The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has disabled comments on social media posts featuring a male horticulturist after he received hundreds of sexualised remarks from online admirers.
Posts showing Chris Elliott, a curator at the garden, attracted thousands of interactions, with users making crude comments. A whistle-blower said the employee was being 'sexually harassed' every time he appeared on the account, forcing the NYBG to turn off comments.
Eagle-eyed users noticed that the museum had even removed Elliott from thumbnails to deter unwanted attention. Screenshots of deleted comments showed 'hundreds of thirsty remarks' in every video featuring him, with few comments about the plants he discussed.
One comment read: 'There is no way that man is single.' Another joked: 'Babe, YOU’RE one of my favorite orchids.' A recent video of Elliott received nearly 4,000 likes on Instagram and over 18,000 views on TikTok.
The whistle-blower praised the garden's decision, saying: 'If someone is doing their job and gets objectified, that's an unsafe work situation... Employee safety has to come first online.' They noted that comments remain enabled for other curators who do not face similar harassment.
