Natalia Garibotto: Instagram model gets 600K new followers in a month after Pope 'liked' her steamy pic
Instagram bombshell Natalia Garibotto is basking in the glory of the almighty, especially after gaining more than a half-million followers after Pope Francis' verified account appeared to "like" one of her saucy photos. The 27-year-old model said the pope's apparent like in November had blessed her with a staggering 600,000 followers and that she had made a fortune as a result, The Sun reported. “I make money off Instagram,” Garibotto told Page Six on Thursday, adding that the publicity had helped her gain "more leverage" over brands. Furthermore, she said the attention had given her “a confidence to post more in clothes and make deals in fashion."
The Miami-based Instagram model remembered how the incident had initially "shocked" her and that she considered it a "big deal." At the time, Garibotto quipped, “At least I’m going to heaven,” and “Brb on my way to the Vatican.”
The Holy See reportedly requested Instagram for an investigation last month after the pope's official account had 'liked' a photo of the Brazilian model. The live streamer was seen in the saucy photo wearing lingerie resembling a school uniform, with ample display of her assets.
COY Co. -- Garibotto’s management firm -- subsequently joked that she had "received the POPE’S OFFICIAL BLESSING." Meanwhile, Garibotto used the instant publicity to ramp up subscriptions. "On this very day, I was blessed, you could be too. Sexy content, follow back on socials, [the ability to] chat with me directly, monthly cash prize giveaways, signed Polaroids, and more!" she wrote in a post.
"We can rule out that the ‘like’ comes from the Holy See, which has turned to Instagram for explanations," the Holy See Press Office told the Catholic News Agency (CNA) on November 18. Pope Francis reportedly does not run his own social media accounts, and has a team to take care of the same.
Garibotto’s comments about how she has benefitted from the like come just a day after the pope’s account appeared to like a risqué photo of an X-rated model. Margot Foxx, a self-professed 'tiddy queen' who posts risqué content on OnlyFans, had the blessing of being picked out from the flock during the holiest time of the year, Unilad reports.
The official @franciscus account, which boasts over 7.5 million followers, does not follow any other accounts on Instagram. So whoever is in charge of the pope's account would have either found the post on the explore page or would have had to type Foxx's name in the search bar. However, a screengrab of the like on a photo showing Foxx in a tight black bodysuit went viral on the internet. The model came across the post shortly after and tweeted, "Hey that's me."
That said, the Vatican has yet to comment on the latest like.
The Pope told Catholic followers earlier this year that gossiping is a plague "worse than coronavirus." Speaking at the Vatican, he said that the devil is the "biggest gossiper" and declared the act as a threat to the Catholic Church.