South African chef and content creator Onezwa Mbola has accused US-based content creator Nala Smith of copying his ideas.
South African chef and content creator Onezwa Mbola has accused US-based content creator Nala Smith of stealing his ideas after she recreated some dishes similar to Mbola's.
Last week, Mbola posted a video to her Instagram Reels, without naming Smith, explaining that Smith had been stealing her content ideas and posting them as her own.
“I specifically state that I'm not the first to do anything, and I understand that. I'm not talking about recipes, I'm talking about a pattern of stealing ideas,” Mbola said. Citizen.
“I literally make recipes for people to recreate, which is fine. But the issue isn't replicating the recipes, it's that people are literally replicating my content, my content style and profiting from it without crediting me.”
Nala Smith before and after discovering Onezwa Mbola🤣🤣🤣
Happy Father's Day pic.twitter.com/4J3TOHCXJR— Jifozetu (@Makwande__) June 16, 2024
The former Masterchef SA contestant said she first found out her content had allegedly been stolen late last year but didn't say much about it, but last week's video was sparked by her making her own version of Bubba Tea, which Smith then made the next day.
Citizen Smith did not respond to a request for comment within a time frame. We will add a comment if and when we receive one.
“Nara Smith of South Africa”
“Until late last year, I wasn't posting frequently on TikTok, but a lot of people were commenting on my videos, tagging me and calling me 'South African Nala Smith,'” Mbola said.
Mbola acknowledged that she followed Smith on social media at the time, but said she had not noticed the similarities between her content and that people had pointed out.
Also read: Former Masterchef contestant Onezwa Mbola talks country living and cooking
But after a while, I began to notice a trend: whenever I cooked a dish, a few days later Smith would make a similar dish, but in his own way.
“These are minor matters, nothing serious,” Mbola asserted.
The Eastern Cape-based creator said she discussed these “insignificant” similarities with a friend, who advised her to be careful with her content before criticising Smith.
“It became kind of a routine. We waited to see how long she would make something similar.”
Mbola then began cooking Asian dishes, something he knew Smith wasn't good at.
“the result, [duplicating] “She settled in, and then I changed the style of my content to be more Asian and seafood, to do things that I knew she couldn't do.”
The overlap stopped for a while, and then earlier this year, Mbola resumed experimenting with other non-Asian cuisines. “And then she started doing the same thing again,” Mbola said.
“I think there are too many patterns, but I'm not going to say anything. [to her]. “
Mbola posted a video in February, addressing the many people who regularly comment on her posts and refer to her as the South African Nala Smith.
South African-born Smith left a comment in the video expressing sympathy for Mbola, without tagging him in the video.
“At this point, I thought she'd see this and stop, but she didn't.”
Soon after, Mbola got to work making cream cheese, and within 48 hours, Smith had created his own unique cream cheese.
@onezwambola How to make mozzarella the easy way #Recipes #SouthAfrica #FYP #Cooking #Countrylife #Mozzarella #Farmlife ♬ La vie en rose (Cover Edith Piaf) – Tian Dong Yu
“I realized, no way… that's what happened. But it's a small thing, and I think that's what's hardest about it. It's hard to point out because it's a small thing.”
@naraazizasmith just loves this 🫶🏽 #homecooking #lasagne #comfortfood #fypシ #mealideas #recipes ♬ original sound – Nara Smith
Tea imitation
After Mbola shared her version of bubble tea, someone commented on the post and within minutes wrote: “Let's see how long it takes this great creator to recreate this.”
Mbola did not respond to the comments, but was surprised that people were aware of what was going on with her content in relation to Smith.
@onezwambola • Guava Boba: guava leaf tea, goat milk with guava • Goat cheese, mushroom and spinach galette 💚🤌🏾 #fyp #rurallife #farmlife #ezilalini #southafrica #dayinmylife #viral ♬ Original Sound – Onezwa Mbola
Sure enough, Smith made her own bubble tea within 24 hours of Mbola's: “I don't follow her so I don't watch her videos. I blocked her when she started this.”
The person who predicted Smith would copy the tea hopped back into the comments section and boasted, “Yees, I'm a prophet. She's already making bubble tea.”
@naraazizasmith What drink would you like? #easyrecipes #homecooking #fypツ #drink #boba #cravings ♬ Just Give Me One More Day – Alej
“Oh my goodness, she was making tapioca. I was so frustrated at this point that I thought I couldn't take it anymore.”
Mbola vented his frustration to friends and decided to take a break from content creation.
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Backlash against Mbola
Mbola has faced backlash for taking a stand.
“If someone was selling your music or making the exact same music as you and passing it off as their own, everyone would understand why you'd be upset. But because it's content creation, it becomes a matter of, 'Oh, they're jealous because they're making money from it.'”
Some of the comments directed at her have suggested she is delusional, wondering, “Why would someone who is a wealthy American woman with a husband and beautiful children hate me?”
The mother-of-one believes that with so many people now aware of what's going on, it will inspire Smith to stop replicating her content. “I hope she'll stop out of embarrassment,” Mbola said with a laugh.
“I don't know if she'll stop attacking other creators because so many other people are saying she's plagiarizing from so-and-so. I'm not the only person she's doing this to.”
She confirmed that she will continue to create and post content on both TikTok and Instagram.
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