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Brit drug mule Bella Culley's worth as influencer?

Journalist: Dan Grennan, Daily Star

ended 04. September 2025

Hello Newspagers, 

Bella May Culley's story of disappearting while on holiday in Thailand before resurfacing in Georgie with 14kg of drugs captured the nation's imagination this summer. The 19-year-old pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, claiming she was coerced, and also revealed she was pregnant. Now it appears she will be released in weeks or months depending on how much her family can raise to meet the demands of a plea deal. 

My question is: how much is her fame, or notoriety, worth as an influencer? 

Her full account of her story told on British soil will definitely go viral, giving her a perfect chance to launch her influencer career. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Dan Grennan

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
She’ll almost certainly make a tidy six-figure sum through exclusives, morning TV and reality shows. You only have to look at Michaella McCollum appearing on Celebrity SAS. But it’s a sad indictment of our culture that someone accused—though not convicted—of serious drug trafficking could profit from notoriety. The fact an alleged offender may walk into these paydays says more about what we reward than about her. There are surely people far more deserving of our attention and money.
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Editor
Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
Rather than a premier league footballer, most kids now want to grow up to be a YouTuber or influencer. The lengths people will go to for fame and notoriety are a daming indictment on modern society. Maybe BMC should have "been more careful". Do the crime, do the time.
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Premium
David Belle
Founder and Trader at Fink Money
Absolutely nothing. There is no brand that would want to touch her, which is how influencers monestise their audiences. Unless she wants to get stuck selling dodgy THC vape pens, she should try another career. Perhaps there is a documentary in the offing. But influencing is a media game. The equation to follow is EMV = Impressions × CPM × Adjustment Factor with the adjustment factor being based on how strong the audience is (and is largely discretionary). The CPM will be based upon the niche. Finance commands a higher CPM due to the potential revenue that can be generated from selling financial products. But she would not really command any significant CPM and the adjustment factor would be low because of her notoriety.