Earlier this week, videos surfaced of two white female college students saying the n-word repeatedly.
In one video, Penn State’s Kaitlin Bistro is seen and heard repeating the racial slur, just before she yells, “If you’re offended then suck my d*ck.” In the other video, William Paterson University’s Jasmine Barkley poses a controversial question regarding the use of the word.
“Is it appropriate for me to say n*gga if it’s in a song and you’re singing the lyrics,” she asks, as her friend obnoxiously recites the lyrics to “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown. “Or is it not appropriate for me to say n*gga? Let me know.”
Both videos received widespread backlash, which prompted Barkley’s snapchat apology, where she claimed to be genuinely sorry. However, in a separate video, the now-dismissed sorority sister offered a suggestion for those that were offended: don’t watch.
Since then though, Barkley has released another statement via the school’s media outlet, WPU Beacon.
“I am not a racist. I believe in equality and respect among all. The videos have been misconstrued in many ways across the media. I admit that the place and context of how I presented my question was incentive,” she said, as she continued with an apology.
However, she went on to shift the blame, using references from Charlamagne tha God to defend her use of the word.
“I posed a controversial question because I was upset that my friend was harassed for singing along to the lyrics of “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky featuring Chris Brown. I never attacked a specific person or group,” she continued. “Lenard McKelvey (Charlamagne The God) was posted on a YouTube channel speaking on this topic. In the video, he states until blacks stop using the word n*gga “we can’t get mad at nobody else for using the word n*gga.”
She then went on to elaborate her reasoning, citing the “The Breakfast Club” host’s references to the fictional television show, “The Boondocks.”
As she wrapped her explanation and longwinded apology, she wrote “I hope after sharing my thoughts this provides some clarification and insight into what type of person I am. I also hope that by opening up this issue for discussion, racial groups can become more sensitive to one another’s feelings and develop a better understanding of the true meaning of freedom of speech.”
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh8-pqUhBvv/” data-instgrm-version=”8″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”><div style=”padding:8px;”> <div style=” background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;”> <div style=” background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;”></div></div><p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh8-pqUhBvv/” style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;” target=”_blank”>A post shared by Baller Alert (@balleralert)</a> on <time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2018-04-24T12:14:08+00:00″>Apr 24, 2018 at 5:14am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js”></script>
A response from Jasmine Barkley @wpunj_edu @DPHIE_WPUNJ pic.twitter.com/Ph1hAqU6xk
— The WPU Beacon (@WPUBeacon) April 23, 2018
