Kacie Margis, an online content creator for hire, has provoked a discussion online after she claimed that Phoebe Gates was trying to negotiate her already low collaboration rate of $250. According to Margis, in a recent post on Threads, Gates said he had been the source of the approach, in an affiliation with a promotional partnership. The claim rapidly spread on social media, which attracted attention not only due to the names involved but also thanks to the larger debate about influencer pay and fair compensation.
What Happened Here?
Margis said that she was approached last year with a possible collaboration. Publicizing her experience, she published that a daughter of a billionaire wrote about the venture as a small startup with a limited super small budget when attempting to negotiate her quoted rates. Margis also shared a screenshot of the supposed message, which had the sender, presumably Gates, admiring her work and asking her to work on a project with him. The message is said to have featured a startup that aims at assisting users to locate less expensive second hand and discounted fashions as they browse the web.
Phoebe Gates and Her ‘Start-up’
Margis also clarified that the outreach was done via Collabstr, a digital marketplace that matches influencers with brands to do paid promotions. Her rate is clearly stated on the platform, at $250, she claims to have been already affordable. She indicated that rather than honoring the quoted rate, the sender tried to use the label of startup to get a better price. It should be noted though that this has not been substantiated as an independent claim and Phoebe Gates has yet to respond officially to the accusations. A critic wrote, ‘She is a cancer in in the sustainable fashion space’ New York Post reported.
Did Phoebe Gates Speak About The Controversy?
The video caused an avalanche of responses in social media as people were split in their views. Although the supposed effort to undercompensate a creator was lamented by some, others noted that negotiation is a normal aspect of business dealings. Some commentators were frustrated by what they felt was a trend of under compensating creative work, especially when it comes to influencers being solicited to work at a lower price or exposure. The discourse has since expanded into a broader argument on influencer marketing, proper compensation, and brand-to-content-creator relationships, in both its large and small forms.
