Cyn Santana caused a lot of anger in the Black community because some believed she said that Black men cater to Latinas more than they do Black women. And now she’s addressing all the backlash.
The “Love and Hip Hop: New York” star made those comments in 2016 on Angela Yee‘s “Lip Service” podcast, which resurfaced in January of this year. And besides making a sweeping comment about Black men during that sit down, she made one about Puerto Rican men too.
“I just like Black guys and Spanish girls,” Santana stated. “Y’all can keep the Puerto Rican men, I’m good. I do Black guys all day, sorry. I did the Spanish thing… Doesn’t work out for me. I think they’re too emotional.”
Santana then said, “Black guys cater to us Spanish girls, especially. You know what? Let me not get into it. Black girls gonna take it personal. They gonna be like, ‘Uh-uh, anyway.’ I’m done with the papis.”
“The Real” co-host Adrienne Houghton asked Santana about those comments, and the reality star was clearly nervous in her response during her Dec. 4 appearance on the talk show.
“I think what happened was, we were talking about our experiences with men and different men, races and ethnicities and comparing our experiences,” Santana explained. “I think what happened was, I poorly articulated myself and I irresponsibly repeated something that I heard my entire life. I’m a little nervous.”
“I irresponsibly repeated something that I heard throughout my teenage years,” she went on.
“Which was?” co-host Loni Love asked.
“The whole, oh, Black men love Spanish women or Latinos,” Santana answered. “And I think people took that message wrongly. That’s not what I meant. And for that, I do apologize. I would love to talk about it. That’s something that I think is important to talk about. I was really speaking about my personal experiences.”
The 27-year old then said she felt people “misconstrued” her words, and because she used terms like “hater” during that 2016 interview, she was accused of causing division among Black and Brown women. And that’s something the mother of one said she wasn’t trying to do.
“I acknowledge 1 million percent what I said and how people perceived it and how it can hurt them,” said Santana. “I never really publicly spoke about that, because it’s very uncomfortable and it’s such a sensitive thing and people are going to be like, ‘Oh, she’s just saying sorry.’ No, I’m speaking from the heart. I was 22, 23. I’m 27 with a son now.”
Many weighed in on Santana’s interview on Instagram.
“Girl u meant it,” one person wrote.
“Too late…you been cancelled. Bye bye,” a second person stated.
“Girl bye!” wrote a third. “That’s just what you meant! However I don’t have a problem with you. You alright with me or whatever.”
And someone else wrote, “Your still canceled and I liked you smh.”
