Jade Brycki (née Tunchy) became the target of online mockery on Thursday after she shared a post comparing her confidence to that of famous artist Vincent van Gogh.
The influencer, 31, uploaded an image of herself posing in the doorway of a café while clutching a Louis Vuitton handbag last Thursday.
She captioned the picture with a lengthy explanation, describing how people laughed at her for taking the photo and adding that it took 'courage' to be an influencer.
'When I was taking pics with the girls today, I noticed a group of people looking over and laughing at me,' she began.
'It's certainly possible that someone just coincidentally shared some friendly banter at the exact same time that everyone looked over at me, but you can't help but wonder if you're being made fun of.'
Jade went on to explain that 'taking a selfie in public was controversial' when she first joined Instagram, adding that she and her husband Lachie Brycki used to 'feel uncomfortable' taking photos of each other early on in their relationship.
Jade Brycki (née Tunchy), 31, became the target of online mockery on Thursday after she shared a post comparing her confidence to famous artist Vincent van Gogh
The influencer uploaded an image of herself posing for a photo in the doorway of a cafe while clutching a Louis Vuitton handbag last Thursday
'Because of all the looks we'd get – and clearly still do (even though taking a selfie in public is hardly considered strange anymore, we invented bloody selfie sticks for goodness sake),' she explained.
'Nobody would think of an influencer as courageous because courage is usually linked to something people respect, and not a lot of people respect influencers, but that's exactly what it took for me to keep putting myself out there in a potentially uncomfortable situation.
'It takes courage to believe in yourself despite what others think and say about you. It takes courage to stand out from the crowd. It takes courage to live out your dreams.
'If you've been holding yourself back from something out of a fear of failure, rejection, or embarrassment, just remember that Van Gogh was criticised for his painting style and never knew his success because it didn't happen until after his death.
'Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for lacking imagination. Dr Seuss's first book was rejected 27 times.
'There's nothing extraordinary about taking a selfie in public, but I will say I've always fostered a self-belief that has been imperative to my success.'
Jade went on to say her 'ability to switch off the noise and pursue whatever it is I believe in' is 'extraordinary'.
'My message here is not that I am a mad c** (although seeing 60k people in a stadium recently and realising I have over 16 times that following makes me feel like I might be) it's that you need to stop bowing to societal expectations and norms, get a little uncomfortable and believe in yourself,' she wrote.
Is being an influencer really courageous or is it out of touch with what real courage looks like today?
She captioned the picture with a lengthy explanation, describing how people laughed at her for taking the photo and adding that it took 'courage' to be an influencer
Jade went on to say her 'ability to switch off the noise and pursue whatever it is I believe in' is 'extraordinary'
Critics of the mother-of-two flocked to Reddit with brutal comments about her post, slamming Jade for comparing herself to famous public figures and calling influencer work 'courageous'
