Elyse Myers Called out for Flood of Fan Comments on Negative Book Review

Influencer Elyse Myers is known for sharing funny anecdotes, crafting projects, mental health insights, and mom life updates on social media.

On YouTube, she's been posting long-form content, like book reviews, album reactions, and daily vlogging.

This year, she published a book filled with personal stories called That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You. Harper Collins says she "shares relatable personal stories told with vulnerability and humor, shining a light on the awkwardness of being human."

The book is a New York Times bestseller, but now there's drama related to a so-so review from one reader.

Diana starts by saying that a reader commented on Elyse's book, saying the stories aren't like the ones she tells on social media and that the book just wasn't for her. She didn't tag Elyse in the post.

The reader wrote on Instagram Threads, "I'm so sad I don't like this book at all. Has anyone else tried reading it? It's not like the stories she tells in her videos." She goes on, "I'm on the fifth essay, and I think I have to stop reading it. Ugh."

Elyse saw the post and commented on it, saying that she's sorry the reader didn't like the book and that the reader can return the book if they'd like to.

Diana says the problem is that Elyse was not tagged in the reader's original post. "So it sent all of her millions and millions of fans to feel the need to defend her in the comments in a very parasocial way."

Diana points out the huge discrepancy in follower counts between Elyse and the fan. Elyse has 7.1 million fans on TikTok compared to the reader's 154. Elyse's 3.9 million fanbase on Instagram is gigantic compared to the original poster's 3,000 followers.

"When all of those people come commenting on her post, it can feel like a pile-on. And then in response, a bunch of bookish people started to pile on Elyse for not knowing this etiquette," Diana explains.

Diana explains that it's bad etiquette to enter reader spaces and comment on reviews because they want reviews to be honest and fair.

Another author reached out and told Elyse about the etiquette, and Elyse apologized, saying she didn't know.

Diana notes that Elyse was off of social media for a long time due to her son's health issues and "Operation Watermelon," so she genuinely may not have known.

She concludes with the fact that it's important to keep in mind that, in general, if you have a lot of followers on social media, they're going to see and respond to posts that you comment on and interact with.

One person writes, "The 'feel free to return it' was so snarky. She knew what she was doing," while another user writes, "Everyone needs to touch grass or something, it seems like such an innocent fumble and she wasn't rude or anything."

Someone questioned why Elyse hasn't had media training to cover things like this. They said, "When I became an executive, I got media training for press interviews/TV, etc. Why didn't her publisher and their PR team give her some coaching on this space since it's new to her?"

Another TikToker said they're sure Elyse has resources available to her, and that "if you as a public figure are entering a new space, it's on you to find out how to exist in that space."