'Jane the Virgin' star Gina Rodriguez apologizes for using N-word in Instagram video: 'I have let this community down'
Actress Gina Rodriguez took to her Instagram Stories to apologize for using the N-word in a video that she had posted earlier, drawing outrage from her fans and the African-American community.
The 'Jane the Virgin' actress posted a video on Tuesday, October 15, of her getting her makeup done while she hummed to the tune of Lauryn Hill's verses from 'Ready or Not' by the Fugees. The clip immediately drew backlash from her followers causing her to delete it and upload an apology.
“Hey, what’s up everybody — I just wanted to reach out and apologize,” she said. “I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone by singing along to the Fugees, to a song that I love, that I grew up on. I love Lauryn Hill. And I really am sorry if I offended you.”
Later in the day, she again took to the platform to post yet another in-depth apology in the form of a note.
“In song or in real life, the words that I spoke should not have been spoken,” Rodriguez wrote. “I thoughtlessly sang along to the lyrics of a favorite song, and even worse, I posted it. The word I sang carries with it a legacy of hurt and pain that I cannot even imagine. Whatever consequences I face for my actions today, none will be more hurtful than the personal remorse I feel. It is humiliating that this has to be a public lesson but it is indeed a much-deserved lesson.”
She admitted that rewatching the controversial video had "shaken me to my core," adding how she felt terrible for disappointing the “community of color.”
“I feel so deeply protective and responsible to the community of color but I have let this community down,” she wrote. “I have some serious learning and growing to do and I am so deeply sorry for the pain I have caused.”