Kmart influencer accused of racism over quilt cover

The Kmart blogger sparked a social media firestorm over her praise for one of the store’s discount items — causing her to fire back in response.

A Kmart influencer has been accused of being a “racist” and “white supremacist” after posting a photo of the discount department store’s $45 white quilt cover.

Claire has 111,000 followers on her Instagram page @thekmartlover which sees the Tasmanian woman post photos of her favourite Kmart items and stylish home.

Last week she found herself at the centre of a social media storm over a post of Kmart’s white waffle quilt cover on her bed.

Sharing the picture on Instagram Claire wrote “white is right” as part of the caption. The choice of words soon saw her hit with a torrent of abuse accusing her of being a racist.

She changed the post’s caption but tearfully revealed in an Instagram story over the weekend how she had been affected by the cruel claim.

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Claire was accused of being “racist” after sharing a photo of her Kmart quilt cover. Picture: @thekmartlover/Instagram

“I’m not racist. I was purely talking about a bloody doona cover and it does hurt. It hurts me. I put in time to this page. It’s my page,” she said

“I don’t get paid to tell you where an item is from. I don’t get paid to give you a swipe-up link.

“I don’t get paid to show you what it would match with and so many of you ask things like that and I give you my view on it.”

Claire also shared an Instagram photo of herself on the white bedspread, writing that she was “unshowered, heavy eyes from a bad headache, no make-up” and “just a girl on a bed in what she considers a cool outfit sharing her love for home styling and fashion”.

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The Tasmanian woman posted this photo of her bed, along with a caption which read in part “white is right”. Picture: @thekmartlover/Instagram

She claimed that she had been trolled this week for “having too many hats”, accused of being “racist for saying ‘white is right’” and for having “too many clothes”.
Claire said she had decided to speak out against the trolls to prove trolling is never OK.

“I could stay quiet as some of you have suggested and not respond to any of these remarks but that is not me,” she said.

“I am strong. I am independent and I am taking a stance against this small minority of society that feel this behaviour is OK because it is not.

“I am using my voice for those that do not feel strong enough to have a voice. I am using my voice so that hopefully this changes the mindset of one person out there that has thought about writing something negative in any online forum.

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Claire tearfully hit back in a video on her Instagram stories. Picture: @thekmartlover/Instagram.

Claire later fired back by posting another photo of her this time posing on the quilt cover. Picture: @thekmartlover/Instagram.

“I am using my voice so that hopefully one less person becomes a victim to self-harm and/or suicide due to online trolling. This behaviour is not OK, it is not tolerated and it is time for it to stop.”

Claire’s followers praised her for taking a stand against her trolls, writing that the influencer was right to speak out and defend herself.

“Love following you, sorry to hear about the awful trolling. people can be so cruel. It’s not fair,” one person wrote.

“Shame on those people for turning something inspirational and positive into something negative and unnecessary … No need to hide. hats off to you for speaking up hun,” another commented.