Nora Lum, popularly known as Awkwafina- is leaving Twitter, as has been reported by official sources. She released a statement on Sunday where she addressed the criticism she faced for her usage of African American Vernacular English. She began her apology by mentioning that there was definitely a socio-political context to every sphere of existence- especially the historical context of the African American community that exists in the United States.
The celeb initially began her career as a comedian and a rapper, but then became a pretty well-known personality after her acting chops were clearly visible in Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. However, several of the film viewers were quite disturbed by her performance- especially because it relied heavily on AAVE.
Awkwafina Leaves Twitter
As a response to that, Bettina Makalintal- a writer for Vice- wrote a note on why Awkwafina’s character in the film was quite disturbing for the African-American population. She stated that since the actress borrowed from the Black culture in order to create a name for herself, the woman went on to perform a bunch of racial stereotypes to put herself as someone who was cool. Through that posturing, she made it to the top of her career as a viral internet rapper, and then an acclaimed actress.
Interestingly, with the passage of time and Awkwafina’s rise to superstardom, people have been noticing a distinct change in her persona- especially in her role in Shang-Chi. Nevertheless, there have been questions arising as to why such a portrayal in her earlier films and her rap career was necessary in the first place.
In her press conference for the movie Shang-Chi, Awkwafina was asked by the media about her past behavior. To this, the actress didn’t really provide a straight answer- but rather remained quite diplomatic by stating that she was open to conversation.
