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Singer, songwriter, rapper and producer Doja Cat, born Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini, was a relative unknown in the music industry a couple of weeks ago. The 22-year-old has been working in the music industry since 2014, but after her lighthearted parody song “Mooo!” went viral, where she was rapping and singing as a cow, she became something of an overnight Internet sensation.
But as you know, one day you’re in and the next you’re out. And just like that, Doja Cat is already on her way out.
When you get any level of Internet fame, people start digging through your social media presence to see if you’ve said anything hateful or problematic over the past few years. With Doja Cat, they found that she used homophobic slurs.
In 2015, Doja repeatedly used the word f****t. First, in describing Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt.
Wtf is this 🙁 @DojaCat pic.twitter.com/mXYEtAqQcZ
— joan (@fucktrevito) August 28, 2018
When a fan asked her what that tweet was about, she responded with this:
https://twitter.com/DojaCat/status/1034291526162046977
I don’t have to explain to you the hurtful nature of this word. So many members of the LGBTQ+ community have had that word hurled at them in an attempt to shame and demean. And several people were willing to call her out for her usage of it and then subsequent dismissal of the impact it has on others.
After the backlash, she issued an explanation.
https://twitter.com/MuseBuff/status/1034711693811752961
Naturally, people were fuming at the fact that she used the slur again in her apology. Debra Messing, star of Will and Grace, even shared her thoughts.
https://twitter.com/loudmouthjulia/status/1034633912797020160
Later, she offered this one:
i just said that some other* person found other* old tweets by doja dated back to 2015 , i don’t have those tweets but i’m sure u can word search doja rn to find them , her apologies* are the ones from today including this one pic.twitter.com/Y7pjErXn9l
— jei exotic (@lxvlttrs) August 29, 2018
Finally, she settled on this one:
“I’ve used horrible derogatory and hateful words towards people out of ignorance. I just want you guys to know that you’re incredibly special and I hold you dearly to my heart. I’m sorry for anyone I’ve offended or hurt deeply. You all are worth love and support. No one deserves to be discriminated against for their race, religion, or sexual orientation in any angle or sense. I don’t want you to look at me as a roll [sic] model I just want you to hear my music and the joy that you take from that is the most important part. I love making music with you. Thank you for everything to this day.”
But given her initial response and the fact that people had to tell her using the f-word in an “apology” made it appear less sincere and disingenuous, she’s been canceled by quite a few people already.
Doja Cat just said that she didn’t know “f*ggot” was a harmful word…I- pic.twitter.com/dHbCy2YOLa
— red sangria (@croptopthot) August 29, 2018
Doja Cat apologizing for saying f*ggot 🤣 pic.twitter.com/RZsBI2AbkY
— (interlude) (@lordhippyflaco) August 29, 2018
Doja Cat hit the lottery and fumbled the bag in 6 business days. pic.twitter.com/hfmiqKuaCK
— Toronto Raptors = NBA Champions (@ThatPersianGuy) August 29, 2018
Doja Cat got all these new fans like the night before last.
Now everybody’s like: pic.twitter.com/FZfN9nWBfY
— joshua henry jenkins (@joshjenks) August 29, 2018
doja cat: “I called a couple of people faggots in high sch—
me: pic.twitter.com/DRsbWbjTvn
— D (@Twonesterr) August 29, 2018
just the other day a CHILD killed themselves from homophobic bullying at school and yet people are calling us “sensitive” for being angry that doja cat won’t apologise for doing the same shit. Until there’s no more Jamel Miles’ we will keep being “sensitive” and angry. fuck yous
— 🍦 (@cerseieatmyass) August 29, 2018