Kenyans have returned to American actress Skai Jackson’s TikTok comment section after she reopened it, reviving the controversy surrounding her remarks about mirrors in Kenya.
The renewed reactions saw users post sarcastic comments and jokes referencing the incident, which sparked widespread criticism in July 2026. Jackson had disabled her comment section again following the latest wave of responses.
Some Kenyans used the opportunity to remind the former Disney Channel star that they had not forgotten her comments, while others turned the controversy into a fresh round of online humour.
One TikTok user, A.K, wrote: “we are backk 😂😂😂 ati ulisema nn kutuhusuuuu”.
Another user, Glow, commented: “I accidentally looked at her shadow”.
A third user, jaey_ot, wrote: “the shadow be giving the real you 😂😎”.
Wanjiku also joined the discussion, commenting: “comments delaaaayed is not denied 😂😂😂💔”.
The controversy began after Jackson discussed a visit to Kenya during a livestream conversation. The actress recalled travelling to the country in 2018 and visiting a village where she interacted with children and teachers.
During the discussion, she claimed that mirrors were expensive and that some children she encountered had not seen their reflections before looking at themselves on her phone.
“So like down there, mirrors are very expensive. A lot of the kids did not know what they looked like. So for the first time, they saw what they looked like on my phone, and they were laughing, and they were so happy,” Jackson said at the time.
She also suggested that the experience made her view the children’s lack of familiarity with their appearance differently, saying they were not insecure about themselves.
Her remarks quickly circulated online, prompting criticism from Kenyans who argued that her account risked portraying an entire country through the experience of one community.
Some users questioned the claim about mirrors, while others argued that Jackson should have made the limits of her experience clearer when speaking to a wider audience.
Kenyan media personality Amina Abdi Rabar also criticised the remarks, questioning the use of an experience in one location to characterise the country.
“Why would you come for poverty tourism, which is when you visit the poorest parts of our country and then paint it as though the whole population lives like this? That is quite unfortunate,” Amina said, according to K24 Digital.
Jackson addressed the backlash in a video apology shared on July 19, 2026. She clarified that she had visited a small village in 2018 and said the comments came from conversations with children and teachers she met during the trip.
“I wanted to apologise for my conversation when I was talking about my trip to Kenya. I did not mean any disrespect by it. I went back in 2018, and I did go to a very tiny village,” she said.
The actress explained that she had not intended to describe the circumstances of every Kenyan or make a general statement about the entire country.
She also defended her experience, saying the information came from people she encountered during the visit.
“But like I said, the children and teacher did tell me that. It was me and a bunch of people. It wasn’t just me on that trip,” she added.
Jackson reiterated that she had enjoyed her time in Kenya and did not intend to offend anyone.
“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. I really, really enjoyed my time in Kenya. I truly loved my experience, and I was not being funny,” she said.
Her apology came after days of criticism from Kenyan social media users, some of whom accepted her explanation while others remained dissatisfied with her original remarks.
