As a fan of someone with a large following, it is necessary to call them out when they do something problematic. That being said, as a watcher of Shane Dawson videos, it is important for me to recognize the people he forgives easily and the ones who are given an undeserving platform by him.
This isn’t the first time Shane has been problematic. If you’ve seen any of his older videos, you may remember those times he did black-face:
Or, if you follow him on Twitter, you may remember that tweet he sent out where he criticized ABC for expanding the diversity of their shows:
The main excuse that people have used for this behavior is Shane’s rough childhood. But while his family did not have much money, and he dealt with many other issues within his family and school, nothing excuses racist behavior. This is an idea that, for some reason, people like Shane have a hard time believing. He seems to think that it’s fine if a white person follows a black woman down the street calling her the n-word, attacks a trans woman online and jokes that people in Africa have Ebola as long as they “apologize.” In case you need some references, a few examples of individuals who have exhibited racist behavior are Jeffree Star and James Charles:
Earlier this year, Charles found this funny.
His “apology”
Jeffree is the one who decided it was cool to follow a black woman down the street while calling her disgusting names, including the n-word.
So, Shane, why are you so quick to forgive them? Do these acts of hatred and racism not phase you? Any decent human being should know that racism cannot be erased, apology or not.
But wait, there’s more.
Just the other day, Danielle Bregoli, otherwise known as the girl famous for hitting her mom, tweeted Shane. And of course, he replied:
i fuck wit u too Bhabie. I fuck wit u too.
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) September 22, 2017
Now, at first this seemed like a joke until I remembered that he had already forgiven Jeffree and James; naturally, she was bound to be next. While many people point out the fact that she “tries to act black”, the violence and immaturity she possesses are more so her ways of attracting attention and are stereotypical characteristics of black people. Also in this video, you can clearly hear her use the n-word multiple times. People quickly began to go after Shane for giving the disrespectful 14-year-old attention, but he addressed the hate not long after in a direct message sent to Danielle that featured a text message from his mom.
Momma and @shanedawson are some real ones🤘🏻🖤 pic.twitter.com/ckWZqeFP87
— Bhad Bhabie (@BhadBhabie) September 22, 2017
Based on their recent exchanges, I wouldn’t be surprised if he went as far as to include her in one of his Youtube videos.
Providing a platform in which racist behavior is excused and forgotten is dangerous. So instead of thinking that you’re helping the world by forgiving everyone and allowing them to put their so-called “mistakes” in the past, call them out.
