“Jane The Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez has released an apology video shortly after she used the N-word while rapping along to a Fugees song in a video posted to her Instagram story.
In the original video, which has since been deleted, Rodriguez raps along to “Ready or Not” while having her hair and makeup done. She clearly says the N-word as part of the lyrics and then laughs to someone off camera.
The lyrics from her shared snippet, originally rapped by Lauryn Hill, are: “If you’re doo-doo, voodoo, I can do what you do, easy, believe me, fronting n—-s give me heebee jeebies.”
Rodriguez stated in the apology video, “I just wanted to reach out and apologize. I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song I love and grew up on. I love Lauryn Hill. I really am sorry if I offended you.” Notably, Rodriguez does not directly mention her use of the n-word.
Accusations of anti-blackness are nothing new for the “Annihilation” star. Rodriguez has faced scrutiny for allegedly pitting Black and Latinx actresses against each other in the past.
During the promotional run of “Black Panther” — the first Marvel movie to feature a majority-black cast — in 2017, she tweeted, “Marvel and DC are killing it in inclusion and women, but where are the Latinos?! Asking for a friend…” despite Afro-Latinx actresses Zoe Saldana and Tessa Thompson both starring in Marvel films.
Later in 2017, Rodriguez posted an Instagram photo from an all-Latina women brunch with the caption: “Fiercely Latina. #LatinaPower.” Given that only fair-skinned Latinas were present, observers were quick to wonder where the Afro-Latinx representation was.
In 2018, she spoke over her black “Smallfoot” co-star Yara Shahidi during a junket interview. When the interviewer asked Shahidi how she felt about being a role model to black women, Rodriguez interrupted and said: “So many women.”
When Rodriguez addressed the mounting criticism on SiriusXM Shade45’s radio show “Sway in the Morning” in Jan. 2019, critics felt she had evaded the topic by mentioning her dark-skinned father.