In a viral TikTok video posted in mid-July, a woman claimed she found a small metal object in a Tampax tampon. On Sunday, Tampax maker Procter & Gamble responded, according to Insider.
In the original video, Celia Piemontese — as she’s known on the Depop page linked in her TikTok bio — shows three Tampons from a Tampax box with purple applicators.
@cealpee hmmmmmm i had to record this??? @Tampax US wtf is this????? #tampons #tampax #wtf #womensrights ♬ original sound – Celia
Then, Piemontese pulls out a tampon with a red applicator visible from the outside and opens it.
The applicator says “SS” on it. Inside the tampon is a small metal object, the video shows.
“What the f—?” she said in the video.
TikTok viewers had a range of reactions to the video.
“YOU GOT THE GOLDEN TICKET CHARLIE,” one user wrote, referencing the classic book by Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was made into films in 1971 and 2005.
(In the story, several lucky children find a “golden ticket” to visit the Willy Wonka chocolate factory in ordinary-looking chocolate bars.)
One comment that got nearly fifty thousand likes: “My brain instantly said tracker.”
Piemontese opened the original video by saying due to the tampon shortage, she hadn’t been able to find her usual “organic” brand — hence the Tampax.
The Honey Pot, a “plant-derived feminine care” brand seemingly took the opportunity to make a connection.
“Bestie this is your sign to stick to organic,” the brand commented on the video.
Piemontese followed up in a few videos, claiming Tampax had commented on the TikTok and she direct messaged with them. In a late July video, she said Procter & Gamble had sent her a package with instructions to send the offending tampon back to them and a letter offering “compensation,” which she said was not her goal in posting the videos.
Piemontese said she hoped to spread awareness in case someone else found themselves in this situation and did not have experience with tampons.
She added that a friend of a friend gave her the tampons. “This should not be happening no matter if you were given it, if you bought it, like it should not have left the factory,” Piemontese said.
Tampax maker Procter & Gamble emailed Entrepreneur a similar statement it gave to Fox Business on Sunday:
“Thank you for reaching out with your questions and appreciate the opportunity to respond. We are aware of the TikTok video and have looked into the matter. We want to reassure you this was an isolated issue. This was a sample from our quality control process that was inadvertently gifted to a US consumer by an employee. Quality control samples are not sold to consumers.”
Piemontese did not respond immediately to a request for comment via Instagram.
