Tana Mongeau: Babbel cuts ties with influencer over podcast rant

Tana Mongeau threatened the wine tour guide on her podcast, which led to harassment and negative reviews. Babbel, who sponsored Mongeau, says it's cutting ties.

One of YouTube’s top influencers ranted against an internationally recognized French wine expert, leading to targeted hateful comments online, but the expert and tour guide says she was simply doing her job. Now, one of the influencer’s sponsors is cutting ties with the online star. 

Tana Mongeau is known for sharing dramatically exaggerated stories about her life as an influencer. This propelled her to fame on YouTube, where she has over 5 million subscribers and a podcast, “Cancelled,” that draws more than half a million listeners every week. 

Mongeau’s latest controversy raises questions around the larger consequences of influencers wielding the power of their platform against small businesses. The targets of these attacks often find few means of recourse besides turning back to the internet for help. 

In a podcast episode released on Aug. 6, Mongeau spent about 30 minutes explaining what happened during a wine tour she took on a recent trip to France. She revealed the first name of her tour guide, Cynthia, as well as the name of a champagne house in a French town with a population of under 3,000. Mongeau didn’t reveal the guide’s last name, but a Google search for “Cynthia” and “French wine tour” displays the guide’s personal website. 

Cynthia Coutu runs her own business, called Delectabulles. She is a certified wine and spirits educator who has been voted “Best Wine Experience in Paris” by Travel and Hospitality Awards, “Wine Expert of the Year” by Luxury Travel Guide Global Awards, and Top 50 Wine Experiences in the World by The Wine Magazine.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/tana-mongeau-podcast-wine-babbel-rcna100047

---