“Jane the Virgin” actress Gina Rodriguez is facing backlash over rapping the n-word in an Instagram Stories video — and then apologizing, but perhaps not sincerely, critics say.
It all started on Tuesday afternoon, when Rodriguez rapped along to “Ready or Not” by the Fugees while getting her makeup done. It is the only verse in the song that has the n-word. Rodriguez became a trending topic on Twitter almost immediately after the video went live.
In a video that was posted after the one of her rapping was deleted, Rodriguez apologized.
“I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song I love that I grew up on,” Rodriguez said. “I love Lauryn Hill. And I am really sorry if I offended you.”
But her critics questioned how genuine she was being in her apology.
“I’m sorry IF I offended anyone”.
“By singing along to the Fugees”.
This is an example of someone being deliberately obtuse. Gina Rodriguez KNOWS she offended people, not for singing a song but for saying the N-word. If the apology is going to be insincere, just keep quiet. https://t.co/tCjVenvcTs
— TONI TONE (@t0nit0ne) October 15, 2019
In a lengthy subsequent statement shared on her Instagram, Rodríguez wrote, “I have some serious learning and growing to do and I am so deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”
Related Article: Income Inequality Continues to Worsen Across the U.S.
But this is not the first time that Rodriguez has faced heat for her public remarks. When Marvel was promoting the movie “Black Panther” in 2017, Rodriguez tweeted, “Marvel and DC are killing it in inclusion and women but where are the Latinos?! Asking for a friend …”
In 2018, Rodriguez incorrectly stated in a roundtable interview that “Black women get paid more than Asian women, Asian women get paid more than Latina women, and it’s, like, a very scary space to step into.”
When that interview took place, Sofia Vergara, the Colombian star of “Modern Family,” was one of the highest-paid actresses for seven consecutive years. In the workforce overall, there are even smaller wage gaps between white and Asian women, according to the Business Insider.