I have ‘pretty privilege’ and here’s everything I get for free
“I got a free four-day pass to the festival from a guy I actually randomly ran into at a restaurant. Tonight I’m actually going to a free dinner, and when I travel I get a lot of free drinks at the bar.”
For most, a life of free drinks and tickets may seem ludicrous, but for Anjola Fagbemi it’s not unusual; with countless drinks, events and dinners offered to her free of charge.
The 5-foot-8 beauty, a professional model and a neuroscience ICU nurse with a thriving social media following, was once gifted several four-day passes — valued at $500 each — to the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, where she lives.
“Tonight I’m actually going to a free dinner, and when I travel I get a lot of free drinks at the bar,” Fagbemi told The Post.
However, she admitted that she didn’t realize the full extent of what her looks got her until she posted a now-viral TikTok, chronicling her summer of scoring freebies.
“Not all experience pretty privilege,” the 24-year-old, who has more than 36,100 followers on TikTok, wrote in a now-viral video.
Some other freebies she’s scored? Surf lessons, picturesque dinners, free drinks and pricey Uber rides and entire tabs picked up — when she’s really lucky.
“It was just a compilation of exciting things that I’ve been able to get for free, and it was interesting that it wasn’t, like, a common experience for a lot of people,” said Fagbemi of the TikTok, which has been viewed more than 2.7 million times. “I just thought it was a funny TikTok and it would be nice [and] lighthearted but it created a lot of discourse.”
The comments ran the gamut. Some related — “Hey, if they are giving why not take it”; some took umbrage — “Wild to think someone would share this and not think they’re arrogant” and some were concerned — “How are you not murdered or kidnapped yet?”
Science has examined the notion of pretty privilege in recent years. A 2021 research paper published in Personnel Psychology found a positive association between physical attractiveness and career success.
“Across a broad range of job-related decisions and evaluations, employees’ attractiveness is associated with more positive outcomes,” the paper’s authors wrote.
The paper also suggests attractive people have an advantage in the way they communicate, and that they may be socialized to behave and perceive themselves differently, resulting in “a greater sense of power” and “a more effective nonverbal presence.”
A 1983 article in the American Journal of Sociology referenced in the study found that attractiveness and interpersonal skills go hand in hand: attractive people receive cues from others that make them more adept socially.
“Thus, they get a double advantage,” the article said. “From status generalization and from learning social skills.”
While Fagbemi admits that her physical looks played a big role in her lavish lifestyle, she said her ability to carry a conversation is another important factor.
“There’s a lot of it that has to do with the initial approach [and being friendly],” she said. “I’m an extroverted person and my line of work [involves] talking to a lot of people… So I’ve learned how to talk to people.”
“I’m an extroverted person and my line of work is like talking to a lot of people,” she continued. “So I’ve earned how to talk to people.”
Fagbemi said that there can be downsides to the freebies and gifts — such as the Louis Vuitton fragrance from her “Aruba bae” she shows off in another TikTok. While there are downsides, she’s more than OK with her pretty privilege
“I do think it’s nice for girls to be able to say, ‘I’m pretty and I get things because I can,’” she said. “And that’s exactly what pretty privilege is.”