Radio personality Ebro Darden addressed his 2013 comments about Tinashe’s last name, admitting that they were insensitive.
On Thursday Twitter user @thekonyjen posted a clip from the interview, which shows Ebro asking about Tinashe’s surname.
Peter Rosenberg questioned the inquiry as the singer “doesn’t go by her last name,” but still Ebro pushed for it, which prompted Tinashe to respond with the answer: Kachingwe.
“Can we point out how light-skinned she is with a ghetto-ass name?” the Apple Music executive then said, while Rosenberg defended her.
“It’s not a ghetto name, it’s an African name,” he said. “Sometimes these ghetto names are actually African.”
The Twitter user insisted that she “would’ve become real disrespectful” if it was her being interviewed.
Other Twitter users weighed in on the clip as well, Revolt reported.
“Ebro is damn colorist, anti-Black and xenophobic for making fun of her name. I would have walked out of this interview after he said this,” @MJFINESSELOVER posted. “Rosenberg is the only one that made sense.”
“lmao imagine a n***** named Ebro trynna clown my shit without me setting the entire building on F I R E,” added @PrinceyPls.
Twitter user @chammy_255 and many others were puzzled by the fact that Rosenberg, who is a white man, was the one standing up for Tinashe.
“The fact that Rosenberg, a white man, is correcting Ebro, a black man, about African names is doing my head in,” he said. “The fact that Rosenberg, who is white, defended her while Ebro’s BLACK ass kept on with his ignorance and disrespect is just…,” @theeaquaria wrote.
The Ebro eventually responded to the criticism, admitting his wrongdoing.
“Yea this was a terrible joke, we were using the name skit for people to learn her origins…,” he explained. “Love Tinashe. That’s my homey still.”
https://twitter.com/thekonyjen/status/1464030762148241419?s=21