Model Duckie Thot on what happened after Nicki Minaj’s Instagram comment

After placing third on Australia’s Next Top Model and failing to land jobs, Duckie Thot has since gone on to walk the Victoria Secret runway and win over a legion of celebrity fans.

“How r u even real?” That was the question posed in the most modern of ways – as an Instagram comment – by rapper Nicki Minaj to Australian model Nyadak “Duckie” Thot on a recent post of the 25-year-old model in Ghana.

It was far from the first time this sort of thing had happened. Back in 2017, when Thot was starting to make her name on the fashion scene in New York City, her doll-like features and otherworldly beauty actually led people to ponder whether she was indeed a real person and not just some computer-generated bot.

“It’s not enough to be pretty these days. There are so many beautiful people out there.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

“I’m so happy there are so many more black models at the forefront of modelling.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

“When I first got that comment and it was circulating around the internet I was freaked out,” Thot tells Stellar. “It was my first experience with press on that scale – especially international press. It felt a bit awkward at the start, but I just try to remind my fans and people out there that obviously I’m a human being. I do get things wrong, like everyone else.”

That said, Thot has done a lot of things right in the past several years, shattering long-held stereotypes of what an Australian model should look like and becoming one of our most in-demand exports along the way. The Melbourne-born daughter of South Sudanese refugees, Thot says that growing up here wasn’t always easy.

“I’ll be completely honest,” she says, “I didn’t see too many children who looked like me – and that was tough in itself.”

“You can’t be discouraged by rejection. You have to shake it off.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

It didn’t get easier when she kicked off her career. Thot, who was introduced to the profession by her sister Nikki, placed third on Australia’s Next Top Model in 2013 when she was 17 years old. Yet despite the popularity of the show – and her successful run on it – she failed to land jobs after it aired.

“It was super disappointing to not get work. I didn’t know what was wrong with me,” she says.

So Thot turned away from her dream and decided to study science at university instead. It was only after her sister Sarah passed away after a long illness that Thot decided to move overseas and give her dream one last chance.

“I was really depressed after my sister passed so I thought, why don’t I give this modelling thing one more go? And my agent had said that I could work overseas,” she says.

Duckie Thot with Australia’s Next Top Model finalists Shanali Martin (left) and Melissa Juratowitch (right) and host Jennifer Hawkins. (Picture: Supplied)

Duckie Thot in the 2018 Victoria’s Secret show. (Picture: Getty Images)

“My sister was really sick growing up and so she needed full-time care. Even in and out of high school, my older sister and I would look after her. It was really hard, but when she passed we were like, ‘Let’s do what we want in this life and just go for it and have fun.’ Going to New York really helped me find out about myself and what exactly I want to be doing in the world.”

And the world agreed. Kanye West was the first to see her appeal, and booked her into a show for his fashion line Yeezy. Then came an appearance in the fabled Pirelli calendar, followed by the final Victoria’s Secret catwalk in 2018, which Thot says remains a highlight of her career.

“I think all high-fashion models have Victoria’s Secret on their bucket list. It’s always been something I’ve grown up watching, and I was really happy and proud to be with those girls. We worked really hard for months to be there and I’ll always be proud to be part of the last show.”

“Australia provided such a good way of living compared to fleeing the war where my parents came from.” (Picture: News Corp Australia)

Still, when asked about her success, Thot is quick to remind that a “gorgeous face” is no longer the sole prerequisite.

“It’s not enough to be pretty these days. There are so many beautiful people out there,” she says.

“But I love studying different clothes and shapes. If you don’t have that tunnel vision, it makes it tough.”

She also smiles as she recalls the brands who once rejected her and are now back, knocking at her door with offers.

“There are so many clients that have said no that have come around and said yes. You can’t be discouraged by rejection. You have to shake it off.”

Thot, who is also an ambassador for L’Oréal, recently returned home to Australia, where she’s more in demand than ever.

“I love Australia. I love how blessed we are. It’s the best country in the world in my eyes. Since my travels, going to Africa and America, I’ve seen how tough it can be first-hand,” she says.

Duckie Thot stars on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar.

“I had a fabulous childhood and my parents did the best in trying to give us the best of everything. Australia [provided] such a good way of living compared to fleeing the war where my parents came from.”

She also notes that now, when she’s walking through airports or flipping through fashion magazines, she’s noticing more people who look like her.

“There are so many more people of colour. I’m so happy there are so many more black models at the forefront of modelling,” she says.

“These are moments that should be celebrated. Because when I first started, that wasn’t the case at all.”