Bakery owner accuses influencer of ‘lying and bullying’ with review

An influencer’s negative review of a bakery has backfired online, with the owner calling her out for “lying and bullying.” 

Aurora Griffo, who regularly reviews food on her TikTok account Glamorama, shared a video critiquing popular Arizona bakery JL Patisserie, and it quickly sent the internet into a spin.

“I do not mind spending $10 on a pastry if they are really good, but you cannot use fake-ass ingredients,” she said in her now-deleted post. 

“She essentially tried to blackmail us”

She took issue with the bright green color of the pistachio filling inside the treats. 

Overall, she claims “everything was a little on the sweet and rich side.” 

“All of that being said, I think if you stay away from the expensive ingredients, you can definitely enjoy a delicious, rich pastry here.” she concludes.

While her comments may have sounded like fair criticism, the bakery wasn’t having it.

In a now-viral response video, JL Patisserie revealed the influencer had contacted them before her visit, suggesting the idea of a collaboration with them. 

CEO Jenna Leurquin claimed the bakery “respectfully declined” because they just couldn’t accommodate the request in their budget. 

“Then she essentially tried to blackmail us by saying if we offered the food for free, she would write a good review about us,” she explained in her response video. 

Griffo showed up the next day despite no agreement being in place.

That’s when the bad review came, leaving a sour taste in the mouth of the business owner.

“We totally respect a bad review,” Jenna said. 

“But we don’t like lying and bullying.”

She then made a point to make her way through the bakery to discredit many of the influencer’s claims. 

Imported pistachio paste that they import from Italy (made from 99% pistachio), flour imported from Europe and sourdough that is made from scratch, which takes six months to make. 

“The problem is if the next generation is influenced by her to believe it’s okay to bully and disrespect the food industry,” Jenna concluded

“We like working with influencers, but acting like the working class is beneath you and promoting this kind of message on social media and bribing us for free stuff is not really something we support.”

“Someone finally stood up to me”

The response video reached an audience of more than 63 million and quickly garnered a response from Aurora.

That has too since been deleted.

“G–damn, someone finally stood up to me. I’ve got to say, f–king kuddos, for real. I respect that,” she opened her video. “What I don’t respect are the lies.”

She also pushed back on claims she’d offered a positive review in exchange for freebies, posting what appeared to be screenshots of her Instagram DMs with the bakery.

“When it’s a collab I will still do the honest review and highlight/focus on what I enjoyed and be softer/quicker on my words with what I may not like as much,” reads her message.

“Regardless, Jenna, I respect your balls, I do respect your talent,” she said. 

“I hope both of your sides of your pillow are cold at night and I wish you nothing but the best.”