Who is Jordan Firstman? Quarantine comedian might be canceled before pandemic ends because of racist tweets
29-year-old Jordan Firstman, whose Instagram bio reads: "Closeted gay filmmaker, actor, writer for thousands of tv shows such as Search Party, The Other Two, Big Mouth and no others. WONT come out dont ask" was one of the first breakout social media stars to get popular during the quarantine. The comedian from California quickly rose to the higher echelons of social media popularity with his funny and relatable impression videos. On December 23, Firstman was called out for a string of racist tweets that were posted by him years ago for which he has apologized but has also claimed that he was trying to find "my comedic voice". Will he get canceled?
Popular social media handle Diet Prada, which calls fashion plagiarism, corrupt practices within the fashion industry among others shared a post that has gone viral since about Firstman. The post reads, "With the Covid-19 pandemic and a renewed energy for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, 2020 disrupted the status quo on an international scale. Something else unexpected was the insurgence of a new set of stars: the quarantine comedian." The post then went on to explain his sudden rise in popularity and continued, "Unlike most others though, @jtfirstman was quickly elevated to something of an “It Boy” status, with profiles in the Coveteur, Dazed, and Interview, as well as content partnerships with Versace and Thom Browne."
Speaking of the tweets from 8 years ago, the Instagram handle continued, "Now, netizens have uncovered a string of racist tweets from Firstman’s Twitter account. 'RT if you are a strong Black woman. I’m looking to hire someone to fight in my place when needed.,' read one from 2012, misusing an already problematic and harmful trope of the 'strong Black woman'. In another, the comedian seems to perpetuate a stereotype of franchise owners. 'I hate Indian people because at my last Dublin donuts they knew my name and order and at this one they don’t,' read the tweet. 'Speaking of homeless, people... has anyone tried killing one?' read a third tweet." Along with the post, there were screenshots of the tweets in question.
The post also stated that Firstman had since wiped his Twitter account and the only post that was visible from then was a Spotify ad. In response to this, and the harsh criticism that Firstman has received since, he has written an apology note also on Instagram. Firstman said, "I wrote some offensive jokes on Twitter in 2012 when I was 19 that are now being circulated online. I am deeply regretful and sorry for these tweets; I was young and dumb and trying to find my comedic voice. I have grown a million lifetimes since then and I do not stand by them in any way."
Since his apology, fans including Jameela Jamil have shown support in the comments section of his post and explained how people grow after making mistakes and should not be judged based on what they said years ago when they were 19. One fan, for instance, said, "If we were all held to the fire for what we said when we were 19, there would be no people left." The verdict is not out on whether the Internet will forgive this comedian for his past transgressions. We would have to wait and see.