The “Glambot” is a photobooth that has become popular in award show settings. Its robotic high-speed camera shoots in slow motion and was created by Joseph Kahn to enhance the red carpet coverage experience, as it emphasises celebs’ outfits, makeup, and overall look. The poses celebs choose to do while being captured for the Glambot have become extremely viral in recent years. Some are being crowned as “The Worst” or “The Best” Glambot moments. While people love to make fun of the face Taylor Swift or Joey King pulled while trying the Glambot out, this was not the only reason why this photoshoot caused big turmoil among the public.
Via TikTok
When each Glambot capture is released on social media, a short clip of the moment before the actual shoot is shown as well. In these clips, Cole Walliser, the individual who became the director of the Glambot, greets the public figure, explains the operation to them, and assists them in deciding on a pose. The celebrities then do the pose, say goodbye to Cole, and take their exit. Only then is the actual Glambot moment shown on screen.
After watching a few videos of these moments, one thing becomes clear: there is a wide variety of ways people greet Cole. A few strike up a friendly conversation with him, while others go straight to business and immediately pose for the camera. Most are somewhere in between. It wasn’t long before these short interactions became a tool for judgment, determining whether or not these celebrities are good people by how they say “Hi” to Walliser and whether or not they look him in the eye.
Liza Koshey’s video, for example, shows her greeting Cole with a huge smile on her face, checking in with him, asking him questions, and making jokes. The comment section was filled with people praising her for her behavior and using her as an example of how people should act during their Glambot moment. Cara Delevingne, on the other hand, was captured at last year’s Oscars red carpet rolling her eyes as soon as she approached the Glambot, and was criticized for “having an attitude” towards Cole as she tried to complete the photoshoot as quickly as possible.
The most recent controversy, inspired by the Glambot, happened with Jennifer Lopez at the 2026 Golden Globes. The singer approached the Glambot for her moment, without so much as glancing at Cole or acknowledging his existence. She came over, stood on her mark, did her pose, and immediately left. As soon as JLo’s video was posted on the Glambot’s social media, people called out Lopez’s ill-mannered behavior, labeling her as out of touch and problematic.
This is not the first time that Lopez, specifically, has found herself under heat for her behavior towards the general public. It also probably won’t be the last, if we’re being honest. However, the public reaction to her Glambot video has gone too far. Not only do people use it to judge her entire personality, but it has also led millions to start examining every single Glambot video and form an unjustified judgment of each celebrity. If they were deemed nice enough to Cole, they were crowned “good people.” If not, it must mean that they have a terrible personality.
Even though this was probably just another nail in JLo’s coffin, it shouldn’t inspire people to use the Glambot experience as a personality test for every famous person that interacts with it. The public seems to miss just how stressful these red carpet events can be, and just how unfair it is to judge someone based on how they act there. The Glambot has turned into a viral litmus test where celebrities are expected to be charming, funny, and perfectly “online-friendly” on command. If they don’t perform their “enthusiasm” correctly, they’re labeled as “out of touch” or “problematic.” We forget that being at these events is simply their job, and sometimes it's just easier to get the job done without wasting any second.
Maybe, just maybe, being at a high-pressure red carpet event, surrounded by cameras, publicists, time constraints, and a thousand people yelling your name, isn’t the best moment to assess someone’s character.
The reactions to the Glambot have gotten so heated that Cole Walliser himself released a video in which he shares his experience interacting with the people who come for their Glambot moment. In his video, Cole stated, “Everybody needs to calm down,” adding that he never judges people based on their interaction with him. He emphasised that while he appreciates the internet having his back, he acknowledges that the red-carpet moments can be stressful and challenging to deal with, and shouldn’t be viewed with too much scrutiny.
Surprisingly, the Glambot heat and Cole’s video about it led to an even bigger controversy regarding Cole himself. Twitter user YungYinkv posted an email chain she exchanged with Walliser from 2019, in which she inquired about hiring the Glambot for her wedding. In the emails, Walliser reportedly doubted Yinka’s ability to pay for his services, going as far as accusing her of faking an event just to find out about his rates.
As soon as these emails spread online, people’s attitude towards Walliser did a full 180°. Instead of shouting at celebrities to be nice to him, the internet has turned its back on the Glambot director and started accusing him of being problematic. How can he be kind and polite to every celebrity that approaches the Glambot, while cameras all around him are rolling, but as soon as an unknown individual reaches out to him privately, he shows his true colors?
Via colewalliser, ONCHAINBADDIE1
Whether or not Walliser is a good person cannot be determined based on a single email exchange, just as we shouldn’t judge people based on their one Glambot interaction. The reaction to this newest development further proves how quickly the internet changes its mind about people. However, one single interaction is not enough to decide the nature of a person, no matter how famous they might be.
Sure, if a celebrity is approaching the Glambot director or any other person in a professional scenario, saying “Hi” to them doesn’t cost anything. But just one public interaction isn’t enough to determine whether or not someone is a good or bad person. Even Cole himself has shown us that we never know what people are actually like behind the scenes, where there are no cameras. The Glambot can capture a great angle, a dramatic hair flip, and a viral moment, but it still can’t tell us who someone really is.
