News broke in February this year that Kenyan actor Lenana Kariba was on Netflix’s Bridgerton, a show watched all over the world. Amidst the widespread celebration and show of goodwill by Kenyans for one of their own, two themes emerged.  First, that of the continuing normalization of being excited by Western validation, and second, that Kenyan soil is toxic for creatives; it is the place where dreams wither and die.