TikToker and small fashion business in a feud over a collab video

• A TikToker and a small-business owner are in a feud over a collaboration gone wrong.
• Siobhan Bell warned others about Charlie Hayes, saying she didn’t fulfil her side of the deal.
• But Hayes believes her unboxing video was the extent of their agreement.

A small-business owner posted a TikTok last week, warning others not to work with a certain influencer, saying she never fulfilled her side of their agreement when she sent over some clothes for a collaboration.

It’s one of many petty dramas that have taken over the platform, where art sales gone wrong, disappointing birthday cakes, and rude messages from Etsy sellers have all spiraled into viral frenzies.

Siobhan Bell, who goes by the name Xena on her business page where she up-cycles and reworks vintage clothes, said she had sent TikToker Charlie Hayes a box full of items including some shorts, a top, gloves, and sunglasses back in June.

She said Hayes had initially agreed to make some content with the pieces, but hadn’t kept to her side of the deal.

In the now-deleted post, Bell also warned other small businesses not to work with Hayes, and accused her of being unsupportive of sustainable fashion.

Hayes responded with her own video, denying Bell’s allegations, and saying she had been waiting to wear the outfit at an appropriate event, as the items were beach-themed.

Hayes told Business Insider she had not been aware of any conditions when she’d agreed to the collaboration. She said she had not seen Bell’s video until she received messages from someone saying they were Bell’s friend, calling her a “thief.”

“After being called a thief, I was like, look, I don’t really want to work with you anymore,” Hayes told BI.

“I said I’d send the outfit back. I did take a while, mind you. But I said to her, I don’t really have a sense of urgency after being called a thief. I’ll do it when I can — I’m working all the time and I’ve got a little boy.”

Hayes said she then saw Bell’s video telling other brands not to work with her, and decided against sending the products back.

She also remembered she had posted a video where she unboxed all the items back in June — she’d just forgotten about it. She was reminded when one of her followers left a comment.

“I swear you posted about this delivery when you received it and said you were excited to style them?” they wrote.

This, Hayes thought, was fulfilling her end of the deal.

She said she then asked Bell to remove her video and apologize. That’s when she saw Bell’s friend — the one that had called her a thief — had made a video as well, doubling down on the accusations. It has now been deleted.

“She posted a video saying, well, she is a thief. I stand by that. She didn’t wear the outfit, so that makes her a thief,” Hayes said. “So I was like, I’m not sending this back. You guys can get fucked, basically.”

However, Bell pushed back on Hayes’ claims, saying they did have an agreement in place.

“The agreement Charlie and I had was to post a video styling my items, which I never received,” she said in a TikTok. (In a separate TikTok she posted a screenshot of a message where she asked Hayes to “make a video in the fit.”)

She also claimed Hayes had set the unboxing video to private, meaning it wasn’t available to view.

“After three months had passed by, I messaged Charlie, asked her if she liked the items, and when would she be posting a video, and I didn’t receive a reply,” Bell said. “So therefore she didn’t stick to her end of the agreement.”

She said a lot of people had told her they should have written up a contract to avoid this situation in the first place.

“I can see your point, but I just didn’t think that it would end up like this,” she said.

Bell said she thought it would have been “common decency” for Hayes to let her know the video was going to take a while. She also asked Hayes’ fans to stop “sending hate” to her friend, and leaving negative reviews on her business page.

“I’m not slandering anyone’s name, I’m just telling the truth about my experience with Charlie Hayes,” she said.

BI reached out to Bell for comment but did not receive a response.

Bell also commented on Hayes’ TikTok asking her to show the original unboxing video. Hayes then posted a short clip from the video, posted in June, of her opening the box and taking out the shorts, and another where she read out Bell’s business name, Xena.

Hayes told BI the situation was “messy,” and she didn’t expect such a fallout because she thought the agreement between her and Bell was casual.

She said she usually works with brands she likes and has built relationships with, so it “wasn’t weird” that there was no contract.

“That’s why I didn’t think there was any pressure to post, because I’ve worked with so many brands before that have been totally fine with that,” she said.

She added that she thought Bell continued making videos because they were racking up views.

“I don’t think it was that calculated to begin with,” she said. “I just think she was a bit of an opportunist about it once she realized that that’s what was happening.”

Viewers were divided on the situation, seeing both sides. Many of Hayes’ fans flooded Bell’s comments, accusing her of “slandering” Hayes and insulting her business. Others said they understood her perspective, and three months was a long time for Hayes to have had the products and not post the video she agreed to.

Many, however, thought the whole thing could have been handled privately.

“I hate when these things happen on TikTok because everyone dogpiles,” one person wrote. “You’re best to take this offline, remove the videos, and both apologize.”