In a time when social media presence is necessary for many celebrities and influencers to maintain their careers, the Glambot has had a significant cultural impact on the online culture space. From Ariana Grande’s massive grey tulle dress to Anya Taylor-Joy’s iconic over-the-shoulder hair flip, these slo-mo shots of attendees of events like the Grammys, Oscars, and Golden Globes have gone viral over the years. However, this year, the high-speed camera has been surrounded by controversy. In emails from 2019 brought to light by Yinka Animashaun, a Nigerian dog clothing/accessory designer, in late January of 2026, the exchanges showed that Walliser was giving people extremely high quotes for private reservations of the system. In the now-public emails, Animashaun contacted Walliser to inquire about the costs and logistics of having the Glambot at her wedding, which he gave her a quote of $300k a day, which, as per the words of Nigel Barker, the Former Glambot Director, would actually have been around $25k per day, nowhere near his quota. His snarky tone was also of contention- even after Animashaun reiterated she could afford its price whatever the cost may be, his reply was, “I don’t see how you could since I didn’t say how much it was and could be between $10,000 and $1,000,000.” Though the Glambot was on the floor of the Grammys this year, the event has felt empty- Cole Walliser, the current director and curly-haired icon of the high-speed camera system, was missing from the picture, both metaphorically and literally.
