Alyssa Milano is being slammed on social media, following an inflammatory tweet over the weekend.
In a tweet Sunday, the actress and outspoken #MeToo activist likened the “Make America Great Again” hat worn by Trump supporters to the hood worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
“The red MAGA hat is the new white hood,” the former “Charmed” star posted, before seemingly referencing a clip from a confrontation between Native-American elder Nathan Phillips and a group of Catholic school students, which went viral. “Without white boys being able to empathize with other people, humanity will continue to destroy itself,” Milano continued in her tweet, adding “#FirstThoughtsWhenIWakeUp”.
The 3-minute, 44-second clip showed the teenagers – several of them wearing “Make America Great Again” hats – laughing, hooting and hollering while surrounding Phillips drew widespread condemnation and prompted the school and the Diocese of Covington to issue an apology and promise to take “appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.’’
The longer version of the incident is more complex, and now that it has surfaced, the rush to judge the teenagers, who were in the nation’s capital for the anti-abortion March for Life, is coming under attack. The fuller video would seem to assign more blame for the encounter on a group of four or five Black Hebrew Israelites.
Milano was criticized for her words by Twitter commenters, with one user writing, “You should be sued for that statement. Or better yet, banned from Twitter!”
“Please get the whole story,” urged another. “These kids did not start this.”
Others pointed to themselves or other people of color as Trump supporters.
“I am Mexican and I am proud of wearing my MAGA hat Haaaaaaterrrrrrrrr!!” a user exclaimed.
“Who told you that? Fake news CNN?” a person inquired, sharing a photo of what appeared to be black people donning MAGA caps.
People also condemned Milano for sharing her “#FirstThoughtsWhenIWakeUp”.
“Maybe don’t tweet the first thought that comes to you when you wake up if this is an example of them,” a person tweeted. “This is not insightful, true, pithy or intelligent. Here’s an idea get off of social media, think about this for another decade or two then tell us your thoughts.”
“Go back to bed,” encouraged another.
Milano followed up on Twitter Monday, drawing mixed reactions.
“Let’s not forget — this entire event happened because a group of boys went on a school-sanctioned trip to protest against a woman’s right to her own body and reproductive healthcare,” she tweeted. “It is not debatable that bigotry was at play from the start.”
“This is called moving the goalpost, Alyssa,” journalist Andy Ngo responded.
“Exactly right,” Democratic political strategist Adam Parkhomenko tweeted. “Best case scenario: This young white man donned his red maga hat and ventured to the Lincoln Memorial to promote the belief that the government should have control over women’s bodies.
Erin Jensen, USA TODAY
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