South African content creator Onezwa Mbola, founder of the handmade condiments brand EMandulo, has accused TikTok influencer Nara Smith of “stealing” her cooking content. Smith, who commands a substantial following of 8 million on the platform, has reportedly responded by threatening legal action against Mbola following her accusations.
The controversy began on June 14 with Mbola’s now-deleted TikTok video in which she accused Smith of re-creating her delicious food content.
“For four months now, I have watched a very, very popular content creator use my ideas, and again, I’m not the first person to do anything. They’ve continuously used my ideas to get views,” Mbola told fans. “Now, that would be fine, except in South Africa, we don’t get paid for views, and where she is, they get paid for views, so she has been making money off stealing my content.”
Mbola alleged that Nara copied her boba tea video.
The chef didn’t explicitly mention Smith’s name, but Mbola claimed that Smith’s June 12 video featuring boba tea closely mirrored her recipe video posted two days earlier on June 10. Mbola’s version showcased a unique twist on the popular drink, incorporating guava leaf tea, goat’s milk infused with guava, and a savory galette made with mushrooms and spinach. Smith created a traditional version of the drink.
“I was so very, very, very, very proud of that video. I tweeted about it, I was so excited for it and then a day later, she made a boba video and you might say it might be a coincidence,” Mbola, who has over 600,000 followers on TikTok, explained. “That would be fine if it were a coincidence, except it’s a coincidence that happens very often, so is it really a coincidence?”
Mbola said she felt “disheartened” by the thought of Smith taking her content to make “thousands of dollars in views” when she’s lucky enough to get a brand collaboration “every three months.”
To compound the issue, the South African chef revealed that her cooking style has been consistently likened to Nara’s on the platform. Onezwa expressed frustration at being labeled “the South African Nara Smith,” feeling piss-offed by the comparison. She questioned, “How can I be a version of her when she’s stealing my content?”
Nara allegedly threatened to sue Mbola.
Smith did not make a public statement about Mbola’s allegations. Instead, she allegedly emailed the South African businesswoman, demanding that she retract her statement.
According to a screenshot of the email shared to Mbola’s X page on June 20, Smith wrote, “You have publicly claimed that I stole your videos related to boba tea and mozzarella cheese, which is untrue and damaging to my reputation.”
She continued, “These allegations are entirely false. The videos in question are not my original creations, and I have all the necessary proof of this on the social media platform TikTok. Your false allegations have caused significant harm to my personal and professional reputation.”
The TikTok star stated that if Mbola did not retract her statements, she would pursue legal action against her for “defamation of character.”
Mbola’s video was deleted, but she doubled down on her accusations against Smith in a follow-up video on TikTok posted on June 16. In it, she took pride in standing up for herself and other “small content creators” whom Smith has allegedly stolen from.
“I do not mince my words. If I said it, trust me, I will stand by it,” she added.
Mbola hasn’t said much about the drama lately, but she did take to TikTok on June 20 to reveal her brand-new paid partnership with TakeAlot.com, a major online shopping platform in South Africa.
What do you think? Was Smith copying Mbola?
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