British YouTuber responds to #Bloggergate hotel firestorm

The blogger at the center of an online feud with a Dublin hotelier has released a second video appealing to her haters to stop the online abuse that has spiraled out of control.

British influencer and YouTube personality Elle Darby, 22, has posted a follow-up video to a post that has gone viral over the last week, revealing the extent of the online backlash she's received since the story hit headlines around the world, with trolls writing death threats and wishing her unborn children cancer.

"I just think it's about time that people start to take responsibility for what they're saying over a screen," she said holding back tears.

"A lot of the times it doesn't feel like you're actually saying it to the person if you're just typing it out on a social media platform but there is a person on every single end of whatever message you send and words can have a very negative impact on somebody's mental state."

Not up to date on the online drama?

When Darby wrote the Charleville Lodge Dublin and White Moose Café requesting a free stay over Valentine's Day with her boyfriend in exchange for a positive review on her social media channels, owner Paul Stenson wrote a scathing Facebook reply that looked something like this:

"Thank you for your email looking for free accommodation in return for exposure. It takes a lot of balls to send an email like that, if not much self-respect and dignity."

Though Stenson had blacked out the YouTuber's name, it didn't take long for the blogging world to uncover the influencer's identity, prompting Darby to post a YouTube response that has generated more than 2.2 million views since being uploaded Jan. 16.

The viral feud has since ignited a firestorm of controversy over the murky relationship between the travel trade and the blogging industry, and deepened the rift between Millennials and the "older generation."

Critics call influencers like Darby -- often young, beautiful and stylish -- entitled freeloaders with no work ethic, while her defenders point out that influencers are just the new form of advertising 2.0.

Luxury brands in travel, beauty and fashion have long used influencers -- much like celebrities -- to star in promotional Instagram posts and YouTube videos.

Meanwhile, Stenson has used #Bloggergate to create merchandise like T-shirts that read "I demanded freebies at the White Moose Café and all I got was this lousy T-shirt," and has created a video of his own, simulating a press conference about the incident.

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Despite the feud, Stenson also asked people to stop the cyberbullying in a backward kind of tweet.

"Some of the comments the girl (who I have never once named) is getting on her Insta are horrible. I don't condone these comments and I think it's time people laid off her. Insult me all you like, but leave the girl alone. She f**ked up. She's learnt her lesson. The end."

It would also appear that Darby wasn't the first influencer to request a free stay. In a sign of his long-running beef with the blogging world, Stenson posted a facetious video he produced called "House of Influencers" back in October, in which he roasts the industry.

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