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Was actress Gina Rodriguez really about to risk the wrath of Black Twitter and speak at a Black History month event in Los Angeles?
Monday, a screenshot appearing to be from press release issued by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Black History Month Committee included an invite to journalists interested in covering an event with “actress and civil rights activist Gina Rodriguez” appeared online.
READ MORE: Gina Rodriguez tearfully breaks down on ‘Sway in the Morning’
The photo quickly went viral and set off alarm bells all over social media. Users couldn’t believe that the “Jane the Virgin” star, who ran into controversy last year when a video surfaced of her using the n-word while singing The Fugees’ “Ready or Not,” would ever be tone deaf enough to agree to such a thing. Critics questioned who would even invite her to begin with.
The press release went on to claim that Rodriguez’s father, boxing referee Genaro Rodriguez, is Black (although he is not) and warned that she would only “take selfies with African American students.”
Gina Rodriguez ??♀️ takes up so much space and oxygen and moisture from black people. With her “dark skinned” father girl pls pic.twitter.com/S92ELl7EQB
— illeana thuglas ➐ (@readingreceipts) January 6, 2020
OPINION: Gina Rodriguez STILL doesn’t get why we’re mad, cries over anti-Black accusations
“We thought that Ms. Rodriguez, who has both African and Latina ancestry, would be a great inaugural speaker,” it continued, explaining that this gathering would be part of LAUSD’s upcoming series of celebrities speaking to students in celebration of Black History Month.
“This is problematic for a few reasons,” wrote one user: “1) Gina Rodriguez is not Black. 2)Gina Rodriguez has repeatedly & publicly made anti-Black remarks. 3) There are Black actors who can speak to kids in LAUSD during Black History month. 4) This is a PR stunt. 5) GINA RODRIGUEZ IS NOT BLACK!”
READ MORE: Amara La Negra defends Gina Rodriguez’s use of ‘N***a’
Following the swift backlash, the Twitter handle for the LAUSD Black History Month Committee deleted the tweet promoting the event and then took it a step further and deleted its entire account.
But nothing is ever really deleted on social media and screenshots of the district’s original announcement continue to provide fuel for the fire. LAUSD has yet to comment on the public outcry.
Gina Rodriguez is so f**king tired. She is not Black and nor is her father. There are a number of Afro-Latinos out there and this bish is not one of them. pic.twitter.com/B33ezYSrHe
— divinityrocs (@divinityRocs) January 6, 2020
Los Angeles Unified School District is just as Anti Black as Gina Rodriguez for allowing her to speak on a culture she’s not at all a part of. I’m sure they’re well aware of her problematic behavior. Just shows you, how deep-seated the hatred is for Blacks.
— Civil Queen (@civil_queen) January 6, 2020
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