A woman who said she used to work at a fashion company described in a TikTok video how an influencer mocked her for driving a stick-shift car during a shoot. Natalie Carter, who posts as @natalieecee, shared the account in a clip captioned “corolla > green chrome wrapped porsche.” The TikTok video has gained 6.3 million views, 1.2 million likes, and more than 3,600 comments.
Carter said the company hired influencers for photo shoots and brought in one man she called “famous adjacent” because his car was well known, making him “a package deal.” She said the shoot concept called for him to arrive in a sh–ty car and then switch to a nicer one. Her bosses decided to use her own car to save money instead of renting one, she stated.
She said she asked the influencer if he knew how to drive a manual. Carter said he answered, “Of course I know how to drive manual, I’m famous in the car industry.” When he learned her car was a stick shift, she said he replied, “But you’re a girl,” and added that “girls can barely drive, much less drive stick shift.”
Carter said the influencer stalled her Corolla and then blamed the car
Carter said she went behind the camera and called “action,” telling him to turn the car on. She said nothing happened at first, then she heard him grunting in frustration. When she walked over, she said he asked where the pedals were and how to shift gears.
She said it then became clear to her that he had only ever driven an automatic car in manual mode and had never driven a true manual. Carter said she told him the stick was “right there” and that “that’s why it’s called stick shift.” She said he still could not start the car at first, then stalled it many times after she gave him a pointer.
Carter said she offered to sit with him and give tips. She said he replied, “It’s not me, it’s the car. It’s just so sh–ty. I’ve never driven anything this sh–ty before.” She said she answered, “Ooh, actually I don’t think it’s the car. I think it might be because you’re a man,” and added, “Yeah, because apparently only girls know how to drive stick shift. I’m gonna go sit in the passenger seat now and teach you how to drive.”
Carter said, “I’ve never seen a man and his jaw drop so fast in my entire life.” She stated that she sat in the passenger seat, gave him directions, and got him to move at least 10 feet without stalling. She said he stayed quiet for the rest of the shoot.
She closed by saying the influencer’s car “isn’t even that cool” and suggested, “Maybe you should look into getting a 2010 Toyota Corolla if you actually want to be a good person.” Earlier in the video she also said viewers “would have thought this man was f–king Beyoncé with how big of an ego he had. Okay, diva for sure.”
Viewers focused on both the driving claims and the decision to use her personal car. One commenter said they would have been afraid the influencer would damage the vehicle, writing, “girl i’d be scared he’d ruin my car.”
Another commenter questioned whether using paddle shifters in manual mode counts as knowing how to drive a stick, writing, “People think paddle shifting in manual mode is being able to drive a manual car?” A third commenter asked whether the company paid her for using her own car: “But did you boss pay you for using YOUR car? Cause they should have.”
One viewer reacted to Carter’s line that the man’s car made him a package deal by writing, “‘His CAR was really famous, and therefore he was a package deal.’ Me, who knows no influencers: SPEED RACER.” Online confrontations about cars and behavior can escalate quickly, as seen when a woman confronted a man who allegedly stopped his car to follow her.
Another commenter shared a personal story, writing, “I was once married to a man who wouldn’t let me buy a manual bc he couldn’t drive them. I eventually came to my senses: divorced the man and bought the car. True story!” Relationships can involve unexpected power dynamics, such as when a man loaned his car to a woman he was dating, only for her ex to track her there with an AirTag.
Published: Sep 1, 2026 05:15 pm