racism

Is it just us or is 2020 the year of the Karen? It seems that this cursed year has somehow emboldened entitled women despite all the 'Karen' backlash that we're not ashamed to admit we've enjoyed. Between the coronavirus pandemic and recent protests against police brutality, every Karen has something to say. And it's usually a massively combination of offensive, entitled, and ignorant garbage. This mix of Karen content covers all of those bases - with a few memes thrown in for a light chuckle. 

Well. We need to congratulate everyone who made it through the utter agony of Matt James' run on The Bachelor. While the hunky friend of Tyler C. started strong, the season quickly crumbled into a mess of unnecessary drama, horniness, indecision, and lastly, some seriously appalling shows of what replacement host Emmanuel Achoa kept referring to as "racial insensitivity."

As many Bachelor Nation fans expected James bypassed the down to earth, kind and gorgeous teacher Michelle for the younger and arguably vapid Rachael Kirkconnell. The decision upset many viewers who preferred Michelle's substance, but it was especially upsetting given the intense drama surrounding Kirkconnell's sketchy and racist past. While Kirkconnell issued a public apology, most Bachelor fans have been waiting to see how the show would treat the discovery of her incredibly insensitive Antebellum party photos. Lord knows Chris Harrison handled it poorly in his interview with Rachel Lindsay - and suffered the consequences. While Rachael was permitted to speak to her extremely bearded ex, things got extremely awkward. And you know people on Twitter had a lot to say about it. 

While many of the reactions involved Rachael and Matt's awkward silence and even more awkward breakup, there were still a lot of funny gems that roasted James' incredibly latent fear of commitment, praised Queen Michelle, and expressed excitement for the next two Bachelorettes: Michelle (yay) and Katie, a feisty fan favorite who is not afraid to speak her mind. We've rounded up our favorites tweets (in no particular order) for your convenient consumption. Hope you enjoy the mess as much as we did. 

If you've been on Twitter at all over the past 24 hours, chances are you've heard about the sorry saga of John 'Bean Dad' Roderick and his epic Twitter downfall. If not, we'll catch you up to speed. On Jan 2, @johnroderick posted a marathon of a Twitter thread, boasting at length about refusing to show his hungry nine-year-old daughter how to use a can opener to open a can of beans. In the thread he recounts encouraging her to struggle with the device over a span of six hours in hopes to help her build character, or something. An outcry across Twitter immediately ensued and it didn't take long for people to dig up many racist, sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic tweets from @johnroderick's past. This kerfuffle went so viral, it might even affect the future of Jeopardy! (Don't ask.)

'Bean Dad' is, without a doubt, the unfortunate first main character of 2021. Hopefully this isn't foreshadowing a very cursed year. We've collected some of the funniest Twitter reactions to the whole 'Bean Dad' saga. (Content warning: some of the screenshots of @johnroderick's older tweets contain offensive language.)

Remember back in 2019 when Kumail Nanjiani shared that super ripped photo of himself on Instagram? Well it seems like a lot of people on Twitter don't. The Silicon Valley star had been getting swole for Marvel's Eternals, and his dramatic transformation was talked about for what felt like years. It shouldn't be news that stars get in shape for Marvel movies, but after Nanjiani shared a photo from his holiday in quarantine, people on Twitter decided it was time to do what they do best: debate his physical appearance. 

The photo in question features Nanjiani in front of a plate of food, jaw looking exceptionally cut - to the point where Twitter users began accusing the actor of using steroids. Most of the jokes were absurd and in good fun, but the mockery struck other users as a tad racist. We don't see people scrutinizing Chris Pratt's transformation from flabby Andy from Parks and Recreation to jacked Starlord, do we? While we do think the attacks might be a little unfair, we're really just here for the jokes. If anything, we're jealous of Nanjiani's diesel bod. And more than that? We're psyched for Eternals.

Twitter user @abcdrih started a new format on Monday when she asked her followers to share "something that ISN'T racist but still FEELS racist to you?" The tweet did numbers on the site, and even inspired a bevy of copycat memes. Today, we're at the point where people are making fun of the formatting, but we still think some of the responses are entertaining. While we don't actually think eating wings wrong should be deemed racist, we can't argue with some of the other sentiments. 

It looks like rich white celebrities have learned absolutely nothing from the Gal Gadot 'Imagine' video's backlash. While that controversial John Lennon sing-along was about the coronavirus pandemic, today's cringey video is an attempt by actors like Aaron Paul, Stanley Tucci and Julianne Moore to address racism. The video features the actors (and KeSha) "taking responsibility" for their roles in turning a blind eye to racism at home and in the workplace. While the sentiment is hard to argue with, the video is being ridiculed for being a tone deaf performative display of "wokeness." And we have to admit that it's hard to feel moved by rich and privileged actors reading from a script. Though we hope this is the last celebrity video of its kind, it's hard to help being amused by the tweets that mock the clip. And we've put a whole lot of 'em together right here.

While protests for racial justice take place all across America in the wake of George Floyd's murder, celebrities offer their thoughts and words of encouragement. One such celebrity, Billy Ray Cyrus, took to Twitter to post a photo of himself looking rather pensive with the caption, "Much to think about." We're pretty sure BRC meant for the tweet to be meaningful, but that doesn't mean it ain't cringey AF. Scroll down to see some of our favorite reaction tweets and memes!

As protesters continue to march through the streets for racial justice, the general public has started to wake up to the realities of policing in America. This Twitter thread, written by University of Florida writing professor Sean Trainor, details a night he spent shadowing a police officer classmate, only to discover just how corrupt the system is.

Let's just say, if you were undecided on the policing system before, this thread might make up your mind.

If you had told us on January first that by June we'd be battling a pandemic, racism & police brutality, and trying to celebrate Pride at the same time, we'd think you were on drugs. But we'd be extremely wrong. All of the above are happening, and it's all pretty overwhelming. But when the going gets tough and crazy, memers tend to respond with topical bits of spicy humor. And honestly, that's helping us through right now.

As anti-racism protests continue to be held around the United States following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, many people are receiving some serious education in the area of race relations and the way police treat people of color. Given the climate, comic Kenny DeForest thought it was the right time to share this story from 2015. Dave Chappelle was a surprise guest at one of DeForest's shows at the Knit in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the crowd (who may have been hoping for a standard set) received a sobering and eye-opening story about the history of black people and police in the US. By the end, even people who initially made light of his tale were humbled and grateful for the experience. It feels very relevant right now, and is a testament to the fact that it is possible to change minds.

Problematic Youtube star Logan Paul doesn't have the best track record where ethics are concerned. Between his controversial Suicide Forest video from 2017 and some offensive views on homosexuality, Logan Paul was pretty low on our list of people who might be able to make a difference in the Black Lives Matter movement. But the elder Paul brother has surprised most of the internet with a passionate and sincere episode of 'Impaulsive' that decries police brutality and bluntly states that "America is racist."

Logan Paul and his co-hosts spend the episode explaining the explosive situation at hand, and the problem of racism within the police force. They applaud protesters for destroying Confederate monuments and beg followers to take action against racism. The most widely praised moment of the hour-long episode is when Paul confesses to his audience: "Listen closely. One of my biggest learnings from all of this and I am embarrassed that it has taken me 25 years to realize this: It is not enough to be 'not racist'. You have to be anti-racist."

Those are some powerful words to relay to an audience of over 2.26 million. And it's a much better message than the one left by his younger brother, Jake Paul, who was filmed with looters in Arizona. Logan's choice to urge his audience to do better is a move we admire - and one that many people of Twitter seem to admire, too.

Remember the Apocalypse Bingo memes? They just seem to get more fitting every single day. In this particular installment of horrendous 2020 memes, we've got COVID-19, Anonymous, Ebola's return, and now...drum roll please... mass protests! Have fun!

You know how some people laugh when they're nervous or anxious? Yeah, that's us right now with these memes. 2020's latest little surprise for us has been protests and riots in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Accordingly, people have taken to the streets of major cities to protest police brutality and racism toward Black Americans. No one really knows what this all will amount to...revolution? More major government crackdowns? Whatever it is, we just want y'all to be safe.

And of course, if you plan to join the protests, be careful and wear a mask, because COVID-19 hasn't forgotten about us!

Harriet, a biopic about Harriet Tubman, was just released earlier this month to favorable reviews, but apparently not everyone had the same ideas about exactly who should portray the American hero.

Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard stated in an interview with Focus Features that one studio executive suggested that Julia Roberts, a white actress, should play Harriet Tubman. When someone else chimed in about what an absurd idea that would be, the same exec replied, "It was so long ago, no one is going to know the difference." We wish we were joking about this but alas.

Additionally, we would say that this news is positively absurd, but then again, nothing in the news is really surprising anymore, is it?