Y'all, I literally just dropped a fanfic. Me and a couple of my mutuals were just talking about how we wanted to get back to normal, focus on writing fanfics, enjoying the fandom, watching edits, and doing what we usually do instead of constantly discussing drama.
And then somebody decided to be weird as fuck again.
Like damn, can I edit in peace for five minutes? Every time I think we're finally moving on and getting back to enjoying the fandom, another bizarre take, another weird comment, or another screenshot pops up and drags us right back into discourse.
I swear, at this point, the drama is putting in more overtime than I am.
Okay, I need to say something because one of my mutuals sent me this screenshot, and honestly, this whole narrative that Black people, or Black women specifically, are somehow responsible for what happened is getting ridiculous.
First of all, let's talk about the actual evidence we have. Not rumors. Not "Twitter said." Not "I heard somebody say." Actual screenshots and actual accounts from people who were in the Bae Nation group chat. From everything that has come out so far, the majority of people in that group chat were white. There were only a few Black fans, and according to multiple people, some of them left when Maddie got added.
So where exactly is this narrative coming from that Black people somehow caused all of this?
Because that's not what the evidence shows.
And that's my problem with comments like these. "Black people and Twitter are a mess" is crazy to me because it immediately shifts blame onto an entire group of people when we literally have screenshots and firsthand accounts showing that weird behavior came from people of multiple races. Weird people come in every color. Parasocial behavior comes in every color. Crossing boundaries comes in every color.
Let's stop pretending otherwise.
And another thing that bothers me is how comfortable people are blaming Black women specifically. As Black women, we know exactly what it feels like to be hated for existing, judged harsher than everybody else, and have our appearances picked apart over things that have nothing to do with our actual opinions or actions. Why would we turn around and celebrate somebody being called ugly, masculine, or having people ask invasive sexual questions about her fiancé and his brother? That makes absolutely no sense.
And yes, before somebody says it, I know people are criticizing Maddie because of her political opinions. Fine. I criticize her political opinions too. That's completely different from asking her what Jaafar sounds like during sex, what positions they use, whether she's seen Jermajesty naked, or making fun of her appearance. Those things have nothing to do with politics.
And this whole "they gave fans leverage" argument doesn't sit right with me either. Because let's be serious for a second. Nobody "gives" anybody leverage to ask weird sexual questions or invade their privacy. Nobody "gives" anybody permission to harass them. That's a choice people make themselves.
Everybody involved should be held accountable for their own actions, not entire races.
And honestly, this whole situation has just become embarrassing. Instead of holding actual individuals responsible, people keep trying to pin everything on groups of people. Black women. Twitter. This side of the fandom. That side of the fandom.
Hold the people who actually participated accountable.
And while we're talking about evidence, can we please stop acting like screenshots and firsthand accounts only matter when they support the narrative we personally like? Because every other day people are saying, "Show proof. Show screenshots. Show evidence." Well, people who were actually in the group chat have shown screenshots and shared their experiences, and none of them point to Black women leading some hate campaign.
So let's stop rewriting history to fit whatever narrative makes us feel comfortable.
This entire situation is embarrassing enough without throwing innocent people under the bus too.
And let me make something crystal clear because I already know somebody is going to read this and immediately jump to, "Oh, you're defending Maddie."
No. I am not Maddie's biggest supporter. I don't agree with her political opinions. I criticize them openly. I don't even particularly like her like that. Me saying, "Let's stick to facts and stop throwing Black people under the bus," is not me suddenly becoming president of the Maddie Simpson fan club. It just means I believe in being fair and not blaming people for things they didn't do.
Because apparently basic fairness gets mistaken for "dick riding" nowadays.
And honestly, the screenshot itself is weird to me. Not because people are saying the situation was embarrassing it was. But because why was "Black people" the first thing brought up in the first place?
Why was that the conclusion?
Out of everything that happened the weird group chat questions, the invasive DMs, the body shaming, the harassment, the people asking sexual questions about Jaafar and Jermajesty, the people making fun of appearances, the people treating these individuals like objects instead of human beings somehow the takeaway became "Black people and Twitter are a mess"?
Especially when another person immediately jumps in and says, "No literally, it was mainly them acting the way they did and gave fans leverage to act the way they did."
What exactly does that mean?
Because I'm trying really hard to understand what "them acting the way they did" means. Acting like what? Existing? Being engaged? Having opinions people disagree with? Being public? None of those things magically create weird fans. Weird fans create weird fans.
And I hate this idea that if somebody is disliked enough, people start acting like they're responsible for their own harassment. That's a dangerous mindset. Because by that logic, anybody people dislike automatically "deserves" whatever crazy behavior gets thrown at them.
No. That's not how accountability works.
And I also find it interesting that people are so quick to generalize Black people based on the actions of individuals, but somehow when the screenshots and testimonies point to the majority of people in that group chat being white, nobody says, "White fans are embarrassing." Suddenly it's "all races" and "individual responsibility."
It's almost like people are comfortable making sweeping statements about Black people that they wouldn't dare make about anyone else.
And that's exactly why comments like these bother me so much. Because we're talking about actual individuals who made choices, and somehow the blame keeps getting redirected onto entire communities that don't even line up with the evidence people themselves have been sharing.
At some point, y'all have to ask yourselves why "Black people" were the first people brought up in this conversation at all. Because that's weird to me.
And another thing that makes this whole screenshot even more confusing to me is that I'm pretty sure the second account that replied under it is a Black woman too. I'm almost positive I've seen her account on Twitter before, and I know some of y'all have probably seen her around too.
So now I'm even more confused.
Because if that's the case, what exactly are we doing here?
What is this "Black people and Twitter" narrative supposed to mean when the very next person agreeing with you is, from what I understand, a Black woman herself? Like, huh?
That's why I don't like broad statements like that, because they don't even make sense when you actually stop and look at the people involved. You're trying to blame an entire group of people while people within that same group are disagreeing, agreeing, criticizing, defending, and doing all the same things everyone else is doing.
Black people are not a monolith. Black women are not a hive mind. We don't all think the same, act the same, or move the same. So seeing "Black people and Twitter are a mess" immediately made me raise an eyebrow because… what are we talking about exactly?
Especially when the actual screenshots and accounts from people who were there point to something entirely different.
That's why I keep coming back to the same question:
Why were Black people the first ones brought up at all?
Because the more I look at this, the stranger that part becomes to me.
Anyway, guys, I genuinely want to hear other perspectives on this, so let's have a discussion in the comments. Just keep it respectful because I do think this is a conversation worth having.
And with that, thank y'all for coming to another one of my TED Talks.
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