‘The Kardashian era is over’: TikTok’s ‘povvo king’ takes on the billionaires

Shabaz Ali stormed to TikTok fame mocking the designer ice cubes of the privileged. Now he’s on the BBC stoking revolt against the superrich

It was ice cubes that tipped Shabaz Ali over the edge. “A woman online spent her entire day making content about ‘designer ice cubes’,” he recalls. “She’d freeze flavoured waters or fruit juices and show the whole process in tedious detail. I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s got a proper job or has ever struggled for money. Only someone wealthy would have the time to do this.’ It vexed me, so on a whim, I made a reaction video saying ‘On today’s episode of I’m Rich, You’re Poor …’ Soon my TikToks were getting 30m views and thousands of comments. It blew my mind.”

Ali, AKA @ShabazSays, has since become a cult celebrity for his sarcastic commentary on how the other half live. His scathing takedowns of the “rich and ridiculous” have won him more than 4 million followers. Now he’s transferring his viral fame to our TV screens.
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