Dr. Miami’s former social media manager has posted a viral video to TikTok that details various reasons why she left her Florida employer.
The video’s popularity has sparked several follow-up videos by the former employee, which Dr. Miami himself has since responded to. It’s also sparked a larger conversation concerning close relationships with staff members versus their treatment and pay rates.
Popular plastic surgeon Dr. Miami has an online following of over 3.3 million on TikTok, focusing his content on professional advice, silly dances, and life in his practice. In this particular video, his former social media manager, Santina, talks about how nearly two years ago, she left the practice. However, she alleges to still gets questions asking what happened, leading to the posting of this video.
One of the first reasons given is the pay, alleging that she was paid $25 hourly for the full-time position. At this, one person commented, “25/hr?!? For building his BRANDDD😳.” Another person wrote, “$25?! He’s Dr.Miami, that’s insane.”
According to her, after approaching her office manager about this, she was told, “We can’t give you a raise.”
In another video, she explains that his personality was another major factor in her decision, stating, “he’s the kind of person that, like, he has no concept of, like, good or bad. It just, like, everything to him is good. Like, he believes that all press is good press, like, it doesn’t matter what you’re saying about him, as long as he’s getting attention, he loves it.”
She also claims that Dr. Miami recommended she get liposuction in her arm, to which she agreed, and he did the surgery. However, she alleges that, after the surgery, she was asked to go on a business trip, but felt that she couldn’t due to the pain. After going anyway, she reportedly had so much additional fluid in her arms that she needed to have them drained.
At this, a commenter wrote, “Babe, I’m so serious. This is an HR nightmare. Workers comp case, wage and hour case. I know you don’t want to stir things up, this isn’t on you. The power dynamic here is so icky. So exploitive. 💙“
Reactions to Dr. Miami’s Former Social Media Manager’s Video
She still alleges to have had a very close and familial relationship with the staff, saying that is why she continued to work for the company. However, she did leave in March of 2025. At this, one commenter wrote, “The NDA expired. Let’s gooo.”
Other users went into the comments of each of these videos and shared their opinions, with many siding with her. Other users even let her know that Dr. Miami himself was posting content in response to her, with one person writing, “So funny you drop your videos and now Dr Miami dropping his.”
Dr. Miami has indeed posted a video to his account referencing the situation. However, some comments under the video came from Santina’s video, with one person commenting, “I actually don’t find this funny, treating your employees bad then making a joke about it is insane.”
The biggest reason for the video’s virality is because of Dr.Miami’s micro celebrity popularity both within Miami and on social media. As a prominent figure within the plastic surgery space, having worked with other influencers and celebrities, some users found it strange that he couldn’t pay his social media manager a living wage, among other issues.
As all of the videos continue to rise in popularity, Santina continues to post about her experiences. Currently, Dr. Miami has spoken out about this to TMZ, saying, “When it comes to family and business there’s a risk, but we take that risk. Everyone that works here is family.“
