K Naomi Faces Colourism Backlash After Commenting on Daughter’s Complexion

• K Naomi shared a photo of her daughters on social media, commenting on their difference in skin complexion
• Online users accused the media personality of being colourist towards her eldest daughter for explaining her darker skin tone
• K Naomi hit back at critics, calling the backlash a deliberate misinterpretation of an innocent moment

Media personality and influencer K Naomi found herself at the centre of a social media storm after posting a photo of her two daughters on her Instagram story. What she intended as a sweet, candid moment quickly drew accusations of colourism from online critics.

In the post, K Naomi, who is married to businessman Tshepo Phakathi, expressed how much she had missed her girls, Ama and Nethisa, after being away from them. She then drew attention to the difference in their complexions, noting that Ama appeared darker because she spends time playing outside, while also emphasising that Nethisa is "so light."

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She added that Nethisa resembles her mother-in-law and that Ama's smile and nose remind her of her own mother.

"Guys, Ama's always playing outside, but she looks darker because Nethisa is SO light; she looks exactly like my mother-in-law. Ama reminds me of my mother here, her smile and nose.'

Mzansi accuses K Naomi of colourism

When the post was reshared on X, reactions were swift and sharp. Many users questioned why K Naomi felt compelled to offer an explanation for Ama's darker complexion at all.

uMaNdosi_ posted:

"Nobody looked at this cute pic and thought, 'Why is Ama so dark?'"

Amahashi_ slammed K Naomi:

"Nobody criticised her for saying your daughters resemble their grandmothers. The question is why you felt the need to explain one child's darker complexion by saying she's always playing outside, while emphasising how light the other one is?"

Lindy_Nhlapo wrote:

"Very strange considering she herself isn't light; why would she feel the need to explain this?"

candysithole_ said:

"What a strange thing for a dark-skinned millennial mom to say about her dark-skinned daughter in 2026."

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K Naomi claps back at critics

K Naomi did not stay silent for long. She returned to her Instagram story to push back against the criticism, insisting that people were twisting her words to suit a negative agenda.

"It's crazy how people will deliberately misinterpret something so innocent just to fit their own negative narratives and projections. Not everything needs to be twisted into something it was never intended to be," she said.

She also pointed out what she saw as a double standard in the criticism, questioning why there was outrage over her remarks about Ama's complexion but no equivalent concern raised about her comment that Nethisa is light-skinned.

K Naomi also took aim at burner accounts she said were driving the pile-on, accusing them of manufacturing controversy out of a genuine family moment.

See K Naomi's responses below.

Cici shares wholesome family photograph

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In an earlier report, Briefly News shared online reactions to Cici showing off her beautiful family.

While the moment was wholesome in itself, followers couldn't ignore the number of children in the photo despite Cici having only ever posted one child on her social media pages.

Source: Briefly News