Las Vegas Veteran Slams Out-Of-Touch Influencers: ‘I’ve Never Had a Blue Check, but I’ve Had a Blue Collar’

Influencer James Charles got in hot water after he mocked a laid-off Spirit Airlines worker on TikTok. The insensitive rant earned James online backlash from social media users and other influencers. An ex-military firefighter from Las Vegas shared his two cents on the situation.

“As a full-time influencer… I’d like to tell everyone else that has done this full-time, especially if this is all you’ve ever done, to shut the fuck up,” the veteran Mario Mirante (@mariomirante) said on TikTok. He has been doing content creation for a year but has a thick resume of hard jobs to back him up.

He continued, “I never had a blue check, but I’ve had a blue collar.” Mario explained that he’s been working since he was five years old with his father, who was a landscaper. His friends had all the time in the world to listen to music and play video games, but Mario had to help his father with the job. He recalled that their house ran on a wood stove, so he also had to help cut wood to feed to the fire.

“Then I worked at restaurants, bussing tables, waiting tables, cleaning dishes,” he said, and he was doing all this before he even graduated high school. Upon graduation, Mario ended up joining the military. He spent the decade of his life working as a military firefighter, where he had to juggle 24-hour or 48-hour shifts, 365 days a year. Needless to say, Mario has worked an awful lot—and none of the jobs he had were easy.

An influencer who has lived a tough life

“In the past year, I’ve been doing content full-time,” he claimed. “Let me tell you: if I were to turn on the audience that has given me the privilege, the luxury, to live the life that I’ve lived and use them as material? There’s nothing more out-of-touch,” Mario said. Influencers owe all of their success to the viewers who’ve decided to follow and watch them. Without an audience, they’d be virtually unknown—but it’s clear that some influencers don’t have regard for their followers, who’ve carried them to success.

“If all you’ve ever done is your makeup, your hair, and cooking your food… That’s fine and dandy. Good for you! But you better be appreciative of the people that have given you the luxury to do that,” he reminded content creators. While Mario doesn’t explicitly mention the name, his comments are a clear hit against James Charles.

“People come on here to be distracted, to be educated, to learn,” he said. Mario believes that social media users on TikTok are on the app to have “an experience beyond their reality.” It’s harsh and tough, especially under the current economic conditions. Real people don’t need an influencer who slaps makeup on themselves for a living to tell them how to “live”—as Mario puts it, influencers “wouldn’t last” in the real world.

“You’ve never lived, you’ll never understand, and you couldn’t possibly imagine,” he concluded. But Mario did give himself a shoutout: “You should follow me. I’m pretty funny!” If not for his comedy sketches, do it for his adopted shelter cat.

James Charles had already issued an apology for his comments and has donated to the woman he victimized, but social media is still fuming over what he said. The woman has also come forward and denied James forgiveness. She said, “Hell no, I don’t accept his apology.”

Not even money can buy a good reputation. For now, it seems like social media is saying bye, sister, to James.

(featured images: mariomirante)

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