ng the face? Sarah Stevenson, known to her 1.56 million YouTube subscribers as Sarah’s Day, is an OG health and wellness influencer from Cronulla, Sydney. Since posting her first video 11 years ago, she has racked up a considerable list of controversies. On the other side of this story is fragrance house creative director Raquel Bouris, who founded Who Is Elijah in 2018. The brand gained traction quickly, with products now stocked in Sephora, David Jones and Adore Beauty. In September last year, Stevenson announced her collaboration with Who Is Elijah with a behind-the-scenes video of a sampling session alongside Bouris. Since then, she has continued teasing the fragrance launch on her socials. The comment section was full of praise and excitement, with fans eagerly awaiting the drop. “I LOVE Who Is Elijah 😍” “Oh this sounds so good, when can we pre-order?” “Oh my gosh, can’t wait! Hopefully it’ll be ready in time for my Christmas list!” With the collaboration publicly shared and sampling complete, fans were waiting for the official launch date and shopping link. Instead, they were met with the opposite. On July 4, Sarah posted a video to TikTok and Instagram captioned, “Not the update I anticipated but onto bigger and better things ❤️”, where she explained the collaboration would no longer be going ahead, and that she didn’t know why. So, is building in public always a good idea? It’s become the go-to move for creators, sharing the journey, building hype, letting the audience feel part of the process. But in this case, the story was published before the final chapter was written. Had the announcement waited for official sign-off, the public backtrack and backlash may never have been needed. Brand vs influencer: Who really holds the power? The comment section of Stevenson’s announcement video was largely supportive, with sentiment skewing negative towards Who Is Elijah. As rumours and conspiracy theories began to hit fever pitch, Bouris weighed in via her personal Instagram, stating the partnership had only begun in May 2024 (not two years ago as Stevenson implied) and that the contract had ended amicably within the agreed terms. “From our perspective, I could count the hours worked on this project on one, maybe two hands,” said Bouris. Which brings us to the second question: Is engaging an influencer with 10 times your following a PR win or a crisis waiting to happen? In this situation, Stevenson is not the underdog. She has over 1.5 million followers compared to Who Is Elijah’s 170,000, many of whom flocked to the brand’s and Bouris’s pages to defend Stevenson in ways Bouris later described as bullying. Working with an aligned influencer who resonates with your target audience can be powerful. But if the relationship turns sour, it also has the potential to be incredibly damaging. So is this simply a story of a failed fragrance collab and a wronged influencer? Or was the drama fuelled by the public-facing nature of both parties? This is not Stevenson’s first brand split. Previous collaborations with Tropeaka, La’Bang Body and White Fox Boutique have also ended on difficult terms, with old collections now being sold off at deep discounts. But none of those break-ups went viral in the same way. It is worth noting that in all of the above, the founders are either male or not as publicly visible. ​Which brings us to the final, and perhaps most telling, question: Do public-facing female founders face more backlash and attract more controversy? All signs point to yes. Hardly surprising. Odd Muse founder Aimée Smale recently faced public scrutiny when the fabric composition of her collection was deemed misleading and contradictory to her brand story. It is also just over a year since TBH Skincare and Bouf founder Rachael Wilde endured a wave of online hate for participating in a light-hearted TikTok trend, calling herself a “Gen Z Boss in a mini”. Beyond adding a little drama to our otherwise heavy news cycle, this latest controversy serves as a timely reminder to brands and business owners, especially female founders. Lessons learned Building in public is the norm. It resonates with consumers, cuts through the noise of polished feeds, and builds brand equity. But it is easy enough to document the process after final sign-off has been secured. Backtracking is messy and, in this case, avoidable. Influencers are a powerful marketing tool, but alignment and due diligence are non-negotiable. Online culture is increasingly divisive and emotionally charged. An engaged following can be valuable, but also dangerous if turned against you. And finally, a depressingly unsurprising revelation: female founders and business owners are not held to the same standard as their male counterparts. In a world where people connect more with people than brands, you must be ready to be criticised as the person, not just the product. Further reading: Behind the rapid growth of online fragrance brand Who Is Elijah