Erzabel gets stopped by strangers in almost every country she visits.
Only one of them has ever made her fear for her safety.
The 30-year-old model, who posts to more than 854,000 Instagram followers as @erzabelx, was shopping when a man recognised her and asked her to lunch.
She said no. He stayed.
“A man recognised me while I was shopping and asked if I’d go for lunch with him,” she said.
“I politely said no, but instead of leaving, he kept following me around the shopping centre.
“He followed me for hours. It was really creepy. I genuinely feared for my safety.”
The centre was busy, and Erzabel says the man eventually left without approaching her again.
Recognised in every country
Being spotted in public has become routine for the creator, who is originally from Southeast Asia and travels somewhere new almost every month.
“I get recognised all the time now,” she said.
“It happens in so many different countries. I’ll be walking around and someone will suddenly say, ‘Hey, are you Erzabel?’ It’s always really surprising.”
Most of those encounters, she insists, are the good kind.
“Most people are so lovely. They’ll ask for a picture and tell me they’ve followed me for years.
I really appreciate that because they’re the reason I’m able to do what I do.”
‘I never want one bad experience to ruin all the good ones’
Erzabel launched her online career during the pandemic, and says a single viral video, viewed 42 million times, changed her life.
She now says she earns up to £60,000 a month.
One frightening afternoon has not changed how she treats the people who made that possible.
“Thankfully that’s incredibly rare,” she said.
“Most people are respectful and just want to say hello. I never want one bad experience to ruin all the good ones.”
She added: “I’m still amazed that people recognise me. It makes me feel very grateful.
I just hope people always remember to respect personal boundaries.”
Why It Matters
Parasocial connection is the engine of the creator economy, and stories like Erzabel’s show where the wiring frays.
A follower who has watched someone daily for years can mistake that familiarity for a relationship that runs both ways.
Unlike traditional celebrities, most creators work without security, management, or any real buffer between themselves and their audience.
The accessibility that builds a following is the same thing that leaves creators exposed when a fan decides no doesn’t apply to them.
Creator safety has become a live industry conversation this year, with platforms and talent agencies under growing pressure to treat harassment and stalking as an occupational hazard rather than a rare exception.
Erzabel plans to keep travelling and keep stopping for photos.
Whether an industry built on being reachable can also keep its people safe is a question nobody has properly answered yet.
