‘Cringing’: Awkward moment between Tony Armstrong and TikToker at award show

Viewers have been quick to speculate whether the awkward on-air encounter boiled down to a misunderstanding of one word.

A young influencer’s encounter with ABC journalist Tony Armstrong at this year’s TikTok Awards has been labelled “awkward” by fans after a clip of the pair went viral.

Wednesday night’s event, which brought together the country’s most well-known influencers and content creators, was hosted by Armstrong.

During the ceremoney the pair seemingly got into an odd misunderstanding on-camera when Armstrong asked the 19-year-old how she was feeling about being nominated for an award.

Armstrong told the influencer she looked ‘ecstatic’ on Wednesday. Picture: TikTok

The 19-year-old was left red faced after making an awkward ‘flirting’ reference. Picture: TikTok

“You look ecstatic,” he said.

“Thank you, wow, stop flirting with me,” Dopha replied.

Social media users were quick to speculate how the strange conversation deteriorated once footage of the incident began circulating online.

“Does she not know what ecstatic means?” one person wrote.

Others said they were left “cringing” with “second hand embarrassment” at the silence that followed the unexpected response.

Armstrong hosted the 2023 awards. Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images

The 19-year-old turned heads in a stunning yellow gown. Picture: Don Arnold/Getty Images

Many also sympathised with the young influencer, pointing to nerves.

“It’s just sarcasm and a bit of banter,” one person said.

“I say really awkward things when I’m nervous too and then feel extremely embarrassed.

“I think she was just very nervous.”

The TikToker did indeed admit that she was feeling jumpy, but not until after Armstrong defended his approach and his new romantic relationship which he announced last week.

“Had a hard launch this week, mate, don’t know if you caught the news,” he responded to Dopha.

Armstrong recently announced his relationship with Melbourne-based DJ Rona Glynn-McDonald in a ‘hard launch’ on Instagram. Picture: Instagram

“That was not flirting, that was flattery.”

Both laughed before Dopha said she was “happy to be here”.

“I’m very excited, very nervous,” she said.

Hearts broke across the country last Wednesday after Armstrong unveiled his relationship with Melbourne-based DJ Rona Glynn-McDonald, who goes by the stage name RONA.

Dopha missed out on the Creator of the Year Award, which went to mummy blogger Indy Clinton.

The 19-year-old has over 1m followers on TikTok and is preparing to launch her own clothing brand, All for Mimi.

Originally published as ‘Cringing’: Awkward moment between Tony Armstrong and TikToker at award show