Charles & Keith Girl Zoe Gabriel Responds to Allegations That Her Family is Actually Not Poor

You may remember Zoe Gabriel, the 17-year-old who received backlash for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand.

Since then, she’s gone on to become a content creator.

However, there have been allegations that her family isn’t actually poor.

She has since responded to the accusations.

Made a Video Addressing Doubts

On 16 April 2023, Zoe uploaded a response video onto her TikTok account @zohtaco.

@zohtaco💗♬ original sound – zoe 🦋

Accompanied by her father, the duo addressed doubts regarding the family’s background.

Zoe said that she made the video to “clear the air”.

After her father thanked those who have supported the family, the video cut to a statement.

The statement said, “The truth has always been out from the beginning – there were never any ‘dirty little secrets’.”

The statement emphasised that though the family was offended by the accusations, they were choosing to be empathetic and stay kind.

They added, “We extend our appreciation to everyone who has expressed their support to our family even from the beginning of our journey here.”

Not Rich, but Have Enough for Needs

Zoe’s father continued to explain that the family is “not rich” but “definitely have enough for our needs”.

He added, “For everything else, we work hard for it, and we save up for it.”

Zoe noted that the family had come a long way since moving to Singapore 13 years ago, thanking her father for his hard work.

He quickly interjected, attributing the family’s success to Zoe’s mother as well.

The one-minute response video ends with Zoe hoping that her video cleared up all the concerns people had.

Who is Zoe Gabriel?

In January, the 17-year-old’s TikTok video unboxing a Charles & Keith bag went viral.

@zohtacothank you dad 🥹♬ Glitch – Just audios

Why? 

It’s because she called the bag her first luxury item, sparking internet discourse on whether Charles & Keith is considered a luxury brand.

She also received a lot of hate for calling Charles & Keith a luxury brand. 

She made a video explaining that growing up, her family wasn’t well-to-do, which was why she felt that the bag was a luxury to her.

@zohtaco Replying to @cressy ♬ original sound – zoe 🦋

Since then, she’s become a content creator with over 256k followers on her TikTok account at the time of writing.

She got to meet the founders of Charles & Keith and was sponsored by other companies like Takagi Ramen.

She also became AirAsia’s new ride ambassador.

In March, it was revealed that she had become a brand ambassador for Charles & Keith, getting a featured post on the company’s account in honour of International Women’s Day.

Allegations

Unfortunately, getting hate isn’t new for Zoe.

After all, it was backlash on Zoe’s usage of “luxury” that drew attention to her.

Recently, Zoe and her family have been accused of not being as poor as she said they were.

A Facebook user posted a long paragraph of observations about Zoe’s family.

The post noted that Zoe “dropped out of Secondary Two education in Singapore, citing her father’s inability to afford the school fees.”

“However, if her father is truly financially unstable, it would be unlikely for him to have been able to work and live in Singapore for so many years, as well as bringing his children from the Philippines to live with him here.”

The user felt it was more “probable” that Zoe could not cope with the adjustment and could not succeed, thus choosing to use her father’s “financial predicament as an excuse”.

Another observation the user noticed was that Zoe attributed her height of 154 cm to her father’s inability to pay for medical expenses regarding scoliosis, a condition she’s had since childhood.

Furthermore, the user pointed out that according to some people, Zoe’s father is reportedly a Mechanical Engineer.

The user added that her father’s occupation “indicates that Zoe’s repeated claims of poverty may not be entirely accurate”.

A netizen in the comments noted that from one of Zoe’s TikTok videos, it seemed like her flat was fully air-conditioned.

There have also been allegations against Zoe on Chinese social media Xiaohongshu.

Some felt that Zoe was using poverty as a marketing tool to gain sympathy.

A few others pointed out that Zoe uses branded products like Pandora and Dior.

In addition, her social media showed her wearing Dr Martens boots, a brand known for being expensive.

According to Viralcham, a Malaysian Mandarin social news website, netizens also became sceptical of her background when they realised she had travelled to Dubai in 2019.

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Who’s Honest Here?

According to Glassdoor, the average pay for a Mechanical Engineer is about 4k to 6k per month.

A netizen pointed out that as a family of five who probably rents their flat, there’s probably only 2k left to feed five mouths after rental fees. 

Furthermore, there are other miscellaneous fees to pay as well.

While the family isn’t poor, it doesn’t seem like they can live a life of luxury either.

Other commenters in Zoe’s response video noted that the family is probably middle-income and needs to work towards the occasional luxury.

Perhaps people want to feel schadenfreude, a.k.a pleasure at witnessing other’s failures.

Furthermore, people could just be feeling the online disinhibition effect.

If you didn’t know, it’s the effect that lowers people’s sense of morality, resulting in individuals behaving more hatefully online.

The veil of anonymity of social media doesn’t help. 

Maybe it’s better to heed the family’s advice to “understand others and be kind”.