CHIARA FERRAGNI: THE MOST AWKWARD FALL OF THE QUEEN OF SOCIAL MEDIA
The most watched figure in the digital landscape once again finds herself at the center of a media storm one that forces her to confront questions no perfect image can sweep away.
Chiara Ferragni, the Italian influencer who for more than a decade was considered the first major “it girl” of the internet, is facing one of the toughest chapters of her career. At 38, she faces a prosecutor’s request for one year and eight months in prison for alleged aggravated fraud in the so-called Pandorogate, the scandal that shook her digital empire and now keeps her under the scrutiny of the justice system, the media… and millions of followers watching closely.
The case, involving the sale of Christmas cakes and Easter eggs promoted with her brand, erupted when Italian authorities concluded that the campaigns circulated in 2021 and 2022 suggested charitable purposes that, in reality, were not linked to product sales. The pandoros sold at a higher price than usual and wrapped in Ferragni’s signature pink aesthetic and the Easter eggs were presented as solidarity initiatives for the Regina Margherita children’s hospital in Turin. But investigators found that the €50,000 donation to the medical center had been made months earlier, with a fixed amount unrelated to purchases.
While prosecutors argue that her companies earned more than one million euros through these campaigns, Chiara insists she never intended to deceive anyone. “Everything we did was in good faith,” she told the Milan court, where she appeared alongside collaborators involved in the case, Fabio Maria Damato and Francesco Cannillo. The trial follows a fast-track procedure, which could reduce a potential sentence, and the next hearing set for December 19 will open the stage for the defense.
The fallout hasn’t been only legal it has been deeply personal. After the scandal broke, Ferragni paid more than three million euros in compensation and donations, in addition to a one-million-euro administrative fine. She released an apology video and withdrew from public life for several months. Her reputation the backbone of her multimillion-euro business was dealt a devastating blow: brands that once sought her out stopped calling, and her revenue dropped from 11 million in 2023 to barely two million last year.
On a personal level, the impact was just as profound. The media storm coincided with the end of her marriage to rapper Fedez, with whom she shares two children. Their breakup was public, intense, and filled with emotional revelations that dominated headlines as much as the trial itself.
Today, Chiara moves cautiously. She avoids photographers by entering through underground passages, yet faces the press with short statements and a somber expression: “I have confidence.” Although she maintains the controversy stemmed from a communication mistake and not an attempt at fraud, she knows her judicial, business, and emotional future will be decided in the coming months.
For the woman who turned her life into a global brand, this is the biggest test of her career… and also the most shameful. Because Pandorogate didn’t expose a simple error it revealed how a campaign presented as charitable ended up benefiting her own companies above all. Now, with prosecutors seeking prison time and her reputation in free fall, Ferragni faces an uncomfortable truth: there is no filter or “good faith” speech capable of masking the embarrassment of a case that has shattered the credibility that once sustained her. The world is watching yes. But more importantly, it is disappointed.