Adult content creator Kit Barrus says her 17-year friendship came to a dramatic end after she was uninvited from her childhood friend's wedding over a social media video. Barrus, who says she spent approximately $3,000 (£2,340) attending the friend's hen party in Mexico, claims she was excluded by the bride and her bridesmaids throughout the trip before being told she was no longer welcome at the wedding.
Friendship dating back to childhood
Barrus, who grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, first met the bride when they were 11 years old. Despite being friends for almost two decades, she says their relationship had become increasingly strained in recent years, particularly as her adult content career took off.
"Things were like, we had this weird on-again, off-again friendship the last few years," Barrus said. She added: "She was really, really critical of my relationships with men. She kept saying stuff like, 'I could never do what you're doing because I love my man.'"
Barrus also claims the bride told her that her mother did not want her to be a bridesmaid because her career would be a "bad look" for the wedding.
Hen do tensions in Mexico
Despite the tension, Barrus agreed to attend the hen celebration, which involved a cruise to Mexico. The bride had approximately eight or nine bridesmaids, and Barrus was the only woman on the trip who had not been given a role in the wedding.
"They're all talking about going to the tailor and the bridesmaid dresses and all these different things they're doing for the wedding, and I'm the only non-bridesmaid," she said.
Barrus says she went out of her way to make the bride feel special, organising decorations for her cabin door and bringing a basket of bridal gifts. She also drove the other women to the cruise, covered petrol and approximately $100 (£78) in parking fees, and booked her own private cabin so she could continue working and creating content throughout the trip.
Bill disputes and final straw
During a lunch in Mexico, Barrus says the group racked up a $277 (£216) bill, largely from drinking tequila shots. While she had only ordered two tacos and a water, which she estimates cost around $20 (£16), she claims the women struggled to work out how to split the bill, leaving her feeling pressured to cover more than her share.
The final straw came when Barrus posted a light-hearted Instagram Reel joking about the differences between travelling alone and travelling in a group. Captioned "POV, you're used to solo travelling", the video showed her having to walk more slowly, wait for others and carry people's belongings. She insists the clip was not intended to offend anyone and says she had warned the bride before the trip that she would be creating content.
After the trip, Barrus received a message from the bride describing the video as inappropriate and informing her that she was no longer invited to the wedding. "I just never replied," she said. The bride then blocked Barrus on social media a few days later.
Rather than feeling heartbroken about missing the wedding, Barrus admits she was relieved. "I got back and I was talking to my other friends and I was like, 'I don't know how to not go to this wedding. I don't want to go to this wedding.' And then the next day she uninvited me and I literally did a victory lap. I was like, 'Thank god, thank god.'" While the experience ultimately cost her a childhood friendship and approximately $3,000, Barrus says she was at least able to earn back the money by creating content during the trip.
