The best apology is corrected behavior, they say. But in actress Gina Rodriguez’s case, she’s hoping an iOS press release will do the trick.
The Jane the Virgin star took to Instagram once again Tuesday night to address a video she posted earlier that day where, while singing along to the Fugees’ “Ready or Not,” Rodriguez said the n-word.
Initially, Rodriguez delivered a passive-aggressive “apology” via her Instagram Stories.
“I’m sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song I love, that I grew up on—I love Lauryn Hill—and uhm, I really am sorry if I offended you,” Rodriguez said.
Well, Rodriguez either caught religion, a clue, second-degree burns from being flamed on Twitter, or a stern call from her publicist, because she circled back to deliver Apology Part 2: The Remorseful Remix, featuring “Community of Color” (not affiliated with Color Me Badd, In Living Color, or the “Colors of the Wind,” presumably).
“The word I sang, carries with it a legacy of hurt and pain that I cannot even imagine,” she wrote in her Notes app statement. “Whatever consequences I face for my action today, none will be more hurtful than the personal remorse I feel.
“I feel so deeply protective and responsible to the community of color, but I have let this community down,” she added. “I have some serious learning and growing to do and I am so deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”
Rodriguez’s remarks on race—specifically, inaccurate and anti-black comments—have invited scrutiny and backlash before. In light of that, her lack of self-awareness, coupled with a complete and unwavering commitment to playing the victim, is bordering on comical. Basically, this is deeply silly shit that’s only notable because Rodriguez obviously fancies herself an advocate for women in Hollywood, specifically women of color.
While different racial and ethnic minority groups may have overlapping interests and causes, especially in an industry as insular and hierarchical as the entertainment industry, there is not and has never been a singular “community of color,” and that isn’t whom this apology should address, anyway. Rodriguez has offended and gaslighted black people on multiple occasions and it would serve her well to be clear about that both in her assessment and apology.
Or not! Silence is golden, as they also say, and in Rodriguez’s case, a frustratingly underutilized option!