Journalist Apologize for Publicly Mocking Appearance of Beyoncé’s 7-Year-Old Daughter Blue Ivy
Two journalists came under severe fire after mocking Beyoncé and Jay-Z's 7-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy's looks, and have now apologized for such comments via messages on Twitter.
The saga began after Megan Thee Stallion shared a photo of herself, Beyoncé, and Blue Ivy. Many people loved the picture, but journalist, Austin Collins, who is a film critic for "Vanity Fair" had other ideas.
In his comments to the photo, which have now been deleted, he mocked the 7-year-old Ivy, saying her father's facial genes were about to manifest in her.
His comments were replied to by Violet, who writes for Harper's Bazaar. The two journalists took turns to exchange banter after banter on Ivy's looks.
However, many people called them out for such negativity, especially against a young Black girl, prompting them to delete the tweets. And now Austin has tweeted an apology on his account, saying:
"I'm sorry about the Blue Ivy tweet —bad joke, and black girls in particular deserve better."
Blue Ivy Carter and Beyonce Knowles-Carter attend the World Premiere of Disney's "THE LION KING" at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California | Photo: Getty Images
Violet Lucca also offered an apology, even though it didn't seem very remorseful. In her apology, Lucca said she had been called ugly, old, and a racist for saying something petty, before going on to apologize for her comments about Blue Ivy.
Clarkisha's thoughts were also shared by Tayonce Defence Academy, who accused the journalists of practically sexualizing the looks of a 7-year-old Black girl because she didn't have preferred Eurocentric features
In further tweets, Violet said that she was truly sorry to anyone who was reminded of a past hurt due to her comments before offering further apologies to Blue Ivy.
Vanity Fair also joined in the apologies, as one of its spokespersons said in a statement obtained by NBC News that they regretted the action of Austin Collins. The statement read:
"Vanity Fair regrets that our critic K. Austin Collins tweeted an inappropriate comment about Blue Ivy Carter and Jay-Z that violated the magazine's standards and conflicted with our values. We agree with Kam's decision to delete the tweet, and we join him in apologizing for it."
Though power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé didn't offer up any response to the journalists' earlier derogatory tweets, many of their fans did come to their daughter's defense.
Jay Z, Blue Ivy Carter and Beyonce Knowles attend the 66th NBA All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. | Photo: Getty Images
It would not be far from the truth to suggest that it is the anger and bashing that greeted Austin and Violet's comments that led them to offer up apologies.
A tweet by Clarkisha Kent, in which she added screen-munched images of Austin and Violet's tweets, questioned the journalists' actions, as she said that they wanted to be bold and anti-Black on Twitter, especially when it came to Blue Ivy.
Clarkisha's thoughts were also shared by Tayonce Defence Academy, who accused the journalists of practically sexualizing the looks of a 7-year-old Black girl because she didn't have preferred Eurocentric features.
It is good that the journalists have apologized for their comments, and while there are debates about whether an apology is enough, it is hoped that such negative comments would never occur again.