It was Favour Iyiowo’s mother who first told her she looked like Ayra Starr. She had been watching an advert the Afrobeats musician did for a hair brand when she saw someone she could’ve sworn was her daughter.
Since then, Favour’s life has changed. A tech enthusiast, she is active online, particularly on X, where she has cultivated a following. More than once, she has been dragged for being a catfish of the “Rush” singer. She says she doesn’t lean into the resemblance, but it doesn’t help either that her name on X has been “Sabi Girl” (Ayra’s Starr’s nickname) for a while.
In an interview with Zikoko, she opened up about the ups and downs of looking like one of Nigeria’s biggest stars, why she doesn’t want to be called a catfish, and how she navigates life online.
This is Favour’s story as told to Dennis
It could have been just any other regular day at my house. My mother was watching TV in the sitting room, and I was tucked away on my phone, most likely on X (formerly Twitter). Then she called me. If I’m being honest, she didn’t just call out my name — she screamed it.
She was sure of what she was about to say. She had seen me on TV. It had to be me. She was certain.
I laughed. Because even though my mother thought it was me, and even though I stood there thinking this could be me, I knew it wasn’t.
It was Ayra Starr, and she was in an advert for the hair brand Darling Nigeria. At the time, she was still coming up. The world was getting to know her. I already knew her and was a fan of her music. That was the first time someone told me I looked like Ayra Starr. It wouldn’t be the last.
I don’t actually see the resemblance, but I think that is common with most people who are told they look like celebrities. Many don’t see it. But from what I’ve noticed, the resemblance must be striking—so much so that it has opened doors for me.
I’ve gotten jobs just because I look like Ayra Starr. I’m currently studying Mass Communication at the University of Calabar, but I’m also an influencer on X. There have been instances where people offered me influencing gigs for looking like her. I have modelled for an eyelash technician, a lip care brand and a skincare brand. They all highlighted my resemblance to Ayra Starr. I guess they expected to sell more because I looked like her. It’s experiences like those that make looking like a celebrity worth your while.
I don’t lean into it, but I see why someone might think I do, even if just for fun. For a while now, my name on X has been Sabi Girl. It is also an expression I use frequently in tweets I post. Obviously, she sang “Sability,” and also has called herself “Sabi Girl” many times. But it is because I am a fan of her music that I use it, like some of her other fans do.
I have never met her, but I want to. I know it would be a great delight to meet her.
That being said, my experience as a celebrity lookalike hasn’t been all positive. There have been people who’ve dragged me for filth, claiming I was an Ayra Starr catfish account. I don’t mean this in a funny, wild fan kind of way. I mean dragged in the way that people get dragged on social media. I see them randomly in my replies. There have been people who have slid into my DMs claiming I was an Ayra Starr catfish. Sometimes, people don’t follow the whole story or get to the root before joining in a pile-on. So even when they realise it’s just confusion, many have already checked out of the conversation. It’s really crazy. I’m just grateful none of it has gone viral.
When I started being active on X, this was not what I anticipated. I didn’t know that people would claim that I looked like a celebrity. I’m a tech enthusiast. I may not be able to code yet, but I like having fun on social media and just learning new things. I just want to graduate from university, grow and be the best version of myself.
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