I was at a house party a few weeks back and a song that featured the ‘N’ word started playing. I was happy to see that in a room full of people, everyone refrained from singing the word except for one person who unapologetically (and fucking grossly) belted it out. The response? Several people immediately called him out and said, “No dude, you can’t say that.” And he ultimately apologised.
Given the Black Lives Matter movement and the fact that racial injustices are still happening every single day at an alarming rate, how can any white person think it’s okay to utter that word, no matter the context?
That last bit there was key, as the ‘N’ word being included in lyrics by Black singers and rappers does not give white people the go-ahead to chant it, and yet it’s still happening.
Over the weekend, several Queensland influencers were spotted in a video where they can allegedly be heard singing the ‘N’ word.
The video, which was first posted to Instagram by model Olivia Hunt on Saturday night and later shared by Celeb Spellcheck 2.0, shows influencers Alex Prout and Michael Finch, along with a group of mates, dancing and screaming out the lyrics to Nicki Minaj’s song ‘Only’. (Editor’s note: It’s a copycat account of the original Celeb Spellcheck)
In one clip, which was shared to Instagram on Saturday night and subsequently deleted following the backlash, some members of the group shout the lyrics: “Fuck with them real n****s who don’t tell n****s what they up to.”
Celeb Spellcheck 2.0 reshared the clip on her page, writing: “@michaelfinch find new friends.” Have a peek at it here, if you can stomach it.
Comments were initially enabled on Celeb Spellcheck’s post and her many followers condemned the alleged actions of the influencers involved.
Comments have since been disabled after folks flocked to each influencer’s page to call them out on the video, which led to it being promptly deleted on Saturday night.
The video was originally uploaded by Instagram model Olivia Hunt, who has since switched her profile to private.
We’re seeing this happen way too often, even after it’s been made abundantly clear that this kind of behaviour is not okay. What’s it going to take for white people, especially white people with millions / thousands of followers (read: impressionable young fans), to understand that this is unacceptable?
None of the influencers involved have addressed the incident or apologised as of yet for the alleged actions.
Across the globe, we are seeing very real consequences for this kind of behaviour.
Last year, The Bachelorette U.S. star Hannah Brown was the source of huge social media backlash after using the ‘N’ word in an Instagram Live video while singing DaBaby’s song ‘Rockstar’.
The 25-year-old later issued a statement that read: “There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said.” She said that she had read their messages and had “seen the hurt I have caused.”
“I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better,” she said.
I’m sure there are people out there who think, “Well surely Black rappers have no problem with us using the word if they’re putting it in their songs?”
Well, one of the most popular rappers of our time, Kendrick Lamar, answered this question at a 2018 show when he brought a white fan up on stage.
Lamar was performing at the Hangout festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama when he brought a fan named Delaney on stage with him. She got her 15 minutes of fame rapping along to ‘M.A.A.D City’, a song from Lamar’s debut album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
It was all going well until she rapped the ‘N’ word, prompting Kendrick to ask Delaney to exit the stage as this was not acceptable language for her to use.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Lamar said.
“Am I not cool enough for you, what’s up bro?” Delaney responded.
Over massive boos from the crowd, Lamar explained “you’ve gotta bleep one single word, though.”
When the song kicked back in, the fan seemed unable to maintain the song’s flow, and was shown offstage by Lamar.
Hangout Festival
Kendrick Lamar stops chick rapping his song haha got the whole video for y’all #hangoutfestival #kendricklamar #nword pic.twitter.com/ZwiPhW54ai— ????Twins Over 808???? (@Infa501) May 21, 2018
It couldn’t be more clear: the ‘N’ word is unacceptable for white people, no matter the context, so please continue to call folks out for using it.
It’s everyone’s responsibility, really.
Matty Galea is the Entertainment Editor at Pedestrian who also dabbles in woo-woo stuff like astrology and crystals and has been penning horoscopes since the start of his career. He also Tweets about pop culture and astrology and posts spicy content on Instagram.
The post It’s 2021 & White Influencers Still Think It’s Okay To Sing The ‘N’ Word On Social Media appeared first on Pedestrian TV.
