Cam Merchant – who starred in season six of MAFS – has been criticised for copying the exact ‘random act of kindness act’ that has been widely slammed in recent days.
Influencer Harrison Pawluk made headlines recently after he filmed and uploaded a video of himself paying for a stranger’s groceries at a Woolworths in Melbourne. In the video, Harrison tells the woman that she dropped something, and then sneakily paid for her shopping while she wasn’t looking. When the woman was told by the cashier that Harrison has paid for her groceries, the woman can be seen looking visibly upset.
Viewers slammed Harrison over the act, pointing out that he makes much more money off his videos than the cost of the shopping, and accusing him on using these acts to increase his fame, rather than out of the goodness of his heart.
Just days after Harrison’s video went viral, Cam did the exact same thing, and like the influencer, videoed it and posted it to his Instagram for all to see.
In the video, Cam can be seen approaching a mum and introducing himself, while a backing track of ‘Higher Love’ plays.
“My name is Cameron, today I would love to pay for your groceries.” Came tells the woman, before asking the age of her baby and adding: “I’m a new dad as well, and I just understand, I get it.”
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While the woman in the video is grateful for Cam’s act, fans on social media are calling him out for posting the exchange “for recognition”.
“Why film this? These videos make me cringe. If you want to be kind, do it, but please put the video down,’ one person commented on the clip.
Another wrote, “‘People who have to share their good deeds all over social media are not doing it out of kindness, they are doing it for recognition.”
‘Random acts of kindness’ is an initiative where people do nice things for strangers, like giving a compliment or giving out a free coffee, in the hope of improving their day or mood.
Cam was paired up with Jules on season six of MAFS, and the couple quickly fell for each other. At the final MAFS commitment ceremony, Cam got down on one knee and legally proposed to his on-screen wife, who happily accepted.
The couple were married in 2019 in a ceremony that was televised for fans, called A Current Affair’s Married At First Sight Wedding Special: Cam and Jules. They welcomed their son Oliver Chase Merchant into the world in October 2020.
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