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Sasha Ellese Gilbert, a director of skin and haircare brand Nala’s Baby, has confirmed that she’s stepped down, which has been fuelling speculation online over the weekend.
The influencer founded the company in 2020 with her then-boyfriend and rapper Casyo ‘Krept’ Johnson, who is part of the hip hop duo Krept & Konan.
Gilbert was pregnant with their daughter, Nala, at the time, and while the couple are no longer together, they still co-parent and own 75% of the business between them. The other 25% has gone to investors.
The baby brand has grown astronomically over the last five years, launching in 400 Boots stores in 2022, gaining the backing of celebrities, and now valuing itself at around £20million.
However, questions began to arise relating to the personal beliefs of co-founder Gilbert due to her online activity.
Social media users noticed in recent days that Gilbert looked to have either resigned or been terminated as a co-director of Nala’s Baby, as per Companies House. Documents show her date of termination as September 12, 2025.
Since Gilbert was no longer affiliated with the company, this left people to assume Johnson is now its sole executive CEO.
It comes after Gilbert publicly shared tributes to American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in what authorities declared a political assassination on Wednesday.
However, Gilbert took to her page on Sunday night to explain the reasons for her departure, writing: ‘In light of the recent news of me stepping down from my position within Nalasbaby, I just wanted to put some rumours to rest.
‘I made the decision to step down at the beginning of this year, I wasn’t terminated by the company, everything was done professionally, respectfully and in good faith.
‘I left knowing that all within the company will continue to work tirelessly to continue to build on the legacy me and Casyo started and they’re doing a wonderful job.’
She concluded by acknowledging that this is probably the ‘fun news story’ people wanted, but it’s ‘the truth’.
In a follow-up Story post, Gilbert shared a screenshot of her Notes app, which showed her writing about stepping down from the brand in February this year.
Meanwhile, there has been plenty of talk across social media after Gilbert took to her Instagram Story and reposted the message: ‘CHARLIE KIRK will be the greatest martyr that ever lived in our generation and his death will be the flame that burns in the heart of every clarion voice. His death will definitely not be in vain.’
She added in her own text: ‘It is not in vain’.
Gilbert also reshared an announcement of Kirk’s death, alongside a photo of him with his wife and kids, as well as a photo of him on Snapchat.
The post quickly prompted backlash, with commenters declaring that they didn’t hesitate to ‘unfollow’ Gilbert, with some calling it ‘shocking’ and others believing her reputation was ‘finished’.
‘I can’t believe her, he spewed so much hatred towards women especially black women. He was not Christian like at all’, wrote @luxejo. Gilbert is a Christian, as was Kirk.
‘She’s so uneducated’, commented @royaltyragx, while @geneivah called her actions ’embarrassing’.
Given that Gilbert is a Black woman, followers were all the more confused about her apparent grief for Kirk, whose beliefs were certainly polarising.
For example, the 31-year-old said on The Charlie Kirk Show in 2023: ‘Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people; that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more.’
The following year, he said: ‘The American Democrat party hates this country. They wanna see it collapse. They love it when America becomes less white.’
Furthermore, Kirk openly expressed Islamophobic beliefs. Johnson, the father of Gilbert’s child, converted to Islam at the age of 15 and often mentions his faith in his music.
Kirk said on his show in April this year: ‘America has freedom of religion, of course, but we should be frank: large, dedicated Islamic areas are a threat to America.’
He also claimed that ‘Islam is not compatible with Western civilisation’ and, on September 8, just days before his death, called Islam ‘the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America’.
The public figure was long accused of inciting violence with his speeches, having also held views against abortion, immigration, and homosexuality and strongly for access to firearms.
Currently, following a high-profile search, Tyler Robinson, 22, is detained as a suspect in Kirk’s shooting. It has been claimed that his own father turned him in.
Republican leader Donald Trump vowed to crack down on ‘political violence’ as he honoured Kirk.
As for Gilbert, this is not the first time she has caught the wrong kind of attention from fans for her posts.
In July, she took to Snapchat with a post that called Mohammed a ‘false prophet’, adding: ‘I will never respect a false God who is sending people to hell, I respect the people who believe enough to let you know the God you serve is false, many Muslims are living righteous lives and have a heart for God. But it’s the wrong one. If you don’t agree, just ignore my post, I’m not debating anyone’.
After backlash, she penned a follow-up statement in which she denied being Islamophobic, calling such claims ‘silly’.
‘But I’m also not going to be forced to make an apology for standing boldly on what I believe.’
Reps for Sasha Ellese Gilbert and Casyo ‘Krept’ Johnson have been contacted for comment.
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