Ksh152K Reward To Anyone Who Proves I Said I Hate Kenya- Elsa Majimbo

The 23-year-old went viral across the globe in 2020 thanks to her crisp-eating satire shared on Tiktok and Instagram while still a journalism student at Strathmore University.

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Nov 25, 2023 - 13:27
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Ksh152K Reward To Anyone Who Proves I Said I Hate Kenya- Elsa Majimbo
Comedienne Elsa Majimbo. /CAPITAL GROUP

US-based Kenyan comedienne and internet sensation Elsa Majimbo on Friday, November 24 dared Kenyan critics to provide evidence to allegations that she stated that she hates her home country.

The 23-year-old went viral across the globe in 2020 thanks to her crisp-eating satire shared on Tiktok and Instagram while still a journalism student at Strathmore University.

In another episode where she confronted online bullies constantly putting her down for her creative pieces, Majimbo offered a reward of Ksh152,950 (USD 1,000) to anyone who could come forward with a video showing her claiming she hates Kenya.

Elsa Majimbo while featuring for Vogue Magazine. /TWITTER

"I will pay $1000 to anyone who can produce a video of me saying the words ‘I hate Kenya’," she announced on her X account.

When tasked to explain her dare to Kenyans to provide proof, Majimbo denied the allegations and affirmed that she would never at any point proclaim her hate for her home country.

"Everyone says I do when I don’t and have never said those words and I never will," she added.

Majimbo is however on record stating her dislike for Kenyans, revealing recently that she was forced to move to South Africa at the age of 19 after being discriminated against for her skin colour, but the reception she received online brightened her up and made her feel comfortable in her own skin.

“I faced a lot of it when I grew up… there were a lot of comments on ‘oh, you are so dark.’ There was so much of that, and when that started happening when I was growing up, I was like, I will never progress in this country with this kind of mentality,” Majimbo shared in a video recording on November 17, 2023.

“In the US, everyone is like, ‘Oh my God, look at your skin, it is so stunning, it looks like pearl, it’s shining.’ So why wouldn’t I not be paid in dollars?”

In September 2022, during an interview with Forbes Magazine, Majimbo swore never to relocate back to Kenya, taking fault with the toxic relationship she has with Kenyans, which worsened when she went viral in 2020.

"I have a very complicated relationship with Nairobi. When things started going well for me there was a lot of backlash against me and there were a lot of colourist things said towards me surprisingly it was people from Kenya who were doing that and they were bullying me on the internet.

"They were hell-bent on my failure and it was so absurd. When the whole world was cheering me on Kenya was praying for my downfall so when I got the chance I packed my bags and I left. I'll go to see my family but I left and I'm never going back," she shared.

The interviewer was intrigued by Majimbo's sentiments and asked for her take on the prevalence of 'cancel culture' in Kenya which made her develop a distaste for the way she was treated.

In a quick rebuttal, Majimbo said "it wasn't cancel culture, I didn't do anything", adding that Kenyans prefer for female comedians to focus their craft "on self-hatred and to call themselves ugly because they are darker and to say that they don't deserve anything in this world."

She has been featured in Forbes Africa Magazine's Top 30 Under 30 and has been featured by scores of international media houses such as CNN which interviewed her.

She was nominated for the E! People’s Choice awards and was named Forbes Woman Africa Entertainer of the Year 2021.

Majimbo amassed partnerships aplenty with fashion companies Mac, Valentino and Fenty by Rihanna as well as a magazine feature by Vogue and a deal with Beyoncé.

She first became friends with acclaimed Kenya-based British supermodel Naomi Campbell before roping Barbadian billionaire singer Rihanna, which led to the bumper endorsement deal with Fenty.

Elsa Majimbo was named in Forbes Magazine's Top 30 under 30. /FORBES AFRICA

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