Cyan Boujee has been criticised for her “unserious” response to the backlash of her paid promotion of a job programme in Russia targeting young girls, which has been flagged for human trafficking and labour exploitation.
The 24-year-old is among a group of influencers who travelled to the country to film content on the unverified programme.
CYAN BOUGEE MOCKS HUMAN TRAFFICKING’ HEADLINES
On Tuesday, 26 September, Cyan Boujee addressed the backlash surrounding her paid promotion of the Alabuga Start programme in Russia. The job offer has come under fire by authorities who claim it has the hallmarks of human trafficking and labour exploitation.
In a video clip posted on Instagram, Cyan made light of the drama, introducing herself as “NomaRussia”, referring to anti-Apartheid activist NomaRussia Bonase.
Cyan said of her decision to promote the unverified job programme: “I want you guys to know that it wasn’t for money.” However, she added that she had not yet been paid for the campaign as she had not fulfilled the contract by posting all her content on her social media channels.
Soon after, Cyan Boujee posted another Instagram with a caption that mocked making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, again.
“BBL to BBC”, she posted, referencing her infamous plastic surgery and appearing in a BBC World article about promoting dubious overseas job programmes.
SORRY NOT SORRY?
A day after her “apology,” Cyan Boujee and other influencers’ TikTok accounts were banned for allegedly violating community guidelines.
On the X platform, South Africans revealed how they had reported the content creators for human exploitation.
In a since-deleted Instagram Story, Cyan called out the public for banning her TikTok account.
She said in a short clip: “Justice for Cyan. Justice for everyone.”
She added: “We didnt know. This is too much. South Africans are so negative”.
Image via Instagram
Cyan then went on to post a series of memes of actress Vatiswa Ndara, who played the role of villain Nomarussia in Mzansi Magic telenovela Igazi.
DO YOU THINK CYAN BOUJEE LACKS REMORSE OVER HER ACTIONS?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.