Is Jaden Smith ok? Internet panics after confusing star with Jaden McNeil, the student who mocked George Floyd
Many people took to Twitter, including students from Kansas State as the reacted to the junior president of America First Students at K-State Jaden McNeil's online hatred and racism resulting in Jaden trending. With McNeil tweeting, "Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug-free for an entire month!" and now also canceling women's basketball, Twitter exploded with Tweets slamming the guy.
Many sparked outrage against the student and the tweet mocking the tragic passing of Floyd, with some athletes threatening to leave the university. Fox 5 reported that officials from the university decried McNeil's Floyd tweet with University President Richard Myers saying on June 26 that "divisive statements do not represent the values of our university." Myers added, "We condemn racism and bigotry in all its forms. We are launching an immediate review of the university's options. Black Lives Matter at Kansas State University and we will continue to fight for social justice."
"Jaden McNeil has singlehandedly canceled women’s basketball, what a god damn hero," tweeted a user with what looks to be a petition from students at K-State. With that hateful messages poured out on Twitter against McNeil, with some including a call for action. "Kansas State has to get rid of trash like Jaden McNeil. F**k him and every racist piece of inbred sh*t coming to his defense. No room in this world for scum like them" wrote one user with another one adding, "Your move, @KState. #BlackLivesMatter #Jadenmcneil" urging the college to take action.
Of course with any media storms, there are supporters as well but people reasoned with those writing, "Jaden McNeil asked for those threats. He was big enough to make a distasteful joke about a man’s death, which means Jaden McNeil is big enough to handle ALL of the consequences that come with it. I have no sympathy for him." Many threatened that they wouldn't play or come back to the university until Jaden McNeil was "kicked out" as it was reported that a petition to remove him from the "student organization from campus" was signed by over thousands of people along with many protesting against America First Students, which according to kstatecollegian, is planned for August.
As social media continued to slam McNeil, some forgot to mention his last name in their Tweets, only putting Jaden. This resulted in quite a confusion as many thought Jaden Smith, Will Smith's son, was trending. "I thought Jaden Smith was trending just for being Jaden Smith but turns out there's a Jaden who's being canceled," tweeted a user with another one writing, "I thought Jaden Smith was finally getting the recognition he deserves, but instead it’s just another ignorant douchebag spreading more hate and ignorance into the world. Yay America."
Some other tweets included, "I thought we was talking bout the Jaden Smith but let's cancel this other mf," and "When you thought Jaden Smith was trending (and he kinda [always] is) @jaden but it’s really just a bunch of Twitter algorithm rando, boring Jadens (no offense)."