Stacey Dash, the official archnemesis of the BET network, took to her blog on Wednesday night to castigate them for “keeping racism and segregation alive” during the channel’s Sunday broadcast of their awards show. Dear God, we have reached the freshest hell, haven’t we.
In her post, the Fox News contributor focused most of her criticism on Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams and his acceptance speech for the 2016 BET Humanitarian Award, in which he more or less cited the Black Lives Matter movement. Dash zeroed in on Williams’ moment to criticize both the actor and the network at large, accusing Williams of using “his black activism” and his words as “an attack on white people.”
Dash’s spewfest began after Williams mentioned the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy fatally shot by two white officers last year, which subsequently invoked the mass epidemic of police brutality and its intrinsic relation to profliling people of color.
“What he said was straight out of the Black Lives Matter playbook, reminding the audience that police do ‘not kill white people’ and in fact, prefer pulling ‘a drive by on a 12-year-old kid [Tamir Rice] and then going home to make a sandwich.’” she fumed.
The former Clueless star next chastised Williams for his “criticisms for whites who have committed so-called cultural appropriation of black culture and entertainment,” which she considered his “worst.” Dash also mentioned the backlash Justin Timberlake received on social media after tweeting that he found Williams’ speech “inspiring,” which unto itself opens a whole can of intricate and awkward identity politics.
These notions came to life shortly after Williams walked off the stage and came crashing down on Justin Timberlake, who had responded to the speech on Twitter, saying he felt inspired by it. However, black Twitter let him know that he is the worst when it comes to culturally appropriating black music and profiting from it.
“So does this mean you’re going to stop appropriating our music and culture?” one angry Twitter user asked.
After other responses much the same, Timberlake quickly apologized, saying he was “misunderstood” and then did something even worse by saying, “we are all one… A human race.” Justin, my dear, there is no “oneness” when it comes to Black Lives Matter. They’ve planted the seed of segregation and no longer want to live in “perfect harmony,” like the old song wished. And if Michael Jackson once sang, “It don’t matter if you’re black or white,” well, it does now, at least from their perspective.
Dash ended her rant by calling Williams the “perfect example of a Hollywood plantation slave,” because yes, this is the freshest of hells, this is the Febreeziest hell you’ve ever seen.
You’ve just seen the perfect example of a HOLLYWOOD plantation slave! Sorry, Mr Williams. But the fact that you were standing on that stage at THOSE awards tells people you really don’t know what your [sic] talking about. Just spewing hate and anger.
Because you my man are just like everyone else hustling to get money. But your cognitive dissidents [sic] has you getting it from THAT BYSTANDER whom YOU DONT NEED. Yes. BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION is WHITE OWNED [sic].
GET over yourself and get on with it!
I can’t quote from Clueless right now. I’m sorry guys, I can’t.
[A/N: Black Entertainment Television was first founded by Robert L. Johnson in 1980. Johnson, who sold BET to Viacom in 2001 for $3 billion, became the first black American billionaire after the sale.]
Contact the author at jamie.reich@jezebel.com.
Image via Getty.
DISCUSSION
Cognitive dissidents. -1 point on your psych 101 final.