In Defense Of Caroline Calloway's Empty Mason Jars

Influencer Caroline Calloway was called out for allegedly "scamming" fans with a hastily-planned tour, and at the center of the controversy were 1,200 empty mason jars. But just because the mason jars were empty doesn't mean they were useless. (This is for the Editorial Fellowship).

Some serious Influencer Culture tea was spilled this month when Caroline Calloway was dragged on Twitter for not quite delivering on a comprehensive national tour. However, many quickly came to Calloway's defense after the influencer apologized, admitted responsibility, and redesigned the tour.

@carolinecalloway / Via Instagram

Long story short, Calloway charged $165 per ticket for entry to her events. But due to a lack of adequate preparation, things rapidly unraveled and she backpedaled on most of the event's offerings--including personalized goodie bags. She also cancelled events in several cities after realizing she might be in over her head. However, once criticism on social media quickly compounded, Calloway responded by taking full responsibility for the dismantled tour and vowed to make things right for ticket holders. A new-and-improved tour is currently back on track--the result of tireless work and learning from mistakes, Calloway says.

Calloway has since emerged as a controversial figure and a poster child for Influencer Culture at large. Critics were quick to draw comparisons between her cancelled tour and Fyre Fest, while fans claimed she had been unfairly dragged for what amounted to be nothing more than a few minor setbacks.

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An influencer is defined as someone who uses social media to promote products, services, and brands--including their own. To establish credibility as an influencer, a user must maintain a formidable following, usually around 5k followers at the very least. Before Calloway had really developed her personal brand she was best known for securing a $500k book deal, something that helped propel her to influencer status.

Now that you're up to speed, let's talk about the 1,200 empty mason jars that were delivered to Calloway's apartment. The jars were intended to be DIY mini-gardens and favors that would be distributed to ticket holders at the end of the event. But Calloway was overwhelmed when the massive delivery arrived at her Manhattan studio apartment. Instead of DIY mini-gardens, attendees received mason jars that were empty--save for a few flower seeds.

@carolinecalloway / Via Instagram

Calloway panicked. Not only did she not have enough room for the jars in her apartment, she also didn't have enough supplies to go inside the jars.

The mason jars quickly became A Thing

dejan @heyDejan

I'm dressing up as one of Caroline Calloway's mason jars for Halloween

10:21 AM - 14 Jan 2019

Tom Bergeron Updates (Claudia) @thewaitisogre

who hasn’t ordered 12000 mason jars at once and stored them in their NYC studio apartment? we are all Caroline Calloway

08:01 PM - 15 Jan 2019

the dreaded laramie (8) @fcukign

i hope caroline calloway’s 1200 mason jars are having a good day

09:32 PM - 14 Jan 2019

Many critics latched onto the mason jars, which emerged as an enduring symbol of the fiasco

When Calloway handed out the nearly-empty mason jars as favors at the end of her NYC event, critics claimed that the empty jars represented all of the empty promises that Calloway had delivered to fans over the course of the unraveling tour.

@carolinecalloway / Via Instagram

The original favors were supposed to include much more than mason jars. Fans were told they'd receive personalized notes and tote bags alongside the DIY mini-gardens.

Everyone's all bent out of shape about the Empty Mason Jars of 2019, so here's a hot take for the haters: I'm acutally not mad at the mason jars. In fact, I'm Team Empty Mason Jar all the way.

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Mason jars are reliable. Mason jars are sturdy. Mason jars DON'T LET YOU DOWN.

Actually, an empty mason jar is far more appealing to me than a mason jar that comes all prepared with random stuff ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Why would I want a mason jar with a bunch of dirt in it?? Y'all really expect me to love and nurture a damn DIY garden?? Hit me with an EMPTY mason jar, please! Give me something that I can use for storage, cooking, lightning bug catching and, most importantly, WHATEVER TF I WANT.

Critics of the Empty Mason Jar don't get it. I have one word for y'all: SALAD.

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Facts are facts: the best foods are made in Empty Mason Jars.

You can put stuff inside an Empty Mason Jar and shake it

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If this doesn't look fun to you, then you're beyond help tbh.

Mason jars are highly sippable

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They're the perfect partner for your favorite beverage.

Just in case you haven't seen the light yet, there's more. A LOT MORE.

Why Don't You Make Me / Via whydontyoumakeme.com

Feeling crafty? Make this cool thing with--you guessed it--an Empty Mason Jar.

Who knew that you could make a soap dispenser out of an Empty Mason Jar??

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You can purchase the supplies on Amazon.

Solve all of your storage problems with an Empty Mason Jar

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Quit living like a garbage human and store your stuff in pretty, polished mason jars.

With an Empty Mason Jar, the possibilities are endless

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Open your mind.

Seriously though, the possibilities are truly endless. Looking for a side hustle?

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Fart in a jar and sell it on Etsy. I won't judge you.

Need a place to store all of your hopes and dreams? Look no further than an Empty Mason Jar.

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Just, like, hold it against your head? Idk. It's YOUR mason jar--don't let me dictate what you do with it.

In conclusion, these unfairly-maligned mason jars are a GIFT.

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WE DON'T DESERVE EMPTY MASON JARS

They are a symbol of creative freedom and boundless expression. They are the new empty canvas.

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Tell us--what YOU would do with an Empty Mason Jar?

Thank you, Caroline. Thank you for the mason jars.

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