Current Events > Camila Cabello and the Art of the Racism Non-Apology

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/camila-cabello-and-the-art-of-the-racism-non-apology-from-gina-rodriguez-to-shane-gillis

Another day, another celebrity victim of cancel culture that will definitely not be meaningfully held accountable for her actions. This time, its Camila Cabello, Fifth Harmony-defector and one-half of the duo behind steamy Top-40 hit Seorita. On Dec. 17, a Twitter user posted a damning thread of screenshots from Cabellos personal Tumblr page featuring racist memes and messages in which the pop star repeatedly used the N-word as a teenager. The Nicotine singer issued a lengthy apology via Instagram story on Wednesday night. When I was younger, I used language that Im deeply ashamed of and will regret forever, Cabello, who is of Cuban-American descent, wrote. I was uneducated and ignorant and once I became aware of the history and the weight and the true meaning behind this horrible and hurtful language, I was deeply embarrassed I ever used it. She insisted that, now that she has reached the wizened old age of 22, she is finally mature enough to understand that reposting memes that make light of damaging racial stereotypes about black and Asian people is wrong. Notably, though, Cabello herself did not describe her mistakes in such explicit terms. Nowhere does her apology include the word racist or directly address the specific communities targeted by her posts.

The singer instead used vague, euphemistic language about pain, history, and inclusivity. Im an adult and Ive grown and learned and am conscious and aware of the history and the pain it carries in a way I wasnt before, she said in the statement. Those mistakes dont represent the person I am or a person Ive ever been. I only stand and have ever stood for love and inclusivity, and my heart has never, even then, had any ounce of hate or divisiveness. She chalked the whole thing up to being embarrassingly ignorant and urged people to move on (I cant go back in time and change the things I said in the past.) It would be easier to believe Cabellos claim that she has never harbored any divisive attitudes toward people of color if it werent for the sheer volume of disturbing posts. And thats to say nothing of the content of the memes, many of which are jaw-dropping in their blatant propagation of stereotypical imagery. In addition to the inexcusable use of the N-word, some of the posts contain hateful photos or drawings, and one mocks Chris Browns infamous 2009 assault of Rihanna. While any espousal of racist or xenophobic views is condemnable, the length and contents of the incriminating Twitter thread clearly go beyond what could be written off as youthful ignorance, as Cabello seems to be trying to do. The glaring absence of race in her buzzword-filled blanket apology undermines her sincerity, as does the fact that the Tumblr page remained active until she was publicly called out earlier this week. Rather than an expression of remorse for her actions, Wednesdays Instagram story reads like a non-apology in response to getting caught. Disappointingly, Cabellos approach to the controversy reflects a greater trend. She is one of many of celebrities who, after being confronted with indisputable receipts, have apologized for past incidents of racism without actually holding themselves accountable.



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Lebronwon posted...

Another day, another celebrity victim of cancel culture that will definitely not be meaningfully held accountable for her actions.

So if she gets off free, why are we discussing it?

I like how they're acting as if it wasn't her publicist who wrote the apology.
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How do we hold them "accountable"? Ban them from showbiz? Make them serve prison time? Put them in diversity/sensitivity training? Redistribute their wealth and possessions to the offended parties? Tomato pelting in town square?

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darkphoenix181 posted...

So if she gets off free, why are we discussing it?

Author thinks it is a problem. I would have posted examples of what Camila said/reblogged...but they are moddable. Like one is a Rihanna getting beaten up joke. A lot of n-word stuff as well.

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darkphoenix181 posted...

So if she gets off free, why are we discussing it?

because dudebros think Cancel culture is this super real, all powerful force that only comes for the manly men and those who simply "politically incorrect" This is yet another example of their hyperbole being laughably incorrect

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So she was a 4chan edgelord as a teenager?

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I thought Latinx people had n-word privileges. Times have changed.

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i'm curious. do we know specifically what she said about asians

SauI_Goodman posted...

i'm curious. do we know specifically what she said about asians

https://twitter.com/kathfyt/status/1208087349273464833

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Is it that hard for people not to be racist? Like does it physically hurt them or something?

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Lilly Singh is very racist and gets praised and a show and tons of money.

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Who cares about some stupid shit she did when she was 15. Shes 22 now.

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This person didnt grovel for my forgiveness!

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Scotty_Rogers posted...

Who cares about some stupid shit she did when she was 15. Shes 22 now.

I was a literal Saint at 15. She needs to be on my level.

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smoke_break posted...

Is it that hard for people not to be racist? Like does it physically hurt them or something?

Right? I didn't say racist or offensive things at 15.

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Whats the tl;dr version?
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Vol2tex posted...

Right? I didn't say racist or offensive things at 15.

juvenile racism is much more prevalent in certain groups. Cant discuss that here though

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Everyone is racist. You just cant say what you think.

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Who wasnt an edglord in their teens?

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FrisbeeDude posted...

juvenile racism is much more prevalent in certain groups. Cant discuss that here though

Are you pretending like you didn't say things about the group you are against when you were younger?
I find that hard to believe when you get constantly warned for saying racist things against that group now.

I would be willing to bet you said:
Fuck ____ people and such things.

Prestoff posted...

Who wasnt an edglord in their teens?

I mean not everyone was. I never really said or did outlandish things in junior high or high school.

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I wasn't posting racist things online when I was 15, and that's back when I was frequently going on /b/

Amazing that people as a kid can't tell that certain things are inappropriate.

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I mean, not every kid does that shit, but there are enough that are genuinely ignorant and just think that theyre being edgy and funny. Unless they can drag up a more recent example we could just assume she grew out of it.

like, what more can a person do besides learn and get better?

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So is she cancelled? I doubt she will be for some weird reason

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I never posted that; but Im not gonna be angry at a child for doing shitty things for life.

plus her music is meh anyway.

except for Havana. That song slaps.

I saw Camila open for TSwift. She was terrible.
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CruelBuffalo posted...

except for Havana. That song slaps.

why is her heart in havana in that song
was she sold into slavery and transported to atlanta

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