Viral Will Smith ‘Anxiety’ video reignites false claims that Doechii is an ‘industry plant’
Doechii teamed up with Will Smith and Tatyana Ali (https://www.instagram.com/willsmith/)
A viral video of Will Smith and Tatyana Ali, his co-star from the hit 90s sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel Air, dancing to Doechii’s song “Anxiety” has sparked further untrue rumours that the bisexual singer is an industry plant.
Will Smith shared the video on Instagram, doing their own spin on the “Anxiety” dance trend by recreating a dance he and Ali did on their iconic sitcom, inviting Doechii to join them.
He captioned it with: “Waited 35 years for this dance to trend.”
Many fans were excited to see the dance, combining the 90s nostalgia with a modern-day anthem, but some comments were not so complimentary.
A few people criticised Doechii for appearing in the video, going as far as to reignite false rumours that she is an “industry plant”, a term used to describe an artist whose success appears to be entirely organic and self-made when in fact they’re being backed by a major label.
People often accuse artists of being “industry plants” if they appear to rise to fame quickly.
“The Fresh Plant of Bel-Air,” one person quipped in the comments while another said the two actors should have “left Doechii out of it”.
“Why is the industry forcing Doechii on us?” one asked.
One person even went as far as to claim that “Doechii spoilt it. It should have been Tatyana and Will.”
The rumours about Doechii being an industry plant have been circulating since she won a Grammy for the Best Rap Album earlier this year – becoming the third woman ever to win the award after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.
She also was recently named Billboard’s 2025 Woman of the Year, putting her in the company of the likes of Beyoncé, Madonna, Taylor Swift, SZA, and Lady Gaga.
But, with great success comes great criticism – which is unwarranted as there is no evidence to suggest Doechii is an industry plant.
Her rise to fame has not been orchestrated behind the scenes by some sinister forces in the music industry and her success has not been manufactured.
Doechii was a little-known artist recording music from her bedroom just a few years ago, working hard to get her big break and posting videos to YouTube about her attempts to break into the industry.
She even lamented the lack of success in her career back in 2020 with a video posted to YouTube, saying that she felt like she was “at a standstill” because her projects weren’t “moving fast enough”.
But, then, she released her critically acclaimed mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal and subsequent videos and performances of her music sparked further interest in her.
Doechii also previously toured with Doja Cat and won Billboard’s Rising Star award, so it is clear that she has been working towards her superstardom for a while – and it is well-deserved.
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