Why Kenyan Fans Are Ruthlessly Trolling Femi One Over Her Harambee Starlets Halftime Show
A video of rapper Femi One lighting up the pitch at Nyayo National Stadium during the FIFA Series women’s match between Harambee Starlets and India quickly turned into a roast session online. Sports journalist @Silvakidole posted the clip of the energetic performance, and while some fans appreciated the homegrown talent doing her thing at a national fixture, the replies section exploded with brutal trolling. The main targets? Her body size, her outfit, and the overall vibe of the show. Here’s the breakdown straight from the comments.
The loudest (and meanest) pile-on was pure body shaming. Multiple replies zeroed in on Femi One’s weight and shape in a way that felt personal. One user called it a “national disaster” for “madem wadogo kunona hivi” (young women getting this fat), suggesting she hit the gym or even take Ozempic because “hii unono hapana” (this fatness isn’t it). Another bluntly asked, “Why she fat 😂” while someone else wondered, “Not hating, but kwani hana waist?” (doesn’t she have a waist?). A few got creative with the insults: “Ameshikana kama hotdog” (she’s packed in like a hotdog) and one comparing her to “mzigo imefungwa vibaya” (poorly tied luggage). Even an older commenter warned that without “insurance,” women’s shapes supposedly get worse with age. It was relentless — the kind of online pile-up that happens when a female artist steps on a big stage and doesn’t fit the slim, polished image some fans expect at a sports event.
The performance itself took heavy fire too. A chunk of replies dismissed the whole set as “noise” or “kelele” rather than entertainment. “Sounds good with the volume at zero,” one joked. Another straight-up said, “This was not entertainment but noise, very annoying sound.” People complained the MC kept repeating lyrics instead of letting the crowd vibe, and one asked if it was even a proper performance or just “rehearsals.” A few went further, claiming her music “is never meant to be performed but to be watched or listened to,” basically saying it doesn’t translate well live in a stadium setting. One sarcastic reply simply asked, “Hakuna fans?” (no fans?) while the crowd in the video was clearly into it.
Her outfit and stage presence also caught strays. Several comments told her to “rethink her dressing and body size,” implying the white shirt and dark pants combo wasn’t flattering or stadium-appropriate. The general vibe in the negative replies was that she didn’t look the part for a high-energy halftime show at a women’s football international.
To be fair, not every reply was a hater — a handful said “I loved it” or defended the blend of Kenyan music and sports. But the troll comments dominated the conversation, racking up likes and replies while the positive ones mostly sat quietly.
It’s the classic Kenyan Twitter recipe: mix high expectations for female celebs, body image standards that hit women especially hard, and the loud confidence of keyboard warriors. Femi One is a decorated rapper with AFRIMA wins and a loyal base, but in that moment she became the target for everyone with an opinion about how a woman “should” look and sound on a national stage. The comments say less about her actual performance and more about what some fans refuse to accept — that artists come in all shapes, and not every halftime show needs to be a perfectly choreographed pop spectacle. Whether the trolling was fair or just mean-spirited pile-on is up for debate, but the replies make it crystal clear why she’s trending for all the wrong reasons right now.