Tyler Cameron's "Quarantine Crew" has been providing endless, relatable entertainment on TikTok to get us through the pandemic — but also stirring up controversy. As the group of friends has been hunkered down in Florida as the coronavirus storm passes, they've been accused by fans of not following social distancing rules and setting a bad example for their over 560,000 TikTok followers. The latest wave of backlash came after TMZ spotted Tyler and his brother Ryan working out with a "mystery blonde" outside their home in Jupiter, Florida, prompting Tyler to take to Twitter to address the criticism.
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The crew, which consists of Tyler, BFF and upcoming Bachelorette contestant Matt James (maybe?), Ryan, pals Kate Dooley, Olivia Faria, Matthew Hayball, Jacob Laham, and at one point former Bachelorette Hannah Brown, officially started quarantining together on March 17 after hanging out together in Florida earlier that month. Brown left her Florida friends in the first few days of April and has been quarantining with her family in Alabama ever since. However, on Reddit and Twitter, the crew has been peppered with accusations of having friends over and otherwise violating quarantine rules.
"dude I’m a huge fan but the lack of social distancing that you and the QC are constantly doing is selfish," one follower wrote on Twitter. "It’s disrespectful to all healthcare workers on the front line fighting this virus."
"I really hate to be an asshole to any of the Cameron boys because they just lost their mother. But I’m a nurse and I really wish they took this more seriously," another wrote on Reddit. "Please guys if any of you look at this Reddit, try a little harder QC. I’m telling you if one of them gets sick it’s not gonna be good for several reasons. We want you guys safe as well as others!"
It appears that Tyler, at least, saw some of the feedback, because he used the recent TMZ article as an opportunity to address the complaints.
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I'd like to address this tmz article that has people upset about social distancing. I am just like y'all and am taking this serious. There are loved ones that I miss because I can't see them just like y'all, and even worse people still getting sick. I take these precautions...
— Tyler Cameron (@TylerJCameron3) April 23, 2020
"I am just like y'all and am taking this serious. There are loved ones that I miss because I can't see them just like y'all, and even worse people still getting sick. I take these precautions very seriously but you try and keep a bunch of grown folk to comply with all the rules you're trying to set. Not the easiest of tasks," he wrote, suggesting that getting the whole crew to follow social distancing rules has been a topic of contention in the house.
But for the pictures taken by TMZ, there's an explanation:
"Some neighbors were running sprints, one goes to school and plays sports with Ryan. I challenged them to some sprints after our workout and we talked for a bit... from a distance," he wrote. "But you guys seem to like to jump to conclusions about everything without any real context so I thought I'd give y'all the context."
Forget Bachelor In Quarantine — all the Bachelor-pandemic drama we need for the rest of summer is right here.