Speaking in front of college students, LibsofTikTok founder Chaya Raichik was asked how she defines “woke,” a word the right uses to criticize the prioritizing of social justice and equality.
Stumbling over her words, the audience broke out in laughter..
Raichik delivered a talk at Indiana University in Bloomington on April 1 alongside Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). Her prepared remarks covered her tweets targeting companies where she says diversity, equity, and inclusion are “embedded,” like Planet Fitness, the Mayo Clinic, and Southwest Airlines. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are hiring and organizational structures focused on accepting and supporting people of all identities.
The right recently took aim at DEI in the medical field and aviation industry.
Raichik slammed Planet Fitness for their locker room gender policy and Southwest Airlines because she was seated next to a large person who didn’t request an accompanying seat on the flight. She called out the Mayo Clinic for what looked to be a job posting for the company that encouraged members of marginalized communities to apply—but the Mayo Clinic said in a statement the posting was fake.
“Wokeness is a destruction of common sense and normality,” Raichik said at the event. “It’s anti-American and it needs to be destroyed.”
But when Indiana University graduate student and writer Bryce Green asked Raichik to specifically define wokeness, she stumbled over her words and the audience laughed.
“Wokeness is the destruction of normalcy,” Raichik said in a video posted by Green on X. “And…. and um… uh…”
In other videos Green posted, Banks defined wokeness as “anti-Americanism.” Green also asked the pair if Al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization behind the 9/11 attacks, is “woke,” too.
“Maybe in some ways,” Banks said.
In an interview with the Daily Dot, Green said in addition to “a few rows of college Republicans,” protestors were present at Raichik’s event—which he said seemed to throw her off.
“She didn’t strike me as comfortable in that setting,” Green told the Daily Dot. “She didn’t seem to have command of the room or the material she was supposed to be talking about, and people noticed. Lots of laughter throughout.”
Green said he attended Raichik’s talk in opposition to it. The Bloomingtonian reported at least two protestors were escorted out of the room in handcuffs.
“Libs of TikTok has blood on her hands,” one protestor’s sign read.
Raichik isn’t the only conservative figure to go viral for struggling to define what woke is. Last year, author Bethany Mandel stumbled over her words trying to explain it during a talk show appearance.
And Raichik also recently got backlash for confusing answers she gave in an interview with the Washington Post.
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