Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Glamorous’ leads the audience into the world of beauty products and the companies that make them. The title refers to the company created and owned by Madolyn Addison, a former supermodel. Marco Meija, whose life had been normal and uneventful, gets the opportunity of a lifetime when Madolyn hires him to become her second assistant. Marco is ecstatic to become a professional in the beauty industry, but it comes with a lot of challenges and lines that Marco cannot cross.
Apart from his job as the assistant, Marco also takes over the company’s social media, where he posts about everything from their new products to Madolyn’s pictures. In the final episode, he throws shade on a popular influencer named Waverly, which brings him a lot of trouble. Who is she, and is she based on a real influencer? Let’s find out. SPOILERS AHEAD
Waverly in Glamorous: Influential, Unseen Character
Waverly in ‘Glamorous’ is mentioned in the final episode when her fans launch an attack on Marco for throwing shade at her. When Glamorous launched their new Pride palette, they sent it as PR to beauty influencers like Waverly, who sent it back. When Marco makes a sassy comment about her, Waverly’s fans, referred to as Riptide, decide to teach Marco a lesson. They send glitter bombs to his office, and the comments on his account and the company’s social media are flooded with messages that demand Marco take back his words.
We never see Waverly’s face in the show, but it’s clear that she has a dedicated fan following. Marco knows that being on the wrong side of Riptide is not a good thing, so he tries to make up with them. With Ben’s help, he tracks down Waverly but is unable to meet with her in person because the building is flooded with her fans. Eventually, Waverly contacts Marco. She forgives him for his comments and tells him to forgive himself. The entire matter is resolved with her blessing, but it shows Marco that he needs to be careful with his words.
Waverly is Not a Real Influencer
‘Glamorous’ is a fictional series created by Jordon Nardino. While all the plot and characters, including Waverly, are made up, the things that happen in the show are not too far-fetched. Through the lives of the people working at Glamorous, it presents a somewhat realistic portrait of how things work in the beauty industry, and influencers are an important part of it. Social media is an indispensable tool, and influencers, with their millions of followers, hold power over making or breaking a brand. This is exhibited in the final episode when the Riptide comes with full force on Marco when he says something untoward about their queen, Waverly.
The incidents of people “fighting for the honor” of the influencers and celebrities they love is not an uncommon occurrence. Social media is open grounds for people to fight each other in comments, DMs, or tweets over all sorts of things. A lot of people are extremely dedicated to the fandom they belong to and refuse to hear anything against it. Sometimes, this dedication extends a little too far and leads to terrible things.
In one case, the rivalry of two social media influencers in Germany led to the clash of 400 people at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. People showed up in support of the one they followed, and things turned violent, leading the cops to interfere. Several people were arrested, and the cops used tear gas to break up the crowd. Rocks were thrown, and several knives were confiscated, showing how easily things could have gotten worse.
While physical altercations like these might be considerably rare, fandoms are known to resort to online abuse and harassment, which is much more common. Ethan Peters, a beauty influencer, received hate for his comments about Doja Cat and XXXTentacion. Peters died on September 5, 2020. When his family took to social media to post a statement, they met with hatred from the fans who believed Peters had wronged their idols through his comments. Peters’ family revealed that people made memes about his death, which tended to be homophobic and violent.
In ‘Glamorous,’ things don’t go as far for Marco. Waverly’s fans have nothing more harmful than hateful comments and glitter bombs his way, but all of that is traumatic enough for Marco to be scared of what might happen to him and what impact this might have on the company. Through this arc, the show’s creator focuses on influencer culture, how it impacts the beauty industry, and how easily it can turn things around for the worse for someone.
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