Over the last several weeks, there has been a lot of tension surrounding Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the Spokane NAACP chapter who pretended to be a black woman for years. Apparently, Rachel, who was born to two white parents, began identifying as black several years ago. Rachel’s true identity was confirmed to only by her parents, but by her birth certificate as well. Although many expected her to be apologetic for years of lying, Rachel stuck by her original stance and insisted that she is indeed a black woman. During her time working for the NAACP, Rachel did a lot of good in the black community – but many feel like she could have done the same amount of good without posing as a black woman. As a result, many people have been very vocal about their feelings towards Dolezal, and not everyone has nice things to say. Here are 10 celebrities who have been most critical of Rachel Dolezal.
Dave Chappelle
Everyone is used to hearing Dave Chappelle make jokes about, well, everything – but the comedian took a few moments to be serious about Rachel Dolezal and tell the world how he really feels. When asked about the subject, Chappelle said, “There’s a white lady posing as a black lady. There is not one thing that woman accomplished that she couldn’t have done as a white woman. There’s no reason!” Not too harsh, but a very solid point.
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Montel Williams
Montel Williams may no the spending much time in the spotlight these days, but that didn’t stop him from expressing his opinion on Rachel Dolezal. Williams released a long statement on Facebook in which he tried to keep his cool about the whole situation, but he didn’t definitely didn’t hold back. According to Williams, “Again, I think this is about honesty, it’s about taking responsibility. When it suited her, she sued as a white woman – when it suited her otherwise she assumed the identity of a black woman. When she was called on it, she tried to use as many big words as possible to obfuscate it. With due respect, whom your biological parents are and whether they are white is not a “complex and multi layered discussion.” That is obfuscating the truth with big words.”
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Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli is one of the most socially conscious rappers in the game, so there should be no surprise that he’s been critical of Rachel Dolezal and her identity. During an interview in which he discussed the situation, Kweli blatantly stated, “You’re not an ally, you’re an enemy.” With that statement it’s very clear that good deeds or not, Kweli doesn’t have any respect for the fact that Dolezal lied.
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Azealia Banks
If you know anything about Azealia Banks you’ll know that she is NEVER one to mince words. Over the last several years, Banks has used her Twitter account and other platforms to be very vocal about social issues – and anything else that she sees fit. By now, it should be no surprise that she has something to say about everything, but if there’s one think Banks does well – it’s be serious and humorous at the same time. Of course, her statement about Rachel Dolezal was no different.
https://twitter.com/AZEALIABANKS/status/610833210780614656
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Anderson Cooper
When it comes to current events, you can always expect Anderson Cooper to be right in the middle giving you the story. In the midst of all the turmoil surrounding Dolezal’s story, Cooper hosted a panel in which all of the guests, including Lamont Hill, had a lot to say about Dolezal’s story. Cooper who agreed with many of the comments, also had a few words of his own. Cooper stated, “It’s one thing to say, ‘I’m a white person and I’m in the NAACP.’ It’s another thing to say as a caucasian person, ‘I’m black and I’m in the NAACP.”
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Charlamagne Tha God
Charlamagne Tha God is the type of person who can make a joke out of anything. Over the last few years, he’s gone from a simple NYC radio DJ, to an MTV star thanks to the show Guy Code. However, no matter how big Charlamagne gets, he stays true to himself and is never afraid to state his opinion on anything that may be going on. But sometimes he’s been known to straddle the fence – as he did in this case. Although Charlamagne sort of came to Dolezal’s defense in attempts to compare her to Caitlyn Jenner, he ended up giving Dolezal the “Donkey of the Day” award for lying and pretending to be the recipient of racially charged hate mail and hate crimes.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Killer Mike
Killer Mike may have taken a break from the mic as of late, but that’s only because he’s changing his focus to social issues. The Atlanta-based rapper, who is planning on getting into local politics, spoke out on Rachel Dolezal during a panel on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Although it was clear that Killer Mike didn’t agree with Dolezal or her lies, he kept a pretty good sense of humor about the whole situation and openly spoke about her ‘black’ identity and what it means.
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