Tomi Lahren’s Utter Cluelessness in Response to Jesse Williams’ Speech is an Astounding Reminder of White Fragility

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO-MQ2V0OyE

After actor Jesse Williams’ BET Humanitarian Acceptance Speech on Sunday’s BET Awards, a wave of white backlash has been aimed at the 34-year-old.

Conservative host of “The Blaze,” Tomi Lahren joins the ruckus by “calling out” the actor’s “racism” in a clip posted June 28 on her personal Facebook page.

Lahren believes that Williams’ speech was divisive and an opportunity to bash white people.

“Was it a celebration of Black entertainment or an opportunity to complain about the plight of wealthy Black actors and musicians?” says Lahren.

“I saw a lot of talent on that stage, but at the same time, a whole lot of victimhood,” she continues. “The BET definition of a humanitarian is someone who perpetuates a war on cops.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top