Catfish host Nev Schulman apologized on Twitter Thursday after an offensive tweet about Black Girls Rock! landed him in hot water.
The story started Tuesday evening, when the Black Girls Rock! award show was airing on BET and #blackgirlsrock was subsequently trending on Twitter. The show, hosted this year by Tracee Ellis Ross, highlights the achievements of women of color in everything from music to medicine.
The inciting tweet has been deleted, but in it Schulman wrote, “#BlackGirlsRock I totally agree. They also tend to #catfish a lot. Just sayin””
Screenshots of the tweet still exist:
I am TIRED of the blatant disrespect of black women. On our night to shine too. Nev is cancelled. @NevSchulman 🙄🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/gQKd0n1zZK
— HOT BABIE HIPPO 🧃is on hiatus (@melaninbarbie) April 6, 2016
Backlash for the tweet was swift and severe, and black celebrities were vocal in their disappointment:
https://twitter.com/VanessaVeasley/status/717727145439657984
Hey @NevSchulman ..Black girls probably do #Catfish a lot.Because when they try to get legitimate recognition, people like you dump on them
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) April 6, 2016
So after taking some time to reflect (and read DMs from thoughtful people like @melaninporn), the MTV host tweeted an apology early Thursday morning:
Thank u @melaninporn for taking the time to help me understand some of the issues POC deal w/. Sorry to all I upset. pic.twitter.com/ws9T1JraWf
— Nēv Schulman (@NevSchulman) April 6, 2016
Thanks. This was an important lesson for me and hopefully can be one for a lot of other people too. https://t.co/yTah6yq397
— Nēv Schulman (@NevSchulman) April 6, 2016
It may be too little too late, though. Fans on Twitter remain unimpressed by Schulman’s apology:
https://twitter.com/alixmcalpine/status/718190986325860353
https://twitter.com/httpshania/status/718182598619631617
H/T BET