Gina Rodriguez apologizes for singing n-word on Instagram
Actress Gina Rodriguez is facing backlash on social media after she posted a video of herself singing the n-word on Instagram Tuesday. The "Jane the Virgin" actress later deleted the video and apologized, on Instagram.
"Hey, what's up everybody. I just wanted to reach out and apologize," she said. "I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song that I love, that I grew up on. I love Lauryn Hill. And I really am sorry if I offended you."
Hours later, she posted another apology on Instagram:
In the original video, Rodriguez sings along to Lauryn Hill's verse in the Fugees hit "Ready or Not" while she gets her makeup done. She was immediately criticized online.
"Gina Rodriguez is an example of the bold anti-blackness of non-black people of colour. Black people keep telling ya'll not to use our reclaimed slurs, & here you go on your IG story mouthing along to a song saying "n----", playing all in our faces. Ugly, racist, & disrespectful," writer Kinsey Clarke tweeted.
"Gina Rodriguez has mastered the art of being anti-Black then faking victimhood and ignorance when she's called out," write Shanita Hubbard said on Twitter.
Rodriguez, who is Puerto Rican, has been accused of "anti-blackness" in the past. Last year, she was criticized for the way she addressed the pay disparity actresses of color face.
"I get so petrified in this space talking about equal pay, especially when you look at the intersectional aspect of it, right?" She said at the time. "Where white women get paid more than black women, black women get paid more than Asian women, Asian women get paid more than Latina women, and it's like a very scary space to step into."
In 2018, the highest-paid actress on television was Sofia Vergara, who is from Colombia. It marked her seventh year in a row at the top of the list.
At the time, Rodriguez broke down over the criticism. "Growing up, we didn't have many Latino shows and the black community made me feel like I was being seen, so to get anti-black is saying that I'm anti-family."