Sherwin-Williams Fired College Student Over His Paint-Mixing TikTok Videos

TikTok videos led to an Ohio University student losing his job at Sherwin-Williams.

Tony Piloseno worked a part-time job at the Cleveland-headquartered paint and supply company’s Athens location, but was fired after management caught wind of Piloseno’s TikTok account, @tonesterpaints, where he posted videos mixing paints.

Piloseno told the Athens News that his videos “took off almost immediately” on TikTok. He also told the local newspaper that he “loved” his job at Sherwin-Williams.

"Last year, I started making paint videos at the store showing everyone how satisfying paint mixing can be, and I really enjoyed doing it,” Piloseno said in a TikTok video earlier this month, explaining why he was fired in July. "I noticed the videos were doing well and people seemed to be enjoying (them) on TikTok."

“I was pretty bummed out at first, but with the support of my friends and family I continued to do what I love,” Piloseno continued. “It’s been a struggle, but I’ve been continuing to develop my own brand and make content for people.”

Although Piloseno hoped to prove to Sherwin-Williams officials that TikTok could boost the company’s marketing, the company wasn’t on board, Insider and other outlets reported.

In fact, Piloseno, a senior, is studying marketing in the College of Business, according to the Athens News. Some of his COB professors even helped Piloseno organize a pitch to Sherwin-Williams.

But when Sherwin-Williams didn’t bite, Piloseno kept moving forward with paint-mixing using his own TikTok account.

Garnering more than a million followers, Piloseno keeps making videos of paint mixes, Insider noted, though he gets his paints from Lowe’s now.

Although Sherwin-Williams didn’t comment to many media outlets, the company released a statement to BuzzFeed News:

"While we don’t discuss the details of employee matters publicly, what I can tell you is that we were made aware of the TikTok videos produced by Anthony Piloseno through a customer complaint," Julie Young, vice president of global corporate communications, told the outlet. "We take all complaints seriously and thoroughly investigated the customer’s concerns. Following the investigation, Mr. Piloseno was let go in July 2020 due to multiple Company policy violations."

Piloseno launched a GoFundMe page as a local artist, plugging his paint-mixing content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, according to the GoFundMe page.

In six days, the page raised $1,370 — toward a $2,500 goal — from 60 donors, as of Monday afternoon (November 23).

Photo: Getty Images