February 06, 2022
American actress and comedian Awkwafina took to her social media handle and addressed the criticism she has received over her "blaccent" controversy.
The Golden Globe-winning actress whose real name is Nora Lum also announced that she will be quitting Twitter following years of accusations of allegedly using African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in her music and some of her movies and for alleged cultural appropriation.
In her detailed statement, the Crazy Rich Asians actress said, "Well, I'll see you in a few years, Twitter - per my therapist."
She tweeted, "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."
The Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings star added, "I am retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to, and I didn't drunkenly hit someone with a shoehorn and now escaping as a fugitive. Also am avail on all other socials that don't tell you to kill yourself!"
The 33-year-old actress further said, "It is a problem we still see today — though some may pass it off as a convoluted mixture of the 'internet TikTok slang generation' that liberally uses AAVE, to add that hip hop — a genre of music that is ubiquitous and beloved across the country — has now anchored itself as a mainstream genre in music history. And 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."
The actress received harsh criticism from netizens after being nominated for an NAACP Image award - in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category, for her role in Raya and the Last Dragon.