CoverGirl's Response To Their First Male Ambassador's Racist Tweet Is Just As Cringeworthy
Updated Oct. 31 2018, 3:29 p.m. ET
I had someone once try to tell me that they weren't racist against Muslims because they're friends with me. Now you see, it doesn't work like that.
One of the lamest excuses any one tries to pull for why they're not racist or don't harbor any ill-feelings towards a particular group is, "but my best friend is Black/Hispanic/Dutch." Look, the only way to solving a problem is admitting you have one. And in my opinion, everyone's at least a little bit racist.
Hell, my parents are ethnically Albanian, and I get racist towards Albanians sometimes too; I stereotype my people all day about how much they love Adidas and Mercedes.
Yes, I realize it's crappy, but that doesn't mean I settle for it. I admit that it's wrong of me to think this way and I'm actively trying to change it. But I don't delude myself into thinking that just because I'm ethnically Albanian that I can't be racist against my own people, because I totally am.
So if you think you can't be racist towards a certain ethnic group just because you're friends with a member of that group, then you're sadly mistaken.
Which is why people are wondering why CoverGirl tried using that "friend defense" for its first ever male CoverGirl model, James Charles.
Charles found himself in some hot water when he made a pretty gross statement when he quipped that "All Africa has is Ebola".
CoverGirl didn't directly make Charles apologize for the comment right away, nor did the company acknowledge it in any way. They did however post this photo of Charles hugging Zendaya.
Which wasn't lost on Twitter.
Zendaya bluntly responded to the news of CoverGirl's response with the perfect meme.
People then started digging up some of Charles' questionable comments and noticed he mentions race a lot.
If you're a white guy, you might not want to call your Mexican friend your "slave."
Other people were shocked that CoverGirl opted to play the "friend defense" instead of apologizing outright.
Charles says that the comment was a joke in poor taste, and formally apologized himself in an interview.
You can check out the Affinity Magazine interview here and the poster up top is right; he was totally railroaded for what he said. Was it just a bad joke that went too far? Or do you think the hate he's getting is justified?
