If you’ve read my other media reviews, this one may seem out of place. Although I typically find it cringey when people overshare on the Internet, this video fascinated me. In this post, I will discuss what I gained from this video, and why it stood out to me so much.

About Stella Williams

If you don’t know Stella Williams, she is a Youtuber. In short, I would describe her as a plus-size activist and social media influencer. As with all of us, however, she is more multi-faceted than that. I found her randomly on my YouTube feed one day, and watched one of her videos to see what she had to say. The particular video I saw (whose title is so explicit I don’t care to name or link it here) was just as bad as I thought it would be. I was genuinely shocked that YouTube would allow videos of this nature, but seeing what they allow in music videos these days, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. 

Her spiritual dilemma

Now that I clicked on a video of hers, she started to show up in my recommended videos. Many months after my introduction to her, I found myself clicking on another video she posted, again out of curiosity. This video was of Stella driving in her car and talking to her camera, typical of many young people’s vlogs. She talks about her life, and as the title states, ‘let’s the viewers in.’ While she is talking, she starts crying at various points. She is emotional not only about her health diagnosis, but because her Christian self is not lining up with her “self expression.” She goes on to talk about other areas of her life, including her relationship with her aunt and the goals she has for the upcoming year. [ends around 12:49]

My reaction

This video fascinated me because she so clearly articulated her spiritual dilemma. From what I gained, she wanted the best of both worlds. She wanted to be able to be her sexually free and open self, following the desires of the world, while still being good in God’s eyes and following what He commands. This is a popular dilemma, and I imagine many young people on a Christian spiritual journey can relate to what she’s saying. 

As she is a public personality, I imagine it is a very complicated thing to wrestle with. Not only would she have to face the potential backlash of her friends and family, but then has the unforgiving internet to face, also. In my mind, she would have to completely change her brand. Many of the things that she publicly stands for would have to be completely reversed, and she would likely lose the platform she’s built. This process could prove to be long and difficult, and would probably be more exaggerated than what the average person would have to face. 

This is not impossible, though, and would be an amazing act of courage for her to do so. The most remarkable thing to me is how aware she is that she is blatantly ignoring God’s will. It’s not that she doesn’t know better, it’s that she doesn’t want to do it. Just from watching a few of her videos, I can assume she grew up in a Christian church and is well-versed in the Bible. 

Biblical context

Watching this video brought a few Bible passages to mind that may give some clarity to her situation:

“You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” —Matthew 6:24

“If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first. If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.“ —John 15:18-19

“The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.” —Luke 12:47-48

Conclusion

The point of this post is to show that fame and money bring added challenges that people don’t often consider. However, they seem to be the only goals of some people. To me, this video reiterates that a relationship with God is the most important thing to have, regardless of how many followers you have and how much money you make. There’s nothing that can surpass that, and the higher status you go, the more challenging it becomes. 

I am not trying to bash, shame, or otherwise shed a negative light on Stella Williams, at all. Rather, I appreciate this video for its candidness. Perhaps someone watching her video will relate to her struggle and will be inspired to change their ways too, who knows. On the other hand, I can’t say that I support her ‘sexually-liberated’ content. I would encourage anyone in her position to ask God for help in changing their ways. God knows your heart and will judge you at the end of your life, so it will be more than worth it to seek Him in the long run.