Awkwafina has quit Twitter almost immediately after addressing criticism regarding her “blaccent.” The Shang-Chi star has been up against backlash over the perceived notion that her dialect is a result of cultural appropriation of the Black community. She’s spoken about it previously, but recently addressed it at length in a lengthy message. In her message, Awkwafina referenced the “historical context of the African American community in this country” and that “in life, the linguistic acculturation, immigrant acculturation, and the inevitable passage of globalized internet slang all play a factor in the fine line between offense and pop culture.” She also insists she has no malice “for speaking in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE).”
The 33-year-old Golden Globe winner has been called out over the years, most notably when she starred as Goh Peik Lin in 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians. Since then, she said she’s listened to criticism and is trying hard to understand everyone’s concerns.
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“But as a non-Black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group,” she added in her statement, per Entertainment Tonight. “But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My Nature. It never has, and it never was.”
She says that her accent is a result of her upbringing. “My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and TV shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop,” she explained.
As a result, she’s taking a break, seemingly permanently, from certain social media platforms. She said that she is “retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter. Not retiring from anything else, even if I wanted to, and I didn’t drunkenly hit someone with a shoehorn and now escaping as a fugitive.”
