TikTok Star Mama Tot Is in Hot Water Over Sharing Hurricane Helene Misinformation

Although many influencers make their name on being controversial in one way or another, there are others who have made a name for themselves by being mostly positive. Ophelia "Mama Tot" Nichol is just one example of an influencer has built her following of more than one million followers on TikTok that way.

Now, that following is in danger after a recent spat of drama on Ophelia's channel. Here's what we know about the drama, and why she's facing such a significant amount of backlash.

The backlash stems from a video that Mama Tot posted to her page in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The video, which has since been deleted, apparently suggested that FEMA was not helping those in Republican-leaning areas recover from the storm. These kinds of conspiracy theories have been common in the days after the storm, and have been spread by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance as well.

There is no truth behind the suggestion that the current Democratic administration is withholding aid, and all available reporting suggests that the Biden administration is doing whatever it can to help those who have had their lives upended by the storm.

Ophelia has lost more than 100,000 followers since posting the video, with many suggesting that her support for the LGBTQIA+ community was simply an act designed to win her followers, and that she actually has more right-leaning beliefs.

Following the backlash and drama, she posted a video on one of her various TikTok accounts in which she defended herself, suggesting that the video she shared as not political.

"I have been on this app since 2020, and I've loved on people the entire time," she said. "Not one time have I ever used my platform for politics or for any of that stuff."

"For one, people do not even know how to help one another when it comes to politics," she continued. "They just do not. They hate you if you do not agree. Like, I can't deal with it. And people want a safe place to come to. People do not want to see all that mess. The world is so hyped up right now. It is like one big ball of evil. But I have never made my page about politics."

She also said that she didn't explicitly discuss politics in the video.

"In that video, I never said anything about politics, FEMA, money, the government, presidents. I never said anything about those things. None of that. I just expressed how frustrated and sad and angry I was that [the victims] have had to go through this."

Because the video was taken down, exactly what was in it remains somewhat unclear. What we do know is that the impression it left on many of her fans was that Ophelia was more conservative and intrigued by conspiracy theories than they might have thought. She can't force them to keep following her, so all she can do is watch them go.