Toronto plus-sized influencer says Hooters TikTok video was a joke

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What a hoot!

Toronto plus-sized influencer Olivia Messina says it was actually a joke when she posted “a cute TikTok” video in which she wore a Hooters waitress outfit last June, captioning it: “Do you want fries with that?”

The 27-year-old, 5-foot-9, 320-pound content creator, who bought the orange and white Hooters top and orange short shorts off Amazon, said she never actually wanted to be a so-called “Hooters girl.”

This despite the video kicking off with a sentence written above her saying: “I’ve always wanted to work at Hooters,” while she dances to Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me.

“People took it literally — people thought I actually wanted to work at Hooters,” Messina told The Toronto Sun on Wednesday.

“I know exactly how algorithms work on TikTok; you have to make it saucy. I guess it was like a double-edged sword. Like I knew that it would get traction and I knew it would get negativity, that’s with all of my content, but now these articles are being written and (I’m) like, ‘I don’t work at Hooters. Nor do I want to.’”

And boy was there traction.

The TikTok video has attracted 36,700 likes, 777 comments — both negative and positive — and been viewed 468,900 times.

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Messina, who says she works out occasionally and could make more money if she lost weight, has had to develop a thick skin since she started posting on various social platforms.

Between TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and having both Patreon and OnlyFans accounts, she figures she has 1.5 million followers collectively.

“As a big woman, (negativity) is expected in general,” she said. “Being a plus-sized content creator, you’re dragged for promoting obesity. Just because I’m wearing a cute outfit, I’m standing there, apparently I’m trying to influence other people to get fat like me, which has literally never been the case. I used to go on a blocking spree (of trolls) and now I don’t even care.”

Messina, who previously worked as a beauty company customer service agent, felt uncomfortable taking public transit during the pandemic, so she turned solely to social media, Patreon and OnlyFans and “over time,” she started to make “lucrative” money.

She would only say that she makes “six figures” yearly just on OnlyFans alone, which features her producing photos and videos, including some nudity, adding her father and mother are supportive.

“My dad is like Italian, so all he cares about is me being financially stable and making money,” said Messina. “So, he’s happy with it. My mom’s happy with it, too.

“They obviously don’t ask for details (about OnlyFans) and I would never tell them,” she said with a giggle.