In an interview with The Information, Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe spoke out against the racist trolling that was directed at her on social media because of her relationship with her Black boyfriend. Besides touching on that topic, Phoebe, who is an influencer, also spoke about the “misconceptions and conspiracy theories” about her family.
The 20-year-old initially made her relationship with Robert Ross public in an Instagram post last July, per Daily Mail. The two lovebirds attend Stanford. But shortly after sharing photos of her and her beau, the comments section was filed with messages of disapproval. Other social media users also alleged her boyfriend was romantically involved with her because of her status as the daughter of a billionaire.
The social media influencer said she has had enough of the negativity when she was asked about the pros and cons of being popular online. Phoebe has over 60,000 TikTok followers while her Instagram account has more than 200,000.
RELATED STORIES
“The misconceptions and conspiracy theories about my family and my relationship with my boyfriend,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s 2023. I’m done being memed for being in an interracial relationship.”
Phoebe said that though she’s aware people visit her social media pages to catch a glimpse of her personal life, they tend to “stick around” after they familiarise themselves with the content she shares.
“I’m pretty realistic that people start following me because of my family name. And people probably find it funny to see my dad being a goof and playing [Box Ball],” she said.
“But once they follow me, they stick around, and I think some of that is because of the issues that I post about, like women’s health. I like to bring audiences along to the events I go to, my life at college, what’s front of mind for me, that kind of stuff.”
Phoebe also said that she hopes her social media presence will clear any “misconceptions” surrounding herself and her family. “People have a lot of preconceptions about me, so TikTok has been a chance for me to tell my own story and also use the attention my family name might bring to spotlight issues that are important to me, like women’s health and sustainable fashion,” she explained.
