Paige Shoemaker went viral last week for all of the wrong reasons. The now-former Kansas State University student's Snapchat photo, which showed her and a friend in blackface, caught the ire of her fellow KSU students on social media. Shoemaker's photo was captioned with: “Feels good to finally be a [n—ga].”
After Shoemaker's photo went viral, KSU issued a statement saying that the school doesn't condone Shoemaker's actions and it will “reinforce its value for diversity and inclusion while also communicating our principles of community for all students, faculty and staff.”
Shoemaker was subsequently expelled from the university, after which she issued an apology.
“I am truly sorry that I have offended so many people,” she wrote. “I am the furthest thing from racist, I am an incredibly accepting person and would never do something to intentionally poke at a race.
“I understand that me having black friends doesn’t make it acceptable for me to use the word that I did. I have definitely learned to make sure I am more aware of my audience and to never use a derogatory term,” she said.
Shoemaker initially stated that she didn't intend for the face mask she used to be perceived as "blackface." But, of course, the caption used tells a whole different story.