Awkwafina's statement on her blaccent and cultural appropriation allegations fell short of a real apology, critics say

• Critics say Awkwafina has profited off of cultural appropriation throughout her career.
• Author Dr. Tykeia N. Robinson studies institutional change in an effort to apply reform around eradicating racism.

Awkwafina has been under fire throughout her career for co-opting a so-called blaccent and hijacking African American Vernacular English while mimicking tropes associated with Black culture.

The backlash intensified in January after the actress received an NAACP Image Awards nomination for her performance in "Raya and the Last Dragon." After years of being asked about the way she talks by the media, Awkwafina released a statement last week.

"There is a sociopolitical context to everything, especially the historical context of the African American community in this country," Awkwafina wrote in part earlier this month on Twitter.

She added that Black culture is often "stolen, exploited and appropriated by the dominant culture for monetary gain" without acknowledging or respecting "where those roots come from."

"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 continued.

But many critics and thought leaders — especially in the Black community— say Awkwafina's statement wasn't enough. Instead of taking accountability and apologizing, Awkwafina defended her actions and used the complexity of her racial identity as an excuse for engaging in exploitative behavior.

It's entirely possible for Asian Americans, like Awkwafina, to co-opt Black culture

Awkwafina — best known for her roles in "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings" — is the alter-ego of Nora Lum.

Born to Chinese American and Korean parents, she was raised by her grandmother in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York. Growing up, she found refuge in hip hop, once identifying it as a sounding board "for any angst and frustration that she carried as a young kid." She started rapping in high school, practicing with songs like Nelly's 2000 hit "Country Grammar" to hone her flow, mimicking the inflection and cultural references of the artist.

In a 2019 interview for Time Out, Lum identified Awkwafina as the stage name she adopted at 15. She assumed this persona "to gain confidence" when she felt "insecure," she said at the time.

Critics immediately pointed to flaws in Awkwafina's recent statement; particularly that she strategically distanced herself from cultural appropriation, arguing that Black people are the victims of cultural exploitation at the hands of the "dominant" culture. It suggests that her minority identity as an Asian American shields her from appropriating Blackness.

That, however, is not the case.

Awkwafina's affectation first appeared during her YouTube days through music videos and continued as she rose through stardom, included even in her roles.

In cases of appropriation, those with more privilege or white adjacent identities — like Awkwafina — pirate the affectations, style choices, cultural expressions, and art forms of marginalized groups. Consequently, they are rewarded with notoriety, access, and opportunities, while the minority groups exhibiting the same behaviors are often ridiculed, ostracized, or even punished.

The Black women that Awkwafina approximated in her music videos and movies would likely have a harder time accessing the social acceptance that she's been afforded, and many would likely never experience her quick ascent. According to one study, when broken down by race, in some Hollywood industries, Black women are behind Asian women when it comes to equal pay, measured against white women and men, for instance.

Asian American scholar-activist and diversity practitioner Dr. Nimisha Barton would characterize Awkwafina's actions as a function or symptom of white supremacy.

Since the early 1900s, white supremacists established and perpetuated positive stereotypes about Asian Americans to bolster racial hierarchies, fuel unrest in the Asian American community, encourage white conformity, and affirm anti-Blackness or anti-Black behavior (If you're curious, read more about the Model Minority Myth).

And since Asian Americans also experience institutionalized racism and discrimination many, like Awkwafina, assume that this means that they cannot participate or benefit from racism or racist practices. But experts say that's not true.

"For my own part, I've seen, time and again how white-adjacent people of color conform to whiteness in education settings primarily by engaging in and legitimating anti-Blackness, both implicitly and explicitly, among white administrative leaders," Dr. Barton said of her own experience in academia. "Often, they do so because they imagine themselves incapable of holding racist beliefs by virtue of the fact that they are technically people of color."

Awkwafina also implied the globalization of hip hop excuses her actions

In her statement, Awkwafina implies that since hip hop has transcended race in terms of its fan base and global impact, the character she's created isn't exploiting Black culture or AAVE.

"My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and TV shows I watched," she wrote, "and my undying love and respect for hip hop." She also claims that her use of "globalized internet slang all play a factor in the line between offense and pop culture."

But hip hop was born out of the very specific Black cultural experience.

As Michael Eric Dyson stated in a book titled That's The Joint: The Hip Hop Studies Reader, rap "expresses the desire of young Black people to reclaim their history, reactivate forms of Black radicalism, and contest the powers of despair and economic depression that presently besiege the Black community."

Awkwafina saying she has a right to hip hop vernacular simply because it's "globalized" is erasing the contributions of the Black community. And it's dangerous because it reinforces white supremacy, critics have said.

Although the actress rightly acknowledged in her statement the very real ways the Black community is "disproportionately" affected by "institutionalized" racism, they added, her statement still serves as an example of anti-Blackness, erasure, and exploitation.

Awkwafina's statement was not an apology because she didn't commit to changing her actions

Although it's not clear if Awkwafina's statement was meant to address the long-held question about the affectation in her voice or sincerely apologize, media outlets characterizedthe actress's statement as an apology anyway.

However, if assessed against what many diversity and inclusion experts have said about the most appropriate way to apologize after exhibiting racist behaviors, Awkafina doesn't measure up.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategist Lily Zheng emphasizes the importance of responding respectfully with concern, compassion, and humility and urges people to pause, listen, resist reacting defensively — and then sincerely apologize.

According to Zheng, authentic and quality apologies must first address harm, acknowledge the impact of the harm, and then commit to course correction.

Awkwafina touched on the first two tenants, but it supremely lacked the third.