People feel strongly about Jeannie Mai and Jeezy as a couple. People really love them together or would rather not see them out and about. That’s par for the course when it comes to celebrity couples. But recently their race—or more specifically Jeannie’s race has made the commentary about their union even more interesting.
Recently on “The Real,” Jeannie Mai shared some of the more hurtful things people have said about the two of them together during New York Fashion Week.
“When Jeezy and I were in Fashion Week just recently and there were pictures posted, I saw in the comments on other blogs, a couple times of like, ‘Don’t be catching that Corona, Jeezy.’ or ‘She got that Corona that latched him in.’ And that’s so hurtful because there are people that are actually dying from this. And I actually heard that there are schools that are considering to quarantine Asian kids because they just want to keep it safe. This is real life out there. So, I just want to say this, ‘We know that misinformation coupled with fear leads to xenophobia. And xenophobia is a deep-rooted fear against foreigners. So we just got to do better and know that when it comes to yourself, educate yourself so that you don’t give life to fears and misunderstandings.”
Since the announcement of the virus, we might have come across various jokes on our timelines but the real-world, real-life implications of those “jokes” are harmful. The notion of quarantining Asian communities is not a new one in this country. The U.S. did this to the Japanese-American community during Pearl Harbor– the attack that set off World War II. We don’t need to repeat that ugly history. And Black people, who love a joke—but have also been the greatest victims of oppression, worldwide, should be more considerate and conscious.