Alix Earle finally broke her silence on using a racial slur in posts on social media.
If you haven’t kept up with the drama online, here’s the deal. Last year, screenshots of the 23-year-old TikTok star repeatedly using the N-word on the website ASKfm back in 2014 appeared on the “Alix Earle Snark” page on Reddit. However, it wasn’t until a year later, when the posts resurfaced on TikTok and other subreddits this month, that Alix started facing a ton of backlash online.
What made the whole situation worse? Not only did she remain silent on the offensive comments when the controversy started, but she allegedly trademarked them to stop others from continuing to share them! Yeah, you read that correctly. According to two podcasters, Alix TRADEMARKED her posts using a racial slur! What the f**k.
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Jessi Smiles and Lily Marston claimed in their Do We Know Them? podcast earlier this month that the content creator’s legal team accused them of violating their copyright when screenshots of her racist posts popped up in their subreddit — which they do not own or moderate. Jessi explained:
“Her lawyer contacted us and said that we have violated their copyright. People posted screenshots of [her racist posts] in our subreddit, and her lawyer said that they have a trademark to that. We don’t moderate it, we don’t have any access to it.”
In what world does someone think it was OK to trademark that?! Especially when that same person hadn’t even apologized or at least said something about their problematic comments at that time! What a disgusting move. Watch the podcast episode (below):
Now, after weeks of silence, Alix is speaking out about the controversy in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories on Monday. First off, Braxton Berrios’ girlfriend admitted she DID use the racial slur multiple times and apologized for the “hurt” she caused. She wrote:
“A couple of weeks ago, screenshots surfaced from my old ask.fm account showing me using a slur in the summer of 2014. I am taking accountability and want to make it clear that I was 13 years old and did not understand the deeply offensive meaning behind that word. That is no excuse for using that word in any context or at any age. That is absolutely not the way I speak or what I stand for. I am deeply sorry that my words have hurt many and have led people to believe that I have any prejudice in my heart. I promise you that could not be further from the truth. My platform has always focused on positivity, entertainment, and uplifting others, and will continue to do so. I am sincerely sorry to those I have offended.”
As for why she took so long to address the scandal? Alix claimed she received bad “advice” not to say anything:
“I regret how I handled this situation, allowing too many people to talk me out of saying something for too long. I wasn’t sure how to handle it and unfortunately the advice I was given, although well intended, was wrong. There is no one to blame but myself for not standing my ground and going with my gut to speak right away. In the absence of my addressing this, my silence allowed others to fill the void with rumors that simply aren’t true.”
As we mentioned, one of those claims was that she trademarked her older posts. However, Alix insisted that part is “absolutely ridiculous and untrue.” Hmm. She continued:
“Another is that a brand announced they are no longer working with me, even though we have never been in conversations with them about a partnership in any capacity. Regardless of what’s being said online, I wanted to come on here to address the facts and most importantly apologize.”
See the post (below):
After the statement dropped, Jessi and Lily addressed her claim that she never trademarked her posts — with receipts. They told Variety on Monday night:
“While we cannot speak to the legitimacy or existence of any trademarks or copyrights, we can confirm that we received an email from an entity identifying itself as WEB SHERIFF. This entity claimed to act as the rights agent for Alix Earle, and had written the email to notify us of 11 different alleged infringements and violations. The email was signed by John E. Henehan LL.B., who asserted under penalty of perjury that he is ‘either the intellectual property rights owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owners of the exclusive rights that are allegedly infringed.’”
The two continued:
“The email referenced a user created post on a fan-run subreddit for our podcast, a page over which we have no authorship or control. The post in question, linked within the email, featured screenshots of Earle’s unfavorable past comments on AskFM, which had already been circulating online. The email purports that this post is guilty of a laundry list of violations including but not limited to Copyright Infringement, Human Rights Violations, and Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering Violations. It’s important to note that we received this notice despite every post on the subreddit featuring a clearly visible disclaimer stating that we are in no way affiliated with the subreddit or any of its content. In fact, we were unaware of the existence of the post in question prior to receiving this email notification.”
Jessi and Lily went on to point out that the email potentially “was sent without her knowledge or authorization,” adding:
“If that is the case, while unfortunate and out of her control, it would certainly be in her best interest to clarify that to set the record straight.”
We’ll see if she makes another statement — and if it takes a few more weeks. What are your thoughts on the controversy and Alix’s apology, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.
To learn more about civil rights issues, check out https://www.splcenter.org/.
[Image via Do We Know Them?/The Kelly Clarkson Show/YouTube]