Popular feel-good TikToker Ophelia Nichol (@shoelover99), lovingly known as “Mama Tot” has become the center of an online controversy after fans claimed that one of her recent videos was sharing misinformation about Hurricane Helene and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA)’s response to the natural disaster.
The Mama Tot TikTok drama, explained
Ophelia Nichol, a.k.a. Mama Tot, has well over a million followers across her social media platforms. She has been on TikTok since 2020 and is generally seen for her bubbly, happy persona.
While she has been largely seen as a positive person, she has had her fair share of backlash for some of the things that she’s chosen to show support for, including her support of the LGBTQIA community and the end of human trafficking in the United States.
In a since-deleted TikTok post, Mama Tot spoke out about Hurricane Helene in a vague way that many on social media seemed to think was filled with misinformation about FEMA’s response to the disastrous storm. She was accused by viewers of veering into conspiracy theory territory that is particularly popular in the rhetoric of Republican circles.
While the video, and possibly others related to it, has been deleted from her TikTok account, at least one of the videos was already downloaded by viewers and shared on other social media sites.
The general conservative conspiracy theory being shared in the wake of Hurricane Helene accuses the U.S. government of withholding disaster relief support to Republican victims of the hurricane, and instead shifting that support to Democrat-leaning areas, and this is the topic that people have been saying she is vocal about.
Social media reactions to the Mama Tot conspiracy theory
This was the first time Mama Tot had shown any kind of conspiracy theory tendencies online, which has caused concern among many of her fans. Since her post was deleted, people have taken to Reddit and X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their disappointment or lack of surprise about her “showing her true colors” in the deleted video.
Others have stated that Mama Tot is taking advantage of her viewers, particularly vulnerable fans and the LGBTQIA community.
Since her controversial video was posted, Mama Tot has lost over 200K of her 13 million TikTok followers, according to Social Blade.
Mama Tot’s response to the TikTok drama
Mama Tot hasn’t been quiet since the backlash against her began. In her response video posted on October 6th, 2024, Nichol told her viewers that she wasn’t being political in her video, and that “not one time has [she] ever used [her] platform for politics.”
“I have been on this app since 2020, and I’ve loved on people the entire time,” she said in the video. “Not one time have I ever used my platform for politics or for any of that stuff. For one, people do not even know how to help one another when it comes to politics. They just do not. They hate you if you do not agree. Like, I can’t deal with it. And people want a safe place to come to. People do not want to see all that mess. The world is so hyped up right now. It is like one big ball of evil. But I have never made my page about politics.”
“In that video, I never said anything about politics,” Nichol said, adding that she was venting her frustration at the tragic situation.
“In that video, I never said anything about politics, FEMA, money, the government, presidents. I never said anything about those things. None of that. I just expressed how frustrated and sad and angry I was that [the hurricane victims] have had to go through this.”
@shoelover99 ♬ original sound – ophelia 🦋
Mama Tot has continued to post her usual content in the wake of the backlash against her, recording videos of her donating to Hurricane Helene victims and sharing positive affirmations.
Ophelia “Mama Tot” Nichol did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
