Why Is Nara Smith Getting So Much Hate? Here's Everything You Need To Know

Scrolling on my For You Page like the typical phone-addicted young woman that I am, I come across the entrancing Nara Smith. I was hooked in one minute and 20 seconds, and all it took was homemade bread and vanilla peach jam.

Nara – the wife of esteemed fashion model Lucky Blue Smith – gained popularity over the past few years for her recipe videos. They're not your average "quick and easy one-pot dinner" content; they're often glamourized and picture-perfect, and the meals are made from scratch. Nara is usually dressed from head to toe, looking impeccable as she kneads dough for her family. Her kitchen is sparkling clean. The steak is always a perfect medium-rare, and Lucky is seen rejoicing every time he takes a bite of her food. Nara also bakes items that most Americans never thought would be possible to make at home, like cereal or Oreos. 

Lucky treats her like a queen. He ogles at her as though he's seeing Nara for the first time in his life. He takes her out for snacks at Nobu and a night of luxury shopping for dates.

The best part is that Nara is doing all of this at the age of 22 while being pregnant with her third baby. She has the idyllic life that Gen Z dreams of, one that older millennials can't relate to. While Nara has received tons of love, support, and admiration from people, she’s also attracted tons of hate and mockery. 

Understanding the Nara Smith Slander

The online vitriol toward Nara is not justified, but here are the reasons that seem to make people think it’s okay to belittle her:

• She’s Mormon.

• She’s rich.

• She “can’t cook.”

• She’s “dumb.”

• She’s not supposed to dress elegantly while cooking.

• She’s a “tradwife” trying to promote her lifestyle and her religion.

Here's what's interesting: The majority of Nara's detractors appear to be white, liberal women. I'm not saying they're racist; I'm just pointing out an interesting observation. A lot of liberal women critique the “trad wife” lifestyle and its romanticization of domestic labor, but the problem here is they’re not attacking the ideology – they’re singling out Nara and making fun of her as if she is the cause of women’s "oppression."

I promise I’m not the only one who’s noticing the demographic that’s attacking Nara. There are many tweets about how there seems to be an overwhelming amount of liberal, white women condemning her.

Additionally, I’ve also seen a good amount of moms get upset at Nara and Ballerina Farm for promoting an "unrealistic" version of homemaking and motherhood.

Hannah Williams, a writer for The New Yorker and The Guardian, quote-tweeted a video of Nara baking with the caption, "The funniest thing about the worship of Nara Smith and her Mormon lifestyle propaganda is that she quite clearly cannot cook at all." 

Williams also mentioned how Nara was "reading the Book of Mormon in one of her TikToks," though I'm struggling to find the video myself. And if it's one video out of the many she's done, is it truly propaganda? Is she shoving Mormonism down our throats or telling her millions of followers that they should quit their jobs and become homemakers? Is her audience thinking, “Wow, I’m going to look up stuff about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and convert” after watching her make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? I would bet that most people did not even realize she was a Mormon until recently, when people decided to make a big fuss about it.

Rachel Millman, who's written for Vice and The Observer, comments on a screenshot of Nara scantily-dressed writing, "laughing out loud at the dress. girl you are pregnant put on f*cking sweatpants." Millman has deleted her post. 

What’s strange is witnessing the backlash when Nara’s videos are mostly about food and her family, and there are other influencers who sexualize the tradwife lifestyle on social media. The latter, in my opinion, is far more detrimental to women than the former. Secondly, I don’t see the same critique for Lucky. The woman is the one being bashed, and this is almost always the case.

It’s Damaging To Tell Women They Could Never Be Like Nara

One of the biggest criticisms Nara has gotten is over her unattainable lifestyle and how she’s portraying a "false," idealized mom life. However, is that not the point of aspirational imagery, influencer content, and celeb reality TV shows? No one is fighting against Kim Kardashian’s parenting or the way the Kardashians use rent-a-wombs, probably because they’re far too big for us to do anything about it. The relatability gap between the Kardashians and your average person is astronomical.

Nara, on the other hand, feels closer. She’s not an A-lister, a CEO, or a billionaire. She makes TikToks like millions of other people. She doesn’t live in a high-rise in NYC or a mansion in Malibu. Nara and her family go grocery shopping like the rest of us. She responds to her comments all the time, unlike most celebrities. In a way, she feels accessible, like our cruel words won’t just be shouted into the void.

Let me add that there’s no issue with hypothesizing about the behind-the-scenes or the “reality” of her life. People are always commenting on how her meals would take hours to prep, how she should be wearing an apron, or how her lifestyle is “unrealistic” because her husband is a provider and that she probably has a nanny who cleans her house. I believe that sometimes this is healthy, as it keeps us grounded and rooted in reality. But other times, we can take it too far, coming up with baseless accusations, insane theories, or assume someone’s character.

Nevertheless, Nara’s lifestyle is seen as unattainable to the average American – and I won’t disagree with this. About 52% of U.S. adults identify as either middle or upper-middle class. About 37.9 million people in the country are living in poverty. There is validity in hardworking, tired moms feeling a pang of anger when they see Nara not having to worry about funds or buying takeout after coming home from work. Most affluent people do have resources that many don’t have access to – but does that mean Nara is the problem? Shouldn’t these concerns be redirected to the government or businesses? Why are we putting the blame on someone who is in a better position than us?

Does this also mean that we should keep telling women that Nara’s lifestyle will never be achievable? Of course not. It’s the same thing as telling them to give up, leading to learned helplessness. There’s an onslaught of TikToks influencing men and women to accept their depression, anxiety, and inertia. This constant exposure to injustices and inequalities feels overwhelming and hopeless. The scale of societal and personal problems feels insurmountable, dissuading people from taking action.

Autumn Christian, author of Girl Like a Bomb and The Crooked God Machine, wrote about her experience dating such a man. "I once dated a communist. He was a joyless person who felt profound guilt in anything that wasn't liberating the working class," Christian shared on X. "He refused to get a job because it meant he'd be taking a job from an immigrant, which meant I was working 15 hours a day to try to keep us off the streets. He didn't like having sex because he felt like he didn't deserve it when there was so much suffering in the world. So I guess I had to suffer too. There is no rationale or logic behind any of this, just a profound radiating misery and a desire to destroy everything that they feel is 'unequal.' The only acceptable outcome for them is that you give them all your money and worldly goods and then roll yourself into a mass grave."

In a sea of endless doomer content on social media, I believe we should encourage women to pursue their goals and challenge perceived limitations. We could prop up beautiful marriages and tell women, "Yes, it’s totally possible to find a husband who will take care of you and won’t just treat you like a slave." Or we could focus on Nara’s cooking skills and appreciate her showing us how to make desserts and dinners that aren’t full of chemicals at home. Focusing on the positives, celebrating single women, married women, working women, or SAHMS, and women’s accomplishments as the world becomes increasingly nihilistic is more impactful and progressive than denouncing Nara for simply expressing her art. 

The Hatred Needs To Be Redirected

I feel as though the bitterness we’re witnessing stems from insecurity. Nara is gorgeous, has money, a beautiful family, supportive parents, and a successful husband. Meanwhile, tons of women are suffering in this economy and society. The pressure to be pretty, thin, rich, and get married is driving many to madness. Lots of single men in the dating market are not giving women the time or energy that Lucky gives his wife.

They have to find ways to release this anger and constant pressure, and an easy way to do so is to bring someone else down. Rather than having the self-awareness to recognize that Nara's content is not for them and simply scroll away, they'd rather write or share think pieces on how she's a plant to promote Mormonism. It's the classic case of projection, where individuals externalize their own insecurities onto others. If Nara baking cinnamon rolls and loving on her family is triggering for you or makes you upset, maybe look within.

What's more, they hate her in a way that’s “acceptable” to society. What we’re witnessing is the ethical mean girl on social media. Can’t you see that the Nara detractors are hating from a nuanced point of view? They’re making fun of how she dresses and bakes, but it’s “okay” because they think they’re addressing social issues. They’re saying she’s dumb, but it’s totally fine since she follows a religion they don’t agree with. 

Herein lies the problem: Instead of using social media to raise awareness on issues, or attend hearings, join organizations, call local representatives, or even volunteer to help nonprofits, it’s easier for people to type and post. They could be using their anger and frustrations for good. But rather than looking in the mirror to try and improve their self-esteem or elevate themselves, they blame everyone else for the problems in society. By hyper-fixating on the weaknesses of people who seem happier and more successful than them, they briefly feel empowered. There’s a smug sense of I’m right, I’m smart, I’m cunning. Snarky tweets and videos won’t lead to positive change or contribute to society in any way, but at least you get likes.

Evie deserves to be heard. Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.