❘ Published: 2022-11-01T05:07:45
❘ Updated: 2022-11-01T05:07:58
NIJISANJI star Enna Alouette has spoken out further about “racist” comments she made on stream, stating it was a “wake up call” for the VTuber about her platform. She also asked fans to stop making excuses for her, adding she takes full responsibility.
Enna Alouette found herself embroiled in controversy after she made an “insensitive and ignorant” remark on stream, perpetuating a negative cultural stereotype about African Americans.
On a collaboration with Kyo Kaneko, Enna stated it was difficult to impersonate the star’s accent because it “kinda tells me you maybe listen to too much Snoop Dogg,” also quipping about eating chicken.
Kyo told Enna in the moment she perpetuated the negative racial stereotype, and she eventually was educated on it and apologized for her actions. However, she went even further on her following stream about her ignorance, taking full responsibility for her actions.
“I messed up really bad,” she said on October 28. “For the majority of the collab, it was fine. Towards the end, I got, not even a little, I basically hurt a lot of people. I was super insensitive and ignorant on a cultural stereotype, and I also put my friend in an uncomfortable situation.
“That’s very embarrassing and I’m ashamed of it. Thankfully Kyo was the one to bring awareness to what I did wrong, more so after the stream we had a call about it, so I appreciate him for doing that.”
Hey guys, Kyo explained to me about something that I ignorantly said & was culturally unaware of. I’m really sorry I disappointed you guys & myself with my insensitive & ignorant comment on a certain stereotype. Not knowing & not having malicious intent is not an excuse. (1/2)
— Enna Alouette 🕊️🎐 NIJISANJI EN (@EnnaAlouette) October 27, 2022
While Enna received an outpouring of support on social media from her Aloupeeps, she tried to quell the chorus of hearts and messages from those not affected. She stated, “even though I had no malicious intent or anything, it was very wrong and 100% racist.”
She also asked for no one to try to justify her comments, and called it a “wake up call” for her behavior on stream.
“I’m on a public platform with a very large reach. I’m very aware, when I make apologies or when any influencer makes an apology, it sounds like it’s for everyone but it’s not. Which is why I’m telling you guys to hold back on your hearts and saying supportive things to me right now,” she continued.
“I’m talking to the people who I affected and hurt. If you’re not a person who isn’t directly affected by it, please don’t go around saying ‘we forgive you, people make mistakes.’ This is not the time, and this is not a situation where anyone gives any justification to me. Please stop.
“I’m going to make sure I’m very mindful from now on [about] how I think, how I act, and what I say. Honestly, I’ve been treading on the bounds a lot throughout my career in NIJISANJI. This honestly was a wake up call, seriously.”
Enna ended up canceling her streams for the rest of the week, returning at the start of November. She fully expects for some things to be different though, and she’s not going to try and brush it off. She’s facing her consequences head-on and hopes to grow from it.
“If you feel uncomfortable, upset, or angry, these are very valid feelings. I totally understand if you need to step away from me or my content. You don’t have to hear my apology and I don’t have any expectation of getting any forgiveness from literally anyone.
“There isn’t much I can do or say, but I promise I will be better, and only time can really show that. Right now I’m just saying pretty words, but I need to work on myself every day.
“I hope the silver lining to all of this is to bring awareness to situations like this; for me, and hopefully a lot of other people, to be mindful. And for those who are in the same boat of being ignorant or insensitive towards a cultural stereotype, I hope you guys can learn from my mistake.”