Food Influencer Tieghan Gerard Addresses Her Haters: ‘I Don’t Want to Be Quiet’ Anymore

Food influencer and Half Baked Harvest Founder Tieghan Gerard is defying her critics in her return to social media after an extended hiatus.

“I feel like it has been so long since I have talked face-to-face to the camera. I have definitely taken a little bit of a step back from social media,” Gerard, 32, explained in a Friday, May 8 Instagram Story, acknowledging that while she has continued to post recipes, “I haven’t been sharing quite as much.”

“You know what, you guys? There’s a lot of haters out there, and it was just becoming a lot for me,” she told her more than 5 million followers. “The criticism, all of it. I just had to take a step back, but I’m back, you guys.”

Gerard has long been known for her “quick and cozy” recipes, as her Instagram bio notes, for novice cooks. In addition to her social media videos, she’s also published cookbooks.

But she has been a “lightning rod for controversy,” according to a 2023 article in The New York Times, which noted that she’s been forced to apologize after being accused of cultural appropriation and copying recipes, while some followers have speculated that she even has eating disorder, which she has denied.

In her video, Gerard revealed that she’s ready for a new beginning and is currently staying in Miami for a year to kick off a renewed time for her on social media.

“Everything is so, so good, and at the end of the day, I am just here to share beautiful things with you guys. I’m here to share my beautiful recipes with you guys, beautiful ways to present those recipes, things for your family to nourish them and then just what I love in the world,” she said.

“To be so quiet on Stories has made me so sad, and finally, today I was just like, ‘You know what, I don’t want to do that anymore, I don’t want to be quiet,’” she concluded. “You can take it you can leave it, you can criticise me all you want, but I love doing this, and I’m only here to share a little bit of good and happiness and that’s all I really care about at the end of the day.”