Criticism is inevitable when you put yourself in the spotlight.
As Malcolm X once said, ‘If you have no critics, you’ll likely have no success.’
But how does a creator handle it when they’re pulled from the pedestal?
Today, we’re turning our focus on the haters. Or, more accurately, how one popular YouTuber – Zoeunlimited – found herself falling from girl-talk hero, to vilified zero… to rising back to the top, higher than ever before.
What happened that made her fans turn, what did she learn from it, and how did she turn that fall into her next chapter?
Zoeunlimited? More like Zoeunstoppable…
Zoeunlimited first started making videos around 2020 – just when Covid left everyone with time to fill – and she quickly connected with the audience she was directly addressing.
Zoeunlimited’s brand was always defined from the start: girls like her. She got real about weight, body image, fashion, dating and the general hell of girlhood in the 2020s. Some of her earlier videos deal with how she managed a glow up, battles with acne, and exercises that could get you looking like her K-pop idols. It wasn’t going to change the world, but it didn’t seem like she really wanted to anyway. It was, if anything, more of a modern-day diary.
And it clearly resonated: 3.37 million subscribers on YouTube, over 207,000 followers on TikTok, and 411,000 followers on Instagram.
But how did she go from relatable #girlboss to having the worst word of this generation thrown at her?
That’s right. She was called… problematic.
Zoeunlimited found out she did, in fact, have limits
We’re not here to pass judgment, but the tide began to turn for Zoeunlimited when her content shifted. So, what happened?
Her videos went from feeling personal to positioning herself as an authority (or so the many, many negative comments suggested.) Now, her once harmless concerns about body image quickly turned into what many viewed as questionable advice.
Then the final straw dropped when people started asking a serious question: was she making the problem worse by perpetuating ideal body image standards?
The comments turned. Reddit threads were opened. The internet did its thing. One day you’re up, the next… you’re downvoted.
The second era – growing up from the glow up
As most celebs discover, once the internet decides you’re over, there’s not much you can do about it. And this is where Zoeunlimited surprised everyone. She pivoted. If we’re using Taylor Swift-speak, she went from her Fearless era to Reputation.
Suddenly she was a cultural critic. Exploring how celebs like Blake Lively found themselves canceled, how Sabrina Carpenter ascended to the status of pop queen so quickly, and the marketing stunts behind some of our favorite celebrity rebrands.
Did she take the comments to heart, or was she just growing up?
It’s natural that someone who began their channel in their early 20s would eventually evolve as they grow older and think more about their future. Zoeunlimited couldn’t keep focusing on topics like acne without it feeling out of place as she matured. It was time to pivot her content to reflect this new phase in her life—and she did just that.
Unlimited potential
Some lessons you learn the hard way, and for Zoeunlimited, she’s weathered the social-media-storms of being canceled and come out stronger. The comments on her recent videos prove that she’s reached a new audience, interested in branding and marketing.
If she continues to focus on this, who knows what the next era will be. But, whatever you may think of her personally, it’s impressive to see someone grow, change and evolve with millions watching.
And isn’t that really what’s been the core of her brand all along? Capturing the experiences of girlhood as they naturally transition into the complexities of young womanhood. It’s this ability to evolve with her audience that keeps Zoeunlimited’s influence as strong as ever.
