I get festival tickets and drinks for free – because I’m pretty
Anjola Fagbemi does not pay.
The 5ft 8in beauty was once out for dinner when she randomly met a guy who offered her several four-day passes – worth $500 each – to the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, where she lives. Such gifts are common for the professional model and the neuroscience intensive care nurse.
“Tonight I’m actually going to a free dinner, and when I travel I get a lot of free drinks at the bar,” Fagbemi told The Post.
The 24-year-old, who has more than 36,100 followers on TikTok, recently went viral on the social media platform with a post detailing what her “nice privilege” has brought her this summer.
On a solo trip to San Diego, a millionaire she met offered her sunset dinner, breakfast, drinks and a $100 Uber to the airport, while a owner of the ice cream shop gave him surfing lessons.
Back in Chicago, there were more free drinks offered by a man at the bar, and in a “first” for her, a couple. Then, in Athens, Greece, a man at the table next to her bought all her drinks.
“It was just a compilation of exciting things I got for free, and it was interesting that it wasn’t, like, a common experience for a lot of people,” said TikTok’s Fagbemi, who was seen more than 2.7 million times. “I just thought it was a funny TikTok and that would be good [and] light but it created a lot of talk.
The comments ran the gamut. Some were saying — “Hey, if they give, why not take it”; some took umbrage – “Wild to think someone would share this and not think he’s arrogant” and some were worried – “How are you not murdered or kidnapped yet?
Science has examined the notion of pretty privilege in recent years. A 2021 research paper published in Personnel Psychology found a positive association between physical attractiveness and career success.
“Across a wide range of job-related decisions and evaluations, employee attractiveness is associated with more positive outcomes,” the paper’s authors wrote.
The article also suggests that attractive people have an advantage in the way they communicate and that they can be socialized to behave and perceive themselves differently, resulting in “a greater sense of power” and “an unmistakable presence.” verbal more effective.
A 1983 article in the American Journal of Sociology referenced in the study found that attractiveness and interpersonal skills go hand in hand: attractive people received cues from others that make them more socially adept.
“Thus they get a double benefit,” the article says. “On status generalization and the learning of social skills.”
While Fagbemi admits her physical appearance played a big part in her lavish lifestyle, she said her ability to carry on a conversation is another big factor.
“There are a lot of things that have to do with the initial approach [and being friendly]”, she says. “I am an outgoing person and my job [involves] talk to a lot of people… So I learned to talk to people.
Fagbemi said there can be downsides to freebies and giveaways — like the Louis Vuitton scent of her “Aruba bae” that she shows off in another TikTok. While not everyone expects something in return, some are interested in more than conversation.
“I had people following me from restaurants [and] waiting for me to finish and then following me back to my hotel,” she recalls. “You must be very careful since you are alone.”
Still, she’s more than okay with her pretty privilege.
“I think it’s good for girls to be able to say, ‘I’m pretty and I get things done because I can. “”