Source: Todd Williamson/NBC / Getty
As she stated in her controversial, tear-steeped interview with Sway in the Morning, one of the biggest things that supposedly hurt actress Gina Rodriguez about being labeled “anti-Black” was that fact that she knows her heart, and she knows her intentions. Both are allegedly not bad, so to be characterized as someone who always seems to have an issue with Black progression and moments meant to uplift Black people (women specifically at times), was “devastating” for her.
Someone else who sought to defend the heart of the Jane the Virgin star is former co-star, Terry Crews, surprisingly. He took to Twitter on Thursday to try and say the Gina he knows is nothing like what she’s been portrayed as lately.
“@HereIsGina is a woman I have known, worked with and continue to love for years,” he wrote on Twitter. “We have had personal conversations about the lack of inclusions in both our communities. I stand with her because I know her heart.”
Not the best idea, though. Black women who have especially felt offended by Rodriguez’s past comments called out Crews for seemingly “throwing us under the bus.” It was particularly disappointing for some considering that he recently said Black women were the only people who really stood by him when he spoke publicly about being groped by his former agent Adam Venit. When some reminded him of this, the 50-year-old actor quickly decided to backtrack, deleting his initial tweet and apologizing for the fact that it wasn’t a situation he should have tried to put a cape on for since he wasn’t part of the aggrieved group. And of course, attempting to stick up for Rodriguez without acknowledging those whom she offended ended up discounting the rightful disappointment of Black women.
As he put it, “I’M GOING TO LET WOMEN HOLD OTHER WOMEN ACCOUNTABLE.”
When asked why he was apologizing for what he said, Crews made a great point:
Aren’t we all?
And we get the idea that when someone we care about seems to be getting called out for something, one’s natural instinct is to defend. However, some things are just meant to play out as they will, and adults, famous and not-so-famous, have to take responsibility for the things they say and do — and the consequences that come with it. So in the future, Terry, your name is Bennett, and you don’t need to be in it.
