Nara Smith. Picture: Naraaziza Instagram
IF YOU are on TikTok, you probably know of Nara Smith. Whether you have watched her make bubblegum from scratch, listened to her soft voice in the background for an ASMR effect or taken part in debates about the type of message she sends to women, you are aware of all that Smith is.
You might hate her content or love it but with more than eight million followers on the video-sharing app, you have to admit she has made a platform for herself and knows what she’s doing.
But recently she has come under fire for “stealing” other content creators' ideas.
Last month, Onezwa Mbola accused Smith of getting inspiration for her popular recipes from her social media pages.
Mbola took to social media to tell a disturbing tale about a popular international influencer who shamelessly copies her ideas.
"The reason I'm taking a break is that for months, I have watched a very, very popular content creator use my ideas ... They have continuously used my ideas to get views.
“That would be fine, except in SA, we don't get paid for views, and where she is, they are paid for views. She has been making money by stealing my content," Mbola said.
Mbola claimed the influencer changed the videos enough to avoid being accused of stealing, but she strongly believes that Smith has been recreating her ideas.
She used the example of a boba tea video she created. Smith apparently posted a boba tea video of her own shortly after Mbola had shared hers.
On Tuesday, July 7, Mbola and Smith were on the X trend list again. This after fashion company Marc Jacobs posted an ad on TikTok of Smith creating one of their tote bags from scratch.
The video has already garnered more than 6 million views - and counting - since then.
In the 42-second clip, Smith, dressed in a silk black slip dress, is seen making a “delicious red Marc Jacobs tote bag” from scratch in her kitchen.
She mixes flour, eggs, and water, then adds red food colouring to create red dough. After kneading and rolling the dough, it magically forms into a tiny tote bag shape.
The video then cuts to Smith baking the dough in the oven, transforming it into a life-size tote bag.
Posing with the finished product, Smith murmurs, “It tasted so much better than a shop-bought tote bag. This one really hits the spot.”
The video concludes with the Marc Jacobs logo and the caption, “The Tote Bag, made from scratch by @Nara Smith.”
@marcjacobs The Tote Bag, made from scratch by @Nara Smith ♬ original sound - marcjacobs
Fans have praised the campaign, calling it the “collab of the century” and commending the brand for its creative marketing but many South Africans were mad at Smith as it quickly came to light that the idea was first created by Mary Korlin-Downs.
@marykorlindowns Baked🍒 and glazed in 🤍 #creativedirecting #marcjacobs #marcjacobstote #thetotebag #popofred♥️ #popofredoutfits #marcjacobsbag #creativedirector #creativedirecting #fashiontiktok #fashionhacks #fashioninspo #fashionbag #designerbags #designerfashion #fashionconcepts #creativeconceptfilms #creativephotography #creativeshots #creativeideas #creativeshots #cherryred ♬ Cherry - Lana Del Rey
On X, one user wrote: “Ya’ll owe Onezwa an apology because this idea was stolen by Nara Smith & Marc Jacobs as well. A creator made this same exact video a year ago.”
A second user wrote: “She stole this concept as well, yoh this lady is unbelievable.”
A third commented: “I love how Onezwa spoke and left y'all. Now it's epiphanies every day about Nara's thievery and Onezwa doesn't need to say a thing anymore.”
A fourth commented: “I’m tired of Nara at this point. And the thing is she’s still collecting these views and cheques so nothing is going to change.”