TikTok sensation Tanisha ‘Nish’ Godfrey has had enough chicken salad, and now she wants her check. Godfrey went viral over the summer when she expressed her love for a “superior” chicken salad from a local deli in Cleveland. The original video, which was posted to the 81 St. Deli TikTok page, gained over 3 million views on the platform, and Godfrey’s voice has been reshared on countless videos across social media urging people to “come and get” everything you can possibly think of.
Although the chicken salad was the topic of discussion, Godfrey emerged as the video’s star. Overnight, she went from an everyday customer at E. 81st Deli to an influencer. She’s since joined campaigns with her local government to encourage early voting, began promoting other food chains and also landed a gig with Weight Watchers. As she continues to capitalize on the success of her “Chicken Salad” video, the grandmother admits that she is doing the best she can to learn how to navigate the business.
This week, Godfrey was interviewed by fellow TikTok creator Raymonte to talk about her journey after reaching internet fame and what she’s encountered along the way.
According to Godfrey, with so much that’s been going on, she’s finally retained a publicist.
“I’m going to keep it real with y’all, I’ve had a lot of big names reaching out to me and they were just trying to play me,” she said during the interview. “I’m still learning how to work TikTok. Y’all know I was new to this, but I’m not dumb. So if you say you want to buy my sound, and you’re offering me $500, it’s a f**king problem.”
Reluctant to name names at first, Godfrey finally let the cat out of the bag after a little nudge from the host.
“Okay, Google,” she revealed. “It was Google.”
Raymonte was understandably shocked and let out an audible gasp.
Godfrey continued, “They offered me $500, then $1,000, then $2,000, and I said have a good day.””
To date, Godfrey’s original sound has been used in at least 196,000 videos on TikTok. This does not include any audio rips of her voice on other accounts or usage of her sound on other social media platforms.
In a follow-up clip from the interview, Godfrey revealed that Google wasn’t the only company attempting to short her.
When asked about E. 81 Deli and if there has been any reciprocity after the boost in sales she’s inspired for their business, Godfrey responded in a polite silence.
The answer left viewers upset for her, and some commenters declared the restaurant was wrong for not repaying her.
