Awkwafina is getting burned to a crisp online over a half-assed Notes app statement about the constant alleged criticism she has profited from Black culture and communities throughout her career.
The actress whose real name is Nora Lum has been accused of using a Blaccent in her professional career for several years. Black writer Michelle Laura Jackson wrote in an article for Vulture in 2018 that “her persona has veered too close to Black asethetics for comfort… Sliding in and out of a grammar that speeds past certain consonants, utilises the habitual ‘be’, and takes on a twang with danks and struggles aplenty, Awkwafina has inspired the resurrection of that dreaded portmanteau reserved for non-Black people with Black voices.”
The actress shared a statement on Sunday addressing the criticisms for the first time. She noted that African American peoples are disproportionately affected by the country’s institutionalised policies and law enforcement agencies (much like our own) before admitting that Black culture is often “stolen, exploited and appropriated by the dominant culture for monetary gain without acknowledgement nor respect for where those roots come from”.
She then clarified that she will always listen and work tirelessly to educate herself on the context of African American Vernacular English and what’s appropriate but has never “mock[ed], belittle[d] or be[en] unkind in any way possible at the expense of others”. She stressed that it was something that was “simply not [in her] nature”.
The Crazy Rich Asians star said that her immigrant background and her upbringing allowed her to create her own American identity from the entertainment and people she grew up around. She explained that she and other members of the Asian American community are still trying to learn what that means for them as well as “what is correct and where they don’t belong”.
“And though I’m still learning and doing that personal work, I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my career doing nothing but uplifting our communities,” Awkwafina added.
“We do this first by failing, learning, acknowledging, hearing and empathising. And I will continue tirelessly to do just that.”
The statement has been fairly ripped apart online with Black Twitter calling it an excuse rather than apology. Several people online said that the statement is meaningless when she continues to go by a stage name that’s rooted in African American identity.
It’s also worth mentioning that she did not say sorry or admit to any accountability in her statement.
https://twitter.com/KennyAlphaOmega/status/1490037201635315720
“Awkwafina [is] so annoying simply bcuz [sic] she’s a great actress but she doesn’t know when to stop talking like change your name back to Nora and actually say sorry instead of all these around the way versions,” said one user.
“Awkwafina speaking about what’s not in her ‘nature’ does not dismiss the harm and Anti-Blackness that birthed her career,” explained Black writer and Twitter user Your Aries Comrade in a now-deleted thread.
“Awkwafina, like Jennifer Lopez, Fat Joe, Iggy Azalea, many K-Pop groups, etc., made her career off of mocking Black folks, because she thought it was something to play with and have a good time making coin off of what she never experienced. That’s the currency.”
Your name is still Awkwafina, you bird ass mf. Of course you’re not sorry.
— Clarkisha Kent (@IWriteAllDay_) February 6, 2022
awkwafina so annoying simply bcuz she’s a great actress but she doesn’t know when to stop talking like change ur name back to nora and actually say sorry instead of all these around the way versions😭😭😭
— zoë begins 🪴 (@filmsbyzoe) February 5, 2022
Awkwafina had YEARS. I repeat YEARS to address this shit and come clean, face the music and apologize. YEARS.
We all knew this was coming. Her response? Half ass non apology, ducking real responsibility then quitting Twitter.
Cannot stress this one fact enough. SHE. HAD. YEARS.
— Dart_Adams (@Dart_Adams) February 5, 2022
awkwafina really said mocking black culture is not in her nature when her career is quite literally built on the back of that practice like give me a break 😭
— !? (@TELEAZE) February 5, 2022
Awkwafina announced shortly after her statement that she was leaving Twitter for “a few years”.
“I apologise if I ever fell short in anything I did,” she wrote to her fans.
https://twitter.com/awkwafina/status/1489996505100558347
She first addressed the criticism in an interview in September last year where she replied with a hodge-podge of words you could barely call a response.
“You know, I’m open to the conversation. I think it really is something that is a little bit multi-faceted and layered so yeah,” she said at the time.
Just leaving this clip of her addressing the controversy of using a ‘blaccent’ in films herepic.twitter.com/910zb9QDHL
— Casey Ho (@CaseyHo) January 19, 2022
Awkwafina isn’t the first celebrity to be caught culturally appropriating off Black people and their cultures. Singer Jesy Nelson was roasted like a Christmas turkey over Blackfishing.
