Former Disney child star Skai Jackson puzzles fans after asking followers to send her $5 for raffle

Former Disney child star Skai Jackson confused fans after asking followers to donate $5 to enter a raffle where they could win a new MacBook. Social media users criticized the actress for charging young followers instead of just doing a giveaway.

Jackson rose to fame after having roles on the Disney shows Jessie and Bunk’d and performed on Dancing with the Stars. According to some reports, Jackson has a reported net worth of at least $2 million and has done everything from star in the animated series Bubble Guppies to serve as a brand ambassador for Aerie. According to her Instagram profile, she is also a published author and entrepreneur.

Pop Crave reshared part of the live stream in which the 21-year-old former Disney star responded to the backlash and defended charging $5 for what she called a “raffle” and said, “It is not that serious.”

“I don’t know if you guys have been to school before, but I know I’ve been to school, and we used to have raffles all the time, where you get a ticket — it might be a physical ticket — but you put in $5, $2, whatever and you get a prize,” Jackson said. “People do raffles all the time.”

She clarified in the video that the money would be exclusively going toward the prize and that if there was any money left over, it would be contributed to a second giveaway she would host “soon.”

“I do not need money,” she said. “Me personally, I do not need money. And I’m not saying this like, in a bragging way or anything…I’m just letting you guys know I do not personally need money, like, I am very fine in my life. I don’t need money.”

Jackson appears to have picked a winner on July 8 and shared the fan’s Instagram handle and a screenshot of their conversation.

Some Twitter users were not so convinced, and others noted that charging people to enter a competition could land her into some murky legal waters.

Jackson isn’t the first celebrity to face backlash for posting about a giveaway. The Kardashian family, who collectively have millions of followers and even more money, used to regularly post luxury item “giveaways” on their Instagram accounts. The posts were so unusual for the sisters that some people thought they were hacked.

At the time, Sarah Moret, the founder and CEO of body-care company Curie, revealed in a TikTok why the Kardashians get involved in these giveaways: money.

“Because [Curie has] been invited to do these before, I know that all 75 of these brands are paying $25,000 each to be part of this giveaway,” Moret explained. “That means that the Kardashians and Scott are making $1.8 million in the giveaway that’s live right now.”

While different from what Jackson appeared to be doing with her raffle, fans were still frustrated with the idea that celebrities were profiting off fan engagement.

Skai Jackson has made headlines before, too — for bullying.

Jackson has also been embroiled in some online drama in the past. For instance, she was accused of bullying Jodie Woods, the younger sister of model and former best friend of Kyle Jenner, Jordyn Woods, in 2021. Eventually, the allegations were shown to be false, but the drama has lived on.

Rapper Bhad Bhabie also accused Jackson of “talking s***” about her on her private Instagram account as well as flirting with her ex-boyfriend NBA YoungBoy. At the time, Bhabie was 16 years old.

Like the other alleged drama, however, this one also seems to have fizzled out without any proven resolution.

Jackson, who has 8.6 million followers, is very much active on Instagram and promoting her latest movie, Sheroes, which was released on June 23.

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