That Famous Texas TikTok Beekeeper is Being Accused of Faking Her Viral Videos

Drama is brewing in the world of beekeeping!

A couple of months ago, I wrote this article on a TikTok user whose entire content was about saving bees. Erika Thompson, whose TikTok username is @texasbeeworks, is a professional beekeeper with her own company, Texas Bee Works. Thompson is saving the lives of bees one by one in Austin. She has over four million followers on TikTok with lots of videos of her showing her skills saving the bees. Or at least, that's what she led us to believe!

Now, another beekeeper is calling out Thompson, claiming it's actually Thompson's husband who does the work. In a now deleted video, a TikTok user who goes by the name of @Dilligenda claims that what Thompson is portraying is actually dangerous stating;

“What she’s doing — going and opening up hives with her hair down, wearing dark clothes with exposed skin — is dangerous…she doesn’t show herself wearing protective gear when she goes up and analyzes the hive at first. She’s setting a very dangerous precedent. She looks really pretty doing it, and that’s because it’s faked.”

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After the release of that video, beekeeping TikTok erupted with criticisms of Thompsons work. Thompson herself hasn't responded to any of the criticism but in the past has commented on her lack of protective gear. According to Thompson, the only times she'll put on protective gear is if she notices signs of aggression from the bees; and yes, she does get stung occasionally, but it doesn't really bother her- to her it's just part of the job.

Despite the fact that it's fake, many believe that Thompson's videos are still important because she's still bringing awareness to saving the bees!