Australian influencer Anna Paul has finally responded to the explosive allegations made against her by fellow Aussie TikToker Mikaela Testa.
Last week, the internet was thrown into a tizzy after content creator Mikaela Testa released an almost nine-minute-long TikTok, accusing Anna Paul and her brother (and Mikaela’s ex) Atis Paul, of concerning behaviour such as talking smack about fans, lying about their impoverished upbringing and allegedly exploiting fans through giveaways.
After days upon days of silence — and fans begging for Anna to address what’s been dubbed Australia’s Dramageddon — the Paulie owner has finally responded in her own lengthy TikTok.
Here’s what Anna Paul said about the Mikaela Testa Allegations
Clarifying her relationship with Mikaela Testa
Before jumping into the allegations made against her, Anna shared that she doesn’t really respond publicly to online drama due to the fact that if she did, her content would just be statements upon statements.
“If I made a video addressing every time anyone said anything bad about me, I would be posting all day long every single day, as would every other content creator,” she began before revealing that her response to the drama is purely candid and that she had no PR team or script behind this TikTok.
Anna then went on to say that it took her a long time to respond because Mikaela’s video took her by “surprise” and that it was a “very big shock” to her.
“The reason why I’ve taken so long is because this all took me by surprise,” Anna continued.
“It was a very big shock to me because somebody that I thought was my friend and that I was close with really hurt me. And two months ago, she was asking me to go to Fiji with her on a girls’ trip.”
Anna also revealed that Mikaela was there for her when a rumour about her dad being homeless began to circulate across the internet late last year.
“Last year, when my dad was apparently homeless and that was going everywhere crazy on TikTok, she was the one helping me through it, sending me voice messages, telling me, ‘Don’t listen to the people online. They’re dumb. Everyone is stupid. Tell Papa it’s going to be okay. I hope Papa’s okay. Don’t tell him not to listen.’ She was helping me,” Anna shared.
“So now this has all come as a very, very big shock and surprise because I thought we were friends.”
The allegations of talking bad behind fans’ backs
In Mikaela’s video, Anna was accused of calling a fan “fat and sweaty” and then laughing about it with Atis after said fan had walked away.
In response, Anna said she’d never call a fan fat but admitted that she might’ve described them as “sweaty” after they hugged.
“I do not call my fans fat. That is not who I am,” Anna shared.
“That’s not what I stand for. That’s not what I’ve ever stood for.
“‘Sweaty’, however, I may have called her sweaty because when somebody is wet, and they touch you and then they leave, and when you’re with your best friend, you are now wet because of them, you may say, ‘I am now wet again’.”
Anna went on to explain that the fan might’ve called her sweaty and that doesn’t make them a bad person.
“That is just a human thing. And of course, you can twist it and make it sound bad in a video, but yeah,” the Paulie mogul added.
The allegations of lying about her upbringing
One of the major allegations made by Mikaela was that Anna lied about growing up poor.
“Their dad, making triple the average Australian income per week, had them living in a beautiful house on the water with a built-in pool. I’ve seen the house in person. It’s beautiful. Being upper middle class is not being poor. Anna, your exaggerated stories for the Internet has always made your dad upset and me, well, just angry,” Mikaela claimed in her video, which now has more than 19.9 million views.
“I was a real victim of the system and poverty like you portrayed yourself online. Remember that time when he called you out in the living room? He didn’t understand why you would post such things, and he called them lies.
“But you need the story faking your poverty so people excuse your schemes and wealth and feel bad for you, every calculated story serving such an important role and supporting the other lies this web you weaving to entrap these people’s pity.”
In response to the claim, Anna went on to explain she “felt broke” when her family couldn’t afford school uniforms or when her family had to budget for groceries.
“Now, I do not lie about the fact that I grew up broke. When I say I grew up broke, that is my experience,” Anna began.
“That is how I felt when I can hear my parents talking in the kitchen that the budget for the groceries that week is $30. It makes me feel broke when we can’t afford school uniforms. It makes me feel broke when I’m 11, when I’m 10, and all my friends can afford something and my parents can’t. It makes me feel broke when they say, ‘Oh, I don’t know how we’re going to afford rent next week.’
“That makes me scared. It makes me feel broke. That does not mean that I was the most broke person on earth. There are definitely people in way worse situations than me, but that does not mean that I’m lying about the fact that I felt broke during those times.”
Anna went on to address netizens who’ve reportedly pulled up old social media posts of her childhood home and car, explaining that those luxury goods were all obtained when she was an adult, adding that “social media is fake”.
“Social media is fake. It is not real Instagram. It’s all fake, and it can be faked,” she shared before claiming that an old photo of her sitting in first class as a teen was just a snippet of when she and Atis were being flown out by her uncle, who initially paid for economy seats.
Anna explained that she was in first class for only the last 20 minutes of the flight because Atis had thrown up on her and the flight attendants, who were taking care of unaccompanied minors, took them to the front of the plane to get cleaned up.
“So for the last 20 minutes of the flight, we were sitting in first class, and of course, we posted on Instagram,” she explained.
Another example of her faking pictures for social media clout was when she uploaded a photo of a Gucci watch, which she claimed was a fake watch her dad bought for $2.
“My dad’s job growing up was buying and selling antiques. So it would constantly go to garage sales and markets and stuff like that, and stuff like that, and then sell them on eBay afterwards,” Anna claimed.
“So there’s a photo of a watch that he bought at a garage sale for $2 and it’s a Gucci watch.
“Of course, I’m posting that. That’s cool, and that’s a flex, but that is not real. You cannot determine things from photos. It is crazy.”
Anna Paul calls for fans to be nice online
Towards the end of her video, Anna admitted that the drama between her and Mikaela had “gotten very, very insane” and that she was thankful that she had a strong support system during the controversy. However, she explained that she couldn’t fathom those people who experience what she’s going through alone.
“What I can’t imagine is going through something like this alone. There are children that go through this kind of stuff, this kind of bullying alone, and for that, I cannot even imagine how they even survived that, to be honest,” she tearfully explained.
Anna went on to plead with fans to not spread hate, even if their comments were made in her defence.
“If you feel the need to make a hateful, negative video, lock your phone before you do that. I promise you someone’s life is not worth the views, people die of this every day,” she explained.
“In saying that, I do not want a single nasty or mean comment in my defence, even if it is pushing me up, but being mean to someone else, you do not comment anything hateful or DM anybody anything hateful, even if it’s in my defence, please that can kill someone. It’s all internet fun until someone dies. I’m not joking.
“I do not stand behind your comment. And if you do that, I do not stand behind you.”
Closing her statement, Anna reiterated that she doesn’t post this kind of stuff and that her account will always be about her vlogs and fun content.
“Be nice, be kind. And if you feel the need to be mean, lock your phone and go outside, I promise you you’ll have a nicer day and feel nicer afterwards,” Anna shared.
“So yeah, I love you all so so so much. Thank you so much for the nice messages. I’ve seen them all, and they’ve kept me going. And let’s just encourage kindness because the world needs more of it. It needs way more of it. So yeah, I love you, and my account will always be a positive, safe space. It always has been, and it always will be.”
Mikaela Testa responds to Anna Paul’s video
While Mikaela has yet to post her own video response to Anna’s video, the TikToker took to her Instagram Story to claim that her comment under Anna’s statement had been blocked.
“Of course, Anna will block my comments. I guess I’m forced into explaining myself in full,” she wrote alongside a screenshot of her response.
In her rebuttal to Anna’s video, Mikaela accused of her fellow TikToker of being “fake” and that she has “receipts” ready.
“Anna please do not try and paint me as a liar,” Mikaela’s comment began.
“I will come with recipes. Do not make me come on here with it all. You said what you said in [its] entirety. I thought we were friends too. Until your friends have come to me with everything you’ve been saying about me the entire time. I reached out because I thought we were friends. We weren’t. You are fake and this doesn’t cut it. I care about children and you’re extorting them.”
At the time of writing, Mikaela has not shared a video in response to Anna and Atis, Anna’s brother, has not responded to Mikaela’s video.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to both Mikaela and Anna for comment.
The post Anna Paul Has Finally Responded To Mikaela Testa In Her Own 8:12 Minute TikTok appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
