NYC Influencers Awkward Post Reveals Too Much

Wanting to know what people really think of you when your career is dependent on sharing your life with the internet is undoubtedly a recipe for paranoia.

And this certainly appears to be the case for content creator Elena Taber.

She was so desperate for opinions on her life and relationship with British actor Jamie Campbell Bower, 37, that she posted on 's 'NYC Influencer Snark' page under a pseudonym asking for 'updates.'

But what Taber, 29, failed to realize is that a link she had also shared from the pseudonym, which discussed how 'dating a celebrity is hell on earth,' linked back to her personal account, consequently exposing her as the person behind the Reddit post.

Predictably, the embarrassing faux pas was picked up by users who went trawling through Taber's Reddit account. They soon discovered her apparent penchant for making cruel comments about fellow influencers as well as posting about her boyfriend, who has said little publicly about their one-year relationship.

Past controversies were then dredged up - including the time she shot a 'fashion' video at the memorial in , a move that sparked calls for her to be cancelled.

'I had heard about her 9/11 fit check because I follow general influencer snark and I knew that she was not very well liked,' an insider told the Daily Mail of Taber. 'I was surprised that the incident didn't cancel her entirely, though that's not the first thing she was called out on. It's just by far the worst.'

They said her latest Reddit drama has 'really exposed how insecure and addicted to attention' she seems to be.

Before being found out, Taber - writing in the third person from her fake account - praised her own travels and described herself in the post as a 'pseudo-intellectual' who has 'more substance' than other 'nyc consumerism-final-boss influencers.'

Digging for information on her relationship with Campbell Bower, who played Vecna in Netflix's Stranger Things, she wrote: 'This relationship isn't new news but I need someone to talk about this with lol. I haven't kept up with her as much but she used to be one of favorites back in the day and I keep seeing her pop up with Jamie Campbell Bower and it's so crazy to me??'

The post asked if Taber had 'gone more private cause of her relationship,' before adding that it was 'insaneeee seeing so much unhinged hate she gets for just existing and dating someone famous.'

'She's so desperate to keep the narrative going that she has to post about herself on Reddit,' said our insider, adding that the 'TikTok she linked to in her post implied that dating Jamie was like "hell on earth," which people took as her bad mouthing him.'

The insider claimed 'it had already been speculated that they were on the rocks or at the very least he was not okay with her using him for content.' 

'I don't think they were on good terms,' they added.

The couple was rumored to have started dating in April 2025 before going public on Instagram in June after the Download Festival. They occasionally post coupled up pictures and hit red carpets together, including the Stranger Things 5: The Finale screening in November, but their romance has otherwise been low-profile.

Campbell Bower honored Taber on Valentine's Day, when he shared a black and white selfie of the couple on a beach with a sweet message: 'Happy Valentine's Day angel. Here's to more world tours, more love, more knowing.'

But Taber's Reddit post has left many baffled at why she would question her relationship with her own boyfriend and come for her peers.

Among those asking is fellow content creator, Katy, known online as Katyinkc. Katy requested her last name be omitted from this story.

Katy told the Daily Mail that after she posted a TikTok video exposing Taber, influencer Coco Schiffer liked it within the first five minutes. Taber had posted about Schiffer, 31, on snark accounts, accusing her of buying followers by paying a 'really good PR agency' thousands of dollars for press and copying content. Taber also questioned how Schiffer gets as many brand deals as she does, and how she sits in the front rows of fashion shows when her 'engagement is nonexistent.'

Taber also used her fake account to post about Kit Keenan, Danielle Carolan, Brooke Miccio, Danielle Water and Emma Leger, 29, who has allegedly unfollowed Taber on Instagram. Posts being circulated online from her Reddit account make several disparaging claims about Leger's dating life and personality.

Carolan, 27, appeared to address the drama with Miccio, 29, on their Gals on the Go podcast on Wednesday, although they did not name Taber. 

'It was just the most shocking thing,' Carolan said. 'I've seen this person many times and they're always so kind to me and commenting on my things so it's like wow that's terrifying that there is someone that we know saying all these things about someone that "they love."'

Miccio branded the saga 'embarrassing' and the unnamed person a 'loser.'

'I've literally been in her YouTube videos on her channel before,' Miccio added. 'I've been in her apartment. We've hung out one on one and that's why I have a vested interest in this.

'There are certain things where it's like literally who cares, unfollow, brush it under the rug. And then there are certain times when I want someone to feel uncomfortable in my presence. I want it to be known that we have an issue. Never speak to me again. Don't come near me. You don't know me, I don't know you. We are done.'

Miccio said she direct messaged the person about it as well.

'I was like you're a loser for doing that…' she continued. 'I had receipts… I wasn't just shooting in the dark.'

'I have secondhand embarrassment thinking about how somebody is talking about themselves in the third person,' Katy told the Daily Mail as she questioned how Taber's relationship will survive.

'I can't imagine it's going to be awesome that your girlfriend goes and gets caught doing something like this.'

Campbell Bower is preparing to release new music and there is talk of a Stranger Things spinoff.

'Any suggestion that Jamie and Elena have separated is false,' a representative for Taber told the Daily Mail.

Taber has been heavily criticized for her not-so-stealthy posting, but this is not the first time she has opened herself up to a public bashing.

In 2024, she posted a video showing off her outfit while strolling in front of the 9/11 Memorial in downtown Manhattan. Reddit users were shocked. 

'This is one of the worst "influencer" actions in a long time,' one Reddit user commented. 'She should feel ashamed.' 

Another said the post was 'in such poor poor taste. She has to be a transplant. NYers know better.'

Born in Paris, France, on November 13, 1996, Taber has been in the business of influencing since 2018. Her career trajectory is worlds away from that of her parents, Clyde and Shirin Taber, who met at church in high school and are involved in international ministry and evangelical missionary work.

Taber grew up in Foothill Ranch, California, with her siblings: older brother Quinn Taber, 32, who was featured on the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Education list, and younger sister Sage Taber, 24, an aspiring content creator.

She studied Marketing at Point Loma Nazarene University, according to her LinkedIn, and launched her YouTube channel in 2015, which documents 'travel, outdoor adventures, city living, fashion, wellness and my other 20 something misadventures in nyc, paris and beyond.'

In a Business Insider story from 2021, Taber talked about growing her following on YouTube and moving across the country to pursue her influencer career.

Before she started dating Campbell Bower, Taber had less than 300,000 followers on Instagram. She has since grown her account to 348,000, posting a 'bit of adventure, a bit of fashion,' according to her bio.

Posts often include travel to places like Mount Kilimanjaro and her 'outfits of the week.' She has brand partnerships with the likes of Away, Ferragamo, J Crew, Maison Margiela fragrances and Summer Fridays.

She has become a bit of a fashion it girl, gaining stamps of approval and getting dressed by the likes of Chloe and Fendi for major red carpet events. It might help that her boyfriend has seven million followers of his own, although he has yet to post her on his Instagram grid.

For her part, Taber has shared snaps of her beau, showing them traipsing about in the countryside or posing on a red carpet.

Despite steadily gaining followers, our first insider believes she has bought follows from bot accounts, especially since her count has continued to rise post backlash.

'I don't want to say definitely that she's been buying followers... [but] it looks like she has since it really doesn't make sense for her to gain like five to 6,000 after a massive backlash,' they said.

For now, Taber appears to be taking a step back from posting content on Instagram, which she used to do daily, and is recycling posts on TikTok, which the insider thinks is 'to avoid backlash in the comments.'

As to what she should do now, they suggested an apology or 'either privatizing or deleting her accounts.'

'She's now known as this influencer begging for sympathy and attention because she's dating a celebrity,' they said. 'Which isn't a good look to anyone.'