This Influencer Had A MELTDOWN Over A Small Town Grocery Store

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: "This Influencer Had A MELTDOWN Over A Small Town Grocery Store"

The Brett Cooper Show | Host: Brett Cooper | Air Date: July 8, 2026

---

Episode Overview

Brett Cooper unpacks the explosive backlash against influencer Katharine Ebbs after she posted a viral video complaining about a small-town grocery store during her Fourth of July getaway. More than a surface-level scandal, Brett frames this episode as a case study on generational fragility, shifting cultural values, and the ever-blurring line between influencer relatability and detachment from everyday experiences. The conversation zooms out from grocery store gripes to examine our collective (in)ability to handle minor inconveniences, how privilege and online personas collide, audience expectations, and the hazards of cancel culture.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who is Katharine Ebbs?

• Background & Content Evolution
  • Influencer from Minnesota, known for lighthearted family content, particularly with her dad (00:00 - 01:00)
  • Shifted tone after her father's passing and subsequent move to Texas, then NYC; content shifted from relatability to day-in-the-life influencer lifestyle
  • Noted struggles with infertility and recent life changes

2. The Meltdown: Breakdown of the Viral Grocery Store Video

• Katharine’s Perspective

  • Recap: Katharine documents a grocery shopping trip in a small upstate NY town after a canceled Sam’s Club order (02:16 - 06:11)
  • Expresses frustration over the size of the store, availability and perceived quality of items, and dramatizes the inconvenience ("This is a simulation... This is absolutely insane… Baby, I can't get nothing. Baby, there is no plane." - Katharine, 02:16-04:55)
  • The tone is comedic but comes off as dismissive and privileged

• Host’s Reaction:

  • Observes the contrast between claims of scarcity and the reality (cart is filling up regardless)
  • Points out the hyperbole: “What part of this is a simulation or an inconvenience to you? This is a grocery store that has rib eyes.” (Cooper, 04:13)
  • Highlights repeated dramatics over normal inconveniences: “That’s normal life, girlfriend. That’s a normal day…” (Cooper, 07:20)

3. Online Backlash & Audience Response

• Internet Reactions (08:34 - 09:37)
  • Comments criticize her “snotty,” “out of touch,” and “disrespectful” attitude
  • Host details the “cardinal sin” for influencers: breaking the fourth wall of relatability; audience intolerance for egotism given their role in the influencer’s success
• Convenience Culture Critique
  • “Clearly, our lives are far too convenient. Convenience culture is very much a thing. We are way too comfortable.” (Cooper, 08:15)
• Host’s Personal Context
  • Compares to her own experiences dealing with minor grocery inconveniences and notes societal softness: “The adult version of gentle parenting ourselves into being unable to deal with a regular degular day.”

4. Katharine’s Response & the Escalation

• Follow-Up Video (09:37 - 10:59)

  • Katharine reframes the issue as situational stress, not the store itself (“The grocery store was not the problem. It was the situation. And the amount of people…” - Katharine, 09:49)
  • Host calls out selective memory, noting she did indeed disparage the store’s offerings; insufficient apology, more focused on critique of audience

• Viral Parodies and Escalation (11:47 - 14:22)

  • Many TikTokers and commentators lampoon the original video, pointing out privilege and insensitivity
  • Notable parody: “You loaded your whole trunk. And… there are some people probably in that same small town where that little shitty ass grocery store was, that can’t even buy groceries right now.” (Online Critic, 12:12)

• Political Layer Added

  • Ephemeral shift, as the controversy becomes “Republican coded,” with critics conflating her 4th of July celebration and song choice (Kid Rock) with politics
  • Audience begins unfollowing, referencing music and “coded” political associations (14:22 - 15:45)

5. Brett’s Balancing Act: Was the Outrage Justified?

• Critical but Sympathetic Outlook

  • “Was her original video out of touch? Yes, very much so… But does that mean the grocery store in question was perfect? No. …It was about the way she made people feel who rely on stores like that.” (Cooper, 17:17 - 19:17)
  • Notes the emotional bond small-town residents have with their modest markets, and that influencer resentment is already “there” due to lifestyle/envy gaps

• Host’s Own Adaptation

  • Admits similar surprise and adaptation challenges upon moving to a rural area but never felt compelled to disparage local stores
  • Emphasis on gratitude and adjusting expectations rather than public derision

6. The Evolution/Divergence of Influencer Identity

• Audience Disenchantment
  • Followers chime in with mourning for “the old Katharine,” attributing change to her move to NYC and increased influence/wealth
  • “Influencers blow up online, often for their relatability, and then suddenly… they lose people, understandably, because people don’t want to resent the creators they follow." (Cooper, 24:39-25:19)
• Compiling Past Good Deeds (22:49 - 24:16)
  • Brett compiles Katharine’s charitable past: donating to food banks, helping followers, and angel tree participation
  • Audience responds with nuance, granting grace for her positive history but acknowledging the recent misstep

7. Perspective from a Local Resident

• Rare Defense and Local Reality Check (26:33 - 27:32)
  • Upstate NY resident acknowledges truth to Katharine’s complaints: “Tops is dusty, crusty, musty, and there’s mold on the fruit, okay? But guess what? That’s my hometown grocery store… I would love a better grocery store for my hometown.” (Local Resident, 26:35)
  • Personal anecdote: neighbor died of starvation; highlights real challenges facing small rural communities
  • Host observes: criticisms from an outsider are painful, draw defensiveness, but also could drive positive change if reframed more constructively

8. Cancel Culture, Critique Rights, and Moving Forward

• Host’s Stance

  • Brett rejects extreme cancel culture as a solution: “I do not think that Kaharine, this creator, deserves to be totally canceled and have her entire life ruined over this very unsavory post.”
  • Acknowledges, however, Katherine’s audience is entitled to withdraw support if they no longer relate to her or feel respected

• Final Message

  • Social media amplifies minor complaints as existential crises, often losing sight of nuance and humanity
  • The expectation for influencers: remain authentic, but also be aware of how privilege, tone, and context may undermine audience trust and relatability

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Privilege and Complaints:

  • “That’s normal life, girlfriend. That’s a normal day. …Imagine if I made a video every single time [my grocery store] was out of the very specific kombucha that my husband likes.” (Cooper, 07:20-08:34)

• On the Dangers of Convenience Culture:

  • “This is the adult version of gentle parenting ourselves into being unable to deal with a regular degular day.” (Cooper, 08:22)

• Critiquing the Apology:

  • “At most it should be, well, this is kind of annoying because we’ve tried to plan this out well—now the store’s busy, but, oh well, we’re working it out and we’re just happy to be on vacation.” (Cooper, 10:59)

• Audience Self-Awareness:

  • “Nuance—crazy.” (Cooper, 25:24, on rare balanced reactions in the comments)

• From the Local's Reality Check:

  • “Tops is dusty, crusty, musty, and there’s mold on the fruit, okay? …I grew up right down the road in public housing, and guess fucking what? We did not have access to any food.” (Local Resident, 26:33-27:11)

• On Social Bond and Criticism:

  • “It’s like when you are, you know, complaining about your family to a friend, but the moment that that friend turns around and criticizes your family, you’re on guard because that’s your family and you love them… Like that’s your grocery store, that’s your town…” (Cooper, 27:32)

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:00-02:16: Background on Katharine Ebbs and content evolution
• 02:16-06:11: The viral grocery store incident—clips and commentary
• 06:12-09:37: Immediate audience backlash and influencer relatability discussion
• 09:37-10:59: Katharine’s response video and critique of her apology
• 11:47-14:22: Parodies, political interpretations, and further escalation
• 17:17-19:17: Host's nuanced take on resentment, privilege, and impact on viewers
• 22:49-24:16: Compilation of Katharine’s charitable works and community engagement
• 26:33-27:11: Local resident’s defense, food access realities, and social context
• 27:11-end: Wrap-up: cancel culture, rights of audiences and creators, takeaways

---

Conclusion

This episode uses Katharine Ebbs’s small-town grocery store video as a springboard to reflect on the fragility bred by modern convenience, the shifting dynamics between influencers and their followers, and how public perception can pivot on a single tone-deaf moment. Brett Cooper balances critique with empathy, offering insight into both the challenges of public life and the importance of remaining self-aware and adaptable in a digital age where "relatable" is both a currency and a liability. The conversation closes with a call for nuance, forgiveness, and honest reflection on both sides of the influencer-follower divide.

Transcript

[Co-host/Commentator]

So a big influencer is getting absolutely reamed online, like completely canceled over an out of touch video that she made about a small town grocery store. And as a small town resident and a person on the Internet, I obviously have things to say. And really I think that this story is less about a grocery store and more about people's inability to deal with minor inconveniences in life and experiences that are outside of their own bubble. So let's talk about it. The influencer in question is a young woman named Katharine Ebbs. Now, Katherine is originally from Minnesota, I think I first saw her videos back in 2021, 2022. She would make funny videos with her dad. She has a husband that is like this huge behemoth of a man and they would do funny videos together and she would kind of mock his voice and like make videos of the interactions that they had. And she has like this funny impression of him that once you see him, obviously is very hysterical. And so she blew up around then. Her content really changed a couple of years ago after her father unexpectedly and tragically passed. And he was such an important person in her life, but also her content because he played a huge role there. And so that changed a lot of things. And it was around that time that I, if I remember correctly, her husband changed his job and that took them to Texas. So then they moved there and she was doing content there. And really she is like a run of the mill influencer. Like she films her day to day life. They go to Chile, she's filming it. They are going on a walk with your dogs, she's filming it. She does these funny little, you know, jokey things about the people in her life and interactions she's had. She tells stories online but really you are just following for her and what she is doing in her life now. About six months ago, sometime at the beginning of the year, they sold their home in Texas and they moved to New York City. They don't have children. They've been trying to have children. They've not been able to conceive. And so I think they just needed like a change in their life. So they moved to New York City with their dogs, got this big apartment and they are living their cosmopolitan city. So a lot has changed in her life and in her content, who she is since I started following her. And we're gonna talk about that, but that is Katherine. And so now that she is in New York City, they wanted to spend their first, you know, east coast fourth of July in like a quintessential east coast town. So they went to upstate New York to a town like right below the Catskills. When they arrived in this town for the 4th of July, they had to get groceries. And this is the video that she posted.

Let's watch.

[Katharine Ebbs]

Sam's club canceled our order three different times. So we are in this teeny, tiny little town in the mountains, and we're going to try and hopefully get all of our groceries for the next four days. This is so small town vibes, it's not even funny. I have a feeling this is not going to be good news. We don't even have a cart. This is a simulation. Oh, here we go. I guess while she's grabbing that, you do need a melon. Just sitting here laughing. I'm just sitting here laughing. Their fruit does not look good. Like, all their fruit looks bad. I just looked at Lauren. She's like, I'm stressed out. I'm mad at Sam's. Sam's club and I are not friends. Oh, they do have a bag of sweet girls. Guys, this is not. This is not good. Maybe I'll just do these. Aaron, I know, needs some stuff for his salads. At this point, I'm just grabbing. I'm like, lowkey. We should just order out because this is crazy. I don't see any 100 beef. This is absolutely insane. Laura and I literally just keep saying we're like, we're mad at Sam's club. I feel like I'm in a simulation right now. 4 year olds.

[Co-host/Commentator]

This is the only kind of pickle.

[Katharine Ebbs]

That's fine. Aaron needs them for a salad too. You're good. Okay. I'm seeing ribeye or strip. You like ribeye or strip better?

[Co-host/Commentator]

All right, I'm interjecting here. We're gonna talk about this later. But I just can't help myself. At every turn they're going, we're gonna have to order out. This is not looking good. We can't get anything. And then they continue to fill their cart up more. They get the potatoes. I don't know if it was the potatoes that they initially wanted, but they have potatoes. They get the ground beef. Maybe they don't get the 100% beef hot dogs. And by the way, if you zoom in on that video, you see Nathan's 100% beef hot dogs. So they are there. She's like, I'm just grabbing random stuff. She fills up her cart. And then you get to this part where she's like, they have ribeyes. What part of this is a Simulation or an inconvenience to you? This is a grocery store that has rib eyes. Obviously, there's something there. Anyway, sorry. Getting ahead of myself. Let's continue.

[Katharine Ebbs]

This is crazy. I don't see any normal eggs. Oh, those are ours. Simply because. Right. Those are ours. Definitely have to hit. We have to hit the fruits and veggies again. How much do you hate me right now? I mean, not a lot. Just a little bit. I don't think I could have ever gotten Lauren drunk or high enough to be in this place right now. Baby, I can't get nothing. Baby, there is no plane. Oh, I didn't see that.

[Ad/Commercial Voice]

My bad.

[Katharine Ebbs]

Don't even ask. A crazy experience. An absolutely insane experience. The greatest part is that guys are there. So all we have to do is drive. I love it. I'll move this cart. Holy schnikes. You could tell the lady at checkout now it started raining. What is happening? Literally, what is happening? Not it randomly start raining. Jesus.

[Ad/Commercial Voice]

It was.

[Katharine Ebbs]

What is happening, guys?

[Co-host/Commentator]

It would start raining. What is happening to us? This is so insane. Of course it would start raining. What are we do. What are we doing here? Genuinely, like, this entire video was just so odd. Yes. It was out of touch. It's so overly dramatic. And the comments responded in the way that you would expect. Somebody said, this came off so snotty. Another person said, girl, what is this video? So disrespectful? Another person said, this is an insane experience. Getting groceries, you mean? Another person said, I'm so confused. So you're just too good for a normal grocery store or what? Because that really is how the video came off to most people, including myself. Like, honestly, the whole thing was just a lot. And I now am sure you understand why she has become public enemy number one on the Internet. Like, the cardinal sin for influencers is if you break that very delicate fourth wall of relatability and authenticity. Like, you know, you're traveling, you're being gifted things, whatever. You're in the Hamptons, you have a second home in Montauk. Whatever it is, you're in Italy for, like, the 10th wedding of the year. Who knows? Whatever it is, if you cross that line of being a little too egotistical, of not being grateful for the incredible opportunities that you have, not being grateful for the audience whose views and clicks and purchases gets you to that point, they are done. Because the audience knows that it is their contributions, their eyes, their viewership that gets you there. And so, again, if you cross that line, you're done. And to the Internet. But that is what Katherine did in this video. The thing that really stuck with me, especially as I was just watching that video again for the second time, was her acting so incredibly dramatic throughout the entire video. Like, honestly, like, again, grocery store commentary aside, we will get to that. Your Sam's club delivery order getting canceled, Having to go grocery shopping yourself when you arrive to your vacation destination, it's starting to rain. Amidst all of that, a grocery store not having exactly what you were hoping for. Like, that. That's insane. You can't believe that that's happening to you. Like, that's normal life, girlfriend. That's a normal day. Those are things that happened. I go to Publix hoping that they have romaine lettuce for the burgers that we were gonna cook on fourth of July. You know what? They didn't have them. Figured something else out that is just a normal occurrence. Imagine if I made a video every single time sprouts or whole food was out of the very specific kombucha that my husband likes because he wants a low sugar. No fake sweeteners, whatever. Imagine if I was like, can you.

[Online Critic/Commentator]

Oh, my God.

[Co-host/Commentator]

And it started raining. Can you believe it? You all would kick me off the Internet. Rightfully so. Because it is such a dumb thing to be upset about. And it is just a normal inconvenience. And so if this is somebody's genuine response to a normal blip in life, an average inconvenience, doing something that everybody does in the world every single week, then I'm sorry. We all need to toughen up. Honestly, like, clearly, our lives are far too convenient. Convenience culture is very much a thing. We are way too comfortable. Like, this is the adult version of gentle parenting ourselves into being unable to deal with a regular degular day. Anyway, moving on. I just had to add that in. As I was watching the video again, I was like, oh, my gosh. This is about way more than just the grocery store. But anyway, the video, after she posted it, it started picking up more and more steam. I think I saw it maybe on Thursday when she posted it. And I was like, oh, oh, boy. Like, I knew that the comments were going to be bad. And then I came back a few days later and had 3 million views, obviously. And so the next day, she made a response that she posted. And it was more of an explanation and a critique of her audience than it was an apology.

Just watch.

[Katharine Ebbs]

Pops is a very nice grocery store, and Jen is the nicest lady ever. She just ran in and she was like, no, it was so much better today. There was nobody in there. It was so calm. We should be reporting that, right?

[Co-host/Commentator]

Yeah, right.

[Katharine Ebbs]

The grocery store was not the problem. It was the situation. And the amount of people in that grocery store.

[Co-host/Commentator]

We were like, so in this follow up video she's recording because her friend Lauren, that was in the original video with her, you know, they had to go, oh my gosh, they had to go grocery shop again. They had to go pick something up on vacation. So her friend went back into the grocery store, she comes back out. It, you know, is the opportune time to make a response and she's like, actually, it's fine. It was an amazing grocery store. We now know our cashier by name. It was totally a great experience. It was not actually about the grocery store or the food. It was. It was actually about the situation and the fact that it was crowded. I'm sure because it was a holiday weekend, it was picked over. But she did not say that it was crowded. You all watched the video. We know what she was critiquing anyway. So she is deflecting on the grocery store front. She's saying that it was all about the situation, which she reiterates in the comment section. Like, to this person, she said the situation is what was stressful. We planned ahead to avoid a crowded grocery on a holiday weekend. We loved the store and the employees we met just wasn't expecting to have to be there so last minute. But again, if you watch the video, you can tell that they were in fact critiquing the food in the grocery store. And again, I have to say that even if it was just about the situation, that situation should not be dramatic enough in your life to become fodder for passive aggressive, annoyed, exhausted, influencer content. Like, why are we filming that? At most it should be, well, this is kind of annoying because we've tried to plan this out well to make our lives easier and now the store's busy, but, oh, well, we're working it out and we're just happy to be on vacation. I think that most people would have understood that and maybe put in some things about, oh my gosh, yeah, my instacart order got screwed up and now I'm having to do that. Everybody would understand that. But the eye rolling, the grossed out faces, the I could not get my friend drunk enough to be in a store like this while wearing a Montauk tank top in your fancy car, holding a Louis Vuitton bag. Like, I'm sorry. Yeah, people online were not going to be sympathetic. Like really not at all. And I am telling you they were not. Because immediately, like within hours, the parodies began. And yes, they were hilarious and they were on point.

Just watch.

Sam's Club canceled our order three different times. And we are in this teeny tiny little poor town, so we're gonna hopefully try to get our groceries for the next four days. This is such small town vibes, it's not even funny. I have a feeling this is not gonna be good. Dude, this is a simulation.

[Online Critic/Commentator]

Here we. Here we go.

[Katharine Ebbs]

I guess.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Hey, Catherine. Ebb. I saw that video, video of you at that scary little spooky poor people store, I mean grocery store. And I felt so bad for you because. What do you mean they don't have any non certified GMO organic options? Like even though you felt like you were like super high or drunk or whatever because you were like in a simulation. Cuz the store is like so bad and like where the am I at, right? You seem to find a lot of options. Like you filled your car all the way to the top, to the tippity top. You loaded your whole trunk. And I didn't know if you like knew this or not, but like there are some, some people probably in that same small town where that little shitty ass grocery store was, that can't even buy groceries right now. Like they would dream of like being able to fill a grocery cart up.

[Katharine Ebbs]

Sam's Club cancel our order three different times. And we're in this teeny tiny little mountain town, so we're gonna try to

[Co-host/Commentator]

get our groceries for the next four days.

[Katharine Ebbs]

Okay? Oh my God, this is such small town vibes. What is this? Oh my God.

[Co-host/Commentator]

This is a simulation. Okay, one thing that I forgot to mention earlier that is now standing out to me as people are recreating it and she's like pointing the camera at the dirty carpet, you know, leading into a grocery store. Is that Catherine lives in New York City. Like I get that she can go to what's that fancy little boutique store that was viral on TikTok and open in New York City. Anyway, one of those grocery stores, Meadow Lane. She can go to Meadow Lane, she can go to Whole Foods in the city, Trader Joe's. But New York City grocery stores are not clean. Like when we are in New York City or I'm there visiting my family, I dread going in to Trader Joe's, having to put my shopping cart on the little escalator. Everybody's, you know, crowded. There's like when you're there in the winter, there's snow, it's dirty, it's so loud. You're now you're going back up the escalator, trying to get your cart back up onto the main level. You've got like a cart you're dragging through the streets. It's like a whole shebang. This is not like going to a fancy schmancy erewhon in Beverly Hills. She probably sees carpet and flooring that looks just like that in New York City at a local bodega or market or whatever it is, which just makes it all the better. Anyway, moving on from that, the parodies began. And then, as it does in 2026, because everything is political, the political discourse started with everybody calling her video Republican Coded. Just watch.

[Online Critic/Commentator]

A lot of this just made sense to me. Classic out of touch influencer. But also, if this is the first post that I find on your page and the context of how you're celebrating isn't extremely clear, I, like the rest of us made sure to do, then I'm not really shocked that you have also posted a history of super insensitive things and are now making fun of the food in a small town. Although hilariously enough, the entire supermarket looks like a completely normal supermarket.

[Co-host/Commentator]

I mean, come on people, there are so many worthy things that we could be talking about in regards to her video, but her politics because of the bathing suit that she was wearing in her fourth of July post. Like this is a topic for a whole other video. But it is hilarious to me that somebody celebrating the fourth of July when without a disclaimer or without wearing a Hasan piker T shirt like the girl in question making the video was wearing, then that means that they must be a Republican. Oh my God. And then the holier than thou attitude. Like if you were doing it like the rest of us, here's me, here's how I celebrated appropriately by elevating a communist. That is how I celebrate the fourth of July. If you didn't do that, then you must be all a dirty, dirty Republican. Like what are we doing anyway? Moving on from that again, that was just an aside there. Things only got worse in regards to the political angle of it all when she uploaded a a seemingly innocent fourth of July video to a Kid Rock song. After these videos had racked up millions of views, they quickly came down. She deleted the original grocery store video. She deleted the response. And yes, she deleted the 4th of July kid Rock thing. Now on top of that she has also turned off all of her comments both on TikTok and over on Instagram for majority of her posts. Now I really don't understand why you would do that after you had the videos up for multiple days and you were trying to defend yourself. Like obviously people have seen them. You're not hiding anything. People are obviously still going to be talking under other people's videos. People were commenting about the Kid Rock thing and they were saying I'm not following her anymore because of this song choice. I feel like that's the only real out of touch thing she's done. Her taking down the Kid Rock one too took me out. Another one said, nah, the Kid Rock video was the cherry on top. Like people are still going to talk. And honestly, who cares about the song? Who cares about Kid Rock? If you are that annoyed by a creator's song choice, you can always find something new to watch. Maybe a reality show over on Fox One. And Fox One is just $19.99 a month and it includes all of your Fox favorites in one place. Yes, you will get the 24. 7 news coverage, but you are also getting the biggest sporting events and hit show like MasterChef, Farmer Wants a Wife, the Mask Singer, and Hell's Kitchen all streaming live in one place. And honestly, shows like Farmer Wants a Wife alone makes it worth it for me. But Fox one goes way beyond just that. Between breaking news and major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, RIP America and the kind of can't miss content that keeps you hooked, it gives you a reason to fully cut the cable and rely just on them. And the best part is there is a three day free trial so you can try it out, fall in love with it and then move on and enjoy finally having it. Just go to fox.com to start streaming anywhere, anytime on your favorite devices offer subject to change. See Fox one for complete terms and conditions now. Speaking of things that make life better and easier, if you have not shot suppressed yet, what are you doing? I need you to fix that because it totally changed everything for me. Easier to control, less snappy recoil on your firearms. Honestly, it just makes shooting so much more enjoyable, especially if you are a new shooter now. The process is super easy with my friends over at Silencer Shop. You don't need to figure it out on your own or work through that mountain of government paperwork. They will walk you through everything. All you do is go online, pick your suppressor, create your profile, sign a couple digital forms and they handle all the heavy lifting. Plus the $200 tax stamp cost from the government is gone, which means more money and more back in your pocket. But the part that actually matters the most is obviously your hearing when it comes to suppressors. And one unsuppressed gunshot hits about 165 decibels louder than a jet engine, which can cause permanent damage with every single shot. And that is why Sounds three Shot built a free hearing test for you guys. It only takes two minutes and just for taking it, you will be entered to win a $3,000 gift card. So what are you waiting for? Also want you guys to know that Sounds Shop does not just carry suppressors either. Firearms, optics, accessories, everything for your entire firearm setup. They have it there. They've got you covered in all one place. So head on over to soundsorshop.com cooper for a better, more comfortable shooting experience. That is silencershop.com cooper but back to the story and moving on from her song choice, obviously there are more pressing things to talk about. Now here is my take. Was her original video out of touch? Yes, very much so. It was tone deaf and nobody wants to hear. Well off New York City influencers crapping on the normal grocery stores that they go to every single day. However, let's be real here. Does that mean that the grocery store in question was perfect? No. No. And so everybody in the comments is just coping, acting like it was insane for her to notice these things.

[Ad/Commercial Voice]

Like and we're live from the living room as Doug eyes up the match say spread. He's reaching for the buffalo wing. Perfect. Hang on. What's this? Oh, he's gone for a can of Pepsi too. Incredible. What a finish. Sensational combination. Look at the delight on his face. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Food deserves Pepsi. Grab a pack of Pepsi. Zero sugar for today's match. It's poetry in motion.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Just honestly, pipe down. It was a holiday weekend. It's busy. I'm sure it was picked over. It is a small town grocery store. I'm sure it's older. And most small towns do not have super high end well stocked with all of your organic GMO item grocery stores, even in popular vacation towns. So my point in saying that is that it wasn't really about the store and everybody loving this one supermarket and being so committed to their small town markets. It was about the way that she made people feel who rely on stores like that. And that is a very important criticism. Like they already watch these huge New York City influencers in their big fancy apartments getting PR gifting from all of these brands that they want to shop from. Traveling the world. So like the resentment and honestly, I'm sure the jealousy is already there. And so then her making this video, talking about something that sustains them in their day to day life that I'm sure they're grateful for, that they just have a grocery store that they are able to afford groceries that obviously added salt to the wound. Now obviously, when I watched that video for the first time back on Thursday or whenever it was, I winced because before I even opened the comments, before I was even 30 seconds into the video, I knew what people were gonna be saying. I knew that she was gonna have some huge scandal over this because it was just so out of touch. But I also have to be honest and say that that was kind of the reaction that I also had when my husband and I moved out to the middle of nowhere. Like during our first month living out here, I stopped by this local market that's on the way to our house and I was so excited about it. I was like, oh my gosh, this is so amazing. It's gonna be this local, cutesy, adorable little rural grocery store. And I was just totally wrong on that front. Like TikTok had made me have brain rot in what to expect, like going from a squeaky clean Publix in Nashville and weekly cute, fun Trader Joe's runs. Cause you know, I love Trader Joe's. It was certainly a shock to see something different, but also you can be a little bit surprised and have to change your expectations without being an asshole. And honestly, you get used to it. Like, I don't think my husband and I had ever considered relying on Walmart for groceries before, but within weeks we were relying on them. And honestly, the prices are fabulous, the options are fabulous. You figure out what you can get and what you want to get from the small markets, what things are worth the longer drive into town, what you want to order from Amazon or order from Costco, you start to frequent the small local farm stands, you make it work and it all just becomes a normal part of life that you are grateful for. It becomes part of your routine. And you know, these smaller town, you know, run of the mill grocery store chains might have been part of her life when she was living in Minnesota or in Texas, but she has changed. Like, she has a lot more influence, she has a lot more money now she lives in New York City. This might no longer be her normal, if it ever was. Now I do want to be fair here when talking about Katherine, because as you saw in the introduction when I was describing her, I've obviously followed her for a while. I know her content. And in going back and kind of reviewing all of that and watching other videos of her, it is clear that Catherine cares about how her audience perceives her. And I say perceives her rather than she just cares about her audience. Because I feel like it's hard to know honestly, online and, like, you can, like, have parasocial relationships with influencers, but it's hard to know if they are just doing content and doing good things because they want to get more clicks and make more money off of it or because they actually care. But regardless, she has seemed to care about how her audience views her and her relationship with them. Like, she talks a lot about relatability and authenticity. She did an entire Ad Week panel about that. She tries to give back to her community. So I guess the question on a lot of people's minds, people who've been watching her for a while, is, you know, was this a mask off moment? Like the mask slipped and we saw the real Catherine, or has something just changed in her since she moved to New York City and became a different type of influencer? Because this right here, this compilation that I'm about to show you, this is the Catherine that a lot of people remember.

Just watch.

[Katharine Ebbs]

We're currently at Walmart. We are getting a bunch of food for our local food bank. You are willing and able and have the means. I highly suggest you do the same. Used to work in personal finance back at Walmart. Last week when we dropped off at the food pantry, someone DM'd me. She was like, I would love this for treatment. Like, I want to get one of these. Do you think it's worth the cost? And I said, baby girl, I will send this to you. I'm so blessed to have other Lola blankets and dad need over bags. So this was actually a blessing. And I adopted some foster students. You guys have seen the trend that Sicily started. She deserved the purse. But here we are. We're going it. Come with us to bless the server tonight. Angel tree shopping again today. Unbelievably excited. So our assistant, her name is Savannah. She's been with us over a year now. We love her. She's literally part of our family. Her and her husband got married when they were 19, and they, like, got

[Co-host/Commentator]

just what they could afford at the time.

[Katharine Ebbs]

And Savannah's always said, like, I really want to upgrade my ring eventually, but they just don't spend money on themselves. I talked to her husband and I was like, hey, I really want to upgrade her ring. For her birthday. Would you be offended? Is like that not okay? And he was like, absolutely. Like, that's amazing. Thank you for even thinking that. We're going angel tree shopping. Angel tree a little bit different this year. We used to go to like actual physical angel tree trees and would grab the tags off, but this year we decided to do it for our own following. So I've been posting Google forums over on my Instagram stories, and then you can either nominate yourself or nominate another family. Talk about finances all the time. I'm my page, but I want to start talking about investing. Family Owned market has been going viral here in Dallas. There's two things I love, food and family owned. So we're going to try it out.

[Co-host/Commentator]

All right, so this video goes on for another minute and a half, talking about good things that she's done, attention that she's brought to causes that she cares about, Angel Tree, donating money to her followers, other causes, all of it. And all of the comments under this video were saying, like, this is who I loved and started following. People were even sharing other stories. Like, one girl said she sent me an aura ring after I was on the fence about spending the money on one and I asked her if it was worth it. If she does love helping others, I won't let one bad video change my opinion about her. And I felt like the comments were actually all very fair and balanced. Like nobody was saying that video was totally fine. I wasn't offended at all. It was totally good, whatever they were saying. Yeah, that was kind of not a great moment. But I've enjoyed following her for five plus years. She's done good things. I am going to allow her to be a human and make a mistake and move on. Which, honestly, kudos, because that's rare on the Internet. Having any kind of nuance or grace is so incredibly rare. Like somebody said. Do I think the video was a little tone deaf? Yes, I do. Do I think that she is a terrible person? No. And then a lot of people in the same comment section were saying that they feel like something had changed since she made the move from Texas to New York City. Like somebody said, I followed her for so long, way before her dad passed away and honestly, I feel like her energy changed ever since she moved to New York City. Not saying she's not a good person, but I don't know, something about her is different to me. I wish her the best though. I hate seeing people bash her like this again. Nuance crazy. Another person said her content has changed drastically. This is The Catherine I used to love, another person said, this is the Catherine I followed, and I fear she is gone. And honestly, like, that's sad, but also, that would be the least shocking thing of the century. Influencers blow up online, often for their relatability, and then suddenly they are quitting that 9 to 5 job that was the background in all of their videos or the core content for their videos. They're moving out of the homey, relatable apartment. They're doing brand deals with companies that their audience cannot afford, trying to get their audience to buy them. They lose people, understandably, because people don't want to resent the creators that they follow online. They don't want to feel inadequate or insecure. That is an awful feeling. I have unfollowed people because of that. I'm like, I just don't. You don't speak to me anymore. And that's fine. Again, it is all understandable. Now, while most of the Internet is losing their minds over this, again, millions and millions of views, the Reddit snark pages are popping off. There was one creator who was actually from the town in upstate New York that she was visiting, and she actually agreed with Catherine's assessment of the grocery store, which was rare in the comment section, but she wishes that the video could have been used for good. Let's watch her take.

[Local Resident from Upstate New York]

And you know what? Katharine Ebbs was right. Tops is dusty, crusty, musty, and there's mold on the fruit, okay? But guess what? That's my hometown grocery store, okay? And it's not that I'm gonna stop you from talking about it, because you know what it is? It is a little crusty, musty. But I'm hoping now that we've had this conversation, that maybe people will actually take no to the mountain. You guys come up here, these city people, I mean, they come up to the mountains, whatever, and they vacation and they call it beautiful, and they want to post a little influencer videos. They want to go on their little influencer getaways up in my hometown, and they want to fucking talk down on the grocery stores. Fucking do something. I would love a better grocery store for my hometown.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Why?

[Local Resident from Upstate New York]

Because I grew up poor, okay? I grew up right down the road in public housing, and guess fucking what? We did not have access to any food. I had a neighbor that died. She was agoraphobic. She died of starvation while I was growing up. I think I was like 11 years old or something like that. She died of starvation, okay? So if that doesn't put into fucking perspective, just how bad the grocery stores are, then maybe Katherine Ev's video will.

[Co-host/Commentator]

Okay, all right. So while I agree with what she's saying and I understand the points that this creator is trying to make, I guess my response to this would be, number one, what do you expect a random influencer to do? And number two, if she, and this is just my, you know, black pilled mind, maybe. But if she had made an even more direct video about the state of the grocery store, the mold on the cucumbers, the dirty floor, whatever it is that triggered her, how she feels sorry for the people in the town, how it's so upsetting that they need to change. I feel like the hate would be just as loud if not louder because that would be an even more apparent looking down of the nose. And again, I think that a lot of people just do not want to hear their normal be criticized by somebody that they admire or somebody whose life they wish they had. I think on a whole people do a really good job of being comfortable with and contending with and being grateful for what they have. And then to have somebody come in and crap on it is obviously a terrible feeling and shatters the world that they have gotten comfortable with. It's like when you are, you know, complaining about your family to a friend, but the moment that that friend turns around and criticizes your family, you're on guard because that's your family and you love them with all of their flaws. Like that's your grocery store, that's your town that people don't like. Obviously people are going to have an allegiance to those things. It all just seems very simple to me now in terms of where we go from here. As you guys know, I am no fan of cancel culture. I do not think that Katherine, this creator, deserves to be totally canceled and have her entire life ruined over this very unsavory post. But she also, and this is an important thing to note, she also doesn't deserve or have a right to the audience that she has and the people who loved her when she was a Minnesota girl going to Chili's every Thursday night with her husband and her dad, getting the Chili's espresso martinis, hitting up Walmart in her Texas town. They might not have the same connection with her now that she is an NYC influencer wearing Montauk tank tops and vacationing in upstate New York. And that's their right. That is totally understandable. I hope that Katherine maybe reflects and learns from that, but I don't think anybody would fault her audience for feeling that way.