Rest in peace, Nigel Farage’s Cameo side-hustle

Last Thursday, in what can only be called a national tragedy, Nigel Farage’s Cameo profile told fans that the Reform UK leader was “unavailable.”

Previously a cornerstone of British culture, Farage’s flourishing Cameo business was one of many on the site which allow celebrities and public figures to sell short, personalised videos to anyone willing to pay. Farage had been in great company, with former TV personality Greg Wallace also selling videos on the platform. Now, the platform has lost one of its biggest stars.

It’s unclear whether this was a decision made by Farage or his Reform UK team, but a Reform UK spokesperson told BBC that Farage’s page has been paused for security reasons. This came after a Guardian article used the site’s public source code to view the prompts, prices and frequency of Farage’s videos. Farage has charged at least £374,893 in the five years he has spent recording videos on the platform daily.

The article also revealed the kinds of things Farage has been saying on the site; innocent birthday, Valentine’s and Christmas messages veil the extreme and offensive content of many videos. The Reform UK leader has endorsed a neo-Nazi event, referred to antisemitic conspiracy theories and repeated extremist mottos based on the prompts customers have sent.

A Reform UK spokesperson said that the Cameo videos in question, which are undeniably political and are delivered directly by the face of Reform’s campaign “should not be treated as political statements or campaign activity.”

Farage, described as in “opposition” to extremism and violence, sent sympathetic messages to proud racists and rioters

They added that Farage “has long been clear in his opposition to extremism and political violence.” Interestingly, he has recorded a Cameo for a National Front supporter, as well as Ben Tavener, who was convicted of violent disorder after his involvement in far-right rioting in Bristol in 2024. Farage told Tavener in the video that his prison sentence – 16 months – was “absolutely outrageous.” He encouraged Tavener to “keep believing in the right things, keep acting in the right way” and assured the ex-convict: “I’m with you as well.”

Tavener, described as a ‘longtime Reform member,’ told The Guardian he is “not far-right.” Farage, described as in “opposition” to extremism and violence, sent sympathetic messages to proud racists and rioters. Doesn’t it all seem a bit contradictory?

Farage’s videos also contain misogynist jokes about left-wing politicians. Farage, the leading politician in both the UK IPSOS and YouGov voting polls, comments in one video about US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s breasts. Perhaps this exposition may discourage female Reform sympathisers from supporting a man so willing to dehumanise them.

All of this begs the question of whether politicians should be allowed to say these things, even under the guise of being paid to do so.

Even if the Cameos are only as extreme as the prompts they respond to, the business has impacts beyond the videos themselves

Farage claims he’s perfectly entitled to make the videos and says he shouldn’t be criticised for them. Speaking to a reporter, he said: “This argument is ludicrous. If I have a shoe shop and I sell you a pair of shoes, and it turns out the person that bought the pair of shoes is a former convicted murderer, is that the fault of the person selling shoes?”

Even if the Cameos are only as extreme as the prompts they respond to, the business has impacts beyond the videos themselves. Farage may appear to be reading whatever he is paid to read, but when references to online culture such as “Skibidi” and “Big Chungus” make his videos go viral, the venture seems more calculated.

Not only does the side-hustle earn Farage more in a year than his parliamentary salary, but it directly aids his political campaign, putting his face and voice into the TikTok feeds of the young and impressionable. “It got me engaged with a younger audience,” Farage reflected during a campaign stop in central Scotland in 2025.

It’s possible that aspects of Farage’s online persona are a kind of act, playing dumb to the camera, pretending not to know he’s being tricked when he reads the name “Hugh Janus.” Perhaps the damage is already done, as Farage has instilled in the TikTok-watching youth a kind of twisted admiration for this laughable and clueless version of himself.

Most heartbreakingly, he has declined to comment on whether he would return to Cameo or not

His Cameos have been a distraction from the dangerous politics of Reform UK, until now kept within the niche of the social media algorithm, so with the contents of these videos now in the public eye, Farage isn’t pleased.

The Cameo star’s responses to the Guardian’s exposé have been impulsive and defensive. On Wednesday, Farage brushed off the Guardian article as a “hit job.” The next day, after his Cameo page was taken down, he falsely declared that that Guardian had illegally obtained the material.

Most heartbreakingly, he has declined to comment on whether he would return to Cameo or not.

This explosion of Farage’s public yet largely undiscussed small business will only further embolden the politician. But at least those in opposition to his politics and his willingness to say absolutely anything can rejoice that the era of the Nigel Farage Cameo has finally come to an end.