For years, I’ve loved the trajectory and the work of Jackie Aina. First of all, I was following Jackie back when she was LilPumpkinPie05 (or something like that), and nowhere near the massive audience of well-over 3 million YouTube subscribers she has today. Jackie Aina showed me everything we could hope for in Black creators — she was smart, funny, personable, and knowledgable about what she does. In a way, I guess I saw a lot of myself in Jackie and what I would want to achieve for TBM.
Well, about a month or so ago, Jackie had a bit of drama with the inter-webs. I don’t gossip or even dissect gossip and the who-said-he-said-she-said, because honestly, I don’t know who said what. However, Aina has recently spoken to Refinery29 to discuss some interesting topics I think we can all learn and reflect more on, including bullying online, why she deleted her Twitter, and Black influencers and the responsibilities that get placed on us.
Some highlights are below:
On deleting her Twitter
This is the first time that I’ve deleted my Twitter account. It’s one of the platforms I spend the most time on, and I think that I needed to develop healthier habits. Recently it was magnified, but I have been feeling like I’ve been needing a Twitter break for a while. Sometimes, it just doesn’t feel like a platform is more positive than it is negative, and whenever I feel that way, that’s when I have to be like, “Ok, peel back.”
Her biggest lesson learned from her Twitter break
I think that as much I would want people to put themselves in influencers’ shoes, I definitely need to work on doing the same. I want to not be so quick to react and take things personal. I know what it feels like to feel like you don’t have a voice or like nobody really cares. Because of that, I want to be more aware of when I respond to certain things. Everybody is going through their own stuff — from the biggest influencers to the person with 20 followers.
On the double-standard Black influencers face
There are two layers: There’s being Black, and there’s being a Black woman — and there’s a double standard that other influencers don’t face. I’m someone who is coming into success in the public eye, and God forbid I show a designer handbag every so often. To some people, that’s perceived as flaunting wealth, whereas a white influencer could be, “Oh, he’s so much fun, and that’s just how he is, he’s so extra and we love it.”
To read the entire interview, check it out on Refinery29.
