WeWoreWhat influencer slammed for tone-deaf Ukraine Instagram caption
WeWoreWhat founder Danielle Bernstein is under fire for using the Ukraine-Russia conflict to raise her fashion brand’s visibility.
The influencer, who boasts 2.8 million Instagram followers, posted a series of bikini shots of herself Friday with a caption that has now been edited following major backlash.
The original caption read, “When I say you can do both, I truly mean it. You can post about fashion and post about world issues. You can raise awareness for your new collection while also raising money to give back.”
She added, “You can go about your day while also showing compassion and reaching out to others.”
Bernstein, 29, concluded the post by plugging her new swimsuit collection and telling her followers that “proceeds from the swim launch are going towards an on-the-ground organization in Ukraine. Stay tuned for more giveback for this collection.”
The comments under the post have been turned off, but critics chimed in when Diet Prada, an Instagram watch group that follows fashion accounts, shared screenshots of Bernstein’s post.
One user in particular, who seemed to encompass the overall sentiment of the backlash, wrote, “War is not the opportunity to promote your business 😪 #standwithukraine.”
Another added, “performance activism, is quite literally, the death of change and reform. scary to think about.”
A third pointed out how Bernstein has been in the hot seat before for other issues, writing, “weworewhat has had so many scandals im surprised they havent decided to just shut down already.”
In November 2020 and March 2021, the New-York based designer was accused of copying two indie fashion brands and was in a legal battle with undies brand The Great Eros for allegedly stealing a design. Bernstein has denied the claims.
She was also previously accused of swiping a mask design — which she denied — and of copying jewelry for a line with Nordstrom.
Since her latest controversy blew up, Bernstein has changed her caption to try and explain just how the funds of her swimsuit launch will be used to assist Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), an organization on the ground in Ukraine.
“Almost every single @shopweworewhat launch has given back hundreds of thousands of dollars to an extremely important cause and I couldn’t be more proud of that,” she claimed. “This will be no different.”
The fashion influencer then alleged, “Two days ago our team sent $250,000 worth of refugee relief to Ukraine. Because of the current situation we are delaying the launch date and making a second donation of $5,000 to our @wegavewhat partners @globalempowermentmission TODAY, because we know it is needed NOW.”
She concluded, “Once we release the collection we will provide additional support and a third financial donation with a portion of proceeds. 🇺🇦.”
However, another fashion influencer, Heidi Kaluza, who posts under the username @the_rogue_essentials, claimed Bernstein’s $250,000 donation was “not true,” saying an event Bernstein hosted had raised that much money with “no info … about where it went.”
Bernstein shared on her Instagram Story that @WeGaveWhat, the philanthropic arm of @WeWoreWhat, has raised $22,000 to date for GEM.
GEM also thanked @WeGaveWhat for their continued partnership, stating, “These funds are critical and being used immediately on the ground to support refugees.”
A rep for Bernstein did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.