According to Mark Chandley, the creator of the #FreeRacquel2K17 GoFundMe, the campaign is purely is in jest.
"It was 100% a joke," Chandley told Refinery29. "I never imagined that this would blow up like it did. I never expected to raise even $1 dollar." Chandley is a student at Pennsylvania State University. He only just started watching The Bachelor.
Chandley has now raised $130, but he says the money will go back to the donors unless he can prove to GoFundMe that the dollars will actually head to Racquel.
"I want to make clear that I’m not out for people’s money," he said. "I’ve talked with GoFundMe and the deal is, they won’t release the money until I make contact with Raquel and can prove it. If I’m not able to make contact or Raquel declines, every cent will be returned to the donors or I’m even open to donating to charity."
Chandley also claimed that he was aware of the "backlash" to his stunt and assured Refinery29 that he didn't seek to pull attention from other crowdfunding efforts, saying, "In no way was it my intention to divert attention away from the hardworking people who are raising money for legitimate causes."
He has yet to contact Racquel, the nanny in question, but stated that he would if he in fact reaches his goal.
This story was originally published on January 19, 2017 at 10:45 a.m.
Corinne Olympios has garnered quite a bit of attention for her scene-stealing antics on this season of The Bachelor. As she is the show's token "villain" — every reality show has one — viewer reactions haven't been terribly positive. Just last week, the Miami native defended herself from internet slut-shamers (some of said finger-waggers were former Bachelor contestants). But last night, Olympios decided that the negative attention had gone "too far" when a Bachelor fan created a GoFundMe for the contestant's storied nanny, Racquel.
At this point, Racquel is a veritable character on the show. She appeared in the season 21 premiere as Olympios' dedicated nanny, and she's been the talk of Twitter ever since — one creative fan even made a parody account for Racquel. It was all fun and games until someone decided to turn a profit on the situation — paving paradise and putting in a crowd-funded parking lot. Mark Chandley created a campaign titled #freeRacquel2k17. As of now, he's raised only $125 of a $100K goal.
Chandley writes on the GoFundMe page, "While I do not claim to know Raquel, America has become captivated by and feel for her. If any money is actually raised, I will personally make sure to find information for her to give her the moeny [sic]. If the goal is not reached, all funds will be returned to the donors." Chandley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Whether or not the campaign is a joke — we've been burned before by gag crowd-funding projects — Olympios is not amused.
"This is not a joke anymore someone took this way too far and is trying to make money for themselves," she wrote on Instagram. "Raquel is not a slave and my family and I treat her like part of the family. Leave it alone already it's getting old. Grow up."
The 24-year-old added a couple of hashtags for emphasis: #celebnanny and #raquelisfree.
See the full post, below.
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