Social Media Backlash Hits Influencer Over Jamaica Posts

Image: Passenger airplane flying through a storm. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/aapsky)
Image: Passenger airplane flying through a storm. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/aapsky)
Phil Cappelli
by Phil Cappelli
Last updated: 12:50 PM ET, Wed October 29, 2025

Hannah Grubbs, an influencer with over 360,000 followers across platforms, is facing criticism for posting about her vacation in Jamaica.

Online audiences have questioned her tone, which seems to make light of the natural disaster. 

On Friday, Oct. 24th, Grubbs posted a TikTok of her and another traveler with the caption, "Us on our way to Jamaica during a hurricane," referencing the Category 5 storm that made landfall on Tuesday, Oct. 28th. She has since changed the caption and avoided mentioning the storm. 

 

 

She made another post a few days later, claiming to be “pretending there’s not a category 5 hurricane hitting Jamaica,” which comes after Hurricane Mellissa had already killed seven people in other parts of the Caribbean. 

Audiences were quick to voice their disapproval, calling her social media posts “horrible,” “shameful,” and “tone deaf.” One commenter on TikTok said, “This has got to be the most out of touch thing I’ve witnessed by civilians in I don't know how long?” 

Hurricane Mellissa has since killed over 30 people in the Caribbean, and there is expected to be a much higher death toll once numbers are reported from Jamaica. Hannah has since added her “prayers for Jamaica” and “the whole island.”

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Jen Mallia

Jen Mallia

Senior Editor

Jen Mallia is an Edmonton-based writer, editor, and Oxford comma apologist. She is a former senior editor of the CAA/AMA Insider magazines and has written for a host of publications, including The Globe and Mail. National Post, The Guardian, Today's Parent, and InStyle. 

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