Social media is buzzing after Pretty Nicole, a teenager known for her dramatic rise to online fame, officially landed a television job at Baba TV. Nicole, who is reported to have dropped out of school in Primary Five, shocked many viewers when she was spotted anchoring a celebrity gossip show on the station.
Her appointment has left Ugandans divided. While some see her as proof that skills now matter more than academic papers, others believe the move undermines years of study for journalism students still struggling to find jobs.
One social media user complained:
“Pretty Nicole, a Senior 2 dropout, has already secured a job on TV as a presenter, but there is someone still at university struggling to secure a degree in journalism.”
This comment caught the attention of Douglas Lwanga, a respected NBS TV presenter, who weighed in:
“The sad reality is that the media space like most jobs today is more about what can you do than what did you study. It’s skills versus qualifications. With social media, the big question is: How many eyeballs can you bring to the channel? That’s the new reality.”
A Controversial Teen Star
Pretty Nicole is no stranger to headlines. At just 14 years old in 2022, she went viral for all the wrong reasons after being filmed beaten by her best friend for allegedly trying to seduce her boyfriend. Around the same time, her private videos also leaked online, sparking outrage over child protection.
Despite the scandals, she kept finding her way back into the spotlight, appearing in several music videos and gaining a cult-like following on TikTok and Instagram. For many young Ugandans, she has become a symbol of the new age of social media fame, where controversy can translate into opportunity
Skills vs Papers
For now, Pretty Nicole’s TV debut has reignited an old debate in Uganda’s job market: should academic qualifications remain the gatekeeper, or should skills and influence speak louder?
While critics say giving a P.5 dropout a primetime platform sends the wrong message, others argue that Nicole has exactly what media houses are looking for — attention, followers, and controversy.
Love her or hate her, Pretty Nicole has once again proved one thing: she knows how to stay in the headlines.
