Joanne from Brand New Media, who also represents Creator Collective, had this to say when we reached out for her side of the story:

“The team asked for Syrena’s reel, which she provided. She informed them that she would not be able to part of their project, so they asked her for her fees. They didn’t receive a reply. This happened about two days before their scheduled shoot date.”

We clarified this with Syrena, who showed us a screenshot of her rejection to Magnificent 7 on 14 April (see first screenshot). An earlier email from the team also said that the video would have to be ready by 23 April for the pitch on 28 April. From the day Syrena backed out to the day the video needed to be put together, the team had a total of nine days to come up with another plan.

Joanne added:

“The team decided to go ahead with Syrena’s story, but did not inform her of their decision. They thought this was an internal workshop pitch for a brief that was not actually going to become a reality. They clarified during their presentation that the person in the video was not the real Syrena.

When we were notified of the problem at 5 PM on 30 April, we immediately removed the video from the Creator Collective website. We have since taken all other pitches and videos off the website too.”