Botanical garden forced to shut down Instagram comment section after male worker inundated with 'thirsty' messages

Published: 02:04, 15 April 2026 | Updated: 02:14, 15 April 2026 The New York Botanical Garden were forced to close the comment sections on multiple posts involving their assistant curator after many flocked to express their 'thirsty' thoughts.  Chris Elliott, a horticulturist at the famous gardens, has been featured in multiple posts that have generated thousands of likes.  Eagle-eyed social media users spotted that the NYBG disabled comments on every post he was in after some were shooting their shot online.  One user shared screenshots of the comments, which have now disappeared, writing that they found 'hundreds' of 'thirsty' remarks in every video that Elliott was featured in.  'Mostly polite, but some not, and NONE about actual flowers he was talking about,' the user added. 'I'm glad they decided to discourage this and keep him safe online by closing comments. He's just trying to do his job.' One of the comments even said, 'There is no way that man is single.'  A recent video Elliott was in was shared on NYBG's official social media accounts last Friday.  Chris Elliott, pictured above, went viral on social media after online users flocked to the comment section on his posts on the New York Botanical Garden's Instagram  Elliott, pictured above in a post last month, is an associate curator at the New York Botanical Garden  The NYBG closed the comment section on their posts featuring Elliott after many wrote 'thirsty comments'  The post generated almost 4,000 likes on Instagram in four days and over 18,000 views on TikTok.  Another video of Elliott discussing snowdrops in March received almost 7,000 likes.  Some of Elliott's fans even found his personal TikTok account and tried to get his attention in the comments.  'Pretty men with pretty flowers, as the lord intended,' one comment read on a video from February.  'Babe, YOU’RE one of my favorite orchids,' another joked.  Despite some 'thirsty' comments, many praised Elliott's knowledge of horticulture.  One of Elliott's videos about witch hazel generated significant traction, with many social media users asking questions about the plant and sharing that they even bought some because of him.  'I learned something new today. Thank you,' one comment read.  'I so appreciate your content,' another added.  'It is fascinating seeing these in their original form before becoming part of the toner/astringent. By the way, the other posts are shot beautifully on your account,' wrote a third.  'I just want you to know that I’m getting witch hazel trees (plural) because of your last video,' shared a fourth.  The Daily Mail has reached out to the NYBG for comment.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.