A Melbourne woman says she feels like clickbait after she was filmed without her consent for a TikTok video that has now been viewed more than 57 million times.
But TikTok creator Harrison Pawluk's team said the video was filmed legally and was "designed to spread love and compassion" and not "cause anyone concern".
*Maree — who has withheld her surname to maintain her privacy — told ABC Radio Melbourne she was filmed in a public place receiving flowers from Mr Pawluk several weeks ago.
The video was posted on Mr Pawluk's TikTok account with the caption "I hope this made her day better" and the hashtag "#wholesome".
It has since gone viral on the social media app, collecting 57 million views and 10.9 million likes.
The comments on the video include, "when she started crying I couldn't hold it back", and "wow that was so beautiful I swear I would cry". These comments have received more than 10,000 likes.
But Maree said she wanted to challenge the idea this was a random act of kindness.
"There's a lot of these flower TikToks all over the internet," she said.
"He interrupted my quiet time, filmed and uploaded a video without my consent, turning it into something it wasn't, and I feel like he is making quite a lot of money through it.
'I didn't think much of it'
Maree said she had been having a coffee in a Melbourne shopping centre when a man approached her and asked her to hold a bouquet of flowers.
"I made a bit of chitchat about, 'Who was this lucky person?'" she told Virginia Trioli on ABC Radio Melbourne.
"And then he said, 'Someone very special', put his backpack on and just sort of strode off."
Maree then realised she was being filmed a few feet away from a group of people and asked whether they were filming, to which they responded, "No".
She then asked whether they wanted the flowers.
Later that evening, a friend contacted her partner and showed him the video of Maree that had been uploaded online.
"I thought, 'Oh well, who watches these things'," she said. "I didn't think much of it."
Viral and tabloid media
Maree later received more texts from people telling her the video had gone viral, and that there was an article written about her on a tabloid news site.
"The article said: 'old woman, elderly woman, heartbreaking tale'.
"And they got this picture of me supposedly crying, but it was just a horrible expression.
"I feel like clickbait."
The article said Mr Pawluk, who has three million followers, was performing "random acts of kindness".
"These artificial things are not random acts of kindness," Maree said.
"But I wasn't given that opportunity."
While it is legal to film someone in a public place, Maree issued a warning to others about the TikTok trend.
"I think other women, especially older women, should be aware that if it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody," she said.
"I don't do any Facebook, Instagram, TikTok — anything — and yet it happened to me."
Harrison inspired by trip to LA
A statement provided by Mr Pawluk's team said a recent trip to LA had inspired him to "concentrate on random acts of kindness after witnessing the extent of the poverty and homelessness in a city where that shouldn't be the case".
"He offers flowers and pays for complete strangers' groceries, and while cynics may claim it's for views, Harrison simply has a personal commitment to helping people feel more connected and trusting," the statement said.
"Having said that, while he has only so far encountered gratitude, if someone is upset, then they should feel free to personally email him.
"He would not want something designed to spread love and compassion to cause anyone concern."
* Maree gave her consent to publish the video with this article
