Kay Yarms Puts SA Social Media Awards On Blast For Exploiting Influencers

Kay Yarms has officially called out the South African Social Media Awards (SASMAs) — and she’s not holding back. The award show dropped its highly anticipated nominations list this year, expecting nothing but hype, but instead they’re facing major backlash.

Kay made it clear she’s not here for their tactics, accusing them of exploiting influencers and using their fame to grow the platform while fans are pressured to spend money voting.

“Red Flag After Red Flag”

According to Kay, the biggest red flag came when the organizers asked her to create a script to push her followers into voting for her — essentially turning nominees into unpaid advertisers. She also dragged them for nominating international TikTok star Nara Smith in the Food Influencer category, while plenty of deserving South African creators were overlooked.

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Kay Yarms isn’t the only one side-eyeing SASMA. Lasizwe, who bagged nominations in three categories — including African Social Media Star of the Year alongside Tyla, Black Coffee, and Khaby Lame — told his fans point blank not to vote for him. For him, the recognition of being nominated is enough, and he doesn’t want people wasting their hard-earned money on SMS votes.

Social Media Is Not Buying It

Fans online are echoing Kay’s frustrations, calling the awards nothing more than a money grab. Comments flying around include:

• “Why must we pay to vote when these influencers already give us free content daily?”
• “Nara Smith over our local food creators? This is a joke.”
•  “They want influencers to do free promo for their scam.”

Instead of trending for celebration and recognition, the SASMAs are trending for the wrong reasons — and thanks to Kay Yarms’ bold clapback, the “prestigious” awards are looking more like a hustle in disguise.

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