We’ve seen it with Leslie Jones, and now it looks like another black entertainer has been forced off of social media due to racially-charged negativity.
Normani Kordei (Hamilton), a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony was targeted on Twitter this week. It all started when Normani was asked about her fellow group member, Camila Cabello, in an interview. Fans of Cabello began to attack Normani because they thought she was throwing shade, but both singers cleared up any type of confusion.
Thoughts. pic.twitter.com/51aZF7zB2O
— Normani Kordei (@NormaniKordei) August 5, 2016
Because Normani was defending herself, people began to label her as an “angry black woman.” Even after Cabello and Hamilton spoke out on the controversy, some fans continue to take jabs, with some going as far as to tweet her racist pictures and call her racial slurs.
Trigger Warning: disturbing imagery
6. NOW CAMILIZERS HAVE TAKING IT TO A WHOLE ANOTHER LEVEL WHITH PHOTOSHOPPING NORMANI ON LYNCHED SLAVES AND YALL pic.twitter.com/oMEyW7fwxp
— Tina™ (@Normanidolize) August 6, 2016
report them please. @workfromshomes pic.twitter.com/7l8KmO4r7L
— #1 sam fam stan (@borderzkordei) August 5, 2016
When this happened to Leslie Jones, her Ghostbusters co-stars were silent for the most part. Similarly, while Cabello has decried the attacks against Normani on social media, she still hasn’t directly confronted it head-on, resorting to a “we should love everyone” dialogue instead of directly shutting down her fans who were badgering her group member and friend.
i stand by the words “love only”, meaning I won’t tolerate on my timeline any kind of hate, racism, or discrimination towards ANYONE. period
— Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) August 6, 2016
darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
— Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) August 6, 2016
None of the other group members have directly spoken about it either.
All of the racist tweets led Normani to announce that she was taking a break from Twitter.
To my fans: pic.twitter.com/7yICp10G5Z
— Normani Kordei (@NormaniKordei) August 7, 2016
Even though that Twitter took “swift action” this bring up the dialogue once again as to how social media platforms treat black women. It isn’t a stretch to think if the tables were turned and Normani was a white woman, then she would not receive the same response or feedback.
In light of what’s happened fans have started the hashtags #WeLoveYouNormani and #NormaniIsOurPrincess.
We send positivity towards Normani as we hope she overcomes all of this hate. We stand with you.
UPDATE: Since this article’s initial publishing, the remaining group members, AllyBrooke Hernandez , Dinah Jane Hansen and Lauren Jauregui, have posted messages on their Twitter accounts addressing the situation and giving support to their group member and friend.
Out of the 4, Jauregui notably was the most forward about what has been going on.
— Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) August 7, 2016
