Cyan Boujee in hot water after dodgy Russia job scam😬
So here’s the tea: SA’s own influencer hun Cyan Boujee (real name Honour Zuma) just had to come out with a big “sorry fam” after she caught serious heat online. Why? She was out here pushing some job gigs in Russia that had Mzansi shocked 👀
She posted vids talking about a “fresh start” for girls aged 18 to 22 in Tatarstan, Russia — saying they’d get work experience and learn the language. The content went viral quick, but then people started asking questions and it turned into a whole mess. Authorities even stepped in, warning that it might be more human trafficking vibes than actual jobs. 🚨
After the backlash, Cyan deleted the posts and jumped on Insta (where she’s sitting on 900K+ followers, plus 1.7M on TikTok) to say:
“As soon as I saw the comments… I knew this is not something I stand with.”
Thing is, reports later dropped that the “jobs” were actually linked to weapons factories and even drone production tied to the war in Ukraine. Yoh 😳! According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, girls were basically being lured under false promises, only to end up in tough working conditions like factories, kitchens, and cleaning gigs.
Cyan, who’s 24, said she didn’t care about the money once she realized what was going on:
“Human trafficking is a very serious matter… I knew I had to delete this immediately.”
She also called it a “learning curve” for her and other influencers. She promised it won’t happen again.
But fam, the bigger convo here is how much power influencers really have. With youth unemployment in SA being so high, lots of young people are hungry for opportunities. That’s why these dodgy offers hit so hard. The Deputy Justice Minister even warned:
“Don’t just trust social media ads. Always verify through official channels.”
Now, people are pushing petitions for influencers to be more responsible and for TikTok/Instagram to tighten up rules on these kinds of ads.
So yah, Cyan Boujee might’ve apologized, but the smoke is still in the air. This whole saga is a reminder: not every “opportunity” online is what it looks like. Stay woke, fam. 🔍✊🏾
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