This story was originally published on Passionfruit.
Analysis
While many creators and aspiring creators suffer from unpredictable income, pay disparity, and burnout, the public image of the influencer lifestyle is often luxurious—going on paid-for holidays, being invited to exclusive events, and having free stuff arriving at the door daily. While this level of financial success for creators is uncommon, for the lucky few, simply by posting short, fun videos about a random topic, you can get rewarded with more money for one video than an average person makes in a month, or sometimes a year.
Despite this enviable lifestyle, wealthy influencers get a lot of criticism—specifically when they complain about their jobs. Creators sometimes risk alienating their audience when they speak out about their workload or the pressures they face online.
Recently, popular TikTok creator Mikayla Nogueira (@mikaylanogueira), who has over 13.6 million followers, was dragged after a video resurfaced of her responding to a critic who suggested she try working a “9 to 5” job. Complaining about her full-on schedule, Nogueira concluded her rant by saying: “I just finished working, it’s 5:19. Try being an influencer for a day. Try it.”
As expected, it didn’t go down well. Nogueira’s original video was deleted, but a repost, which some users said was taken out of context, amassed 2.8 million views, with critics quick to clap back at Nogueira.
