Even if a music artist uses the “N-word” in a song lyric, it’s not okay for non-Black celebs to casually repeat it. At least that’s the lesson that actress Alia Shawkat has learned. The Search Party star has issued a long apology after video surfaced of her saying the slur during an interview at South by Southwest in 2016. Brad Pitt‘s good pal used a line from Drake‘s 2013 hit “We Made It” featuring Soulja Boy to express how excited she was about a project going over well. She now says the N-word is “never a word to be used by someone who is not Black.”
Alia, 31, shared a three-slide Instagram post on June 8 that read, “I am writing this to address a video of me quoting a song with the N-word in it as part of an interview 4 years ago. I am deeply sorry and take full responsibility. It was a careless moment, one I am ashamed and embarrassed by, but vow to learn from. I regret using a word that carries so much pain and history to Black people, as it was never a word to be used by someone who is not Black.”
“I have been learning so much about what it truly means to be an ally. The voices of Black people must be amplified and heard clearly. As an Arabic woman, who can pass for White, I’m working hard to process this nuanced access I’ve been afforded and I realize how important it is to be hyper vigilant in the spaces I exist in,” she continued.
The video in question showed Brad’s close friend Alia being interviewed in 2016 and she responded to a question by saying, “Everyone was so excited when we all came back. Like we were all in the penthouse together and everyone was looking around like, ‘N***a we made it.’ Everyone was so excited.” Ali said in her apology that, “I’m sorry my ignorance has lead to this moment.”
Alia has been posting photos to her Instagram supporting Black Lives Matter and police injustice protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old Black man was killed after a White Minneapolis Police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest. Alia shared an IG snap while participating in a May 31 rally. On June 4 she posted a message to “Defund the Police” and included how to text “Defund” to the Movement for Black Lives.
Alia’s close friend Brad has been active as well, as he wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with George Floyd’s name to the march in Los Angeles on June 7. So far the pair hasn’t been spotted together at any local L.A. rallies. Brad and Alia were last photographed together at the beginning of March attending a concert, ahead of the coronavirus quarantine in California.