In a space commonly associated with negativity, at least two talented content creators have managed to separate themselves from the vulgarity that often inundates TikTok.

With a shared passion for the performing arts, the hilarious duo of Adonique “Mr Nose” Cole and Melanie “Ms Petal” Welsh have taken the popular platform by storm with their spontaneous ‘nosey landlord versus problematic tenant’ skits. With a growing audience on social media, the duo says they are looking to maximise every opportunity as they hope to establish long-term on-screen careers.

“I have a passion for acting. Ever since I was a child, this is what I wanted to do. My mom named me after her favourite actress, Melanie Griffiths, so I was destined to do this,” said Welsh as she chronicled her acting journey.

“I started acting in primary school in different plays. I think my début was Back Den Back Ben by Joan McKenzie. I also came in Bartenders, and so I think it was a little after COVID that I went into my craft and started taking it seriously,” she said.

Describing herself as a hard-working individual who prioritises developing her talent, Welsh told the
Jamaica Observer that she knew her talent would one day open doors, but admits she never saw the partnership with Cole coming. She revealed that though she had met her acting partner on the set of her debut production, she had no idea their relationship would blossom into a budding partnership.

“We weren’t friends; not saying we didn’t communicate, but we just had a work relationship… and leave… [W]e respected each other, and we worked and cut,” she recalled, a point Cole nodded to in agreement.

“Back Den Back Ben was my first big play out of school, written by Joan McKenzie and directed by Everaldo Creary, and like Mel said, that’s how we met… That was about 2021,” he shared.

As fate would have it, the two would later reunite on another project, this time one they would both collaborate on. As it turned out, that encounter was the beginning of a long-standing creative partnership.

“Ado entered a competition on TikTok, and he reached out and asked if I could be a character, and I said, ‘Sure.’ We went and did well and made it through in the competition, but something happened, and it ended. But then someone encouraged me to bring the character to life, and I reached out to Ado again, and we started Mr and Mrs Wukit. It was a good run, but we wanted to do more and take TikTok by storm. We started doing skits, and we started doing the constructions, until Ado came up with another skit with Mr Nose, and it just took off from there,” she revealed.

While the Mr Nose/Ms Petal timeline has taken on a life of its own, Cole’s journey did not always have the meteoric rise he’s now experiencing. In fact, as the budding actor tells it, life threw him a curve ball when he was rejected by Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts because there were questions regarding his ability to finance his tertiary education.

“I was turned down by Edna Manley. I did the auditions, did the examinations, passed everything, and got the interview. I remember there was this beautiful question, ‘How will you be able to finance yourself if you are accepted?’ And being my true self, I told them I was on the PATH programme [Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education] and they would take up a percentage, and my mother would find the rest,” he shared. “My mother was a street vendor at the time, but mi know she did ago find it, because she always found it for us to go to school. When I told them that, everyone’s face dropped in the interview. Maybe if I had lied I would have been accepted, but I spoke my truth, and I don’t think I regretted it.”

Cole said that after he received the rejection letter he kept it as he figured out his next move.

In a powerful testimony, Cole shared that the moment became a defining one as he decided then that this was just beginning.

“At the time, mi feel like everything did crash fi me, because this was my dream school. It was my passion and I wanted to explore the field of arts, and I felt like this was the school that would have given me the platform and leverage. But having been rejected, I told myself that this was not the end and mi nah stop,” he said. “Today people ask me a when me graduate from Edna because the talent is so loud, and I am not bashing Edna, but I am telling the story so others in a similar position can know that rejection can mean redirection. I am doing today what Edna would have allowed me to do. I took myself and my platform and put my videos out there, and God said ‘Now this is the time.’ ”

The duo told the Observer that the love they have been receiving on social media has fuelled their passion even more. Optimistic about the future, the pair have big dreams which include the possibility of Oscar and Emmy awards as well as contracts with American writer/actor extraordinaire Tyler Perry.

“Straight a Hollywood we a go. I aspire for Tyler Perry to e-mail me. Netflix…the sky is not the limit,” said Cole.

“I want to collect Emmys and Oscars. I literally envision myself collecting the award and crying and everything and ‘bigging’ up Jamaica. We’re going there,” Welsh added.

As they weigh the endless possibilities that lie ahead, the duo said their hearts are filled with nothing but gratitude for the Jamaican people, especially the fan base on TikTok. They expressed that while the platform has earned a reputation for ‘mix-up’, they know the platform can also be a window of opportunity for talent like themselves.

“I want to say big up Jamaica and every Jamaican, whether yard or abroad, I appreciate the love. I must say I feel extremely good, like I’m doing something and doing good is all I wanted to do. People message me and they’re like Mel, you guys don’t understand what you do for me, and that makes me feel so much gratitude,” Welsh said.

“TikTok is my happy place, my home away from home, my haven. At first I was against TikTok and deleted it until COVID, when a lot of people took it for the space of entertainment, and now I appreciate it a lot,” she added.

“I tell people all the time that TikTok has a lot of different avenues and you haffi choose which side you’re on,” Cole chimed in. “There’s the ‘mix-up’, the dancing, acting, and all. I know the path I am on and mi lock into that section. When people ask why I do this, the reason is that I want to see people smile… I enjoy doing it. One of the biggest comments I saw recently was someone saying if we continue like this, we’ll be getting the Prime Minister’s Youth Award, and is not that me nuh believe inna mi self, but that would be huge for us.”

Mr Nose and Ms Petal in action.

Adonique “Mr Nose” Cole.