In this episode of KARAMO, host Karamo brings together Nisha, who went viral two years ago after a TikTok of her ordering a chicken salad at the 81st Deli amassed over 27 million views, and her cousin Brahim, who claims the sudden fame changed Nisha’s behavior and damaged their once‑close relationship. The conversation unfolds as a back‑and‑forth dialogue where Brahim describes their pre‑viral bond—living together, sharing money, and supporting each other—then details how Nisha’s newfound attention led to reduced communication, accusations of selfishness, and financial disputes. Nisha counters by describing the overwhelming pressure of viral fame, body‑shaming, loss of privacy, and the fact that the viral video was actually posted by the deli owner, not her, leaving her without any revenue despite the video generating six‑figure earnings for others. Both parties exchange harsh language, blame, and expressions of hurt, while Karamo probes for specifics about the video’s origin, the timeline of events, and the financial fallout. The deli owner later chimes in, confirming the video was his TikTok and that Nisha demanded a cut of the profits. The episode culminates in a tentative reconciliation: Brahim apologizes for his hurt, Nisha offers an apology and acknowledges the strain, and Karamo encourages them to hug and move forward, highlighting the broader theme of how sudden internet fame can fracture personal relationships and create disputes over ownership and money.
Chapters
My guest Nisha went viral on social media 2 years ago with a video that's gotten over 27 million views and generated countless headlines for eating chicken salad. Yeah, you heard me right, chicken salad. Take a look at the video.
Y'all better come up here and get one of these.
What's that?
It's a chicken salad.
From where?
81st Deli.
What's on it?
Superior. I got chicken, pickles, Banana peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions.
Nisha says that viral moment changed her life, but her cousin Brahim claims the fame has gone to her head. The two haven't spoken in a year and are here to see if the relationship can be saved. Everyone, please welcome Brahim to the show to hear his side of the story. Brahim, how you doing, man?
How you doing?
Nice to be in here. So please tell me about your relationship with Nisha before the video.
We were best friends, like we were inseparable. I went everywhere with Nisha. I got black eyes 'cause of Nisha fighting her boyfriends.
Not black eyes. Would you ever loan each other money?
Yeah, we loan each other money all the time.
Yeah.
She just changed.
So my producer told me that you were supposed to go with Nisha to the deli that day, the day that that video was taken.
Yeah, I had a date though, so I scaled back and you know, she greedy, so she took some stuff.
Yeah.
I'm just saying, you see it when she come out here.
Ooh, okay. You talk about your cousin like that before y'all fell out?
Nah, but I always uplifted her. Like I was there for her.
Like now that y'all fell out, you trying to break her down?
No, I'm just saying it's obvious. She, you know, I just think she's a selfish bitch.
Oh. Yeah. How did things change with Nisha after the video?
Well, Nisha would wake up, call me, what's she doing tonight? Let's go get some hookah. Let's go get some drinks. Since the video came out, I haven't heard from Nisha in days. Or I'll just say something like, "Good morning." She'll text me back like 3 days later, "Oh hey, I was busy." Busy eating? I don't know what she was doing.
Yeah.
What did she say to you when you asked to borrow money?
It's not like I always ask, but like she'll ask me, I'll ask her. She say she don't have it. You got it. How you don't have it?
Why you think she got it?
I know she got it. I seen her hair was done. Her bras was on nice. Yeah, I know she had it.
Did she start hanging out with new friends?
She started like eating with new friends and just people I've never— No, I'm being serious.
So did she ever invite you to any of her events or parties after this went viral?
Never.
Nothing at all?
No.
Do you think fame has gone to her head?
I do.
You do?
Yeah.
Okay then. Are you jealous of her at all?
No, I'm not jealous.
Some of them say yeah.
No, I just think that if it was me, I wouldn't have acted that way with her.
Okay, so you just feel like if it was you, you would've done things completely different?
Completely different.
What would you have done different?
Just everywhere I went, she would've been there with me. Like, I can't even get a phone call back.
What did you post about her on Facebook?
Just impulsive, I would say things.
Okay, look at the girl who doesn't eat anyone's chicken, let alone salads from any First Street Deli.
Oh.
Yeah, so I mean, it's impulsive. I was hurt.
That's hurt.
She would turn on her entire family for bell peppers, sweet peppers, and onions.
That's hurt, bro. That's hurt.
Okay.
I took it down right away.
Got it. You took it down quickly. Okay then. But you were hurt. You're saying you did this 'cause you were hurt.
Yeah, I was hurt. I wanted her to see it. I blocked her on everything.
If you blocked her, how she's gonna see it?
Her friends.
Her friends.
Hit me up. Take it down. Reporting your page.
Got it. I got a question. Do you even like chicken salad?
I love chicken sausage.
Okay.
She wouldn't know.
She wouldn't know.
She ain't never asked me.
She never asked you, okay. Do you think it's possible to repair this relationship?
If she admits where she changed, yeah.
So you just need her to admit that.
Take accountability.
You need her to take accountability for her behavior.
Yes.
Got it, I understand, okay then. Well, I think it's time to hear from Nisha. So everyone please welcome Nisha to the show. How are you doing?
I'm good.
Thank you for being here. I gotta ask you, how do you feel about what was just said?
He's a fucking liar. Like, I'm so frustrated right now. It's a simple fact, you try to make everything about you. You never once asked me about, first off, you know what I went through when I went viral. I went through where everybody body shamed me and everything. You didn't even let that touch the internet. We family.
I took it down.
It don't matter. You put it up there and people seen it.
But you didn't, you know you had it.
And see, this is what I try to explain. He never take accountability for his own stuff. First off, you wasn't supposed to go to the Daily with me today.
She lying. You lying.
Tell me how the chicken salad video started. Tell me.
So I had just got off of work, me and my niece. I went to go play my lottery actually.
Yeah. And you won lottery that day. You know, okay.
And so I went inside the deli. It was real hot that day. That's why my weave was poofy like that. And so I was like, hey, I don't wanna cook, so don't you guys make salads now? And he said yes, so he made it. I told him what to put in there. And he was just like, yo, Niche, let's make a TikTok. I was 39. I don't really know much about like social media. Yeah. You know, so I'm like, all right, whatever. Weeks go by and I'm viral and I don't even know.
Wow.
Like people speaking and I'm just like, oh hey, you know, whatever.
I didn't think too much. So how did you find out if you was viral?
My daughter, she was like, Mom, you know you trending. And I'm like, what am I trending for? She was like, you're viral. So in my head I'm thinking back like, Girl, what you done did back in the day, that's why I don't like you.
Okay, it came back out, right?
Because I didn't understand, so I finally watched the video and I was just like, okay.
Okay, this what it is? Yeah.
I was like, I don't get it, it's stupid.
Yeah.
And so within the coming weeks, that's when all the celebrities start using it, so then I was kinda like, Okay.
Exactly.
And then I'm starting to get messages and emails.
What celebrity started using that sound?
Lizzo was the first. North Cardi— was it North West?
Yes.
And her mom.
Yeah.
It's so many, y'all. It's a lot.
We used the sound up here too. Oh, really? When we premiered season 1, I said, come get you one of these. I'm getting you one of these little chicken salads, okay? So yeah, listen, for some reason, this is what you don't know about viral. It's like you don't know what's gonna take off. It's the silliest things that just can take off. And how did your relationship change after it went viral? 'Cause he said you just stopped picking up the phone.
So what he won't listen to and what he doesn't understand is I didn't even have time for myself. I literally, was everywhere. I wasn't talking, my mom was like, "Hey, I haven't heard from you in a couple of days." When I'm out and I'm actually doing things, my phone don't even be on me. And once I finally get back, I may be able to get 2 hours of sleep.
Girl, I talk to you every day.
What, not then?
Yeah, 'cause you changed. I talk to you every day.
He's not listening. I talk to you every day. And that's what pisses me off with you because you don't fucking listen. If I'm busy, You wasn't busy.
Oh, invite him to the events with you.
I'm trying to get my foot in the damn door.
So why did you stop loaning him money?
I didn't have it.
Okay, well, my producer, you lost your job.
Thank you.
You lost your job.
How am I gonna help you out if I don't have it? Like, bruh, be for real.
You didn't know she lost her job? No.
I guess he the one that need to go viral since he know it all.
So how did you lose your job?
Because I was traveling, so their thing was, this is your responsibility. Like, this is supposed to come first. But I'm like, I got different opportunities coming at me.
But before all of this, you was regular though. You not understand what I'm saying?
I'm still regular. It's not an excuse. I'm still—
Why did you two cut ties?
'Cause he's a fuck. That's why. He's annoying.
I'm not annoying.
You are annoying.
We help each other. She's my only, just the only person in the family I really talk to. Because when I came out, she was the only one that was there that listened to me. So we got close. I moved back to help her out. I listened. You did listen.
I listened. I listened.
Yeah, but we, okay. Lisa, do you miss your cousin?
Yes.
You miss him?
I do.
Yeah. Do you miss your cousin?
Slightly, but I'm out of sight, out of mind. I left 'cause I just couldn't, I didn't wanna see her on my timeline anymore. I don't even tell people we related because I don't want, if something does ever happen to me, I don't want 'cause of her.
Yeah.
So.
We're getting a ping right now.
I'm the owner of Katie Fries Deli. I know Nisha, she used to come to my store. One day she seen me eating a chicken salad. She said, "That looks like it's really good. Can you make me one?" So I made her one and I started taping her with my TikTok. A couple days later it went viral. All of a sudden she got really famous and she would like throw little things at me like you should give me a percentage and stuff like that. I was like, why should I pay you? She's like, because any— you were nothing before me. I was like, I was nothing for you. What do you mean? I've been in business for 25 years. This is my video, it's my TikTok, it's my store. And it's my salad. And then she got mad and she's like, boy, bye, get off my line. And then she stopped talking to me. Just a couple months ago, we were the best of friends, and, you know, she'd come to my store and ask me for stuff, and I would help her out, and she'd come play her lottery. And she shouldn't even come play her lottery no more. Honestly, I think fame got to her head, and she's like a completely different person, you know. It's not the same sweet Nisha that used to come to the store.
So what I'm hearing from that, this is the deli owner's TikTok that went viral. It wasn't even on your own page.
No, it wasn't on my page. Wow. First off.
And so the only reason I bring that up is because if there was gonna be maybe some revenue, it would come from the owner of that page.
Yeah.
So you didn't even own the page.
No. First off, let's get something straight. Y'all made over 6 figures off of my likeness. Y'all sold a fucking salad in my name. In my name.
Yeah.
For $20. The reason why I stopped going there, because it got fucking awkward. When shit get uncomfortable for me, I remove myself. It don't got nothing to do with thinking somebody better than anybody. 'Cause if anything, they definitely thought they was fucking better.
Yeah. I'm gonna tell you this. Look, I understand that you were hurt because you lost a family member, but I feel like that hurt is also compounded with the fact that you wanted this. You wanted this moment. You wanted to be in this industry and when it didn't happen, the person that you were closest with, you thought would bring you up. And so I think that's where a lot of this pain is coming from.
I could have handled it better than her.
Yeah.
See, I think so.
And see, that's the problem.
But this is the thing, at the end of the day, you gotta be happy for her and also then be there to support her. Like when I'm hearing this about this Deli, I believe everything you said because I know that Everyone was going there. We saw the news articles. They're going there, they're buying salads. And now hearing that this was on his page, there's money and revenue he's making and you're not making anything.
I didn't make anything.
So how your hair get done?
And then to have—
How do my hair get done?
How do my hair get done?
Yeah.
'Cause a lot of people like to do promo with me.
So you get paid?
I don't get my nails done.
You know what, but guess what? People like promo. Can I tell you something? It doesn't matter how she got her hair done. She's a grown woman and if she got some money, that's fine. Well, my concern is that You know, it sounds like you wanna go viral and unfortunately I think you might go viral for the wrong reason being on my show. Because people are, the way you've been acting, like I understand you're hurt so I can see both sides, but you owe her an apology. You owe her some empathy.
And that's all I wanted.
It just hurt. Like I felt like you just left me. Like I'm by myself, you know that.
And I didn't though. I still travel and do things. You can still go with me. You gotta pay for yourself.
Okay. But look at that, she's including you. She's including you.
I feel bad, it's fine. I feel bad, I'm sorry.
Thank you. I accept and I apologize if I ever made you feel any type of way. You know what type of person I am.
So you, okay, I understand now 'cause you could have been said this.
You might as well give your cousin a hug.
He never gave me a chance.
I love you. Give your cousin a hug and just leave it there. Don't, the side comments, give her a hug and leave it there.
Well, I don't know 'cause like when I try to tell you, I love you.
I love you. I wish y'all the best of luck. Just keep talking it out. Keep talking it out, all right?
