Ya’ll, TikToker Fannita Leggett just highlighted the pay disparities between Black and white content creators, and TBH, what she said was straight-up facts.
On May 20, she posted a TikTok where she spoke about the standards Black creators are held to in order to be paid “a fraction of the money” their white counterparts receive. Fannita went on to say that she is paid less than the white clients on her talent manager’s Asia Gousse roster, despite having a better online presence than most white creators.
“Who do you think is paid less, has more followers, better engagement, and can actually sell products than her white clients? Yes, that’s me. Top dog,” she said in the video.
Fannita shared that when it comes to her receiving pay, she has to “have a personality, be respectable, pretty, and put together.”
In a follow-up video posted on May 21, Fannita called out Alix Earle as a content creator with white privilege.
“It’s not your fault that you’re white. Opportunities come better to white people,” she said. “And that’s just how the country was built. I’m saying it’s systemic.”
Fannita said that she has around the same engagement as Earle, and is more entertaining as well as funny. All in all, she wants to receive the same pay as her white counterparts.
Since posting her videos on the topic of pay disparities among influencer, Fannita has been supported by fellow Black content creators such as Casanova Brown, Camden Elijah, and Jamila Bell. Bell, who has been a content creator for over 10 years, stitched Fannita’s first video about the pay disparities. She spoke on how brands primarily reach out about campaigns for Black History Month and that she has been lowballed by major brands before.
“It’s not that we’re jealous of these white creators. It’s that we’re just kind of fed up and waiting for our opportunities,” Bell said.
Creator Kevin White also stitched Fannita’s video to discuss brand deal transparency. He said that brands prefer the look of the content creator rather than focusing on the conversion, which does not maximize their chances to make a profit.
“Minority creators and Black creators especially have to come twice as hard to get a fraction of what other white creators do,” he said, repeating similar sentiments as Fannita.
The pay disparity between Black and white content creators was reported to be 35% by MSL and The Influencer League back in 2021, confirming that white creators make substantially more money than their Black counterparts.
So it makes sense why creators like Fannita are fed up with the constant pay disparities they’re seeing in the influencer community. While all creators deserve to be paid what they are worth for things like brand deals, we’re constantly seeing Black creators get the short end of the stick.
Now that Fannita has shed light on this ongoing issue, hopefully, things will get better for Black influencers.