A viral social media storm has erupted after Perth-raised podcaster and former Big Brother star Julia Rangiheuea, 31, accused some of the most popular “party girl influencers” of secretly struggling with substance abuse issues, while glamorizing the very lifestyle that nearly ruined her own life.
Rangiheuea, who shares her sobriety journey as @recoveringpartygirl on social media and hosts the podcast “Soberly Speaking,” says she was “deep in addiction” until January 2023, when, with just $29 to her name, she made the decision to go sober.
She now uses her platform to shed light on the harsh reality of addiction, and in her latest video, which has amassed over 2.1 million views, she pulled no punches.
“PSA, your favorite party girl influencers all have crazy substance abuse problems,” she claimed, later repeating for emphasis, “Crazy substance abuse problems.”
She added that these influencers “use their fat paychecks entirely on partying” and therefore, are often broke.
The ex-reality star also suggested that the “doing it for the plot” or “Brat Summer Party Girl 365” narrative popularized online and promoted by these influencers isn’t just harmless fun, but potentially dangerous.
As someone who couldn’t socialize for 15 years without the use of alcohol or drugs, she said alarm bells are often raised for her when she hears how some of these influencers speak about alcohol.
“I just want you to think about the way these people talk about socializing without alcohol and how negatively they talk about it, or how their life, if you really look at it, does revolve around substances,” she says.
Anticipating backlash, she admitted, “I’m sorry to be that girl, but I had to bring it up.”
The response was immediate.
Many users chimed in to support her, with one noting, “It quite literally is the early 2000s all over again.”
Another added, “A lot of people are actually alcoholics and don’t realise it, because it’s so normalised.”
Some commenters also criticized influencers more broadly, especially health or wellness ones, for promoting an aspirational lifestyle while drinking heavily behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, some hit back at Rangiheuea, saying she was overreacting and that not everyone who drinks has a problem.
“God forbid a girl has fun – not everyone is an addict,” quipped one.
“Just because the poster had an addition problem, doesn’t mean all girls who like to party do,” replied another user.
As the video gained traction, followers began tagging high-profile people such as American content creator Alix Earle, singer Charli XCX, and business owners Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott, who co-host the podcast “Happy Hour with Lucy and Nikki.”
News.com.au is not suggesting that any of these women have substance abuse issues.
Jackson, one of those tagged, quickly addressed the situation in her own video.
“(Rangiheuea) is saying that your favorite party girl influencers all have massive substance abuse problems,” she said. “Firstly, (that) is a huge assumption and, secondly, a huge projection.
“Obviously, she struggled with some really big addiction problems, which is awful. But that’s your journey, not everyone else’s.”
Jackson, who co-owns the fashion label Jagger & Stone with Westcott, then defended her lifestyle, insisting that she and her pal don’t have substance abuse problems and are “not broke.”
“We run successful businesses. We have a very well-balanced life,” she insisted.
She then urged her followers to think twice before commenting on others’ videos, potentially defaming someone without any evidence.
“As women, we are so quick to attack each other,” she said. “We need to be so careful with the content we are consuming to make sure that we are only taking in genuine facts of information.”
Her video received a lot of praise, most notably from fellow influencer Abbie Chatfield, who commented: “It’s so exhausting people making false narratives because they THINK they know you from the content you post!
“It’s also wild to me that people see other people tag you in comments and then they think it’s true …? Because someone else tagged it…?”
For her part, Rangiheuea told news.com.au her goal was to spark a broader conversation, not to single out individual people.
“My intention was never to attack a specific person, but to start a conversation about a broader issue I see again and again online,” she said.
“Party influencers will broadcast (and therefore monetize) binge drinking multiple nights a week. They’ll openly glamorize benders, which often involves staying up all night, taking drugs like cocaine.
“When someone is consistently using substances like this, it’s worth asking if they’re in control of it, or if it’s controling them.”
She believes that for many people, seeing excessive drinking and drug use glamorized online creates “huge pressure” to keep up or risk feeling left out.
“Normalizing harmful behaviors like this can lead people into addiction before they even realize what’s happening. Personally, that constant celebration of the party lifestyle made it so much harder for me to recognize my own addiction.
“As a society, we won’t make meaningful progress on the drug and alcohol crisis, or its devastating effects, unless we honestly reflect on our own relationship with substances.
“The second we make these conversations about personal attacks, we derail the opportunity for real progress.”