In the era of social media, it's not uncommon to encounter folks who'll do anything for a drop of clout. Take for example YouTube "celebrity" Cole LaBrant, who thought he was really doing something by showing the world how benevolent his adopted Black cousin Peanut is.
this is my adopted cousin, Peanut, helping girls get off and back ON the swings. We all need to be more like Peanut pic.twitter.com/Gx9O5cbUsA
— Cole LaBrant (@Thesupercole) May 17, 2019
"This is my adopted cousin, Peanut, helping girls get off and back ON the swings. We all need to be more like Peanut," LaBrant wrote in the now-deleted tweet Thursday (thankfully, Twitter does an excellent job of keeping receipts).
I got you. Just in case. pic.twitter.com/QuqzwArA7c
— Tyler King (@TylerAKing) May 17, 2019
In the short clip, Peanut is helping a young girl hop back into the swing by kneeling on his back so they can use him as a step stool. In theory, the gesture is gracious. Some online, however, had some understandable reservations on the execution. Basically, Twitter wasn't feeling LaBrant using his minority family member for some likes.
something about this just don’t feel right.. pic.twitter.com/eSIUXU9xeN
— baby girl (@laineyyyy__) May 17, 2019
I…. I just……… pic.twitter.com/H0PZry0SvI
— Quis???? (@itsmarquisjo) May 17, 2019
That’s probably because that’s what they told or taught him to do. There’s even a towel down like that’s going to be his only function at the park. Why couldn’t those long legged girls get on the swing w/o making “Peanut” their stool? Did anyone bend down for him to play?
— Lindz Domminigue (@its_lindz) May 17, 2019
One user correlated the incident to why transracial adoption is so unsettling.
And this is why transracial adoption is so problematic. The fact that another child serves as a footstool when there’s clearly a whole bunch of parents totally able to help these girls is disgusting. Let alone the only black kid?
— ????????♀️ (@f4hmo) May 17, 2019
Other chastised LaBrant's family for having the gall to name the young king Peanut.
Peanut need to get up off that ground pic.twitter.com/RSbVkPwOI8
— d (@dwrxck21_) May 17, 2019
Bro peanut!!..peanut!! pic.twitter.com/7ssh0UY6HV
— Bianca Fynn (@bianca_fynn) May 17, 2019
— Lex ???????? (@GoBiggLexy) May 17, 2019
There was a clear divide between white and Black reactions, causing one to question how white individuals treat Black peers.
Read the comments. Of course white people LOVE this. They think teaching black children to debase themselves & act as props to serve whites is how “we all need to be.” This is why I always shudder at white people adopting black kids. Black servitude is ingrained in their psyche
— I want to do hoodrat stuff with my friends (@HollaBlackGirl) May 17, 2019
Why Lord? Why? pic.twitter.com/rEQJpBOqYW
— Kalen Allen (@TheKalenAllen) May 17, 2019
For a child's playground, someone else had a burning inquiry.
So many questions but first of all why are the swings so high up… pic.twitter.com/13xDA1bRa4
— Jordan (@Jordanangs) May 17, 2019
Even Bernice King, youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King had choice words for the YouTube star.
Cole: When many of us see your video, we are reminded of the dehumanization of our ancestors depicted in this photo. This dehumanization of Black people still exists in many forms today. So the video you shared isn’t cute to us. It’s not cute for a Black boy to be a stool. pic.twitter.com/zJXpXWgVTh
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) May 17, 2019
LaBrant has remained mum on the backlash surrounding the video, but one thing's for sure: he's officially initiated into the white privilege contingency.
