- Jennelle Eliana Long, a YouTube sensation who gained 1.5 million subscribers within a month of posting her first video, told Business Insider that she’s starting to be recognized by people she doesn’t know, sometimes with unwelcome consequences.
- She said a stranger showed up where Long was visiting recently and asked to see her.
- The incident led her to question whether she should be thinking about her personal security with her newly acquired online success.
- Other popular influencers with massive followings online have shared their concerns about personal security.
- YouTube stars like the Dolan Twins and MrBeast have told fans on Twitter not to show up to their houses.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
One of the downsides of a YouTube influencer’s quick rise to fame is a sudden need for increased personal security. And the YouTube sensation Jennelle Eliana Long has experienced this firsthand.
Long gained 1.5 million subscribers on her YouTube channel within a month of posting her first video. She recently spoke with Business Insider about her channel’s growth and said it had caused strangers to recognize her and the converted 1995 GMC Vandura Explorer Limited she lives in.
She said that while she was visiting family recently, a stranger pulled into her parents’ driveway and was asking for her.
“Before that happened, my dad was just lecturing me because he doesn’t think I should drive my van anymore because people will recognize me,” she said.
The 20-year-old started her channel to share her nomadic van-life adventures, mostly around California.
Long isn't the only popular influencer to have concerns about safety.
Many other top creators, like Jimmy S. Donaldson, who goes by MrBeast online and has 22 million subscribers on YouTube, and the popular YouTube twins Ethan and Grayson Dolan, who have 10 million subscribers, have spoken about their struggles with personal security.
On July 21, Ethan Dolan tweeted: "Hate to say this again but don't come to our house or the cops will be called. No ones home should be invaded."
Donaldson replied: "This is starting to become a big issue for me as well. It's creepy as hell."
