'Mooo!' Star Doja Cat Slammed For 'Offensive’ Apology After Homophobic Tweets Resurface
29 August 2018, 12:14 | Updated: 18 July 2022, 16:09
This is a lot to process...
If you've been anywhere near the internet recently you will have heard of, or at least seen, Doja Cat. The 'Go to Town' singer broke the internet earlier this month with her viral music video 'Mooo!'. The song sees Doja rap hilarious lines like 'Bitch, I'm a cow' and the visual sees Doja sport a variety of bovine inspired looks. Doja even samples Kelis' hit single 'Milkshake' on the track. It's weird, it's catchy, it's the internet at its best.
However, the rising star has now come under fire for some tweets using homophobic language that have resurfaced. Back in 2015, Doja used the word f****t in a couple of tweets and fans tweeted their disappointment about it. One person said 'wtf :( is this' with a screenshot of Doja calling Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt 'f****ts' in an old tweet. Doja then responded by writing 'lmfaoooooo'.
Understandably, this resulted in a major online backlash. 'F****t' has been used as a derogatory slur aimed at queer people for years and using it casually like this is not something to laugh off. These words have real life consequences. Seeing the reception to her tweets, Doja then defended herself and this led to even more controversy because Doja used the word 'f****t' in her defense.
Doja wrote: "I called a couple people f****ts when I was in high school in 2015 does this mean I don't deserve support? I've said f****t roughly like 15 thousand times in my life. Does saying f****t mean you hate gay people? Do I hate gay people? I don't think I hate gay people. Gay is okay."
Doja Cat, the artist responsible for 2018’s latest viral video and song “Mooo!”(Bitch I’m a Cow) is under fire after ‘homophobic’ tweets resurfaced.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 29, 2018
The backlash increased after she posted, then deleted two different apologies, before sticking to a third and final one.🐮 pic.twitter.com/W5RWkhgMfK
Obviously, this response was problematic af but Doja then took the time to listen to what people were saying and apologised by writing "I've used horrible derogatory and hateful words towards people out of ignorance [...] I'm sorry for anyone I've offended or hurt deeply". She then added in a later tweet: "I apologise for the derogatory terms I've used in the past".
Doja has since deleted those tweets so it's unclear if she is working on another more formal apology or not. Nevertheless, it is good to see that her heart appears to be in the right place. She is not alone in having used the word 'f****t' before and, while it doesn't excuse her past slurs, it's important that she now understands why her words were harmful.
Still the whole ordeal has spawned its own array of reactions and memes. Here are just a few of them.
Will & Grace's Debra Messing called out Doja on her ignorance.
SERIOUSLY, @DojaCat?! How can you be so ignorant? Do know how many people you are hurting? Use your fame and platform for Good. It’s a privilege. pic.twitter.com/5ZiqI3ZVJw
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) August 29, 2018
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A true ally.
Some just couldn't understand how Doja used the word 'f****t' in an apology tweet.
Doja Cat really apologised for saying f****t by saying it 18338 more times within the apology tweet pic.twitter.com/vZRepMgyju
— bts in london (@taenrih) August 29, 2018
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That was all kinds of messy.
Others are just confused as to how in 2018 you can be unaware that 'f****t' is an offensive word.
Doja Cat just said that she didn’t know “f*ggot” was a harmful word...I- pic.twitter.com/dHbCy2YOLa
— crash bandicoon (@croptopthot) August 29, 2018
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We really need to educate people.
A couple of people are just disappointed.
doja cat: “I called a couple of people faggots in high sch—
— TZA (@Twonesterr) August 29, 2018
me: pic.twitter.com/DRsbWbjTvn
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It's hard to see our faves mess up like this.
Then there are those poking fun at the situation.
I can’t believe Doja Cat doesn’t understand how saying the word f*ggot is offensive to the gay community. Cows are supposed to be very intelligent animals.
— NUFF (@NUFFSAIDNY) August 29, 2018
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Ffsssssssss.
People are wasting no time.
— 💥 (@DlCKHUB) August 29, 2018
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We need a moment.
And perhaps best of all.
This is what Doja Cat’s apologies sound like right now pic.twitter.com/3gpTCSWS1C
— 🦋The Gringos took SadGyalCries 🦋 (@ANGRYBLACKGYAL) August 29, 2018
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