Irish influencer Lauren Whelan on the ‘silver lining’ of being ‘cancelled’ after viral controversy

“Do you all remember when I got cancelled?"

In March of last year, the Irish TikToker received backlash after she posted a TikTok questioning why the younger generation doesn't go out on nights anymore.

In her original TikTok, the Carlow native asked her followers: “Why are Gen Z the most boring generation. What is wrong with us?”

Lauren continued: “If I see one more TikTok of someone the same age as me, being like, ‘This is my clubbing, acai bowl, 5k run,’ okay, whatever, go to the club after. There used to be like 800 nightclubs in Ireland, now there’s literally like 80. Why are we so boring?

“I understand clubbing and drinking isn’t for everyone, but like, just because you want to be a health queen, doesn’t mean you can’t go out and go feral at the weekend as well.”

Lauren went on to insist that life is “all about balance”, but that people should also "enjoy life now while all of your limbs are still perfectly mobile”.

However, Lauren's comments quickly sparked criticism as other social media users did not agree with the influencer at all and argued that “not everyone enjoys clubbing” and it “doesn’t make us boring”.

Now, one year on from the viral TikTok, Lauren says she has found a ‘silver lining’ in the experience.

Posting to TikTok yesterday (Tuesday, May 5), the 24-year-old explained how she gets approached by followers on nights out, praising her for her previous comments.

“Do you all remember when I got cancelled for saying that everyone is boring for not going to the club anymore? If you don’t, lucky you, because that’s going to stay with me forever,” she exclaimed.

“I feel like that’s the thing I’m most known for now, like getting cancelled for saying that and being a ‘club rat’ or whatever. That’s the one thing everyone says to me when they meet me on a night out.

“It’ll be 2 am, we’re all in the club dancing, and then someone will come up to me and be like, ‘Lauren, you were so f***ing right for saying that everyone’s boring for not going to the club anymore!’ I’m like, ‘Babe, yeah of course you’re saying that because you’re in the club with me!’” Lauren laughed.

“We’re in this together. This is our community. They’re always like, ‘Don’t listen to those people that said not to go out clubbing.’ I can’t listen to them because they’re not here in the club. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t disagree with me, you know?

“Even though that was bad wording and it really upset me at the time, I feel like I’ve built a really nice community of supportive club-goers from it. We all come together and shake our asses in unison,” Lauren jokingly explained.

Lauren captioned her recent TikTok: “There’s always a silver lining I guess.”

A few days after she posted her original video commenting on Gen Z's club culture, Lauren issued an apology and an explanation for what she said in her video.

Lauren started her apology video off by saying: “Everyone hates me right now. Let’s talk about it.”

She continued: “First of all, I do want to put my hand up and say maybe boring was not the right word to use in my last video. I think that’s the main thing that people are upset with me about, which is so fair, I don’t want to perpetuate that if you don’t do something, then you’re boring.

“That truly was just me exaggerating to try and be funny. I’m a bit blunt with my humour and stuff, but that’s fair. I think I came across completely wrong.

“However, my point still stands, which is, you can do both. You can go out and you can go to the club and be crazy and enjoy your matcha, your acai bowls and your Pilates at the same time.

“And I would also like to say, not once did I mention alcohol in my video, except when I said, I know drinking isn’t for everyone. You don’t need to drink to go out. I go out all the time, and I don’t drink,” Lauren explained.

Lauren concluded that video by saying: “So I’m gonna say it again. It’s all about balance. You don’t have to do one or the other. You can very happily and healthily do both. As much as I enjoy being healthy going to the gym, I also enjoy shaking my little ass in the club with my girls and getting dressed up and looking all pretty.”