A 29-year-old influencer, Fati Vázquez, sparked mass outrage after vacationing with 17-year-old footballer Lamine Yamal.
Photos published by the magazine Lecturas show the pair on a jet ski together on the island of Pantelleria, off the southern coast of Sicily.
The FC Barcelona player and the influencer had previously fueled dating rumors after posting photos from the same locations, including going on a boat trip, lounging by a pool, and flying in a helicopter.
Highlights
- Fati Vázquez, a 29-year-old content creator, faced backlash after photos showed her vacationing with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal.
- The influencer and the FC Barcelona football player were seen riding a jet ski together in Sicily, Italy.
- Fati defended herself on social media and stood by her decision to spend time with the athlete.
Fati has faced significant backlash for vacationing with the Spanish athlete, who is still a minor.
Fati Vázques, a 29-year-old content creator, faced widespread criticism for vacationing with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal
Image credits: fativazquezd
"If it was a guy with a 17-year-old girl, the internet would explode with hate," one person wrote.
"A 29-year-old woman is so casual with a 17-year-old boy. We live in a large-scale mental asylum," said another in a post that has received over 18,000 likes.
"What's an adult doing with someone so much younger than her? It just doesn't make any sense," echoed a third. "You're not his family or anything like that, so why hang out with him? And this should apply to everyone, regardless of gender."
Image credits: fativazquezd
"Aren't you ashamed?" wrote another netizen.
Fati responded to the backlash on Instagram, sharing that she was receiving d*ath threats after being linked to the 17-year-old footballer.
Fati and the FC Barcelona player were seen riding a jet ski together in Italy
Image credits: lamineyamal
"It's sad to see how some people carry so much darkness inside that they go as far as to wish d*ath upon someone they don't even know. What others project says more about them than it does about me," she wrote.
"I choose to live with purpose, to keep growing, and to surround myself with light.”
Image credits: lamineyamal
The 29-year-old concluded: "To those who wish me harm, I wish healing—because no one who is truly well with themselves wants to destroy another."
Addressing the online criticism, Fati also shared a photo of herself in a swimming pool in her Instagram stories and wrote, "Imagine talking bad about me and I'm over here like this."
The Lecturas report mentioned that the pair doesn’t "want to put a name to their obvious friendship" and that they "get along perfectly."
It read: "Their closeness is such that they didn't hesitate to go on vacation at a key moment. They wanted to get away from it all and celebrate the season's many successes."
Lamine has reportedly denied being in a relationship with the influencer
Image credits: fativazquezd
According to gossip expert Javi de Hoyos, Lamine has denied being in a relationship with Fati.
He claimed that he's been able to speak to the famous athlete, and "he categorically denies that he's with her; he says they have nothing going on."
De Hoyos said that Lamine didn't go to Italy with Fati alone but was also joined by his Barcelona teammates and suggested that the influencer may be interested in another player.
"Probably, Fati does have something going on with someone at Barça or is a friend of another teammate."
Image credits: fativazquezd
Speaking on the Spanish TV show La familia de la tele, Fati addressed news articles that reported her age as 30 and said, "I'm receiving d*ath threats and messages calling me a p*dophile.
"First, I'm 29; I haven't made it to the thirties yet. I haven't done anything, haven't k*lled anyone. The reactions are just too heavy and it's even affecting him [Lamine].
"I don't want to say anything more or make a big deal out of it or make it morbid because I think it's completely unnecessary.
"We're just two people who want to have a good time, and that's it."
"What's an adult doing with someone so much younger than her? It just doesn't make any sense,” wrote one netizen
Image credits: fativazquezd
Fati reportedly started her career as a flight attendant before becoming an influencer. She has over 445,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares healthy food recipes and her fitness regimen, and over one million subscribers on YouTube.
In 2020, the social media star published a book titled And Let Them Come for Me, which focuses on her experience as a victim of bullying.
Image credits: lamineyamal
Lamine was previously in a relationship with TikToker Alex Padilla. The two reportedly broke up around July last year when an Instagram Live video showed Alex sitting on another boy's lap. Last December, he was seen shopping with influencer Anna Gegnoso.
People slammed Fati for vacationing with the teenage athlete
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