Lilly Singh trolled for singing in West Indian accent, internet calls YouTuber 'tone-deaf and embarrassing'
Lilly Singh, a Canadian YouTuber, comedian, talk show host, writer and actress, faced severe backlash after posting a video of her singing in a West Indian accent. Although her intentions were to spread #girlpower, it definitely backfired.
Singh initially rose to fame on social media under the pseudonym 'Superwoman' and started making YouTube videos in 2010. Her channel now boasts of 14.9M subscribers. Having made quite a name for herself since the start of her career, she has way too many eyes on her. With this video though, she seemed to have missed the mark.
Singh tweeted, "A classic dancehall tune! Badman Forward remake and this time it’s for the ladies. No matter your size, shape, colour, orientation, preferences or style, this one is for you sister. Tag every badgyal you know! #GirlLove." She posted herself singing the song with the West Indian accent.
"I really don't understand why you thought this would be a good idea...," tweeted one user with another wrote, "She doesn’t care, she does it all the time, is constantly asked by our communities to stop and then... doesn't lol." It seems that this isn't Singh's first tone-deaf rodeo.
Even though it's done with good intentions, her sing-a-long didn't seem to sit well with the West Indian community. "Sis... you are ZERO parts West Indian. I know your intentions were probs good but this is tone deaf and inappropriate. This isn’t for you," tweeted another user.
It seems as though her own community of South Asians wasn't having it either, with one user tweeting, "Did the southasian community get together and decide to embarrass us today."
"I am no longer a brown girl," joked another user. "Every single day a new member of the brown community decides to publicly humiliate our race," tweeted another user.
It seems she definitely hit the wrong cultural appropriation nerve as the comments wouldn't stop pouring in. "I hate you so much you made it so easy for white people to make fun of Desi accents and now you’re messing with other people’s accents/language..." tweeted another user.
Singh is yet to comment on the backlash.
