Why It's Not Okay for Influencers to Hire Unpaid Interns

We all know them, and we all hate them: unpaid internships. They are an unethical concept that often only allow financially privileged students or young people to get ahead career-wise. Recently across different social media platforms, more and more influencers are reaching out to their followers through Instagram stories or posts looking to hire unpaid interns. It comes as a shock that a group of people who are regularly exploited by companies and unfairly compensated would treat their fans similarly. However, influencers are always at the forefront of controversy whether it is a badly timed post, cultural appropriation or scamming their followers, so what happens when they start exploiting their fans to further help their own careers?

Screenshot of Audrey Peters’ Instagram Story

One influencer in particular, Audrey Peters, has recently been called out for seeking an unpaid intern, as well as asking followers for money while on Instagram. Peters boasts more than 215 thousand followers on Tik Tok and receives between 35 thousand and one million views per video. Her content ranges from daily vlogs, styling tips and general lifestyle advice from a NYC “It” Girl. Sadly, her content went from cringe worthy to downright offensive when she posted an Instagram story on September 15 where she asked if anyone was interested in applying for a position as her unpaid intern. This was only a day after she went live and asked her followers to Venmo her so she could pay her electricity that month—all while wearing a six thousand dollar bracelet on her wrist. Not only did Peters want someone to work for free, she also offered “extra points” for any possible applicants who have a professional camera which suggested they might be expected to take photos or videos presumably for her social media accounts.

It is laughable to suggest that someone would work for you without pay in addition to being responsible for creating content that will boost your cashflow while they get absolutely nothing in return. After being labeled classist, Peters posted a Tik Tok in which she apologized and explained, “I have done many unpaid internships … and found them incredibly helpful … I had absolutely no idea that they weren’t ethical or legal.” While her apology sounded more like an excuse for the story she posted to Instagram, at least Peters took some sort of accountability for her outrageous request as well as acknowledging that unpaid internships are exclusive.

The fact still remains: unpaid internships are unethical, and it is somewhat worse when a person aware of that dares to ask anyone to work for him or her for free. Regardless of a person’s influence or internet popularity, they are no less responsible to compensate anyone that may have a hand in curating their content. At the end of the day, if influencers demand payment for promoting a product or brand, they should feel just as passionate about paying anyone working for or under them. In this instance, Audrey Peters was called out for her unfair expectations and going forward she will think before clicking “add to story.”