This past Sunday, Jesse Williams' speech after accepting the Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards earned him a standing ovation. But one actress wasn't pleased with his remarks — Stacey Dash. Known for her controversial statements about race, including suggesting getting rid of Black History Month and BET, Dash was not pleased that Williams tackled topics like cultural appropriation.
On June 29, Dash published a post on Patheos, titled, "Racist speech at BET Awards attacked white people." She explains her point of view in the post's first sentence: "BET is keeping racism and segregation alive and this past Sunday’s awards show proves it."
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She goes on to criticize Williams for saying that white people in this country have been "burying Black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil, Black gold, ghettoizing and demeaning our creations, then stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit."
Dash alleges that Williams' comments on white people making money off the work and talent of Black people are hypocritical, writing, " You’ve just seen the perfect example of a HOLLYWOOD plantation slave! Sorry, Mr Williams. But the fact that you were standing on that stage at THOSE awards tells people you really don’t know what your talking about. Just spewing hate and anger. Because you my man are just like everyone else hustling to get money. But your cognitive dissidents [sic] has you getting it from THAT BYSTANDER whom YOU DON'T NEED. Yes. BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION is WHITE OWNED."
Many Twitter users have condemned Dash's comments, accusing her of her own hypocrisy.
Stacey Dash has some nerve referring to anyone as a "Hollywood Slave" when she's been tap dancing for Fox, & shining Trump's shoes all year.
— ☽☼Kiaundra☼☾ (@OMGkee) June 30, 2016
Stacey Dash makes Raven-Symoné look like Harriet Tubman.
— NUFF$AID (@nuffsaidNY) June 30, 2016