Gina Rodriguez Makes A Fugee of Herself by Saying the N-word

Let’s face it, we’ve all been subjected to a bit of social media karaoke. For most of us, our tone deaf videos are only subjected to a few hundred of our followers, maybe a couple thousand at most. But, for Gina Rodriguez? The world. On Tuesday afternoon, the Jane the Virgin star received major backlash for loosely saying the n-word, while singing a song by The Fugees. The 35-year-old Golden Globe recipient posted a video of herself singing along to all the words of the group’s 1996 hit single “Ready or Not,” while getting her hair and makeup done.

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After being dragged by numerous fans, Gina Rodriguez issued an apology via another Instagram video. She said, “I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song I love that I grew up on. I love Lauryn Hill.” This only made things worse for Rodriguez, as many fans found her tone to be sarcastic since she apologized for loving the song, as opposed to the word she said. Rodriguez eventually came to her senses, and issued a written apology via a notes screenshot on her Instagram feed.

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The comments were turned off. This mishap reopened the conversation about the use of the n-word, and whether or not it is appropriate to be used at all. According to Anti-Bias Study Guide, via pbs.org, n*gger “is a word that is an alteration of the earlier neger, nigger derives from the French negre, from the Spanish and Portuguese negro, from the Latin niger (black). First recorded in 1587 (as negar), the word probably originated with the dialectal pronunciation of negro in northern England and Ireland.”

In recent times, this word has been used among the Black/African American community as a term of endearment when acknowledging one another. The word is used very often throughout rap culture, again, among African Americans. Unfortunately, in situations just like Gina Rodriguez’s, people who are not of Black/African American descent use rap songs as an excuse to say the word freely, especially those of the Latinx community.

Gary Suarez, in his New York Times article said it best:

” There is no justification for any white or white-presenting Latinx person to continue dropping the N-word knowing how hurtful it still is to Afro-Latinx and black peers, among whom a wider and arguably more contentious debate over its use as colloquial reclamation remains.those who aren’t of Black or African American decent believe that the word should stay clear out of mainstream music, so it won’t be said. “

It doesn’t matter where you grew up or what black friend gave you permission. Your opinions on the conditions surrounding the usage of the word matters even less. The fact of the matter is, unless you are of Black/African American decent, the word should never leave your lips. How we turn a positive to a negative doesn’t need to be accepted by anyone else but ourselves. Just respect it.