Influencer Kris Schatzel defends posing for photos at Black Lives Matter protests following death threats

‘I may have not chosen the best avenue to spread the message by doing a photoshoot after the peaceful protest,’ says model

(Instagram/@rusabnb)

Influencer Kris Schatzel has spoken out after receiving criticism for posing for a photoshoot at a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles last week.

On Friday, a video of Ms Schatzel at the protest went viral on Twitter.

In the short clip, the Russian model and YouTuber is seen walking onto the street and, as protesters walk past her, she is seen adjusting her hair and the position of her black gown.

A friend of Schatzel can be seen crouching down to photograph her.

The video was posted by @influencersinthewild, an account that pokes fun at the length social media influencers go to in order to take photographs, and quickly garnered millions of comments.

To date, the video, which was captioned “stop treating the protests like Coachella pt 17”, has been viewed more than 19m times.

Now, Ms Schatzel has spoken out against the backlash and revealed she has received death threats.

“Hey guys. I went to the George Floyd protest yesterday in Downtown LA and it didn’t go as planned,” the statement, which was posted on Instagram, begins.

“I took a few pictures, since I’m a social media influencer/model. The backlash I have received has been overwhelming.”

Ms Schatzel went on to say that she has the “upmost respect for the Black Lives Movement and all it stand for [sic]”.

“I also have the biggest empathy for the unnecessary killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis PD. I can also understand that I may have not chosen the best avenue to spread the message by doing a photoshoot after the peaceful protest and I take full responsibility for that.”

She continued by shedding light on some of the comments she has received.

“I seriously believe there is something very wrong with our society when so many people are calling for my public lynching, rape, execution, etc.

“Just because of a few photos in the wrong context, which again I take full responsibility for.”

Ms Scathzel concluded that her intention was to “spread the message the best way I know how”.