Black Twitter has claimed another victim: A 20-year-old intern has been fired for posting a photo of herself and a friend in a cotton field with the caption, "Our inner [n—ger] came out today."
Shortly after the tweet was posted, it went viral. The guilty party was a Gilbert, Ariz., woman named Erika Escalante. Several users learned that she was an intern at a Chandler, Ariz.-based health-and-wellness company called Isagenix. They posted the information on Twitter, with several users asking the company directly if it approved of such behavior. Within minutes, the company posted a tweet noting that it denounced Escalante's online behavior and that she was no longer with the company.
"We are shocked and outraged by the actions of one of our interns this past weekend," read a statement from Isagenix posted to Twitter and Facebook. "Her actions and social media posts do not reflect the values we hold so dearly. Effective immediately, she is no longer associated with us. We are committed to a world that respects all cultures and we welcome anyone who seeks to join us in making our world a healthier place to live."
Fox 10 Phoenix spoke with Escalante and reports that the Arizona State University junior apologized for her offensive tweet. She added that she was to meet with her dean Monday and was unsure what the results of that meeting would be. She told the news station that she is not a racist and that the tweet was a result of a lack of "better judgment."
"I do know better; my parents tell me you need to watch what you post. Everybody tells me you need to watch what you post," she told Fox 10. "It was just a lack of my better judgment; at the moment, I was not thinking at all. People make mistakes, everybody makes you learn from them, and then you just move forward."
According to the news station, Escalante says she has deleted all her social media accounts, but she also says that someone has lifted her photo and handle and is continuing to post racist messages.
Read more at Fox 10 Phoenix.