This is obviously a question that's been asked because of things that have been in the news cycle recently. I just spoke to Glossy. We can put a link to that article up. I just spoke to Glossy about this same issue of what do you do as an influencer when a brand's morals or behavior don't align with yours.

I think one of the great things about this industry or the best things about it is that it is full of individuals, and that those individuals are generally autonomous, and are in charge of their own destiny, and can have the flexibility to say what they believe in without any corporate oversight. So, I think as an influencer, you have a responsibility to your audience to be true to your morals and to be true to your code of ethics and the things that you believe in, the things that you think are okay, and the things that you think are not okay.

If you are a customer of a brand or you're working with them and you don't believe in what they're doing or you find that their morals aren't aligned with yours, it is 100% your right to walk away from that partnership or stop being a customer of that brand. It is your right to talk about that on your channels and tell your audience why you are not aligned with that brand.

I will caveat it by saying that this is also your business. As you grow as an influencer and as your business grows, you shouldn't compromise your morals in pursuit of capital, but you should remember that this is a small industry. Make sure that if you're going to exit a partnership because of something in the news, because of some morality issue, to make sure that you do it in a way that is as classy and fair as possible. These issues are not new. We have H&M, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, all of them doing things that are insensitive and that cause a well-deserved uproar on the internet.

I think it's important to remember that the people you're actually working with at the brand, that are working on the contracts, that are your day-to-day contact, they probably had absolutely nothing to do with any of that. I feel for the social teams and the PR teams at these brands because they're probably going through the same moral and ethical struggles that you as an influencer are. Except for them, taking a stand would mean quitting, which would mean all of their income disappears.

Whereas an influencer, let's say you work with a hundred brands a year, it's 1% of your income. It's much easier to take a stand when it's 1% of your income versus 100%. I feel for those in-house teams that get this thing thrown on them that was not their fault and they have to deal with it and they are taking the hate and acid from the mob.

I think that if you are going to step away from a paid partnership that you're contracted for, one, absolutely speak to the teams first. Speak to the teams on those brands. If a brand is finding out you're walking away from a partnership from your post, you have made a huge misstep. Let those teams know. E-mail them, try and get on a call. That's a conversation that should, I think, be had on the phone. I think you owe them that, at least, to talk through it. I think that there is a way to walk away from these partnerships in a way that you continue to be in service to your morals and your ethics and the way you see the world without joining the mob in bashing a company unnecessarily more than it needs to be.

You can say, "Hey, you guys know I've been working with this brand. You've seen the news. I'm no longer working with this brand." That is very different than going on a huge tirade. Again, I'm not saying that that is not ever justified. We have seen that influencers and celebrities have real power in this space. When they stand up and say, "Hey, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and I'm going to lose out on money because I believe so strongly that what this brand is doing is wrong. I think that is a very just and honorable and admirable thing to do.

I just think that you need to also just make sure you give the teams that you're working with a chance to know that's coming and not be blindsided by it because they will have long memories about this and they might go somewhere else. You don't want to get the reputation of being unfair or reactionary inside the community because again, it is a small community.

I will also say on the brand side in our contracts we have morality clauses. We have the ability as do our clients to walk away from an influencer who we feel like is their actions or beliefs are not in line with ours or our clients or their actions are negatively impacting our business or our client's business. I think it is totally valid as an influencer to have those same morality clauses and know that, "Hey, if you do anything that I don't agree with, I'm allowed to walk away from this."