- Harvard University student Claira Janover says she was "fired" from a
Deloitte internship after posting an anti-"All Lives Matter" video onTikTok . - Her recent messages in support of Black Lives Matter and calling Trump voters "implicitly homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic" went viral after being shared on Twitter.
- The increased attention led to another video going viral where Janover joked about "stabbing" anyone who said "All Lives Matter." Janover later said it was hyperbole and satire.
- The 22-year-old began receiving death threats and her name began trending on Twitter. Janover later said it cost her an internship at Deloitte.
- Deloitte told Insider that Janover had been previously scheduled to complete a two-week internship, but the company's policies "strictly prohibit" threatening violence.
College student Claira Janover is no stranger to speaking her mind on TikTok. The 22-year-old, who goes by @cjanover on the platform, frequently posts videos in which she condemns homophobia, addresses white privilege, and voices her support for the
Now, she says recent backlash against a video where she used a violent metaphor to criticize "All Lives Matter" arguments has cost her an internship with Deloitte and a potential job opportunity. Janover said the video was satirical and taken out of context.
Janover originally went viral after a video of her criticizing Trump supporters and voters was posted on Twitter
The Harvard student went viral on Tuesday when Jack Posobiec, an alt-right activist and correspondent for One America
In the clip, Janover acted out a conversation with a hypothetical Trump supporter in which she said that Trump voters are "implicitly homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic" and "choosing to prioritize his demagogue appeal towards bigotry and hatred."
"Leftists are now having imaginary conversations with themselves instead of talking to actual Trump supporters," Posobiec wrote in a tweet accompanying the video.
@cjanover a daily dose of: supporting trump has far reaching implications. so no, I don’t like you
♬ original sound - cjanover
The tweet was met with swift criticism from enraged viewers.
Uproar over her video, Janover said in a follow-up TikTok, led to a deluge of death threats, harassment, and racist comments. Critics began circulating the hashtag #ClairaJanover, sharing her personal information, and posting screenshots from her social media profiles.
Janover says the spike in online attention led her critics to a past TikTok video in which she used a violent metaphor to joke about people who say 'All Lives Matter'
Janover explained in another video that she believes the online attention led social media users to her past TikTok videos, including a video where she attempted to compare the "All Lives Matter" ideology to whining about a paper cut while someone else is suffering from a stab wound. In the video, she joked that she would "stab" people who said "All Lives Matter."
"The next person who has the sheer nerve — the sheer caucasity — to say 'All Lives Matter,' I'mma stab you," Janover said in the clip. "I'mma stab you. And while you're bleeding out, I'm gonna show you my paper cut and say 'my cut matters, too.'"
"For legal reasons, this is a joke," she added in the comments section.
@cjanover imma be ##fyp ##blacklivesmatter ##whitepplcheck
♬ original sound - cjanover
Janover told Insider that she never expected the video to stir up so much outrage and discussion online.
"I used my platform in a way that I don't regret. It was so clearly meant to be a satirical analogy — it was hyperbole, quite obviously," she said. "In reality, the real monstrosity is what's happening to Black America."
One Twitter user reshared the video, writing that Janover had threatened to "stab anyone who says 'all lives matter.'" Other critics accused her of being a "domestic terrorist," tagging the FBI, Harvard, and Cambridge Police in their tweets.
#ClairaJanover even began trending on Twitter, as right-wing pundit Ann Coulter referred to Janover as "Asian Karen," and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk questioned whether Harvard was condoning "political violence."
"Apparently I'm threatening the lives of people," Janover said in a TikTok video addressing the backlash, "unlike cops."
Janover says she won't bend to the pressure of online rage.
"I'm not stepping down from this. These intimidation tactics — the death threats, the rape threats, the threats to attack me and my family, the harassment that my friends have gotten — are made to silence me continually," she told Insider.
Still, she says becoming the subject of a heated online discussion is exhausting.
"The comments about me are so overwhelming," she said. "I could never have imagined that a TikTok would have given people the impression that I'm a violent person."
Janover's viral fame eventually reached Deloitte, where she was set to have a summer internship
On Wednesday evening, Janover posted another video in which she said she had been "fired" from a job at Deloitte, an international professional services firm, after her videos had been shared and criticized publicly.
"I know this is what Trump supporters wanted because standing up for Black Lives Matter put me in a place online to be seen by millions of people," she said tearfully in the clip. "The job that I had worked really hard to get and meant a lot to me just called me and fired me because of everything."
Janover added that she believed her firing was in conflict with Deloitte's values, pointing to a section of the firm's website stating that the company "stands against systemic bias, racism, and unequal treatment."
"You can't take away my spirit and devotion towards human rights," she said.
@cjanover Your scare tactics won’t work on me. always and forever, ##blacklivesmatter
♬ original sound - cjanover
Janover told Insider that the company had pulled her offer for a summer internship and full-time contract after discussing the incident on a Zoom call.
The decision disappointed her, she said, because the company had previously expressed enthusiasm for her political activism.
"During the hiring process, Deloitte continually pushed this message of 'We want to support you. We want to include you. We want diversity.' And they were excited about the fact that I had been involved in politics and campaigns," she said.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Deloitte said that the university student had not been an employee and was "formerly scheduled for a two-week internship" during the summer.
"Deloitte unequivocally stands against the legacy of systemic bias, racism, and unequal treatment that continues to plague our communities," the company said in a statement. "We encourage and support our colleagues to speak out on these issues of critical importance to society, but our policies strictly prohibit invoking or threatening violence."
The heated online discourse has continued following Janover's firing
TikTokker Caleb King, who has over 700,000 followers on the app, posted in support of Janover — and challenged Deloitte to rescind his job offer as well.
"I am starting at @DeloitteUS in September as a Business Analyst in the same sector that @clurajan was supposed to start at," he wrote in a tweet. "If getting fired for advocating for Black Lives Matter is a fireable offense, then #firemetoo."
—Caleb King (@calebdwking) July 2, 2020
"Claira's firing was worrisome to say the least," King told Insider. "I found it extremely hypocritical that she was fired for a simple analogy explaining the holes in the 'All Lives Matter' argument."
King added that Deloitte's decision led him to wonder about the company's ethics and operations.
"What does Deloitte truly stand for? Was I mislead in the hiring process? Are Black employees also being silenced and will I be if I come in the fall?" he said.
King says he has not been in contact with the company since his tweet.
#Deloitte began trending on Twitter as Janover's supporters and critics voiced their opinions on the decision.
Janover's friends have since started a GoFundMe, writing that Janover was a "great financial and physical risk" following the loss of her job and her run-in with "right-wing trolls."
As of Thursday afternoon, the fundraiser had met its $4,000 goal.
Janover told Insider that she plans to donate the money to bail funds for protestors and causes furthering the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite the threats and inundation of messages, Janover says she's encouraged by the support she's received.
"I'm pretty overwhelmed. I've never dealt with anything of this caliber," she said. " I think I've been so moved by the fact that people really came to my aid and supported me."
Read more:
A teenager on TikTok said her Tourette Syndrome makes her shout anti-police slogans like 'ACAB'
TikTokers are attempting to shut down Trump's online merch store, but their tactic may not work