A YouTube star has issued a clarification, not an apology after being accused of making a white womans edit of Childish Gambinos This Is America.
Gambino – the stage name of Community and Star Wars actor Donald Glover – released the video for his new single This Is America last week, and it went instantly viral, with the videos chaotic scenes referencing the Charleston church shooting, Jim Crow and gun violence in the US.
However, for some reason, YouTuber Nicole Arbour decided to make her own version of Gambinos work of art to address issues women face in the States – and it hasnt gone down well.
The 32-year-old Canadian released a womens edit of the video, in which she discusses issues like breastfeeding, date rape and social media.
One of the original videos most striking scenes sees Glover shoot a man with a bag over his head – Arbours version sees her take a photo of a woman breastfeeding.
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Unsurprisingly, many people are annoyed with Arbour co-opting a brave expression on the issues faced by black people in America.
One person tweeted: We seriously cant have anything or take anything seriously. Stop aligning Black plight with white feminism. Stop cheapening black art and creativity.
Another tweet read: This is co-opting someone elses struggle. This is the “all lives matter” of songs, while one person wrote: This is not a womens edit. This is a WHITE womans edit. If you cannot see the difference, youre a shit feminist and a hack.
It was funny when Blurred Lines was redone by women, that was true parody, as it was critical and contrary to the original piece.
This is co-opting someone else's struggle
This is the "all lives matter" of songs
— Rogue B (@downriver_b) May 13, 2018
*white women's edit.
Also, we have had non-stop stories about white women calling the cops on POC for living peacefully. This is not the time for a white women to columbus a message about POC's fear of dying for breastfeeding & smiling complaints.
Nicole Arbour is trash. https://t.co/AWzlmXX703
—
Broke Fenty Addict
This is not a womens edit. This is a WHITE womans edit. If you cannot see the difference, youre a shit feminist and a hack.
— Sailor J
(@SlaylerJ) May 13, 2018
Arbour disabled comments on her YouTube video, and later issued a statement on her womens edit which fell far short of an apology.
The comedian wrote: The purpose of my rendition was to honour the spirit of the video which absolutely moved me, by adding my and many womens life experiences and truths to the brave and brutal truths expressed in the original.
“It was created with every intention of bringing a light to womens experiences such as the shaming of mothers breastfeeding, common place date rape drugging, the labels put on us of “prude or hoe”, pressures to create a family, workplace harassment, the glass ceiling, drug dependency, effects of social media on modern relationships and self, and included a nod to the cheerleaders who have come forward demanding at least min wage from the multi million dollar corporations they work for.
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It was a tongue in cheek way to give additional glory to what I believe is the most impactful piece of art in recent years.
In retrospect, due to the sensitive nature of the original, I understand why some people are wrongly portraying this as white vs black. However, this was not the intent or theme at all. We had a very diverse cast and creative team working on project from start to finish, who signed on to honor the original while adding more truth from another perspective.
Nicole then called for others to make their own This Is America videos, saying: I firmly believe the best thing that can happen in America and North America right now is for everyone to create their own version of this video and show what life is like from their side.
More: Youtube
Hmmm… were not entirely sure on that suggestion.
Arbour previously went viral for equally problematic reasons in 2015 when she uploaded a video entitled Dear Fat People.
Although Arbour claimed to be bravely addressing the dangers of obesity, the cruel video was accused of fat-shaming by many.
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