The co-founder of Black Lives Matter’s Los Angeles chapter, Melina Abdullah, has recently attracted attention for her series of tweets targeting Taylor Swift and her fans.
Abdullah, who teaches Pan-African Studies at Cal State University Los Angeles, sparked controversy on Super Bowl Sunday with her tweet questioning the racial implications of being a Taylor Swift fan. She referred to Swifties, as Swift’s fans are known, as “racist,” stating, “Why do I feel like it’s slightly racist to be a Taylor Swift fan?”
Asked to elaborate on her statement, Abdullah responded with a passive-aggressive tone, distinguishing between feeling and thinking, likening her discomfort with Taylor Swift fans to the unease she feels when encountering too many American flags.
Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ win, Abdullah intensified her rhetoric, suggesting a right-wing, white-supremacist conspiracy behind the event. Despite facing criticism for her remarks, she remained defiant, asserting that virtually everything is racist.
Abdullah’s tweets didn’t go unnoticed. On February 23, she received a threatening voicemail from a Texas man named Ethan George, who expressed anger over her divisive comments. Abdullah, in response, condemned the violent message but continued to defend her initial statements about Taylor Swift fans.
Her tweets prompted further backlash, with some users questioning her judgment and accusing her of spreading ignorance. Despite the criticism, Abdullah doubled down on her stance, accusing journalists of sensationalizing her tweets and provoking violent responses from their followers.
The incident underscores the challenges of navigating sensitive topics on social media and the potential consequences of inflammatory rhetoric, like insisting that everyone and everything is racist.
