Vee Kativhu

[DrT]

I agree with what you guys are saying about the unbearably narcissistic Vee Kativhu and find this post fascinating. Like Vee, I too studied at Oxford. But this was many moons ago in the era of Boris, Jacob Rees Mogg and other notorious characters. I did not enter via a conventional route and joined in the mid 80’s as a “mature student” having been given a second chance through an educational initiative that I am always grateful for, and have worked as a University Lecturer for most of my adult life. I can therefore completely understand how the foundation year at LMH gave her a chance to get an Oxford degree, and being a champion of “social mobility” I can see what a wonderful achievement it was for a woman from an under-represented ethnic group to achieve this. But while Vee’s achievements are certainly admirable, there is a word that sadly doesn’t reflect her character, and this word is “humility”. With her constant bragging, she almost reminds me of a caricature from an American high school movie - the “popular girl” who constantly seeks attention and affirmation. And although she has portrayed herself as a changemaker through her achievements at Oxford and Harvard, I just can’t help thinking that the advocacy she communicates reflects a narrative that is centred on herself and her own ambition above anything else. Her relationship with her so called “bbf” Malala is also blatantly opportunist, which just fuels this ambition and social climbing. If I ever came across Vee I’d like to ask her how far has really immersed herself in uncomfortable debates about the spectre of racism in higher education, and how this is being addressed? I’d also like to say that constant bragging on social media about “your wonderful life” could actually be perceived as quite divisive and toxic by many people. If she could produce a body of work that captures the realities of racism with a true humility and brilliance that makes her stand out as a social activist, I’d respect her. But not now.

 

[montroseee]

also, her declaration of ad's is absolutely awful, how is this allowed? I didn't even see the one on the civil service one until I properly zoomed in on her videos

easily the most disappointed in her out of all the studytubers, I genuinely really enjoyed her videos when she was at Oxford and the cramming for essays bc it felt relatable, now i really don't even know who she's trying to appeal to

 

[Kajinac]

Summary, of the newest video (don't watch it, 16 minutes of my life that I will never get back)

First 4 minutes:
-'my life has been amazing, I am in LA, life is crazy but I don't even have time to chat with you guys and I feel like we are not connected'
- which is ironic because she is where she is because of her followers and then she says she doesn't have time to make videos-

The reason why she was rejected:
- first of all her application was (direct quote) 'phenomenal and really really amazing' (well clearly it wasn't )
- probably she was rejected because she spoke too much about her past successes and not enough about what she wants to achieve while studying at NYU and what she wants to do with the degree (bragging on social media and throwing a balloon party with dr.vee written all over the place wouldn't probably be enough of a reason to accept her? )
- she has now applied for another school (again only 1), didn't share which one

The rest of the video (a complete mess, don't even understand what she is talking about)
- she is moving to the US- doesn't explain why
- she is going to Zimbabwe to do a book signing because that is exactly what is going to help the girls there to have better access to education
- fair enough she then shares something about a charitable work she will do there and that she will do some fundraising for the local organizations (would love to know how much of her own money she will be donating). Her fundraising of choice is going to be doing a 10k run ...
- she keeps saying 'oh, sorry, this video is so random', well... yes it is, why didn't you sit down and film one proper video and maybe paused for 1 minute before filming it to figure out what you even want to talk about
- she has very ugly green nails and wouldn't stop moving her hands for 1 second, incredibly irritating. Also, why is she wearing an engagement-like ring on her left ring finger?
- she is not dating but she is interested so encouraged people to comment down below and send her messages (only half-joking)
- somebody asked her what she does for work 'I am part of the same management as Jack, Jade, and Ruby and we work with brands and they pay us to share resources with you' (life of an influencer beautifully explained, makes it sound like she is a billboard , truly the kind of job where you put two degrees from prestigious universities into good use. I remember the times when influencers still at least tried to make it sound like they are very creative and they can connect with the audience better than traditional advertising does, but those times are now clearly over)
- also why does she repeat like 3 times that she does the same job as Jack, Jade, and Ruby? They are not really the kind of people any serious adult wants to be associated with

 

[abcbabe]

Hi, new poster here. I've been following Vee for a while as I work in higher ed in Africa, with a focus on innovation in education to broaden access, so thought Vee was working on similar issues. And I have a question.. what exactly has she done that is so remarkable to be named a young UN leader? Is it empowered by Vee? I am just confused. I work with, and teach so many more inspiring young African leaders that are trying to have a meaningful impact on the world and on education policy in their countries.. like why her

 

[July9696]

The question I’d ask is this...
Is it an “achievement” to have a famous friend?
That’s literally the only reason she got on there. Her clout chasing is exhausting.

 

[be11atrix]

Tbf to Vee, if I was swanning around professing to be fighting for the rights of girls in poverty - I'd probably cut out the gifted price tag too

 

[Namelessone]

Jumping from degree to degree without gaining experience can render you pretty much unemployable. Over qualified for entry level jobs and not experienced enough for jobs requiring PHDs.

 

[veronika.sunshine]

sometimes, her ego trip insta reels and posts show up at my feed, and honestly she's so annoying right now it's laughable. i used to watch her like 3 - 4 years ago when she was posting still kinda relatable stuff about uni supplies, essays etc.. But now, all the reels and videos she does are just like one big ego trip. look at yourself!!! you're amazing!!! not you actually, it's just me!!! being awesome!!! wow, how did I achieve such an incredible achievement!!! I am great!!! It's hard to believe I did all of this!!!
(ehm ehm, what actually did you achieve?)
she literally doesn't seem to care about anything related to her subject/topic of study. she only cares about herself and her own brand and image.

 

[bigreputation]

Also, for someone who is so passionate about being a changermaker, I don't understand why she isn't actually going and doing something to make change? If her goal is to improve education for young girls, why not go actually work at an NGO? Spending 3 years doing a PhD is not going to make the difference she thinks

She just wants the Dr label because she isn't a real change maker and its all brand and image.

 

[mindlessness]

Never forget she went to OXFORD and HARVARD.

Meanwhile the university where she’s actually studying for her PhD (and where she’ll gain that Dr honorific she’s so obsessed with) that is supposedly her ‘dream university’ is not mentioned.

If it actually was a dream university for her you just know she’d be shouting the name from the rooftops.

 

[sunnycountenance99]

So I have been following this thread for a while, because I was trying to find out if other people felt the same way about Vee as I do. I genuinely loved her content a few years ago, but I can't even stand to look at her any longer (as multiple people have stated in this thread already).
But it is really more personal than that. I am an African woman, living in South Africa. And Vee is either genuinely an idiot or just extremely insensitive. Aside from the self congratulatory stuff she is constantly spouting, her trip(s) to Zimbabwe to talk about girls education was really the worst thing I have ever seen.

The teachers in Zimbabwe are leaving in droves, because the economy is in the toilet and they aren't getting paid anything close to a living wage. The infrastructure is absolute rubbish, and I know this because many Zimbabwean immigrants are currently in South Africa fighting to survive.

It is the same thing in South Africa. In rural areas, some schools are still using pit toilets, and the infrastructure is terrible, and I can attest to that because I witnessed some of it at my high school. (South Africa is supposed to be the most developed country in Africa so do with that information what you will)

She has done nothing for Africa at all. I wouldn't have much of a problem with her behavior and the changes her channel has gone through, but constantly talking about Africa, helping girls and young women, improving and empowering education, and she is spending money like crazy, and only ever talks about her achievements. I think she only talks about Africa when it suits her brand (and other people here have stated this), other than that I can tell she is trying really hard to get a PhD for the views, and rub shoulders with the top 1% so that she can say she made it.

There are wars happening in Africa, the levels of corruption is sickening, there is famine and drought. The girls she is trying to help are experiencing Gender Based Violence, and if she even watched the news she would see the state that Zimbabwe is in. (And it is so weird to me that she is supposed to be so educated but she can't even watch the news or read a blog so that she can see the things she says are completely insensitive to the situation). (I myself am struggling to pay for my undergraduate degree, when the money she makes on one video could probably pay my school fees in one go, and I am middle class for context so consider what that means for poor African women).

Everything that Vee is doing right now is a slap in the face of every African girl she is claiming to help, and it is disgusting. And once again, maybe I wouldn't have an issue about her behavior if she wasn't constantly using Africa as a crutch to boost herself, but does nothing of substance to help African girls. Imagine going to Zimbabwe to talk about herself and views and her policies, when she has no real world experience (other than the say so of Malala, Bill Gates and the Obamas, as if that means more than having actual experience). Imagine going to Zimbabwe and South Africa and charging us money for her book, when the women in the households she is trying to help cannot afford food and rely on their abusers to survive (and I say this because I see it everyday).

But anyway, my rant is over, and I do not think my opinion on this matters much, but I think everyone on this thread needs to know that their opinion on Vee is completely valid, and her actions are not just sickening online, her actions have real world implications. I am sorry that this post is exceedingly long, and I hope I have not offended anyone!

Thank you for putting the discomfort I’ve been feeling with Vee into words. I come from Kenya, and everything Vee does screams white saviourism (what’s the word between white saviourism and native informant ) is reminiscent of the numerous NGO’s that pitch tent over here, claiming to help rural populations, when in actuality, they’re just collecting donor money.

 

[Ripley Rose Kat]

I think Vee has become very very egotistical and it's so sad because I used to absolutely love her.

She just constantly brags all the time and is constantly rubbing things in her audience faces.

I stopped following her as she made her IG more like an influencer's page. Couldn't honestly tell you what she studied at Harvard because she never mentioned it.

 

[MrsMarshmallow]

Malala gets married and Vee unsurprisingly makes it about her.

 

[quartzen]

jeez, just saw the new place tour. YouTube really must be pretty lucrative these days huh. Wow. So far from relatable for any current student/graduate, speaking as one myself…, a swanky London penthouse is seriously out of reach for most young people these days let alone in the current state of the world. I mean good for her, I am definitely very jealous but I’m glad I unfollowed months ago. Not the down to earth YouTuber I used to enjoy watching anymore. Not a fan of the hustle culture “if you work hard enough you can afford these things too!” Type vibe either

 

[stewedmalaise]

i've been subscribed to vee since she had like 5k on youtube and i really liked her back then. she was relatable, funny, and motivating, but now i just feel like she's a walking billboard...i feel like everything she posts about and does is just for her cv and reputation.

liked if she actually cared about "girls education" in developing countries she'd put in the fucking work and not just dance around on instagram with her family eating cake. so telling of her character as a person; they can watch me eat cake while i tell them how to live more "empowered" lives and profit off of book sales and brand deals. cute, really cute.

 

[Magallanes]

i can't believe she left her research proposal for the last 2 days to submit it...at this point i don't think it's a procrastination issue anymore, it's just she feels so entitled to do a PhD and she's so full of herself that she doesn't care about the proposal because she's believes she'll get it anyway

 

[slamvs27]

She threw another party for herself

What's next? Is she gonna throw a party for doing the hard work of throwing a party?

I'm so confused? They didn't commemorate her or anything, it looks like she just helped fund/ open a new facility? She's acting like they named the building after her..
"We put MY book in the school library" feels so self-congratulatory and self-centred. No, they just bought a copy to put in the library lol. Actually they didn't even need to, because apparently she sent 200 (!!!) copies to them. So she could sign all 200 (!!!) copies and boost her already huge-ass ego.

 

[Oatmeall]

Also, for someone who is so passionate about being a changermaker, I don't understand why she isn't actually going and doing something to make change? If her goal is to improve education for young girls, why not go actually work at an NGO? Spending 3 years doing a PhD is not going to make the difference she thinks

 

[StonesThrowaway]

Did her management pay someone to write this? Or did they write it and asked them to publish it?

Also did she really compare her doing YouTube to Malala's talks? Her ego is fucking ginormous

It was probably her management or publisher to promote the book.

Anyways I have some mutual friends with Vee and Malala and it's funny to hear her say that she 'just so happened' to find out that Malala lived next door when everyone who went to Oxford with them knows that she actively sought out Malala. It's also funny to hear her go on and on about how Malala is her bestest and closest friend when Vee definitely has other close friends. Malala has plenty of close friends who don't humble brag about being friends with her so I wonder why she keeps an obvious clout chaser like Vee around.

 

[Tittattattit]

Vee needs to get an actual J-O-B.

Would also help with her PhD applications.