Shutting it down. Marc D’Amelio is defending his 16-year-old daughter, Charli D’Amelio, after she was criticized for traveling during the coronavirus pandemic last month.
Marc, 52, spoke out about the scandal during a recent conversation with YouTuber Kevin Wong after Charli and 19-year-old Dixie D’Amelio both faced backlash on social media for their New Year’s Eve visit to the Bahamas. “First of all, to blame Charli — it was a family vacation,” Marc explained. “She’s 16 so she has no say in where we’re going. So, you guys can put it on me, but we did what we had to do, you know, we went away.”
Health experts have recommended not traveling during the COVID-19 crisis to help reduce the spread of the virus. However, Marc assured fans that his daughters heard their concerns “loud and clear” and tried to be as safe as possible.
“Corona is real and people have to take it seriously,” Marc said. “We left a hotbed and went to a place where there was very little corona, but we do take it seriously and we want to protect other people and we don’t take it lightly. It’s a real virus and many people have gotten killed and died from it.”
Charli and her sister were among several TikTok stars — including Noah Beck, Chase Hudson, Avani Gregg and Madi Monroe — who sparked controversy before the new year when pics and videos surfaced online of their tropical getaway. As the social media personalities were swarmed with negative comments, beauty YouTuber James Charles chimed in with a cheeky remark.
“Waking up this morning in Los Angeles,” the 21-year-old joked in an Instagram Story amid the scandal, clearing the air for any fans who thought he was also out of the country. “Just thought I’d let y’all know since some people seem to think I’m elsewhere lmfao.”
Charli’s travels came as a shock to some of her followers, especially since she had previously clapped back at “inconsiderate” people who were partying during the pandemic. “You may think, ‘Oh, this isn’t going to affect me, it’s not that bad.’ You’re thinking you’re a teenager, you’re immune,” she said during an Instagram Live before her vacation sparked controversy. “You’re putting other people at risk to get hurt and to be in pain.”
While the Connecticut native hasn’t addressed the backlash herself, Beck, 19, who is dating Dixie, defended the group’s Bahamas trip earlier this month and claimed that they were all “very cautious” while abroad.
“It is what it is,” he told Pop Galore at the time. “I think, especially the business we’re in, it’s, like, you need some time to kind of disconnect for a little. That’s what that was meant for. It was just a little trip to getaway. … No matter what we do in life, people are going to say things. I always say, ‘Do what makes you happy.’”
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