Following a few days of major controversy, where she was accused of gallivanting with White supremacists and using racial slurs, Doja Cat is finally breaking her silence.
On Sunday (May 24), the "Say So" rapper, who is of South African and Jewish descent, jumped on her Instagram page and apologized about her perceived racial remarks.
In her post, Doja wrote, "I want to address what's been happening on Twitter. I've used public chat rooms to socialize since I was a child. I shouldn't have been on some of those chat room sites, but I personally have never been involved in any racist conversations. I'm sorry to anyone I offended."
She went on to explain her ethnic background. "I'm a Black woman," she continued. "Half of my family is Black from South Africa and I'm very proud of where I come from."
Doja explanation comes just days after she was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter via the hashtag #DojaCatIsOverParty when a video was discovered that shows Doja in an online chatroom with reported members of the alt-right/incel community.
After the discovery, people dug deeper and found her 2015 single, "Dindu Nuffin," which allegedly references an alt-right racial slur for Black people complaining about police brutality. Some people even believed the record poked fun at the death of Sandra Bland, a Black woman who died in police custody in Texas in 2015 under very suspicious circumstances.
In her IG post, Doja wrote that the song was in "no way" tied to anything outside of her "personal experience" and that it was written in response to "people who often used that term to hurt me." According to the 24-year-old artist, her intention was to "flip" the meaning of the word but admitted that it was a "bad decision" on her part.
Doja ended her message by apologizing to her fans for hurting them with her past racial remarks.
"I understand my influence and impact and I'm taking this all very seriously," she wrote. "I love you all and I'm sorry for upsetting or hurting any of you. That's not my character and I'm determined to show that to everybody moving forward. Thank you."
This past weekend, many people on internet exploded over her past racial remarks and canceled the rapper.
"Yeah Doja’s behavior is not no 'I’m biracial & don’t fit in on either side,' Seeking out yt supremacists, video chatting, lettin them call you nickgurr? laughing at their racism," one person tweeted. "A song to make fun of Sandra Bland’s death? & still being in those chats in May 2020. Sick shit."
However, on Sunday morning (May 24), one person from the alleged chat group spoke up for Doja, claiming he didn't see or hear any prejudice or racism from her. This prompted the new trending hashtag #WeAreSorryDoja.
XXL has reached out to Doja Cat's reps for comment.
See the Many Times Rappers' Social Media Accounts Were Suspended