Kristal Terrell met Hailey Bieber in what she thought was a normal interaction
Her video went viral on TikTok, with users taking it out of context and editing it to make Bieber seem rude
Terrell cleared the air and added context to show how Bieber stood up for her
A fan had a great interaction with Hailey Bieber after meeting outside of Nobu in New York City. Then, people on the internet twisted it.
Kristal Terrell didn’t think anything when she posted a video of herself meeting Bieber, 28, outside the celeb-loved sushi spot. Terrell was with a few friends when she ran into the model, who chatted with them for a few minutes. One of the people asked for a photo, and Bieber agreed to take pictures with all of the fans.
However, when it was Terrell’s turn, the building’s security guard came over and tried to stop the photo, placing his arm between the two women.
Bieber stepped in to assure him that it was okay. She then checked in with Terrell to make sure she was alright before continuing to take photos with the group of fans.
“I don’t remember what he said at the moment; I just froze, and that’s when she spoke up and told him everything was fine. That’s when she said, ‘You don’t need to put your hands on anyone.’ Then we proceeded to take a picture,” Terrell tells PEOPLE Magazine.
“I was filming because we had just been talking to her, and I filmed that interaction. I posted it on TikTok, not thinking anything of it at the time, as I had about 1,000 followers,” she adds. “Within like an hour, it started, like, gaining traction, and it went viral.”
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After Terrell posted the video, people on the internet began to take the interaction out of context. The video was also shared on X, and users quickly ran with their own, made-up versions of events. When Terrell tried to speak about her experience, several X users blocked her and hid her replies. The video also began circulating on TikTok again, with edits made to make it seem like Bieber was being mean to Terrell.
In the clip, Bieber says, “I don’t like people putting their hands on anyone,” leading commenters to believe Bieber was speaking directly to Terrell. Other accounts began posting an edited version of Terrell’s video.
“I rewatched it, and I looked at the caption, and noticed it had a hashtag ‘mean girl.’ This person had taken what Bieber had said, changed it, and clipped it so that you don’t see the man interrupting us. You see her telling me that she doesn’t like when people put their hands on people,” Terrell explains.
“I always knew she was a mean girl. Like, why would she say this?” one of the commenters wrote.
“Wait, what does she mean? The girl wasn’t touching her. What is she talking about?” another added.
Terrell tells PEOPLE Magazine she felt the need to speak up after seeing the shocking online reaction.
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“That’s when I said, let me make a new video, and hopefully, this ends up on the for you page of people who need to see it, who’ve been misinformed,” says Terrell. “Hey, this is me. That’s not what happened. Here’s the full clip of the interaction. In fact, Hailey Bieber was actually speaking up for me and standing up for me in that moment when she really didn’t have to.”
“Context is so important. Even without context, and if she was telling me she doesn’t like people putting their hands on her, she has the right to, which is true. She has every right to set boundaries if she wants to. She’s just an everyday person like you and me,” she adds.
Read the original article on People
