‘Tapping In’ Social Media Star Monet McMichael

June digital cover model Alix Earle highlights a fellow content creation expert.

Monet McMichael / SI Staff

“Tap In” is a new series where SI Swimsuit talent shares which individual in their circle they’d like to see highlighted on the platform. 

At this point, Monet McMichael is a certified content creation expert. The 24-year-old social media star started her popular YouTube channel in 2021, at a time in which many content creators were seeing a surge in viewership. She started the exact way that she has continued: with makeup tutorials, daily outtakes (in the form of well-edited vlogs) and touching family content.

Around that same time, she began her TikTok channel, which now boasts 3.8 million followers. Her early content on the popular short-form video app took cues from her YouTube offerings. She posted makeup tutorials, snippets from her everyday activities and outfit inspiration—but in the app’s unique short, attention-catching format. McMichael also leaned into some of the trends circulating on the app at the time, particularly “get ready with me” videos.

She was just a nursing student at Rutgers—but she was building an empire on the side. Today, that empire boasts more than five million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined, plus another half a million subscribers on YouTube.

Watching her early iterations of the “get ready with me” trend, it’s easy to understand why McMichael has broken out. The short clips, in which she does her makeup, picks out an outfit and chats with her followers, are testaments to her candor—a characteristic that she has maintained even as her popularity has grown. She treats her followers like friends, making for enthralling content and a devoted audience.

But we weren’t the only ones wowed by her social media acclaim and her willingness to open up to her followers. In 2023, McMichael was recognized as one of Rolling Stone's Most Influential Creators, and this year, she landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Media list.

We find ourselves drawn to McMichael’s honest and relatable content in the same way that we’re enamored with Alix Earle’s posts. Both social media stars have built their platforms on sharing candid content that makes us feel like we’re friends, rather than simply followers. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ahnesti Monet McMichael (@monetmcmichael)

Earle, our June 2024 SI Swimsuit digital cover model, has a lot of admiration for McMichael. Earle has immense appreciation for McMichael’s videos, which she says are “so cinematic” that they appear like “actual movies.” But Earle doesn’t simply “absolutely love her videos,” she also says that McMichael is “an amazing woman.” Sure, she’s “talented,” but she’s also been “such a good friend” to Earle every time they have interacted.

McMichael has built her following on refreshingly real content. But that’s not the only reason Earle chose to “tap in” her fellow New Jersey native for a spotlight on SI Swimsuit’s platform. She did it because that’s her m.o. Even as Earle’s platform has grown, she has made a conscious effort to keep elevating those around her. In fact, she sees her elevated profile as an opportunity to uplift others. 

When we asked Earle whom she would love to see highlighted on the SI Swimsuit platform, her answer came almost instantaneously. She’s always looking to share the limelight—and, this time, she’s sharing it with McMichael.