Back in 2018, precocious toddler Jayla Cummings went viral for giving her daycare teacher in Savannah, Georgia a piece of her mind. Though the video was originally filmed in 2015, it resurfaced three years later. The clip has now been discovered on TikTok, leaving many wondering where Jayla has been.
In it, she gives her teacher some attitude after she was told she was going to be put in time out. Donning a yellow shirt and a brightly colored bow, Jayla responded to being disciplined by saying: “Well, let me tell you this Linda.” She was interrupted by her teacher who famously replied: “My name ain’t Linda, so you sit there in timeout, you bad little girl [sic].”
Even though she was removed from the group of other children by her teacher, that didn’t stop Jayla from going on a rant. “No, let me tell you something. If I was in here, I would surely take a day off from you and you need a day off from these kids. I’ll run the classroom. I’m just done with you.”
She didn’t even stop there. “Well, when I get up out of time out. I’m going to be glad to go home and enjoy the rest of my life, and I could quit school because of all of you.” Even though Cummings was an instant sensation, garnering millions of views across social media platforms and the video even showed up on Steve Harvey, she faded from the spotlight shortly after and never made appearances on television like other children who go viral.
Earlier this week, TikTok user Margaret Stanback—whose username on the app is @stanbackm—shared the viral video of Jayla on her page. It garnered nearly 30,000 views and prompted her followers to ask for more information about Jayla. The Washington, D.C. native joined TikTok in 2019 and tells The Root she never anticipated the response this would receive.
“I was so intrigued by [Jayla]. I don’t care how many times I listen, [the video] just makes me laugh...she got a big attitude and everything. So what happened once I put it up... I didn’t expect that kind of attention. So that got me thinking, okay, I need to find this little girl.”
Once Stanback learned that the child in the video was Jayla Cummings, she did some research. “I went on YouTube and Instagram and I found her. Jalya also has a Facebook with recent photos.” Stanback shared Jayla’s YouTube channel on her TikTok page. On one particular Youtube playlist, Jayla, who is around seven or eight in the video, has long braids and is giving tutorials on how to make a milkshake. In another video, she introduces herself as the girl in the viral video. With none of her famous sass, Jayla dances, splashes in the water and giggles with other children. Jayla’s Facebook contains photo of the child as well as t-shirts sold by her family.
Stanback has thoughts about the family’s business approach. “She should have trademarked some of that stuff she was saying like ‘Miss Linda’ or another message [from the video]. But the family probably made money off just the t-shirts—especially nowadays with TikTok and other social media.”
No matter how old the clip is, Jayla will always be unforgettable.