“No good deed goes unpunished’’ is an old saying that, unfortunately, often turns out to be true. This is exactly what happened to influencer Amelia Goldsmith from London, UK, whose generosity made her feel regretful and defeated. She shared her story in a TikTok video that garnered thousands of comments, most of which were not very supportive either.
She approached a stranger, despite being super-nervous.
Goldsmith headed to a supermarket full of enthusiasm with a plan to pay for someone’s groceries and make their day a little better, but ended up disappointed. As she stood in the checkout line, she felt nervous that people might think she was a “weirdo.’’ After hesitating for a bit, she approached a man who was unloading his groceries: “Excuse me, this may be very random, but I’d like to pay for your food shopping today,’’ Goldsmith said in a cheery, hopeful manner.
But his reaction was not very enthusiastic.
Instead of happily accepting the offer, the man just kept angrily insisting that there was no need for her to pay his shopping bill. Goldsmith went on to explain that all she wants is to do “something nice,’’ but the man was not convinced.
She then turned to another customer with the same suggestion, only to get a firm “No’’ as an answer. Finally, she approached a third customer, who refused her offer with a bit more compassion, saying, “There are probably more deserving people in the world, but thank you.’’ At this point, Goldsmith felt embarrassed and wondered whether she should just leave.
She finally moved on to plan B.
After several failed attempts to brighten someone’s day, Goldsmith changed her plan and went on to buy a basket full of pasta and sauces and donated it to a food bank. Still shaken by people’s reactions, she couldn’t hold back tears: “I thought people would be overjoyed and grateful,’’ she said, but instead, the whole experience was very stressful and left her delated.
Despite the outcome, Goldsmith says she’s happy with her food bank donation and that those who really need the food will be getting it. Some of her TikTok commenters pointed out that she probably should have gone to a different store in a less prosperous neighborhood, others noted that her filming the act of kindness was what made it look staged and insincere, and there were those who claimed she was only doing it to get attention and promote her content.
