Aimee Walker
An influencer on ITV’s This Morning has defended the decision to travel to Dubai during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Sheridan, who has been living in the city since the start of January, claims that it’s ‘essential’ she travels so that she can continue to provide content for her social media followers.
Chatting to the daytime show’s hosts, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, she explained: “I think what you’ve got to understand is that it’s my job. My job is to motivate people, do you know what I mean?
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“I could just sit back and think ‘Do you know what, I’ll wait until the gyms open…’.”
A snippet of Sheridan’s time in Dubai was then shown to viewers, revealing that the influencer has been riding camels during her time abroad.
After watching the clip, Willoughby stated: “But this image doesn’t motive me, it makes me feel utterly jealous.”
“I came to Dubai purely for business,” Sheridan responded. “I am a personal trainer, the gyms are closed and everything was in tiers so I took my online business over to Dubai.”
At this point, Schofield remarked: “A lot of this fitness stuff could be in your garage in Bolton, you don’t have to be in Dubai, but the glamour stuff you post elsewhere is you sitting in a bikini on a sun lounger enjoying the sunshine.”
Sheridan then claimed that she had also travelled out to Dubai as she was struggling with her mental health.
She said: “Yeah, the main reason was for my own self, mental health kind of thing, during the second lockdown I was struggling to motivate myself.
“My clients depend on me to bring them motivation and happiness. My mental health was suffering, I thought I am not going to be able to start anything new sitting in the house.
“I had an idea but I thought, ‘I cannot be bothered’,’ and I thought the only way I am going to get out of this is to find the opportunity to get on a plane for essential travel.”
However, viewers of the programme weren’t convinced and argued the influencer was being ‘selfish’.
One person tweeted: “What have I just watched? Trying to justify being in Dubai! Who do these influencers influence?”
Another added: “I’m sorry, this influencer is using her mental health the reason why she travelled to Dubai? Is that a joke? You do your workouts in your Dubai apartment, which means you could’ve done it at home. You’re being selfish, don’t excuse it.”
“This girl doesn’t have a leg to stand on, you call yourself an influencer yet you aren’t influencing the younger generation to do the right thing? Sis just say you did it for the holiday and the money,” a third fumed.
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