‘They hate you if you don’t agree’: TikToker Mama Tot has been criticized for her Hurricane Helene posts
At some point in a promoter’s career or another, conflicts will claim them. For TikToker Ophelia Nichol, also known as “Mama Tot,” that time is now.
The controversy occurred when Nichol, who has 12.8 million followers on the platform, shared a video criticizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to Hurricane Helene. The now-deleted post, which has since been downloaded and shared widely online, was reportedly full of misinformation about FEMA’s response to the storm and saw the campaigner veer into dangerous conspiracy theory territory.
The conspiracy theory in question, often peddled in conservative circles, accuses the US government of withholding disaster relief from Republican hurricane victims, in favor of Democrat-leaning areas. These kinds of conspiracy theories, while baseless, quickly gained momentum in the days after the storm, despite all the reports suggesting that the Biden administration was doing everything it could to help those affected.
Mama Tot’s fans have been particularly dismayed by her right-leaning views, with the previously outspoken activist known for supporting progressive causes, including LGBTQIA+ rights and anti-human-trafficking efforts. Some even question whether his invitation was, in the end, practical. According to reports from Social Blade, the TikTok star lost around 200,000 followers within days of the backlash. On Sunday alone, he lost 100,000 followers, quickly followed by another 100,000 the next day.
In her defense, Mama Tot posted a follow-up video saying her original post was not intended to be political. “I’ve been in this program since 2020, and I’ve always loved people,” he said. “I’ve never used my platform for politics or any of that stuff.”
“First of all, people don’t even know how to help each other when it comes to politics. They just don’t do it. They hate you if you don’t agree,” he continued. “Like, I can’t deal with it. And people want a safe place to go. People don’t want to see all that mess. The world is full of wind now. It’s like one big ball of evil. But I have never made my page about politics.”
He also said he did not openly discuss politics or FEMA in the first video. “I never said anything about those things. None of that. I just expressed how frustrated and sad and angry I was [the victims] I had to go through this,” he concluded.
Despite this controversy, Mama Tot continued to donate goods to those affected by Hurricane Helene. While for some fans, these actions are enough to show Nichol’s true intentions, others remain suspicious of his motives. For Nichol, all he can do now is ride out the storm.
