Awkwafina addresses 'blaccent' criticism and accusations of cultural appropriation: 'I'm still learning'
Awkwafina addressed long-standing criticism of her "blaccent" and appropriation of Black culture in a lengthy statement posted to Twitter on Saturday, acknowledging that she is "still learning and doing that personal work" but denying that she intended to "mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible" toward Black people.
The rapper and actress has been criticized throughout her career for employing a "blaccent," an imitation of stereotypical Black American speech patterns, and for her use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in her music and acting, prompting accusations of cultural appropriation.
Amy Sussman/Getty Awkwafina
As Vulture's Lauren Michele Jackson wrote in 2018, "Her persona has veered too close to Black aesthetics for comfort, including her recent role as Ocean 8's Constance, 'a scrappy, die-hard hustler from Queens' much like herself... Sliding in and out of a grammar that speeds past certain consonants, utilizes the habitual 'be,' and takes on a twang with danks and struggles aplenty, Awkwafina has inspired the resurrection of that dreaded portmanteau reserved for non-Black people with Black voices."
Asked to address the issue while promoting Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in September, Awkwafina said, "I'm open to the conversation. It really is something that I think is a little bit multifaceted and layered."
The actress has addressed the criticism more extensively in her statement, acknowledging the historical context of Black people "having historically and routinely seen their culture stolen, exploited, and appropriated by the *dominant* culture for monetary gain without acknowledgment nor respect for where those roots come from."
"In life, linguistic acculturation, immigrant acculturation, and the inevitable passage of globalized internet slang all play a factor in the fine line between offense and pop culture," she continued. "But as a non-Black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group. But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was."
She went on, "My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and TV shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop. I think as a group, Asian Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them — what is correct and where they don't belong. And though I'm still learning and doing that personal work, I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my career doing nothing but uplifting our communities. We do this first by failing, learning, acknowledging, hearing, and empathizing... And I will continue, tirelessly, to do just that."
In a separate tweet, Awkwafina announced that she would be "retiring" from Twitter, writing, "To my fans, thank you for continuing to love and support someone who wishes they could be a better person for you. I apologize if I ever fell short, in anything I did. You're in my heart always."
She concluded, "To Clarify: I am retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to... Also am avail on all other socials that don't tell you to kill yourself!"
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