Awkwafina addresses ‘blaccent’ controversy with lengthy statement, quits Twitter
Awkwafina made a public statement on social media surrounding the controversy around her use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and criticism that she has used a “blaccent” in past roles.
On Saturday, February. 5, Awkwafina (born Nora Lum) released a lengthy statement on Twitter, her first activity on the platform in over two years.
The actor wrote in part, “There is a sociopolitical context to everything, especially the historical context of the African American community in this country.”
The 33-year-old continued, writing, “It is a group that is disproportionately affected by institutionalized policies and law enforcement policies — all the while having historically and routinely seen their culture stolen, exploited and appropriated by the *dominant* culture for monetary gain without acknowledgment nor respect for where those roots come from, the pioneers of its beginnings and the artists that perfected and mastered the craft.”
“It is a problem we still see today — though some may pass it off as a convoluted mixture of the ‘internet TikTok slang generation’ that liberally uses AAVE,” the “Farewell” star wrote, before adding, “to add that hip hop — a genre of music that is ubiquitous and beloved across the country — has now anchored itself as a mainstream genre in music history.”
This post comes after years of criticism over her use of the Blaccent and AAVE in her work. She briefly addressed it during a press interview in September 2021, stating, “Um, you know, I’m open to the conversation. I think it, you know, it’s really something that is a little bit multi faceted and layered.”
Lum also shared with Vice that she’s “walked out of auditions where the casting director all of a sudden changed her mind and asked for [Asian] accents,” again drawing more criticism for her use of AAVE in the early stages of her career.
Amid the controversy, Awkwafina has also been praised for her efforts to promote diversity in Hollywood. BD Wong, who plays her dad on her show Nora from Queens, praised the star in a 2020 People interview, saying she has “hired a lot of women and a lot of people of color.”
Awkwafina was born in Stony Brook, New York, on Long Island, to a Chinese American father, Wally, and a Korean mother, Tia, a painter who immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1972.
Even though she grew up in a Chinese household, Awkwafina never became fluent in the language. In order to prepare for her role in The Farewell (as noted by Deadline, the film is in English and Mandarin), she had to do some intense language study.
