Gilbert Arenas recently seemed to have an awakening about Black beauty that was sparked by the ongoing protests for racial equality, and it caused him to issue an apology to Lupita Nyong’o.
The former NBA player posted a message to his Instagram Story on June 16 and said that his apology has to do with wanting to achieve Black unity.
“We can’t come together as a race until the idiots of the race right their wrongs,” he wrote. “My name is Gilbert and I was an idiot for attacking one of our queens for no reason. @Lupita Nyong’o, I am truly sorry for my coon behavior. #blacklivesmatterdeadandalive #blackexcellence.”
The behavior Arenas is referring to was displayed in 2017 after an Instagram user created a post to celebrate Black female features.
“Dear Black Girl: You don’t have to be mixed to be beautiful,” the 2017 message read.
Gilbert responded to that post then and insinuated that dark-skinned women aren’t attractive.
“How Black are we talking??? Not to be funny can u name a beautiful Black women on the outside … not brown skin … like tyrese black … top 50 most beautiful women off all time … the darkest women they have is Keshia Knight Pulliam aka Rudy gab union Taral hicks Serena Williams,” he wrote then.
“When u say African features Black then you have #1 Lupita Nyong’o and she’s cute when the lights are off. Second is Ajuma Nasenyana,” added Arenas. “Sorry but Ewww so the Black beautiful women u try to boost up is technically light skinned or brown skinned.”
The Instagram user shot back by uploading a picture that showed a host of Black women. Arenas was also skewered online for his comments and admitted that he misread the original post. But he didn’t apologize to Nyong’o and insulted her looks again.
“I never say sorry for the s–t I say but it’s my fault I read this wrong and got into my feelings,” Arenas wrote on Instagram. “I thought it was saying, if ur mixed ur not considered Black and beautiful and my kids are mixed and dark skinned so I perceived it how I wanted to.”
“I f—–d this up so I deserved the hatred that comes,” he added. “I was trying to defend all shades of Black but that’s what the post was also doing…I ended up pulling a COON moment…sorry all shades of Black women no need to forgive me Im pretty sure I’ll say some f——d up s–t probably in two weeks ?? And as for lupita she ain’t cute to me sorry…just like I’m not cute to 95% of u…”
Under the comments of Arenas’s recent apology to Nyong’o, some didn’t believe that he was sincere, while another person said that she didn’t care if he apologized or not.
“He came at her for no reason. He meant what he said and I’m not buying this so-called apology 🥱,” wrote one person.
Then another person wrote, “Lmao she don’t even know who he is and neither do I. Next caller 🗣.”
