The video shows TikTok creator Harrison Pawluk approaching the woman, Maree, in a public mall. He asked her to hold a bouquet of flowers while he wore a jacket. Before Marie could return the bouquet, Pavluk wished her a good day and left. Maree’s shocked reaction was caught on camera. The video now has more than 59 million views and 11 million likes. Posted to the @LifeOfHarrison TikTok account several weeks ago with the caption, “I hope this made her day,” it drew largely supportive comments. “Wow, that was so beautiful, I swear I was going to cry,” said one user. Another wrote: “My heart! It made her feel so good and it looks like she might have needed it.” However, Maree was cynical about Pawluk’s intentions after seeing the video posted. Maree, who did not give her last name, told ABC Radio Melbourne, “these artificial things are not random acts of kindness”. Harrison Pawluk asked Maree to hold a bouquet of flowers while he wore a jacket, then left and filmed her reaction. Photo: lifeofharrison/TikTok “He interrupted my quiet time, filmed and uploaded a video without my consent, turning it into something it wasn’t… I feel like he’s making a lot of money through this.” “It’s the supporting hypothesis that … older women will be excited by some random stranger giving them flowers.” She said she had asked if she was being pulled over and was told “no”. He also said he offered the flowers back to Pawluk. “I didn’t want to take them home on the tram, to be honest,” Maree said. “But I wasn’t given that chance.” A friend contacted Maree that night, sharing the uploaded video. At the time, Maree “didn’t think much of it.” But after seeing the TikTok video featured in media reports that described her as an “elderly woman” with a “heartbreaking story”, she said she “felt dehumanised”. “It feels like it’s clicking,” he said. In a statement, a spokesman for Pawluk said the video was “designed to spread love and compassion.” The statement noted Pawluk’s recent trip to Los Angeles saw “the extent of poverty and homelessness in a city where this shouldn’t be happening,” and inspired him to create content focused on “random acts of kindness.” Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning “She offers flowers and pays for complete strangers’ groceries,” the statement said. “So far Harrison has only met with gratitude for what he has done, however it is clear that in this case someone is upset. He apologizes wholeheartedly to Maree if she was offended by what he did, and urges her to contact him privately so he can apologize in person. If he asks him to download the video, he will do it.”
