Abbie Chatfield’s soft launch of her boyfriend has divided online

Abbie Chatfield is known for pushing the envelope but her latest post is something that you can’t unsee.

OPINION

Influencer land in 2024 is the Wild West.

We want everything from them; and then we want to rouse them as soon as they do something we don’t like. 

We are desperate for the dirty details of their lives and every bikini photo they’re willing to share, but we also like to judge them. 

So when Abbie Chatfield shared a photo of her new boyfriend’s crotch on social media and joked it was a “semi-soft launch”, I think we can all admit it was too far.

But the relationship between celebrity and fan is now just confusing for them and for us, and the line of what people share online is just entirely out the window.

Like a Married At First Sight dinner party, there are no rules and lots of side boob. 

This was the photo she shared - on the right of Abby’s face was her boyfriend’s crotch. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

The soft launch immediately caused divide. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

The fact that Chatfield shared the tongue-in-cheek photo of her boyfriend’s crotch, even if it was a fully-clothed one, is more unsettling than surprising. 

It’s like when your aunty overshares about her wild new sex life post-divorce at family lunch. It’s not like she’s doing anything wrong; it’s more like you’d rather not know that much about her. 

Naturally, if you post a photo of your rumoured boyfriend’s crotch before you’ve posted his face on your Instagram, it is going to ruffle some feathers. 

There’s been backlash; some people thought it was “comedy gold” but other followers called the image “gross”.

The drama reached Chatfield’s ears, and she took a break from her Mexican holiday to explain the context behind the photo. 

“We weren’t even doing a bit; we were taking a video of us, and then he stood up, and I was like, aww, I’m cuddling into him, and then we saw the photo afterwards and thought that was so funny,” she said. 

Abbie has explained why she posted the photo. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

She has more than 400,000 followers. Picture: Instagram/AbbieChatfield

Chatfield said it wasn’t meant to be “newsworthy”. She argued that it was just a modest photo and conservative people are overreacting. 

“His penis isn’t out in that video, he’s wearing a top and pants,” she pointed out. 

She added that her head wasn’t just near his crotch. It was also near his hip and stomach, and she didn’t appreciate people calling it “disgusting”.

Chatfield’s right that it isn’t the most salacious image to hit the internet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t shock people. 

I mean, let’s face it: the social norm isn’t to upload a photo with your head near your new boyfriend’s penis whils his face is chopped out of the photo.

If someone not famous did it, they’d likely get a concerned call from their mum within five minutes, followed by their sibling calling them “embarrassing”. 

Abbie's one of Australia's most successful influencers. Picture: MediaMode

Chatfield isn’t your average person, and yes, her content is more interesting. Hence the fact she’s amassed a social media empire but any photo that alludes to a penis or any genitalia is always going to cause a stir.

I don’t love the post because I prefer it when Chatfield shows off about herself. That’s always fun.

Proudly showing off your boyfriend’s crotch seems more cringe-worthy than sexy.

It feels like a throwback to the teenage years when you’d drop heavy hints on social media because you wanted everyone to know you were having sex. 

It feels weirdly intimate, an overshare in a way that can’t be justified by the content being interesting or pushing an important conversation forward.

Sure, Chatfield gets flak for talking about anal sex but she also starts important conversations about modern sex.

Opinions aside, the photo really highlights how much influencers are willing to share. 

Which is everything. 

If we are happy for influencers to share their bikini photos, details of their dating lives and thoughts on anal sex, then I guess the trade is occasionally; we also have to endure a crotch photo that some of us find distasteful. 

We can’t expect these influencers to share their lives and agree with everything they do. 

So, just like taxes and low-rise jeans, we all have to learn to live with it.