The second part of the Teen Mom OG reunion featured its fair share of drama. Additionally, it featured Mackenzie McKee addressing her previous insensitive comment about Vice President Kamala Harris. During Tuesday night’s episode, McKee specifically took time to open up about what she’s learned after she received backlash for referring to Harris as a “colored” woman.
McKee issued her controversial comment on Facebook back in January around the time that Harris was inaugurated as the first woman — and first woman of color — to the vice presidency. She hit back at those saying that Harris is a role model by writing, “It blows my mind that out of all the amazing colored women in the world, that is the one who is making history.” On Tuesday night’s reunion, McKee apologized for her remark and shared what she learned in light of the situation. She said about the comment, “I would have never, ever used that word if I knew it was derogatory.” The reality star also said that she didn’t know that it was offensive until she learned about the history behind the term.
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Both McKee and reunion host Dr. Drew Pinsky noted that she spoke with the organization Color of Change, during which she learned about the history associated with the term “colored.” Teen Mom OG then shared part of McKee’s conversation with Arisha Hatch, the vice president of Color of Change, an organization that focuses on civil rights advocacy. Hatch explained that the word “colored” is offensive because of its connections to a dark time in American history. She said that the word serves as a reminder of when Black individuals were seen as “less than human,” particularly around the time of Jim Crow.
McKee said that she appreciated the conversation and thanked Hatch for taking the time to educate her about the word. The reality star also said that her use of the term came from a place of “ignorance” and that she is taking this as a learning lesson moving forward. The mom-of-three went on to say that there are many Teen Mom viewers that, like her, come from small towns and may not know the history behind using the word “colored.” As a result, she said that she’s grateful that this experience can be a learning lesson for viewers, as well, especially those who identify with her own upbringing. She also noted that she learned that white privilege is indeed real and that she will be using her platform going forward to educate others on this important topic. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by ViacomCBS Streaming, a division of ViacomCBS.
