The Super Bowl is over, so we are officially in Valentine’s Day mode over here. We’re going to get into a story we haven’t been able to stop thinking about for weeks: West Elm Caleb. Why was he dubbed one of the year’s first internet villains? And what does his saga tell us about race on the internet? Let’s dive in.
Here’s the backstory: In early January, a woman posted a TikTok about her frustration with being ghosted after dates. In the video, she specifies she’s in New York City, and her caption references a tall guy named Caleb. That’s about it.
But this smattering of info, catalyzed by TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm, turned the video into a lighthouse for a swath of young, mostly white women in the NYC dating scene. In the comments and their own videos, about a dozen women shared stories about meeting a tall guy named Caleb on Hinge, who said he worked at West Elm as a furniture designer.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
