A storm is brewing online, and at the center is an influencer who turned Instagram reels into a ₹41 crore empire – and now, she is making news for her unapologetic clap back to the uproar. In a currently viral Instagram Story, influencer Apoorva Mukhija aka the.rebel.kid shared a screenshot of a post which compared the journey of an IIT graduate to her own rapid success on social media platforms.
The post had the headline “Hard Work vs Viral Fame: IIT Graduate Wonders About Society as Influencer Builds ₹41 Crore Empire thanks to Reels” and termed the phenomenon “Sad Reality.” The post came from a page called Success Steps, that featured a quote published originally by Business Today about the influencer’s day money.
But the influencer was not going to stay underground, so in clutch Gen Z fashion, she overlayed the post and added this cheeky caption:
“Salty men are my favourite genre 🥰.”
The dig has sparked responses — and haters! The post comes on the heels of increasing online discussions that set traditional academic and career trajectories against digital fame. Creds have lamented that years of higher education and professional never quits, are now being drowned out by swift social media infamy.
Conversely, supporters of the influencer laud her for “making a brand,” creating authentic content that connects and operates in a highly competitive market with both savvy and panache. Her unapologetic position has fueled dialogue around who gets to determine what “real work” and “earned success” looks like in a digital landscape. In one way, her journey is conveying a distorted set of values, while on the other, it signifies success with hustle, entrepreneurialism, and creativity in the twenty-first century.
