people,’ Tracy continued. ‘All because I’m a big TikToker you are criticising me.
‘I have had to do a lot of homeless stuff. That’s why I started TikTok – to make a wee bit of money and make a better life for me. So, me sitting and having some food with the homeless in a shelter is not disgusting and I’m not mocking them.’
Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts on Tracy’s video – and many were disappointed
Her response video was posted after Homeless Project Scotland said homeless shelters are not meant to be ‘used as backdrops for online content or personal publicity’ in a scathing response to the food review.
‘We find it deeply disappointing when anyone treats the reality of homelessness as entertainment,’ the spokesperson added. ‘We find it deeply disappointing when anyone treats the reality of homelessness as entertainment.’
They reiterated that homelessness ‘is not a trend’ but rather a ‘serious crisis’ that must be addressed with compassion.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Tracy for comment.
Many social media users felt Tracy’s response missed the mark, as one person commented: ‘Point is the food you had could have been given to an actual homeless person.’
Another said: ‘Point is the food you had could have been given to an actual homeless person.’
A third comment read: ‘It was in poor taste. And fyi I do volunteer at a soup kitchen and I do talk to everyone there, they are amazing people.’
A fourth added: ‘It’s nothing to do with the fact that you were with homeless people Tracy. It’s about the fact you done a food review! If you’ve not done anything wrong where is the review you posted?
Another questioned: ‘Did you volunteer there? did you give up your time to genuinely help people who are going through homelessness or just eat food?’
