Mikayla Nogueira's TikTok drama: Do influencers really work that hard?

Each week it seems as though TikTok decides to target a different person regardless of whether they deserve it. The most recent so-called victim of TikTok is makeup artist Mikayla Nogueira.

With her noticeable Massachusetts accent and killer makeup looks, Nogueira propelled to stardom very quickly in 2020. She was most known for her reviews of various new products, which many of her fans take as gospel.

Amassing more than 13.6 million followers in such a short amount of time, her life was transformed. During her rise to fame, Nogueira gained many opportunities one could only dream of. She managed to quit her 9 to 5 job at Ulta Beauty, move out of her parents' house and start a career for herself.

But many are calling her out for being ungrateful as a video resurfaced of Nogueira angrily addressing her fans. In this video from a livestream, Nogueira infamously claimed, “I just finished working. It’s 5:19 p.m. Try being an influencer for a day. Try it. Because the people who say it’s easy are so far out of their minds.”

Since this video has been revealed, many people are calling out her comments. They're claiming that Nogueira is ridiculous for thinking that her job is anywhere near as hard as jobs in the service industry, essential workers, etc. 

Many videos are pairing Nogueira’s rant with videos of her showing off her latest designer bags, jet setting to European countries and receiving thousands of dollars worth of free makeup from brands wanting her to promote their products.

We tend to see many influencers follow this common trend of attempting to convince their fans, as well as their haters, that their jobs are not all they're cracked up to be.

Similarly, OnlyFans and TikTok star Tara Lynn was called out for claiming that everyone is always in bed while she is working hard as an influencer every day. Many thought this was extremely insensitive and questioned the difficulty level of her job.

When these internet celebs try to make the case that their jobs are significantly harder than others, it's really hard for them to come back from it. These individuals constantly post every minute of their lives. When followers see influencers crying on the floor moaning about how hard their lives are when the next day they're showing off their wealth with luxurious items and trips, they seem ungrateful.

Many people dream of having an influencer’s life, so when they are told that they don’t work hard enough or that these celebrities are working 10 times harder than them, it can upset many. A majority of regular people work jobs where they have to be on their feet for hours on end, some not knowing if they can even afford their bills.

These celebs need to be grateful for the position that they are in and be aware of who their audience is. Viewers most likely have significantly harder lives, so complaining to them will not go in the favor of the influencers.

Fellow influencer Anayka She weighed in on the topic of Nogueira, along with many other influencers, complaining about their job. She explained that although her job of being an influencer can be taxing, it is drastically better than any other regular job she has ever had before.

She told viewers that she has been working every job under the sun since the age of 12. She knows what it's like to work hard jobs, and she even claimed that two years ago, she would’ve wished she had the problems she has today.

After more than a week of silence from Nogueira, she eventually made a video explaining herself and the video.

Nogueira took full responsibility for the video and even made light-hearted jokes about clocking out at exactly 5:19 p.m. She clarified that the video was made in response to a hater saying that she should try working a regular 9 to 5 job when she had just left her job at Ulta and was just simply having a bad day.

Nogueira apologized for the video and made it clear that she does not think that she works harder than everyone else. She acknowledged her privileges with the job that she has and that she truly loves what she does. 

It’s tough for many to sit back and watch influencers like Nogueira live their dream life all the while complaining about how hard it is. Fans use these influencers’ content to escape from their real world with real problems. Listening to not-so-hard problems being complained about almost seems laughable.

It’s OK for influencers to have rough days where they feel defeated, but publicly complaining about their problems is out of touch and insensitive. Keeping in mind the situations of others is the best way to remedy any misunderstandings.