On April 18, Jakhiya Nelson, 17, lit the internet up after announcing how she planned to eat the whole United States up with her prom look. The Shade Room Teens was able to catch up with Jakhiya, and she tells us that this all started after she decided to do prom rates on her TikTok page.
Many in her Mississippi hometown didn’t take the rates lightly, and she revived tons of backlash on Facebook.
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In response to the haters, she told users to save the date for May 13 so she could show them how it’s really done! The initial video has now received over 9.9 million views, 1.4 million likes, 10.8K comments, 177.2K saves, and 16.7K shares.
@ms.3xtra YEA ALLAT! SAVE THE DATE: MAY 13th #fyp #prom2023 #comingsoon
How The Prom Fit Countdown Began
As the months went by, the anticipation from users was still heating up. Six days before Jakhiya’s prom day, she reminded users to be on the lookout for how she planned to slay.
@ms.3xtra uhohhhhhh.. may 13th is approaching 🤩 i have 2.7m+ people waiting 😜 #fyp #fypシ #prom2023 ♬ UH OHHH – Killa
uhohhhhhhh… may 13th is approaching. I have 2.7M+ people waiting
Jakhiya even teased sneak peeks of her rhinestone shoes and matching nail set. At that point, everyone made it clear that they had their alarms set for this shutdown!
@ms.3xtra 😍😍🤩 in loveeeee w my nails ! #fyp #fypシ #prom2023 ♬ girls need love too x – ⠀
@ms.3xtra uhohhhhh, 2 more days 😜 #fyp #fypシ #prom2023 ♬ girls need love too x – ⠀
Everyone Got On Their Zoom & Tuned In
Just like the viral TikTok sound says, “You gotta get on ya zoom,” and users did just that for Jakhiya! The clock struck 12, and folks from all over the world were flooding her comments.
Throughout the entire day, you couldn’t scroll without seeing a video referencing the “US prom girl” on your ‘for you’ page. From POV videos to reaction clips, everyone was ready to see Jakhiya’s prom pop out!
Even, TeaMates over on The Shade Room Teens were flooded under the prom season round-up!
@cassyfrl Funna be stalking her page fashoo 😭 #prom2023 ♬ original sound – Dani
@taevionrayshaud Cant wait to see it *door dash in bio*#fyp #viral #prom2023 ♬ UH OHHH – Killa
@goldieelocssss She better devour everybody cause i been waitin TODAY IS THE DAY #prom2k23 #prom #fyp #live #nj #usa #viral ♬ WAKANDA JERSEY CLUB MIX by GTTC ON ALL PLATFORMS – GTTC
Later that Saturday, she popped out with her blue tresses, leaving users in the comments ready to see her full prom transformation.
@ms.3xtrauhohhhhhhh almost that time♬ DPWI Latto verse – Latto Vids
How The Prom Fit Countdown Ended
Sadly following her hair reveal, Jakhiya followed with a teary-eyed video to her TikTok account.
“bro man y’all don’t wanna know I stg. I’m so sad rn man”
@ms.3xtraeyes red and everything bro im so sad.♬ original sound – nbdy
While many begged her not to let the United States down, supporters encouraged her to wipe her tears and show out for the night. Jakhiya cleared her tears and hopped on live while rocking her backup prom look. She looked super pretty as she stunned in a white sparkly dress.
She says, “I liked the dress because it was matching my nails already. I purchased it at the mall literally a hour before prom”
@iittolvr her hair is super pretty #prom #2023 #usagirlprom #prom2023 #iittolvr girl who eats usa prom dress #viral
Tea On The Original Fit
Originally Jakhiya planned to step into prom with a purple prom outfit. She revealed that she initially reached out to her designer back in February 2023, and the overall design cost $1,000! As her prom day approached, she opened up about having some difficulty with the designer. Luckily, after not receiving what she wanted, the designer was willing to give her a full refund.
When asked, “Do you feel like you definitely could’ve ate the USA up if your original idea came out better,” Jakhiya stood on her claim!
Yesss! If it would’ve came out perfectly then yes I would’ve ate the US UP!
@ms.3xtrawell i still had a little fun, still was bummed but yk♬ OG THE PASTELS – Kneely_Knight
Sis Is Unbothered By The Hate
Even though Jakhiya was stuck in the spotlight, she remained positive through the ups and downs of prom day.
“ We always should remain positive because nobody is perfect. My mother remained positive! She knows me, she knows my temper …I’m like a bomb I tick. So she kept me calm & she told me don’t worry about it cause I’m still getting my views and still getting my likes. Although I lost like 80,000 followers, I’m still trending & I did a whole trend on TikTok and everything! So like I stay positive because I’m just a positive person and I really didn’t care about the hate. Everything definitely happens for a reason“
She tells us that outside of her outfit getting messed up, she was late for her makeup appointment, and late to prom. Additionally, leading up to her big day, she also ran into trouble trying to rent a Mercedes Benz. In the midst of this, she also received some negativity from folks on social media.
@ms.3xtra i mean nothing can ruin the confidence or self esteem that i have for myself. Everyone is saying i need to “ humble “ myself but ill always believe im ALL OF THAT, FOREVER THAT, & ALWAYS THAT GIRL! 💋 #fyp ♬ original sound – 🫶🏾
A message to the haters and supporters: To me the haters are my supporters because they are commenting, giving more comments, giving me more views, and giving me more attention to my page. To all the supporters I love you guys! I’m not gonna say that I was sad, but the only reason I was sad was because of the mess up. To the people who text me saying “I’m sorry you still look gorgeous”, “ I’m sorry that happened to you”… I love that so much and I really needed it at that moment!”
A Win Is A Win
Jakhiya also tells us that she originally started with only 20K + followers, but after going viral, she has gained over 300,000. Not only did she accumulate almost a total of over 60 million views from her prom videos, Lizzo even mentioned her on Twitter. New girlies are even using “I plan to eat the USA up for prom” to go viral as well.
While my Twitter is unlocked imma say this…
BEYONCÉ IS PUTTING ON A FUCKING SHOW
I’m sad that girl didn’t eat up the whole United states w her prom dress 🙁
I’m glad the girl that ‘just jiggle’ is having her moment
STOP comparing artists ur scaring the hoes
TIDDIES
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) May 15, 2023
