Actor Christian Keyes had to put an Instagram user in her place after she posted a truly wild comment on a post.
The Diary of a Mad Black Woman actor wrote "Black women are definitely superheroes" as the caption to one of his posts, and a user wrote in response, "*all women*."
"I said what I said… It's a shame that we can't even celebrate black women without 'others' popping up talking about 'what about us'… just because somebody says something positive about black women, it doesn't mean that they don't think the same about other women," Keyes replied.
"It just means that here in this moment right now, I would like to say something positive and amazing about black women. If that offends you, then you are part of the problem. God bless," he added.
He posted a photo of the exchange on his Instagram page with a caption explaining why he responded to the user.
"Just because you celebrate or compliment one particular ethnicity, doesn’t mean that other ethnicities aren’t great… It just means that RIGHT NOW, In this moment, I’d like to acknowledge the greatness of black women… It doesn’t mean your entitlement, insecurity, or inner bigotry should flareup… This statement shouldn’t offend anyone else and if it does, then YOU are the problem, NOT my statement… #ISaidWhatISaid Black women are definitely superheroes. (Feel free to disagree ON YOUR PAGE)," he wrote.
The post garnered reactions from celebrities thanking him for his thoughtful comments which address a common trend of other races immediately attempting to stop any effort to praise Black women for anything.
The trend, now known colloquially as "All Lives Mattering," is increasingly done by white women when Black people, particularly women, are given any kind of compliment or congratulation for their achievements and beauty.
The most recent example came just last month when white commenters descended on a review site for feminine care company The Honey Pot, as Blavity previously reported.
CEO Bea Dixon had a commercial for Target that premiered during the Super Bowl where she spoke eloquently about how she hoped her struggles and success in business made it easier for the next generation of Black girls trying to make it in the industry.
This simple, seemingly positive message inspired thousands of hateful comments from white people who tried to claim her message of empowerment was discriminatory.
White people whining about Honey Pot hair company making a commercial supporting black women specifically is hilarious. Y’all won’t shop @ target for allowing this but y’all favorite brands favor y’all people and it’s fine. Insanity ???? pic.twitter.com/95j21EeeaZ
— Thank Me Later (@goodlookinlee_) March 2, 2020
Thankfully, Black women wrote comments and gave positive reviews to drown out the negativity. But the trend has become alarming because of how common it is for any positivity about Black women to be struck down with anger and fury from people of other races.
Unfortunately, Keyes isn't the only actor who has had to deal with this kind of situation. Atlanta's LaKeith Stanfield was forced to take similar action in 2018 when he wrote a loving post about how beautiful Black women are.
The post garnered hateful comments, and Stanfield told another story about how a driver once tried to connect with him over hating Black women, which he quickly shut down.
